Work? Optional!

21 Aug 2014 2 Comments

by alightningbug in The Daily Prompt, Writing Tags: , , ,

The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt for today, Thursday, August 21, is Work? Optional!

If money were out of the equation, would you still work? If yes, why, and how much? If not, what would you do with your free time?

How on earth did it get to be August 21 already? I want more summer! With this attitude you might think that if money were out of the equation, I’d stop working. But that wouldn’t be the case. Not exactly anyway. I’d still want to work, but I’d work less.

I want to have more time with my daughter and do fun things with her. Just be there more often even if we’re not specifically doing anything. See more movies. Make more cookies. Craft more crafty projects. Just hang out.

Believe it or not, I want more time to clean and organize my home. While it is mostly windowless STILL, as repairs continue, I continue to be in need of organizing and purging in a dramatic way. I do not enjoy going through and getting rid of things. It always takes me too long, so I don’t get nearly as much done as I should. When I didn’t work full time, I was better at it. Not great, mind you, but better.

But I need my brain to keep moving. I need to get out and do something. Not just a bunch of fun things, but a job with a purpose. So I’d keep working at something even if money were no object. I feel like work keeps people young. Not overwork, but just getting out and doing. Having a goal and purpose.

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Horse Sense? Extreme Maneuvers, A Short Story

20 Aug 2014 1 Comment

by alightningbug in Short Stories, Uncategorized, Writing Tags: , , ,

Please check out my latest story, Extreme Maneuvers, on Enchanted Spark.

This was written for Enchanted Spark’s last Photo Flare Contest. It’s a flash fiction piece based on two lovely photos which you can see on that site along with the story. While there, check out some if the other awesome stories, photos that inspired them, and blog posts.

At the time I wrote the story, I did not know if the horse photo was of actual Chincoteague Ponies. The photos are posted without captions.

Also known as Assateague horses, Chincoteague Ponies are a feral breed that live wild on Assateague Island. Residing on the East Coast, a few hours drive from that area, I have seen them before but not as often as I’d like.

They’re a relatively short horse and have round bellies due to the high salt content of their diet of salt marsh grasses. To offset the salt, they drink twice as much water as other breeds.

The story was inspired largely by the photo of the two ponies, but also by a water fall image that was one of several from which we could choose. It looks a lot like sections of Great Falls. I’ll have to ask where that was taken. In my story it features prominently in Wilber’s mind.

I’ve really enjoyed Enchanted Spark contests. It’s been great for me to have a goal and object of focus to help move things along – to help me propel a story into being. Thanks, Melinda and Julie and Enchanted Spark!

The Name’s The Thing, Sparky

15 Aug 2014 1 Comment

by alightningbug in The Daily Prompt, Uncategorized, Writing

The Daily Post’s Daily Prompt for Thursday, August 14 is The Name’s The Thing. It asks:

Have you ever named an inanimate object? (Your car? Your laptop? The volleyball that kept you company while you were stranded in the ocean?) Share the story of at least one object with which you’re on a first-name basis.

Oh looky here! I found a blog post. How’d that get here? Finally.

My blog has a name does that count? I don’t really talk to it or anything, though. I guess I write to it, sort of. If it has a name, but I don’t talk to it is that OK? Somehow I feel like if it has a name I should talk to it … at least sometimes.

My first car had a name. I called it Sparky. I know it’s probably not a very original name for a car. Sparks. Spark plugs. I wanted it to keep working. Keep having a spark. So it was Sparky. It was a maroon, four-door sedan. Previously owned by a traveling salesman. Nice, but a lot of miles.

I usually didn’t talk to Sparky unless I was alone with it. What I crummy friend I was to my car! I was one of those friends. I’ll only talk to you when my other friends aren’t around. Sorry about that, Sparky.

I don’t talk to my current car very often. It doesn’t exactly have a name except maybe, “Car.” I’ve said, “Sorry about that, Car,” if I let the oil get a little low. Or “I really wish people would stop crashing into you, Car.”

