Gingers Garden, Rancho Mirage, CA
I was born in Prague, Czech Republic. I am a third generation Aromatherapist, herbalist, soapmaker & toiletry maker.
As a child I remember grandma making soap outside in a big kettle over an open fire. The lye was made by pouring ashes over rain water which my grandma collected during the rainy season. When she had enough lye, she would suspend an egg to see if the lye was strong enough. If the egg sank, the lye was too strong. If the egg just barely floated on the top of the water, the lye wasn't strong enough. But, if the egg submerged just half way, the lye was just right. She collected grease drippings in the kitchen in an empty coffee can. This soap was mostly used to wash laundry and dirty dishes. Our clothes were washed in a tin tub with a wooden washboard.
Then the clothes were hung on a rope with clothespins outside to get the wonderful clean smell from drying in the warmth of the sun.
My mother took me to gather herbs when I was about 7 years old for the first time. We woke up at about 4AM to get the best benefits from the herbs. The time I remember the best was in the fall when I could get my fill from ripe berries, including gooseberries. We also harvested fresh mushrooms from the forest after a gentle rain and make scrambled eggs with mushrooms for breakfast. Mushrooms that were left over, got sliced and dried for soup in the cold winter ahead.
Both mom and grandma made lotions, potions and creams. I use to think that my family had magicians because to a child what they made was just magic. People would come to buy these things so they would get better. My mom's kitchen was full of herbs drying upside down, secret jars full of steeping herbs or dark glass bottles filled with wonderful or "smelly" liquids. Since doctors were expensive, we made do with what we had.
Now that I'm grown up I'm following in their footsteps. Nowadays we have it easy. Different types of oils, butters, pre-made lye or fragrant oils are more readily available. I still think of magic when I make lotion with yellow or green oils & it comes out white, or when my soap comes to trace, so I can pour it in my mold.
