Pattico - Found this. All the sites I found used silk petals. Hope it's helpful. "Buy silk rose petals (the kind used at weddings), or you can buy them on the stem and clip them off the stem. Melt about 1/2 cup of clear glycerin soap base. When melted, add whatever scent you have on hand (approximately 20 drops or until you achieve the desired fragrance. I like to use a Rose Garden fragrance. Using a pair of tweezers, dip rose petals in the melted glycerin soap. Dip one at a time, shaking off the excess soap, and place the petal on waxed paper to dry. As they start to dry, gently turn them over to keep them from getting a glob of soap underneath them." This was another site that told how to make them: http://www.candlesupply.com/how2soappetals.html

I look at work parties as part of the job. If your boss invited you to his house for dinner, you wouldn't refuse, right? I go, make my rounds with the staff and any clients we may have in attendance, have a cocktail and a few appetizers and head home after about an hour or two. Although I like my work, I do not consider my coworkers "friends". And I would never take a significant other, even if I had one. As I said, I consider these events extensions of work, not part of my social life. As to too many invitations? Heck yeah. But I decided a few years ago that I would limit myself to five parties in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That is one work party and one fun party each week. If I am having a particularly stressful week, I will just not stay at the party very long.

Yes, it is called rebatching, and I will avoid it if at all possible. It's time consuming and tedious. To let you know, I make cp soap by the 10 pound recipes. I presently have 2 buckets of soap scraps, I would guess about a 2 or 3 cubic foot container. Instead of rebatching it I will add it to a new recipe of soap. Unlike what you have, this is still virgin soap scraps, not previously used. I will make soap and give these away or use them ourselves. What I would do if I had these previous used scraps, I would just add it to a new bar as they are being used; they do stick fairly readily, and they rarely come off. If you are going to still rebatch, I would grate them, then lightly mist them (not dripping) the night before, then add them to a crockpot on low or medium heat. You will need to set aside about 4 hours or so, depending on how much soap you need to do. The trick is to add just enough water (by the tablespoon) to keep the soap pliable and not dry, while you are trying to mash it, until it is thoroughly melted. Be careful, this soap is very hot while in the crock! Any scent of the scraps will disappear in the final product, so if you want it scented, then let the soap cool down a bit and mix in scent just before pour/mashing it into any molds. hth

No spouse - mine walked, over 35 years ago. Rarely talked, after. Died over 4 years ago. When there was talk of closing the psych. hosp. where she'd been head of food service for 20 years or so, she took early retirement and during the next ten years had a ball ... including a hobby of doing miniatures. Following her death (of colon cancer, within a year of what would have been her normal retirement age), our young ones disposed of many of her projects and goods ... but one, a miniature house about 3" x 3" remained (it seems that those guys like to build their own) ... ... and has been sitting on a table in my living room for about three years. When son and I went to Toronto this summer as daughter loaded her van to move to AZ, he returned to the car as we were about to depart, carrying a beautiful burgundy velvet bag with drawstring, holding a box, saying, "Mom's ashes". He left them in the car, where they stayed for a short while ... and now they sit in one of the rooms of her miniature house, a dozen feet from where I sit. An Iowa girl, she'd developed a liking for a little park in Detroit ... and I heard that she'd asked that (at least part of) her ashes be spread on the Detroit River. I'd hinted that when they made the pilgrimage, I'd like to go along ... but it has not happened: I know not the reason, if reason there may be. ________________________ No problem now about buying for a spouse. I've told my friends several years ago that rather than a number of gifts and cards - and in these rather prosperous days, it is difficult to buy something useful and wanted - I've been making a number of gifts to various charities. I feel that the different agencies, e.g abused women's shelter (where daughter worked several years ago helping raise funds for a home), United Way, London Food Bank, Salvation Army, Mission Services (hostel for homeless), Habitat for Humanity and Canadian Food Grains Bank and such are better able than I to choose where the need is greatest. In the case of several, the Canadian International Development Agency gives matching dollars ... and for some, other agencies do, as well ... so each original dollar grows to four going to work. I also give to several health and specific illness groups, plus my alma mater and seminary (on the Prairies). Plus half a dozen churches ... and our denomination's outreach and service agency. One of the nice things about current circumstances is that many people have email and one can catch up on the news with quite a substantial number easily, even altering parts of the message going to different individuals or groups. Have you ever had someone give you a swat as a result of your charitable gift? Last year when son and I were returning from a trip, I asked whether he had some extra time and went to the village where our family lived while I served as clergy in their church for a while, 40 years ago (near the end of our marriage). After I'd given a cheque to the treasurer, when son heard the reason for our visit, he gave me a minor cuff across the side of the head, saying, "They fired you - and you give them money?!". When I boarded in the village for a couple of years, not quite 25 years ago, I was still so bitter that I only attended that church a couple of times. I'd heard (on fairly good authority) not many years after our departure (and after our separation) that they feared that Sue and I would part ... and they didn't want us to part while we were in their church. Prior to my accepting their offer to serve there, a major clergyperson in the area suggested that I reconsider ... that that congregation had developed something of a reputation for being hard on ministers ... and I more or less replied that I'd been in tough spots before ... and would take my chances. I gambled: Ilost. Too soon old - too late smart, I guess. But ... usually a reconciliation requires some giving ... or at least some expression of appreciation of the situation ... on both sides. And institutions are not good at expressing regret. It has taken our denomination - and our Federal Gov't. - about 40 years to apologize to various native groups for the abuses perpetrated upon them when trying to assimilate them in residential schools. It's a bit hard for one hand to clap: let me know if you find out how to bring it off, O.K.? Good wishes to all of you who value it, for Christmas ... and to everyone, for a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, bringing the fulfillment of several of your good dreams ... and the birthing of some new ones. ole joyful