The Story of Three Friends, or Why I Started Making Soap
Penny, Lynette, and I grew up together almost from birth. Our parents all went to church together, and we are also “loosely” related to one another. They are the kind of friends that when you get together, no matter how long it’s been, you can pick up wherever you left off and it feels like no time has passed. Here are some photos to show you our history:
Lynette was a year older than Penny and me, so she took off for college after that summer. Penny and I ended up going to college together in Chicago.
Not long after that, I started giving Penny & Lynette something handmade for Christmas each year. One year it was a lighted “Christmas tree” made out of seed pods from a sweet gum tree that I had painted gold and attached to chicken wire in the shape of a cone. Another year I made some quilted wall hangings. In the fall of 2002, I started searching the internet for ideas of what to make for Christmas that year. I came across Kathy Miller’s website on how to make soap, and the idea really appealed to me. So after gathering up all the equipment and ingredients, I made my first batch. When I went to unmold it the next day, it was completely crumbly! I went back to the internet to research what had gone wrong…and decided that maybe it hadn’t reached trace after all (I had stirred it with a spoon). So I put it all back in my soap pot and put it in the oven for a few hours. Once it got warmed up and held together, I mashed it back in the mold, and the next day it came out perfectly!
I have a photo from the Christmas of 2002, but sadly, there are no pictures of my soap. In fact, we almost didn’t get this picture taken because my older daughter had just puked all over the floor after a nice Christmas dinner at Penny’s house. We left the party early that night…
So that’s the story of how I got started making soap. Penny lives close to my home town, so I see her once in awhile when I go home to see my parents. I hadn’t seen Lynette for over two years, but she just came through town and spent about 24 hours at our house. It was so good to see her again!!
Page with Comments
Comments are closed.
Amy,great story. I love that you 3 have such history together-everyone should have the kind of friends that are willing to stick peanut m&m’s up there nose right along with them(and then have it documented for all to see.) Too funny!
What an awesome post!
And … how neat to learn the story of how you began your love affair with soap making.
How sweet that it was these special friendships that inspired it!
How wonderful that you have maintained both…
Love that!
Aw that’s so cool! How lovely to have friends you have known for so long … like sisters. x
Thanks for sharing that sweet story of a wonderful friendship. And I loved the photos 🙂
What a wonderful post! And such a treasure to have friends like that
Those kinds of friends are the very, very best, you never forget them and they never forget you even if you dont see them for years! They are always there when you need them, you are lucky to have two!!
What a wonderful story of lifelong friendships. it’s rare these days in our mobile society. Thanks for sharing the pictures!
We really enjoyed your story and the accompanying pics that document your friendships. What a great way to begin a business!
Hi Amy,
Great story. The friendships truly tell the story of the type of people we are, and help us find our way in life. Isn’t almost always that serendipity that leads us to great discoveries and new-found passions.
Thanks for sharing your journey with these special friends!
Wow! Seeing the pictures was such a trip down memory lane….and a reminder that the 3 of us haven’t all been together in so long! You know what would be a good solution to that? A girls’ weekend in NYC! 🙂
@Lynette – Sounds fabulous!! You know I’ve always wanted to go to NYC! 🙂