Tuesday, May 05, 2009

"You sound like a little elephant ...

walking around the house."

Husband says the nicest things to me!

* * * * * * * * * * *

Younger Son did some fence painting at the weekend. as a result his t-shirt is covered with paint and dirt so I thought I'd soak it before washing. What I really needed was one of those magic powders they advertise where you dip half the shirt in and it comes up sparkling white; what I had was some two-year-old washing powder that YS had brought home from uni with him.


As I agitated it, a memory came back to me. The smell has an association for me. I kept sniffing it to try and urge the memory to the forefront but it insisted on loitering behind school hymns and car number plates.

They do say that smells play an important part in memory. I believe therapists use scents when dealing with brain-damaged or geriatric people. I can understand it: they can take me back to places I thought I had long since forgotten.

Do you remember - if you're over fifty - books of soap? Little pages, each page a leaf of soap? Please tell me you do. Someone, somewhere must. It can't just be me.

I know: I'll google it.
The closest I could find were these, which are described as 'these all-new soap leaves'.
In the old days they came in books. Please tell me you remember!

9 comments:

NitWit1 said...

I am older than you and don't remember it. But I go back to lye soap. I remember a baby sitter making it in a cast-iron caldron outside. :)

Anonymous said...

It least it was a little elephant ;0)

I'll skip the soap....

Leslie: said...

I've never heard of such a thing. But maybe it's a Welsh thing! lol

Puss-in-Boots said...

Er...sorry, Liz. I've never heard of books of soap.

Devonshire Dumpling said...

I remember it. They used to do one that was a hair shampoo too. I bought a few packs like your one pictured a few months ago in a camping accessory shop.

(can you please walk quieter? I could hear you stomping about right down here in Devon)

Liz Hinds said...

A cauldron? Was your babysitter a witch, nitwit?!

that's what Younger Son said, amanda, when i told him.

Perhaps they didn't have it in Canada or Australia, leslie and puss.

Thank heavens, dumpling! I was beginning to wonder. I'll tiptoe in future!

Furtheron said...

No idea on the soap front... never used it until I got married.. ;-)

the husband comment.... I went up to a friend the other day and started along the lines...

"... last time we did this the critism was we were all too professional / middle class what we need is a homeless street drinker who's done good..." He took it well but I didn't do a good job there really

Anonymous said...

Catching up on your blog.

I remember the little book of soap pages here in the US. Lived in Pennsylvania at the time. Sold as handy for washing hands when you were away from home and there might not be soap or it might be so yucky you were afraid to touch it lol.

Genie

Dragonstar said...

Yes, I remember. It came in pretty tins, as well, for gift use (though the one I was given once - very long ago - welded into a solid mass before I used it!)

No comment on the elephant!