No soap here, but there's plenty to get your hands dirty

Sometimes life's adventures pay off in surprising ways. In the thick of Crafty Wonderland another vendor from Bellingham, Washington, came over to talk books; taking a break with her made for one of the most relaxing and pleasant quarter-hours of the day.

I always forget what a bonus such networking can be, because I must have received at least a dozen visits to my Web site based on the blurb that Amber wrote for the company she works for, Bramble Berry, which aims to meet every soap maker's needs and fantasies. Amber said her boss was focused and ambitious, wanting to be the Martha Stewart of the soap world. Well, more power to her, and thanks Amber for the blog mention!

Who knows, maybe all those soap makers need is a little manual on Chinese bookbinding to get them going on drier pursuits? The writing proceeds marvelously. I love digging in my brain like this, smiling over all the vivid memories and smells. I even relived my Beijing first bike crash the other day, so much safer (and less embarrassing) at the distance of time and place.