Laundry Detergent Recipe 2

I have previously commented on how I should have just tried what my friend over at Green's Going Green has posted instead of what someone else posted. But I googled when I made my first laundry soap, and forgot she had posted until I was having issues with the soap I had made.   So I tracked down the post she did from February 2011, and went to work.  You can find her original post here:  So Fresh and So Clean, Clean.  I did not use the same brand of soap as she did.  I used Kiss My Face Olive Oil Soap.  One 8 oz bar gave me enough to make 2.5 batches of the recipe. 

 Remember when I said I love my new kitchen aid mixer?  Well.....I REALLY LOVE IT.  I finally pulled out the grater yesterday and I had this soap grated into small pieces in no time.  It was grate!  :-)  It did take a little while though, it was a lot of soap!

I mixed in my Borax, Washing Soda and Baking soda, put it in a pickle jar of course and I was ready for use!  Instead of Lavender oil which Big L and I are both a bit bothered by, we decided on sage.  My towels smell and feel very clean after using this.  For fabric softener I have just been adding vinegar to the softener dispenser.  It works wonderfully, and we aren't allergic to it! 

Strawberry Jam! YUM!

 It is strawberry season, which is a happy time in our household.  We all love fresh strawberries.  They are a staple to our evening meals.  This year I decided to try my hand at making strawberry jam, which is a favorite among the sandwich eaters among us.  While cleaning out my cupboard the other day I found this book, Canning for a New Generation.  I had completely forgotten about it.  When I first tried canning a few years ago I purchased it.  Unfortunately, I was pregnant at the time and NOTHING in it sounded good.  CRAZY!!!!!  Fortunately, I have recovered from whatever madness that was and I am now trying out some recipes.  Also, while researching safe BPA free jars, I discovered WECK.  These jars are beautiful, and I was anxious to try them out and see how they worked. 

 I bought 6 pounds of strawberries and tripled the Strawberry Jam recipe in the book.  Did I mention we LOVE strawberries?  I only bought so many because the price was right and they were organic.  Dicing them was a bit tiring, but I finally got it done.  I cooked my berries with sugar and lemon juice.  I left out the zest.  I have yet to really truly like zest in anything I make. 

 These are my cooked berries with the syrup drained off. 

 This is the syrup as I cook it down a bit.  Can I just say that the smell from my kitchen this day was glorious?  I was in a good mood, despite being tired of standing in the kitchen just because of the smell. 

 Everything was added back together and cooked a bit more.  I then put the jam in my new jars, added the seal, lid and clamp and put them in the water bath.  These jars sealed so easily and so well, and I didn't have to keep checking on the center.  After one hour, you try to lift off the lid.  It didn't budge, so I knew I had a seal. 

 I let them sit overnight and then labeled.  My only problem that day was depth perception.  I did not fill my jars as much as I should have.  I also had the jars the recipe said I needed, or at least thought I did and had to add another big one in the end.  That big one will be the first opened, because Big L, who has never been a fan of the store bought strawberry jam really loved this stuff, she wants to just eat it out of the jar.  Maybe I will finally get her to eat a sun butter and jam sandwich!

Gardening additions, upside down plants, succulents and squash

I groupon-ed the other day and ordered these upside down planters.  My pepper plants needed to be thinned in the pot they were in, so I moved three into the three hanging planters.  So far they have survived the transplant, now to see how this upside down growing goes. 

 I have a lot of squash growing on my plants.  The zucchini was being a little camera shy, but you may see that there is a double squash growing in there.  Weird.  I also was able to harvest a cucumber but it was eaten before a proper picture could be taken.  IT WAS GOOD!

 I bought some more succulents the other day.  Though the aloe in the chicken soup bowl is actually from a big plant I removed from the garden.  They are all doing quite well, and I have learned to how to grow more from what I have, so hopefully I won't have to buy as many all the time. 

That pretty little cactus in the middle was an impulse buy, but isn't it pretty? 

All of this is working towards my vision of how my patio should be.  We are not there yet, but maybe, just maybe we will be by July 4 when I plan on having a little party.  We will see!

A place to sit and ponder....

 With the terrible two has come a large use of the time out chair.  We were using a table chair, but that sends a bit of a mixed message when you sit down to eat dinner.  So IKEA also provided me a cheap chair.  I decided to decorate it! 

I also decided to call it the family's time out spot, because amazingly the older L has been going to time out lately too.  Plus, I wanted the ability to sit there myself when I need a moment to pause before reacting, or when I just need a break.  

 Love, hope and patience are what we hope will grow as we sit. 

 I made it very colorful.  It is a punishment in a way, but I want them to think of it more as a place to think and calm down, not sit and scream because they don't want to be there. 

And so, I put, where I sit and ponder how my words and actions effect the ones I love, and those who love me, most.  So far they like it and it is being used....frequently. 

FINALLY starting to quilt

Just to give you an idea of the size of this quilt....the king size batting fits, and there is fabric over the side.  I have had this put together and ready to go for some time, I just hadn't taken the time to spray adhesive my layers and get to quilting.  Partly because of the anxiety I have been feeling over having this huge quilt on my little machine.  The other night I told myself no more excuses, had the hubby help me clean the garage floor, lay it out flat, spray, layer, spray layer.  Then I ironed, and started quilting.   

 Before starting I loaded 10 bobbins.  Unfortunately I think I will need 20-30 more.  I ran out of thread the other night, but I am ready, and getting better at using the free motion foot, so that is a plus!

 I stitched all my vertical ditches.  Then started quilting on the side.  I didn't have a firm plan for patterns, I have just been doing what I can with hearts and flowers.  I only got the border on one side quilted before I ran out of thread, but It looks decent, and feels great. 

My attempt at connected hearts.  It doesn't look too shabby for a first.  I can't believe I never bought the free motion foot attachment before.  I think I am in love.  Hopefully in a few weeks I will have a finished quilt to show you, then I will also show the very small machine I am doing this on.  One thing, I never knew it took so much upper body strength to quilt this way!

A place to store my gardening tools

I have been in need of a storage chest for my gardening tools, seeds and books for quite some time.  I was looking around trying to find one I could refurb, but they were either too big, too wide, or just plain too much for something that is going to sit on my patio.  

Thankfully, IKEA has this little dresser for $35.  

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It was rather plain, so I gathered up my paints and Big L and we went to work.  

 On top I put two sunflowers and my two girls.  In front flowers and Emerson. 

This side is Big L's interpretation of Jack and the Beanstalk, were jack uses a ladder to climb the beanstalk, and the giant is nice because he lives in the love mountains.  

This side is a rainbow with four flowers, one for each of us.  They have our initials in them. 

Once the patio is done I will show you how it fits with the other stuff around it and give you a good shot of the front.  It turned out much nicer than I thought, and the more I paint the more comfortable I am with paint, though I will always prefer pencils, markers and pastels I think.  Note to self, paint THEN assemble!

This is just the right size for my pruning shears, my gloves, my books, and my seeds.  LOVE IT!

Face cleanser? Not for me!

The other day I ran out of face wash/cleanser.  So I went to my book, Eco Beauty, and found a recipe for Honey Bear Cleanser.

It is simple, honey water and liquid soap, and I have been using it for a week now, but I can honestly say I don't like it.  I will likely use it until it is gone, but then I am going to find another face cleanser.  This one smells a little funny and is too runny to really rub into your face so you feel clean.  With warmer temps getting hotter by the day I need something refreshing that will make my face feel clean.  Honestly, this is not it!  But I tried.

I also had to make more laundry detergent, and after this second batch I think I am going to be trying a different recipe.   Everything can't work perfectly.