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I've never actually seen a category for, "Make Your Own Stuff". At least, I don't recall seeing one. But, since I was a little girl I've had this fascination with making my own stuff. The first thing I ever remember making was a guitar. It involved rubber bands and two pieces of wood. I think I was in the 5th grade at the time. It was certainly crude and would never in a million years be considered an instrument, but I had fun making it and 40 years later still remember the satisfaction I felt when I showed it to my family.
Since then I've made all sorts of things. I made cheese once just to say I'd tried making it. It tasted like you were chewing on the end of your pencil eraser, but I tried it. I've made soap out of the tail end slivers of soap nobody ever can figure out what to do with other than throw them away. The soap experiment didn't go over all that well.
I've tried making cosmetics which was fun. I've since then had no qualms at all about pouring the tail ends of all the hand lotions I've got kicking around the house into one bottle. The tea tree lotion really kicked it all up a notch, but, hey, out of all those miscellaneous bottles I got one full bottle of the stuff.
I've had wonderful success with making my own bread and I love to make sour dough bread. The problem is that after awhile I'd get into a slump and not feed my starter. Once it had gone so far I was afraid to use it.
My father-in-law, Pete Evanosky, was a fascinating man. He used to make wine. DeeDude and I would go pick things for him and he'd make it all into wine. I loved his blackberry wine. He'd decant it into cut glass carafes he'd gotten at yard sales and we'd sit out on the patio and drink until we were all pleasantly soused. See why I don't drink anymore? But, I am fond of those memories of sitting with him and with Mary G, my mother-in-law.
But, as a general rule, I am always fond of ways to make my own stuff. For some reason, even when they aren't as good as store bought, they have that one element from the heart that Safeway and Albertsons will never be able to replicate. Love.
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