Homemaking

Have you ever made homemade laundry detergent? It's really simple and a little goes a long way. Detergent is so expensive, and for just a few dollars you can make 2 gallons of detergent without all the chemicals. Here's how...

I purchased this soap at my grocery store. This one bar will make three batches of 2 gallon detergent.

You'll also need to buy these two items which are easy to find at most grocery stores.

 

The first step is to grate about 1/3 of the soap bar into a large pot.

 

 

 

Next you add 2 quarts of water (8 cups), and heat on medium until the shavings dissolve.

Next add 1/2 cup of the washing soda, and 1/2 cup of Borax and stir until it dissolves into the water.

 

 

Turn off the heat and add 2 more quarts of water to the pot.

 

 

 

Divide this between 2 gallon jugs (I reused vinegar jugs). Fill each about 1/2 full and then add 2 more quarts of water to each jug. The consistency will be thinner than store bought detergent, but you will only need to use 1/2 cup for regular washers, and 1/8 cup for HE washers per load.

I always shake the detergent a little before I use it for a load of laundry.

Just so you know, vinegar is a great rinse agent and fabric softener in laundry,

and your clothes do not end of smelling of vinegar.

There are several different recipes for homemade detergent that are easy to find on the internet.

Give it a try!

 

Winter Days

 

We woke up this morning to beautiful snow!

It started last evening, and snowed until around 11 PM. It was so peaceful to watch.

The kids wanted the day off of school, but I said, "No."

I was merciful, and gave us a 1/2 day of school, then we went out to enjoy the snow.

 

 

It was a beautiful sunny day which was very nice because it has been raining all week.

 

 

The trees were so dramatic in their coat of white.

We did a little sledding, and then...

 

 

We made a very sweet lady snowperson. I like her smile.

 

 

How do you like her hat? She just had to have a cute hat.

 

 

Someone else likes hats in our family.

We had a great family day in the snow, they seem to come so rare for us,

but it was a really nice change.

I hope we have another day like today before winter leaves us. 

Enjoy your family today!

 

 

 

 

 

Good Food

I love one dish meals. It's so easy and delicious.
The weather around my house has been so rainy and cold, that I have been wanting to make a hot pot of something. I made some tacos for supper the other night and used venison as the ground meat. I had some left, so I decided to turn it into chili beans for last nights supper. All I needed was canned beans, diced tomatoes, and chili seasoning.

Any brand will do

 

I just warmed the meat in a soup pot, added these ingredients, and got it to boiling. I turned down the heat to a simmer and covered it.

 

 

 

 

Next, I decided to make a salad. My husband and I have been trying to eat a salad every night with supper. I now really love salad. I usually used Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and one small Gala apple diced up. Sometimes I add more vegetables if they are in season. I love garlic and herb dressing on this salad. It has a sweet and sour taste with the apples - Ummm!

 

 

You can't have chili beans without good old cornbread. So, that was next on my menu. I just buy a bag of cornmeal, and follow the directions on back of the bag. I am trying to lose weight, so just one piece for me, but boy was it good!

 

 

You should try this quick and easy meal sometime when you have leftover ground meat. It cooks up quickly, and is so good.



 

Creative Whimsy

I love to go treasure seeking in thrift stores, antique shops and the Goodwill. I also love owls, so I scored one day when I found this cute owl. I'm not exactly sure what it is. It looks like maybe a napkin holder, but I loved the stain glass look of the colors, and the graphic nature of the owl, so I bought it.

Isn't he cute!

 

 

I keep him in my kitchen window so that the light will shine through the colors. One day I had the idea to draw him. I wanted to have some "me time." I need this time when you are home all day with three children homeschooling, cleaning, cooking, LAUNDRY!!- So I drew him on watercolor paper with the intent to paint it.

You can see that I decided to color him instead. I used my cheap colored pencils (one day I will have a nice set for craft projects).

 

 

My "me time" has to be broken up into small time slots, so this took several settings before I finished him, but I like it.

 

Isn't he the cutest thing.

Here's a close up...

 

Sometimes we just need to do something, just for the sake of being creative. I really enjoyed creating this little guy. I think that I will fame it and hang it somewhere. He makes me smile.

 

 

 



A New Start

It's has been awhile since my last post. I guess that life has been just really busy, but I do want to be more consistent in blogging this year. I will be attempting to learn all the blogging ins and outs so that I can post at least three days a week.

My two youngest have been involved in our community basketball league, and so we have been spending our Saturdays at the local school's gym. I though I would share a few pictures of my daughter's lastest game (they lost, but they sure had fun).

 

She's number 23.

 

Most of the pictures didn't turn out so well, but I did get a good shot of her after the game.

 

 

She loves being part of the team, and making friends.

 

She and her dad have been busy doing chalk drawings on our driveway. The weather has been so mild here in North Carolina that it has felt like Spring.

 

 

 

A moon with Mickey Mouse ears - What?

A very happy sun (sorry about the shadow)

Ma and Pa (very cute)

 







There was also a very fine dragon, but he was so big that I couldn't get all of him in the picture frame. He was very colorful. The recent rain has washed the canvas clean, but I'm sure they will return again on one of the mild days. Hope you are enjoying some nice weather.