Laundry Soap ~ Stitched Cards

A few asked how I make my laundry detergent.  I simply grate a bar of unscented homemade goat's milk soap (you can use a bar of Zote as well), add 8 cups of water, and heat until melted.  I then add 1 1/2 cups borax and 1 1/2 cups washing soda, and continue to heat and stir until dissolved. . .

Weekend Travel

The reason my laundry was up before the sunrise last Friday?  A college campus tour.   After traveling 260 miles round trip and paying $12.50 in road toll fees, we are pretty sure our next child will be attending college there.

The Hubs drove.  Need I say more?  If my brother and sister-in-law were driving behind us, they would have been gasping.  

On our way home, we passed an A & W drive-in.  Remember those?  We had one in our home town growing up.  We passed it, Hubby pulled off the road, then pulled a "Dukes of Hazard" straight across all lanes of traffic, and up (yes, up) the the entrance to the drive-in.  Needless to say, any projectiles in the car went flying.  People were staring at us.  I was shrinking in my seat and trying to recover, and make sure we were still all okay.  So after that, I really needed a weekend off.

We went camping.  

Hankering for a getaway

(photo from a previous trip)

Hubby and I have checked the campground on the island - booked solid.  Everyone else must have the same idea.  Other than non-electric sites that have no water view.  I love the water because it's very relaxing and I can enjoy the sunrises every morning.  It bums me out we can't go.

I'll get over it.  Maybe. 

Random Tidbits

(tomatoes heating for freezing tomato juice)

(ketchup reducing)

Yesterday while more ketchup was reducing on the stove, and in another pot I was heating tomatoes for tomato juice, I took my lunch to the porch.  It was kind of my "five minutes" to myself part of the day.
 
I picked more green and red bell peppers, and wandered around checking the tomatoes.  There are more green ones on the larger tomato plants yet.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce ~ Taste Testing

(early morning, before the sunrise, cup of coffee in a snowflake coffee cup I got from Mom)

While I've been busy canning and gardening, the spiders have been busy - webs all over the inside and outside of our home.  I  have been busy and knocking them all down.   I'm still preserving with tomatoes. 

This morning's sunrise was beautiful.  It slowly turned into a gray sky today, and rain is in the forecast.  Actually they are telling us to expect strong thunderstorms starting around noon. 

Happy Homemaker Monday

Joining Happy Homemaker Monday, with Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

Canning it Up

I canned more pints of pizza sauce.  There was no voting on what to can, considering we had just made pizzas the night before.  I'm exhausted this morning.  I was sealing jars way past 7pm, and still had laundry that needed to come off the line.  On a Sunday no less. 

After getting the laundry down. . .