Even More Whiteness

As I have been helping my son whiten his clothes, we have also been working on underarm stains.

Again...don't know why his clothes seem to have this problem and ours don't--same machines and products, yet different outcomes.

Along with the super whitening, I found this recipe for underarm stains that also works great.

REMEDY FOR YELLOWED UNDERARMS

1 part Dawn dish washing liquid

2 parts hydrogen peroxide

some baking soda

mix together

using a brush apply liquid to affected areas

let stand for about an hour

If needed, brush more peroxide to affected areas, wait awhile longer

rinse clothes out before washing as usual.

Some of the shirts we treated cleaned up with the first application, some needed more peroxide, scrubbing and time.

All of the shirts came out clean and white, you could almost see it working before your very eyes.

I love clean laundry.  

PS...I put my liquid fabric softener into a clear glass iced tea jar with a spout, it looks so nice sitting on the shelf in my laundry room.  I like the clean lines.

Bright White

My son's white clothes have been looking a bit dingy lately.

He does his laundry in our machines, with our same products, yet the outcome is quite different.

I've been on a quest to help him return to bright white, and I am winning.

I have been making my own laundry detergent for a number of years now, and it works great.

I just found a recipe for super whitening, and it works great, too.  Say good-bye to dingy, off white undies, and hello to bright whites once again.

EXTRA WHITENING POWER CLEANER

Bring 2 large pots of water to a boil

1/4 to 1/2 cups laundry detergent

1/2 cup powdered dishwasher detergent

 **1/2 cup bleach

1/4 cup borax

Place boiling water and cleaners into a large bucket.

Add clothes, one at a time.

Let soak a few hours, or overnight.

Dump bucket full into washer.

Wash on hottest setting--no extra detergent is necessary.

If possible--dry in the sun.

Works best on cottons.

**If synthetics need whitening--omit the bleach--

Substitute 1/2 cup peroxide and 2 tablespoons lemon juice-- proceed as before.

The results have been wonderful, hope it works as well for you.

White clothes should be white, not dingy grey--right?

Floored

Last spring we looked at our schedule and decided that a few weeks at home would offer the time needed to lay the wood floor in our Dining Room.

So we ordered the floor, it arrived and we put the pieces in the front room to acclimate and wait.

Then our daughter called with the news that she needed to have back surgery AGAIN.

The flooring pieces continued to wait in the front room until a new window of time could open up.

Weeks and months passed, still the flooring pieces sat in the front room, welcoming our guests, waiting.

Then, we looked at the calendar and realized we had a few weeks together scheduled to be at home.

Wake up floor, it is time. 

It took a week to prepare the sub floor, we had to remove the carpet and secure the sub floor to be sure we did not have any squeaks.

Two weeks to cut and lay the floor boards.

A week to top nail, distress, sand and buff.. (a special thank you to my sons and home teachers for hammering those thousand nails and counter sinking them)

Hours and hours on our knees staining the floor, praying the stain would match the kitchen and landing floors that it would connect. (It matches)

Now to oil the floor, a few more hours on our knees.

We have been waiting 13 years to lay this floor and it is beautiful.

Heart pine.  Random width.  Hand sanded.

A sturdy floor to last decades.

As I look at the kitchen floor we laid 11 years ago I see so much history in the groves, scratches and wear.

The dining room floor is already telling it's own story of family and friends.

Our first celebration will be Thanksgiving.

This floor is a work of love.  Hours and hours over several weeks as my husband and I cut, nailed, sanded, stained and oiled.

Each new scratch over the decades to come will add to the beauty of the floor and record the activities of our every day life

The dining room is home to my grandmothers table, my husband's grandmothers chairs, and a pretty rug I bought with an inheritance from my Nana.

For Thanksgiving we will gather our children and grandchildren in the dining room, connecting the generations.

A humble floor.

A foundation to stand on.

A work of love.

Girls Camp

Ever since before I was born my family has gone camping.

I love to sleep outside and cook over a fire.

Now I would not love to do this on a 24/7 routine, but for a week, once a year, I am in heaven.

I love the peace of no TV or telephone.

The smell of bacon in the morning sets the mood for a wonderful day.

I enjoy creating a delicious meal for my family using the fire and a few simple tools, it makes me feel content.

I like being able to sit under a tree with a good book and not feel the need to go anywhere.

I like that my children can run and yell and carry on all day long.

I enjoy stories and songs around the campfire in the evening.

