Boo!

Happy Halloween!

Blog Action Day

This is a little late in the day to mention this, however I just read about "Blog Action Day" on Kodachrome's blog. I'm about ready to crawl into my snuggly warm bed so I'm not so much into discussion right now (lame cop-out - sorry!), however I just remembered a blog post I was putting together several months ago. (Betsy, if you're reading, this one's for you!)

Homemade Laundry Detergent



I can't remember who to give credit to for this - I've seen it on several "green" blogs since I first found it online . It's truly my favorite detergent. I love the way it smells and it seems to get our clothes (even Flynno's stinky gym clothes) just as clean as any other laundry detergent I've tried. Plus no petroleum base and just a few simple ingredients.

1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
1 bar Fels Naptha (finely grated)
1/2 cup Oxy Clean (optional) - I didn't use it in mine, however, I throw some in white loads from time to time.

Mix well. Use 1 TBL for smaller loads, 2 TBLS for larger or heavily soiled loads. If I am doing a cold water wash I do run the warm water just for a minute to dissolve everything. I've never had a problem with partially dissolved granules. They seem to do just fine.

This detergent will not suds up. You can really see how much dirt (or fabric dye) is washing out of your clothes with this soap.

The cost is equal to or less than other detergents. The only drawback is the grating of the soap. WEAR RUBBER GLOVES. (Or risk losing some knuckle skin - ouch!) I found all of the ingredients at our QFC (Seattle supermarket - division of Krogers) in the laundry aisle. I've even seen some crafty entrepreneurs put this mix up on etsy and ebay. I put mine in a vintage glass container - but anything that will keep the moisture out will work fine.

The washing soda and borax come in handy for other cleaning around the house too.

For fabric softener I pour some vinegar into the rinse water ( at least when I remember - the clothes don't keep the scent) and we use dryer balls. The dryer balls weren't cheap - $20 at a locally owned pharmacy - I totally got suckered in by a good sales person at the cash register. I guess they work pretty well - the only difference I've noticed is there is no dryer sheet scent. I haven't used a dryer sheet in many months, but we're lucky we don't have such dry heat here in the NW. I'd be curious to see how this works out in my hometown - everything was always so static-y in the winter there.

That's all I got. Scooting off to bed. Over and out.

This caught my eye this morning.

Right outside my bedroom window. Fortunately, I'm not scared of spiders. I don't like to hang out with them, but I don't freak. Crows, spiders, what's next? Must be getting close to Halloween!

ECF

It's been forever and a day since I posted an Eye Candy Friday.


These lovely flowers were a surprise gift from the wonderful gals at Hilltop Yarn East. THANKS, LADIES! So pretty - and perfectly captured the spirit of Sailor's Delight.

I've been out of the blogging game for a while - what was I doing with my time, you ask? Well, I just spent 9 great days in central California for an amazing retreat. While I was there I did some crazy sh*t like WALKING ON FIRE and bending rebar (yea, the steel kind) with my NECK. Here's a like to a clip of someone else doing it - not me - but it's for real... (YOUTUBE LINK) We did a little wine tasting
and I even got just a little bit of knitting in.

Do I even need to say it's a monkey? This little guy has a modified (and not too well...) heel - I forgot the pattern in my hotel room and had to improvise out during a rather long Bob Proctor seminar. I'm so glad I had this Monkey sock to keep my eyes open on a sunny California afternoon! Now if I can just avoid the second sock syndrome!

Just to shake it up, here's a weird pic of my across-the-street neighbor's house yesterday. What's with the crows? There must have been at least 40 of them swarming the bush, powerlines, roof and street in front of her house. They were starting to dash off by the time I could grab my camera and head outside to take the photo. There didn't seem to be any fighting (we've seen that before in the same yard - it was kind of scary) - they were all just descending down and making a hell of a lot of noise. Any insights here? I felt like I was in an Alfred Hitchcock movie!

Happy weekend!