The tale of the dryer

    This past Monday, I changed the sheets on our bed. I have another bottom sheet, so I remade it right away. I took the sheets downstairs and put them in the washer. When they were done, into the dryer they went.


    After an hour, I went down to check on them. Sometimes fleece sheets need a second cycle. I opened the dryer door and inside, the sheets were still wet! Hmmm. I cleaned out the lint screen, closed the door and set another cycle. After the second hour, I checked again. The fracking sheets were still wet! Once again, I cleaned out the screen, and started the dryer. This time, I hung out for a minute then opened the door, to check if there was heat. There was heat. Hmmmm again.


     This time I set the kitchen timer for 30 minutes to remind me to do down before the cycle was finished. When the bell rang, I went downstairs. This time the sheets were damp and cold, so the dryer had shut off long enough for them to cool off.  I started it one more time, this time I stayed downstairs. I didn't have to wait long. The fracking dryer was turning off after 5 minutes!


    I took out the lint screen, and reached my hand down into the vent pipe. It was pretty clogged, and my hand didn't fit too well. But I pulled out what I could reach. Then I took a closer look at the screen itself. Almost all the little holes were solidly clogged. I unclogged out what I could, hoping it was enough to at least finish the sheets. I crossed my fingers, and started the dryer again. This last time, the bottom sheet was finally dry enough to fold and put away.  The top sheets, I put back on the bed.


    For those of you who don't remember, Hubs and I have separate covers on our bed. I credit that fact with the success and longevity of our marriage. Anyway, I brought the lint screen up with me, and found a bucket so I could soak it. It took several hours, but finally most of the goop was gone.


    While soaking the screen, it occurred to me that quite possibly the clogging was caused by the new fabulous laundry detergent I had made. I let the screen dry overnight, and the next day put it back in the dryer. This while time, I was pretty upset thinking "What if this doesn't work? How can I tell Hubs I need a new dryer?"...


    I kept my mouth shut, figuring with any luck I wouldn't need to do laundry until after Christmas. Unfortunately, Hubs needed me to wash some clothes Christmas Eve, so he had something nice to wear to our future daughter-in-law's parent's house for Christmas dinner.


    With great trepidation, I put the clothes into the dryer. I even sat down there on the steps for a while to see if the dryer would work. I sat there for 10 minutes, and it kept running!! I think we have success! I also used my old liquid detergent, just to be safe. Of course, Hubs wanted to know what took me so long, so I had to explain the whole thing to him. He told me that he had recently cleaned out the main vent pipe that goes out the wall, so that made me feel a bit better. I was worried that the whole thing might have been clogged solid.


    And that was my pre-Christmas drama. Next time you get to hear my report about Christmas! Lucky you! I'm sorry if you found this boring, but life isn't always exciting.

Errands and such

    Today I spent the day running errands, most of which I could do right from my chair. I finalized the baby shower by calling the restaurant and giving them the final guest count and menu choices.


    I took a call from my pulmonary specialist's assistant, and made appointments for a CAT scan and a follow-up visit. I also made more laundry sauce today.


    As I re-read the recipe, to make sure I do it right, I read some of the comments on the original post. If you really read the entire thing, it tells you explicitly that you cannot make substitutions in ingredients, or mason jar size, or anything. You have to do it exactly as written. Yet there are yahoos out there who don't follow the directions, and ask why it didn't turn out right. It's not like it's that complicated, it has only three ingredients, besides the water. I shake my head. It just boggles the mind.


    Anyway, I also went out today, to visit with a friend while she was at karate with her daughter. That didn't last long, as she ended up leaving, with the intention of picking said daughter up later. She didn't feel like sitting there for three hours today. I don't blame her. When I do it, it's strictly on a volunteer basis. I've already put in my time there.


    Before she left, we went to the supermarket. And as long as I was there, I thought I would order the cake for this weekends baby shower. So, the cake is now ordered. I hope everyone enjoys it! I'm really looking forward to this shower, and meeting some of my daughter's in-laws that I haven't met yet.


    At one point this morning, I remembered to call my mom, since today is her 81st birthday. I couldn't make dinner with her and Sara, but I am going to spend the day with her soon, and we'll do lunch.


    In between phone calls and errands, I got some knitting done as well. I also plan on doing more after dinner while watching TV with the Hubs. This blanket is never going to get done. I still have shower gifts to wrap, and edgings to crochet, and buttons to sew on too!


    Sometimes I feel that it never ends. I just can't wait for this baby to come!

A Kitchen Adventure

    It seems like fall is finally coming. Last night I had to close all the windows in the house before I went to bed. And this morning, I had to break out my felted slippers. For some reason, today I felt like making more laundry sauce.


    It's probably because yesterday my son's girlfriend stopped by for a visit on her way home from work. She spied the second jar of my laundry sauce on the kitchen counter, so I told her all about it. She knew, because she reads my blog. She took it home with her, I'm pretty sure it will work well on smelly karate uniforms.


    So today I thought I'd make some more. This time, I took some photos as I went along. Now, I know that last time I posted about this subject, so too many of you were impressed. I don't care. It really excited me, so I have to share.