It is true that camping is a bit of work to get ready, but over the years I have gathered plastic bins that stay packed with supplies.

It is true as well that cleaning up after is a chore, but I have a wonderful washing machine, and it is camping gear, it will wait on the deck while I get the job done.

This year I am camping with the girls from church, I am the cook.

My husband is worried about me, I am thrilled for the opportunity.

Yesterday I practiced baking brownies in a cardboard box with charcoal, they were yummy--totally amazing.

Today I make the last minute lists to be sure I don't forget anything--old brains need a little help.

Tomorrow we load it up and start a fun adventure.

I am so excited.

Paint and Paper

I have been wearing my designer painting clothes all week. They look very interesting with their splotches of color I have dripped and wiped away. I always wonder why I choose the light colored paint clothes when I am using dark stain and the dark clothes when I am painting with white?? Sometimes my choices are a bit questionable.

I have been climbing on ladders, squatting near the floor, reaching and twisting trying to finish this project before we head out to pick up two sweet 8 year old grand children--but that is next week's story.

I have learned that a bit of paint and some clean lines make a space seem bigger--even when you put the same amount of things back into that space. We painted all of the woodwork white and found a pretty shade of taupe for the walls that make the white woodwork stand out--yet when you look into the room it seems quite neutral and light.

A number of years ago I transferred my dish washing detergent into a pretty bottle. The pretty bottle sits on the counter ready for service looking lovely and tidy. When it is near empty I fill it up again from the bottle with a label that I keep hidden in the cupboard. Using a bottle that has a pretty color and shape makes the sink edge look lovely and not just functional. Now I am working on my laundry room trying to get the same effect with laundry detergent, bleach, oxyclean and fabric softener. I have a number of baskets just the right size and a few white buckets that just might do the job.

One lasting thing that happened from all of this fun is that I twisted myself into a permanent pretzel. My hip hurts like the dickens.

Usually when I over exert myself it takes a few days for this grandma body to recuperate and soon I am back to being myself again. This time everything started feeling better except my hip. OH NO!! In fact it has hurt so bad it is difficult to sleep and is worse in the morning.

I called my doctor to see if I could get a recommendation to see my favorite physical therapist (we became quite friendly over the year long frozen shoulder, but that too, is a story for another day). Unfortunately, when I call the doctor I get the people at the desk and they do not always feel the urgency or timeliness I try to communicate through my pleas. I thought that with the two weeks before our trip I might be able to work in 4 or maybe 5 visits to the physical therapist. NO!! They would not let me see the doctor until 5 days later.

The doctor was apologetic as she gave me a shot to ease the pain. She recommended some rest while others finished my project. Now, I do not know about you, but if I want to find something I really should be the one putting it away in the first place. I pretty much can tell you where most things are in my house. But, my sweet husband still asks where items in the kitchen go when he empties the dish washer and they have lived in the same place since we remodeled the kitchen 10 years ago and he is a regular kitchen helper.

The room will get put back together this week slow and steady as I limp along. Finally, after two weeks the washer is hooked up and ready to tackle the mountain of wash we have waiting. The new freezer will be delivered on Tuesday. By Friday the house will be tidy, the car will be packed and we will be off to the next adventure--taking two cute 8 year olds on a roadtrip to remember.

Today, I am thankful for Sunday and the commandment to take a day of rest. I will tackle all of the chaos in my house again tomorrow.

Crafting with the Girls

I am visiting my daughter this week.

Today we are working on a project for the young women at church.

Three generations sitting down with watered down paint and wooden blocks.

It brings back memories from when my grandmother visited about 10 years ago.

I had a pile of vintage silverware that needed to be polished.

My mother, grandmother and I spent many hours over the course of several days wiping, washing and shining.

My grandmother was elbow deep in blackness.

The end result was beautiful.

Our blocks will be beautiful when they are finished as well.

Three different generations in the same family.

The last time I was the grand daughter, this time the grandmother.

Passing down the desire to make our homes and lives lovely with the work of our own hands.

It has been a good visit

Get It Done

I've been gone for two weeks and the two weeks before that we were doing a mini redo of our kitchen--and I am a slow worker--so as you can imagine there is a list a mile long of things that need to get done from:

• empty the suitcase
• pack up the extras that we cleaned out of the kitchen
• necessary correspondence
• is that a Christmas item hiding out?
• why did you put it in the sewing room-- just because I wasn't here to protect my space?
• baskets of laundry wanting attention

I wrote a list this morning--put it in priority and started. Got sidetracked by a magazine and then a blog I wanted to check out, went to visit my daughter's blog and smiled at my grandchildren, had a thought and here I am.

