Wakey Wakey

There's a Snakey!

Snake Trail

Not something I want to see on my morning walk!  Although at least it wasn't the slithery thing it belonged to. Ew!

What else have you  missed the past few days... let's see.  I went back to school yesterday and got a TON done in my room (I'll share pics when I get it all set up).  I moved upstairs to the "penthouse" this year, so I have a new room again.  It's AWESOME.  I'm on the top floor with a corner room, so I have several beautiful window views to gaze out of.  Instead of working.  Hmmm..that could be dangerous.

I've been going on my morning walks earlier and earlier, trying to get in the groove for "back to school".   The sun is so pretty coming up through the trees (and so much cooler than the 110+ we've been getting midday around here.)

I even got sprinkled on one day.  See, here's the one sprinkle:

That's pretty much the gist of my week, in photos! (and if you follow me on twitter you already saw them, ha!)

I did not get my dresses overnighted to sweet Rachel and her husband who are on their way to Haiti tomorrow, but she did give me a contact to her organization so that I can mail the package to them instead. Hopefully this group of dresses will go out with the next team.  Thank you SO MUCH to Tricia and Rachel.  I'll unbox the dresses this morning and snap some photos so you can see this batch!  They're so cute.

So many of you offered to contact groups or friends for me, and I appreciate every one of you!  Please do let me know if they are interested and I'll spread my dresses around.  My email is up in the right hand corner of this blog if you'd rather contact me personally.

I've had some of the best, most thoughtful and insightful conversations about donating to charitable organizations and philanthropy in general this week via email with several of you.  I heard from many readers (you lurkers you!) whom I had never gotten to know before, and I loved that part!

You guys are the best! 

ps...would you believe I just last night opened my July Burda Style?? I'll try to form some coherent thoughts about this issue and share them this weekend too.  I've even got a swishy SKIRT planned.  Yes!  Sewing!

Happy Weekend!

How does your garden grow?

I keep a little garden patch in the back yard in the summer.  It's only about 5' x 7', but I can cram a lot of goodies in that small space!  You can't see in this photo, but I also have a couple of pumpkin plants too.

I basically have no idea what I'm doing every year.  I just pick out the seeds I'd like to try and my dad plows my spot.  I have really good luck with tomatoes (but I got a late start this year so I've only had 2 ripe ones so far!) and lettuce and cucumbers.  The pole beans are pretty out of control too, so that will be fun!  I love fresh green beans.

Pretty little cucumbers...

Watermelons!  I *accidentally* grew a watermelon plant over my fence one year (in the cow pasture) because that's where we threw our used up rinds after eating watermelon!  These plants were "planned" though. ;)

Finally, I'm going to have fresh, ripe tomatoes!  Yay!

My lettuce has been picked many times so far this summer.  I love running out to the patch to grab some lettuce for a salad or for my sandwich.  Does it taste better if you grow your own??  It seems like it!

Today's lunch: lettuce & cucumbers for a salad!  (and Rodney's nose.  He's nosey.)

Monday I made a batch of liquid laundry soap!  Last batch I did the powdered version, which is quicker and easier to store.  I really prefer the liquid though and a month of using the powder didn't convert me.  So I went back to the liquid method.  Here's one of my four "storage" bottles of laundry soap:

(I don't have little ones, so I can use the empty juice container, I wouldn't of course if I had curious kidlets!)

I use recipe #3 from this page: 10 Homemade Laundry Soap Recipes, except I use these proportions (I use #4 when I do the powdered version):
1/2 bar Fels Naptha
1 c washing soda
1/2 c Borax

Everything else I follow as written, except I don't measure any of the water.  I just add enough to the pot to cover the grated soap shavings by an inch or so, and then I add 2 gallons of water to the tub to mix it all up.  I pour it into a bunch of different containers (the yield is about 2.5-3 gallons!)

I have a Gain liquid detergent bottle that is my "main" container, so I can use the convenient measuring cup lid. I also have filled a gallon OJ container, the apple juice container, an empty Downy bottle, and the entire Gain bottle.  That's a lot of liquid detergent!  Total cost is something like $2.

There are lots and LOTS of mixed reviews online about homemade laundry detergent/soap (technically it's a soap).  I take anything I read online with a grain of salt! As with anything, I say try it and see if you're interested.  A friend of mine at work gave me a 1/2 gallon to try a year ago, and she had good things to say.

Personally, I haven't experienced anything negative.  Our clothes are clean.  I spot treat with the extra bar of Fels Naptha I keep on hand (I just wet it and rub it on the stain.  Instructions are on the package.)  I only have to make a new batch every few months, and it's CHEAP.

Some people complain online of "dingy whites", which I think is due to the missing optical brighteners most store bought detergents have added in.  My grandma used "blueing" for this.  I remember the tiny bottle on her laundry shelf!  I think you can still buy it.  I haven't noticed dingy whites...I do bleach my whites once or twice a month, but I had to do that with regular detergents too.  I also line dry whenever I can, which I think brightens things up too.

I do use Downy.  I'm not converted to white vinegar as a fabric softener (although the white vinegar tips website does say it's a brightener for whites and colors in the laundry!)  We just love the smell of Downy!

Wow, this turned into a country girl post, ha!  Hope you enjoyed the side road. ;)