Four Thieves

Inspirational song: Silver and Gold (Burle Ives)

I am either brave or foolish. Or both. Let's say both.

The day after Avery was born, while we still had the older kids, we took them down south to see that new troll installation near Cripple Creek. On the way there, we stopped at a beekeeping superstore. I poked around in the gifts and sundries while Mr S-P asked about whatever it was he needed for the hives. I found a soap with a fragrance I had never heard of before that day, called Four Thieves. Turns out this is a blend of five essential oils that dates back to the days of the Black Death. There were spice traders in France who doused themselves in this blend of oils, which they believed would protect them from the bubonic plague, and then they would loot dead bodies. Gruesome backstory, but intoxicating fragrance.

That soap is almost used up now, but I still really like how it smells. I looked up online what the blend was, and realized I had 3/5 of the ingredients already. I had eucalyptus, clove, and lemon essential oils (but I didn't know the lemon was almost gone). I needed cinnamon and rosemary to complete it. I also needed something to mix it in. Here enters the brave versus stupid part of the story.

My daughter had chores to do, so she wasn't up for a trip to Natural Grocers for oils and Hobby Lobby for small jars. (Although now it occurs to me HL might have had the oils too.) For company, I brought along a handsome young man as my date. He really enjoyed being allowed to walk through the craft store without his hand being held, or worse, relegated to riding in a cart. There was a lot of "let's go this way," and "well, will you look at that." (I might be mis-remembering the second one. It was something like that, or "well, I'll be," or another cute old lady kind of phrase.) Turns out Dmitri really, really likes every shape and variety of Christmas greenery you can imagine. The trees, garlands, and wreaths were endlessly fascinating. In about six weeks, we will see just how dedicated he is to that whole experience. I remember his Professor Grabbyhands routine with the tree last year. This year maybe he will help decorate it, rather than the opposite.

After shopping and a trip through the car wash (he asked), I dropped him off and set about to blending. I used grapeseed oil as a carrier, and just haphazardly dunked in as much of each oil as I felt like. While I was doing it, it was ridiculously strong. I capped it, shook it, and I've been letting it blend and mellow while I shampooed the carpet. I intended to add little bits of it to an unscented hand lotion, or maybe heat it in a diffuser. All depends on whether I have the proportions right.