pointysticks.net

The husband and I have a few communication problems around this time of year. About 2-3 years ago I ran out of essential oils which I use for candles. Sure, I have a huge honkin’ thing of clove oil, and a small smattering of cedar oil– but the clove and cedar oils are not for soap and candle making, they are for household stuff (like refreshing those little fat goddess ceramic thingies I use instead of sachets and not things that actually get eaten, burned, or bathed with.)

So I haven’t made soap, candles or anything that required essential oils for a long time since I was completely out. The exception was a Christmas exchange where my recipient had specifically said she had a desire for clove soap, I think so she could use it as a satchet. That was two holiday seasons ago.

I have gone too long without stocking up. I knew in theory that Stayton had a health food store, I’d never been in there. Matt says we’ll just visit one of the larger ones in Salem, but somehow in the six or so years we’ve lived here we’ve never gone. Yesterday we finally made it to the little one here in Stayton. I bought my oils.

I think Matt has a fear of herb and healthfood stores (like suddenly I’m going to wake up and say “You know, I think we need to be on some hippy macrobiotic vegetarian diet. I hate bacon.”) Either that or he knows of precious jewels hidden somewhere in the house and he’s driving me crazy intentionally so that he can search for them (ala Angel Street or Gaslight)– just a theory.< /p>

Anyway this makes me extremely happy to at last have the oils, but it also means that I’m going to have to twist my husband’s arm a little to go on two more teeny tiny supply runs, one for wax and one for lye and olive oil. For some reason when time is limited (and it is) he decides he’s too busy up until the eleventh hour, then lectures me on doing things at the last minute. It’s very passive agressive of him.

I informed him that it’s easy enough to buy these things without me, then he claims he doesn’t know what to get. Buy a big chunk of wax, it’s just @#$!ing wax! You know wax?! It comes in big ten pound blocks, don’t worry about the hardness, just get out the wallet pay for it and bring it home!

It’s just wax.

It’s just olive oil– I have a plethora of soap recipes, I swear you can’t buy the wrong stuff. It’s just lye. Both can come from the grocery store with little or no ceremony at all.

I don’t want to hear how I do everything at the last minute for the g’zillionth time because when I have a choice about things I do most things well ahead of time. Lately, I haven’t had a reasonable alternative, if I order my supplies online the we pay oodles and gobbles for shipping which is ridiculous to pay when the stuff can come from the grocery store.

If I start now I’ll have plenty of time to make the soap and candles I need for both Christmas goodies and craft fair goodies. Otherwise, there won’t be enough time for the soap to cure even if I stick it in the closet with a dehumidifier, and I’ll be up the night before the craft fair topping off the candles and sticking them in the freezer– and nobody wants to buy goodies from a surly sleep deprived woman bearing pointy sticks.

His answer to this? “Well I thought you’d want to knit the stuff.” Nice try Buddy.

He knows, and I know; this is not a high end craft fair. This is the sort of craft fair where little old ladies go and sell bunnies made from washcloths for barely enough to cover the price of the washcloth. This is the sort of craft fair where I’m constantly asked to justify my existence by customers, who are sincerely shocked that handmade items cost more than the stuff at Wally World. I go as a favor to the organizer kind of craft show.

Okay, so I’m in a surly mood already, that doesn’t help and to be fair Matt is busy with his own projects. However, I think it’s fair to be a little cranky about what is clearly a pattern of behavior. It’s the holiday season so I can try extra hard to be nice, I’ve been patient this far– I guess I can go a little farther.

If I have to.

In the meantime, just to be safe I’m going to [cringe] plug in the sewing machine and start making some small goodies at least for the craft fair.