At the end of every year, I like to remember what I learned in the year that passed. 2019 was a difficult year for me, for reasons I've shared and some that I didn't. …
Gratitude
Retired
I have officially retired. Sort of. Not from soap making, but from my day job. Let me give you the back story. For the past 20 years I worked days for the science department of the North Shore School System. One night a week for the past 12 years, I worked at Farmingdale College. And I also started Alegna Soap® 10 years ago. …
Making Soap in Chemistry Class
I work in a school system in the science department. One of the best parts of my day job is making soap in chemistry classes at the high school. So when Seth Klein asked me if I was available to teach his classes, I quickly cleared my calendar said yes. I've made soap before with high school students. …
The Kindness of Strangers
The morning after Brian's incident, I experienced the kindness of strangers. I headed over to Dunkin Donuts, I wanted to pick up munchkins for the Neuro ICU nurses on my way to see him. It was raining and I wanted to get to the hospital. Parking by Dunkin Donuts was difficult (coffee + early in the morning = a parking lot …
Family
Yesterday my family celebrated Easter. We made a weekend of it, since it's hard to see everyone on one day. Saturday I woke early and tried to get all my soap making done because I knew I had to stop around 3 to start cooking. Brian wanted pasta bolognese. I've made it from scratch before, but I cheated on Saturday. …