Gotta get back to basics and get it done. No more distractions. Tunnel vision is a good thing when you have a list. Need tunnel vision glasses for a day like today.

I have a list and I am off to get it done. Need to stick to the list.

10 in the Bed

My daughter and her sweetheart are off and I have the privilege of caring for their children while they are gone. Eden and I have been having fun taking care of household matters while her brother is at school.

I have been a preschool teacher for almost as many years as I have been an adult. I have learned that almost everything a mom and child does at home can be a learning experience.

Yesterday, Eden and I practiced our backwards counting. It started innocently enough with the need to make the beds and soon we were bouncing and singing and counting.

When I went to climb into my bed last night there was hardly room for me--Eden had piled all of her stuffed animals and dolls into the bed and I felt like saying--"toys in the bed and the grandma said 'Roll over, roll over' So they all rolled over, and one fell off, leaving......."

After a short nights sleep--5:30m comes so early--Eden and I are off to enjoy our day. Hope you enjoy yours too!

Sunday Dinner

When I was a little girl my grandma would cook a Sunday meal and invite her family to share it with her. Roast beef, mashed potatoes swimming in gravy and home made rolls with melted butter. All these years later I can still smell and taste the delicious offering.

When we moved away my mom would cook a roast or chicken every Sunday. My other grandparents would come visit and I have many happy memories of our family lingering over a good meal with pleasant conversations.

When my sweetheart and I were married we shared Sunday dinner with my parents at their house for the first few years. Later, after my parents moved, I started cooking Sunday dinner at our house and have done so for over 30 years now.

Today I was excited to fix Sunday dinner for my family in my renovated kitchen. I read the instructions for the new stove and set the timer to cook the roast while we were at church. We returned home and were greeted by the smell of roast beef. The rolls were raising on the counter and ready to put in the oven. I started the water boiling for the mashed potatoes and vegetables. Put the drippings on the burner to make the gravy then realized that the burners were not heating.

OH, NO!! What is this?? I got out the manual and read the instructions. Looked for safety features that might be causing this phenomenon. Found the hot plate from the original remodel 10 years ago to finish the gravy. Put the veggies in the microwave.

When I have a hungry family to feed, I will figure out how to do it. One year we lost electricity just as I was cooking Christmas dinner--my sweet husband got out the camp stove for that meal. Today I am thankful for alternative cooking methods inside the house and grateful I do not need to build a fire and get out the dutch oven.

Today we had a meal to remember. It tasted delicious, not cooked with conventional methods, but a hungry family was fed and an enjoyable conversation enjoyed. Tomorrow I will make telephone calls. What will the answer be????

Return and Report

I've been busy working on that to-do list I created for myself the other day.

Sometimes when I am overwhelmed I have found it helps if I write it all down and then start whittling away at the mountain until it becomes a mole hill I can live with.

With the help of my sweetheart we got the laundry folded and mostly put away. I've been working on cleaning out the cabinets and sorting through things I really do not need anymore. The repair man came to visit and after a bit of work and hot water things are functioning like they are supposed to. The small art brush and I have been friends today doing the touch up of straight paint lines.

I talked to a few friends yesterday and they still have their Christmas up so I decided not to worry about that today, maybe this weekend--besides--I love the tree lights at night.

While I was out paying the Tax Man yesterday I stopped to look for a 2011 calendar and found a pretty one for just $1--guess waiting until after the start of the year has a few benefits. I think I will set up a new household information center not in my kitchen, my ideas are still working on that one.

Yes, the mountain is becoming a size I can handle. I try to remember the little engine at times like this:

I think I can, I think I can!

Peaches

Today I have 2 boxes of peaches waiting to be prepared for winter delight.

As a young girl I remember walking home from Grandma's house with a jar of frozen peaches for a treat. Winter was warmed by the taste of delicious summer peaches in a sweet syrup. Grandma's freezer was always filled with jars of amber goodness.

Today as I put on my apron and start the stovetop cooking I am thinking of my grandma. I am hoping that as I bring out the summer bounty in the cold of winter, I too, can make happy memories for my family. Continuing a family tradition for another generation is important work.

The sun is shining-- warm--not hot. The flowers are in full bloom. The birds are chirping.
I feel happy inside.

It is a perfect day.