First, I used my cheese grater and grated up the bar of Fels Naptha.

Here is a photo of my pot of water, heating up, with the other ingredients ready to go:

 

 

I couldn't take any photos of the next step, as I was busy stirring. But here's what the jars looked like after pouring in the mixture and turning them upside down:

 

 

    And lastly, the separation that occurred after only 10 minutes. This time I was watching!

     I successfully whipped both jars up, without getting too much overflow this time. Now I just have to make labels for them.


    This stuff is really cool. I'm sorry if you don't think it's awesome, but it makes me feel like a sort of pioneer who had to make everything herself. Except I have never made my own biscuits.  One thing at a time.

A purchase for future Grandbaby

    Last week when I was shopping with Sara in Target, I spotted something. The first thing I saw was this adorable face:

I went right over, and there was the cutest little three piece set, in newborn size. I fell in love with it! It comes with two onesies, a short sleeve one:

 

 

     I thought this was appropriate, since her hubs Mike is in a rock band. He plays the drums. Then there's the long sleeve onesie:

    It was so perfect, I threw it right in the basket and bought it. It's OK if I show it here, Sara saw me with it in the store. But she can't have it yet. It's mine to play with!


    On a different note, I somehow managed to fix the problems I was having with my laptop. Even the USB ports are working now, hence the photos! In desperation, I was looking around in the programs in there, and found a free trial version of one of those "cleaner upper" programs. I ran it, and it fixed the problems! I'll worry about it again in two more years.


    This means I can now show you the photo of my home made laundry detergent, when they were turned upside down, and it separated after twenty minutes:

 

     TAH DAH! There it is! One more thing, then I'll not tell you about the detergent any more. I used it again today when I washed our sheets and pillowcases. It worked very well, I'm convinced. And that's the last you'll hear of it.                                                                               

 

 

A random literary story and more

    I have been rereading the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series on my nook. All of them, in order. Yesterday I finished #3. I am having trouble getting #4 to load on my nook. But that's not the point.


    I've been living in this woman's world for a long, long time. I love these books, they are like old and dear friends. Anyway, any man in Anita's life knows that she is always armed, and never to walk on her right side, or hold her right hand. That's the hand she needs to draw her pistol from her shoulder holster.


    Well the other night, Hubs and I went to our favorite BBQ joint, Billy Bob's BBQ, in Poughkeepsie. There is no parking lot there, so you park a ways away and walk to it. We enjoyed our food, and as we left we were walking down the sidewalk hand in hand. As we were walking, I thought that he should be walking on my right side, since I'm left handed and would need my left hand free to pull my pistol from my shoulder holster. That is how immersed in Anita's world I can get. 


    P.S. The laundry detergent works pretty good! I am officially pleased. I did another load yesterday. Also yesterday my Hubs did some work on my Jeep and used it as a hand cleaner. He said it worked better than the store bought kinds. YAY! If at some future time I become disenchanted with this stuff, I will be sure to let you know. I think I have an idea of what some people are getting for Christmas....


    Now if you will excuse me, I need to call the 800 number that keeps appearing on my nook screen, "if this problem continues".

Laundry detergent and knitting

    Bright and early this morning after my first cup of coffee, I began the Great Laundry Detergent Experiment. I followed the directions on the website, and it worked! The solid stuff melted, the grainy stuff absorbed, it all got poured into the mason jars, and after twenty minutes, it was separated just like in the photos on the website.


    And in only an hour and a half more, I will be screwing the mixer blades onto the first mason jar and whipping the crap out of it. Then it will officially be finished. I can't wait to do my first load of laundry with it!


    I took a photo of the jars to show the separation, but for some reason the USB ports in my laptop have stopped working. I had intended to photograph the whole process, but forgot to get the camera. I wouldn't have had time to take any photos anyway, once you get started, you can't stop stirring.


    During the four hours I have to wait, I went to the store, took two bags of bottles and cans back, and now I'm knitting to pass the time. I'm still working on the super secret knitting project, and it's still almost one quarter done.

And now for something completely different....

    This morning while trolling on facebook, I came across a recipe for home made laundry detergent. I read through it completely, and was instantly fascinated. I thought I might try to make it.


    I made a list of the ingredients and since I had to make a supermarket run anyway, I thought I would see if they had what I needed. And they had everything! Well, except the canning jars. But I know of a local drug store that carries that kind of stuff year round, so I stopped there on my way home. I had to buy a dozen jars when I only need two but I can give the rest to a friend who cans.


    The last obstacle was a working blender. I have one that for sure doesn't work, and one I wasn't sure about. I just got it down, plugged it in and tried it. IT WORKS! So tomorrow I will be making the laundry detergent as shown in this link...

http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/whipped-cream-super-laundry-soap-3993.html


    It doesn't seem very difficult. If I didn't have a working blender I was going to follow the alternate instructions. It sure will save some money! Look for a future report on how it well it works. We have some clothing in this house that seems permanently stained. This new stuff could take care of that..... I will definitely let you know.