Because for a while it seemed like it was a magnet for other drivers to crash into it. I don’t know if it’s because it’s fairly low to the ground or if because other people weren’t paying attention to what they were doing. I threatened to tape bicycle flags to all four corners to increase my visibility. I was stopped at a red light one time and bam! A woman rear-ended me.

A giant forklift was the last to crash into it. Just the tire hit it. I was driving at the time, so it startled me. Car handled it well. I’ve been warned not to drive too close to the airport. I aim to follow that advice. Car and I need all the help we can get.

Dirty Laundry Come Clean: A Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

10 Aug 2014 14 Comments

by alightningbug in Cleaning, Laundry, Mom Stuff, Recipes Tags: , , , , , , ,

Several weeks ago I blogged a comparison of Fels Naptha and Zote laundry bar soaps. That’s here:

BAR FIGHT: Fels Naptha vs Zote Laundry Bar Soap.

Since then I’ve experimented with small batches of homemade laundry detergent. I’m really impressed with how well it cleans! And it doesn’t make my skin itch.

I’ve seen a lot of recipes for both powder and liquid versions. From my little batches I’ve found a couple of things that work well for me.

Powder Laundry Soap or Detergent is much easier and quicker to make than liquid since it requires no cooking or pre-dissolving. It’s also easier to store. Though keeping a small amount of liquid on hand can make a great spot treatment (recipe to come).

Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent:

1 Cup of grated*** Laundry Bar Soap lightly packed (I like Pink Zote*.)

2 Cups of Washing Soda

1 Cup of Borax

I use about 3 Tablespoons** of the mixture per load. Folks with HE machines may want to start with 1T or 2T. My washing machine is anything but high efficiency!

Grate the bar soap, measure ingredients, mix, and use. I can make a double batch with a hand cheese grater in less than 15 minutes (larger quantities will require more time). It dissolves best in hot or warm water. If you need to wash in cold water see below.

The small batches are quick & easy to make. You can double the recipe and put the ingredients in a gallon-size Ziplock-type baggie and mix by stirring and kneading it in the bag. The baggie isn’t nearly as attractive as the vintage glass I’ve seen others use, but it has some advantages. It’s super easy to mix the ingredients. If clumps start to form you can easily break them up. I keep a measuring spoon right inside and close it tightly between use, squeezing out extra air. It takes up very little space. And I reuse the same bag several times.

I found Zote and Fels Naptha at Walmart for 97 cents each. I can find Zote at my local hardware store and international market too. Check in the laundry section or with other bar soaps. Washing Soda ($3.99/box) and Borax ($3.99/box) are carried in the laundry section of many of the same stores and at many grocery stores too.

*I like Zote because it’s so economical and has a few simple ingredients. I like the Pink variety because I can see how well I’m mixing the soap with the other ingredients. Is there a bunch of pink on one side and hardly any on the other? Then I need to mix it up more. Because grated soap can be kind of “fluffy” you’ll want to pack lightly as if measuring brown sugar. Don’t pack too firmly or you’ll end up with a whole new bar of soap.

**I see a lot of Laundry Detergent recipes calling for much less laundry soap per load. If your clothing is getting clean with that, great! Use less. But if you think about it, the box of Washing Soda itself tells you to use 2 Tablespoons a 1/2 Cup per load. I guarantee if you mix it and use only 1T of total mix, you’re getting a lot less than 2T of Washing Soda in your laundry. High Efficiency washers may very well be fine with 1T since those use less water, but anybody with a regular washing machine is probably not getting very much active ingredient. Even plain water can clean out some dirt, so you should probably do some experimenting to see what works best for you. I found that to get our clothing clean in our machine I need 3T. The mix is low sudsing, and it’s still very economical.

Our machine kind of sucks (pardon my language), so it needs all the help it can get!

I like to start the machine on the Hot water setting no matter what fabric I’ll be washing. (I can switch later.) This helps it dissolve more quickly. I set the load size to Small and let the hot water start flowing, then I add the homemade laundry detergent. After the homemade laundry detergent has been in the hot water for a few minutes, I can switch the water setting to warm or cold as needed for the fabric. Then I switch the load setting to Medium or Large as needed to fill the machine the rest of the way. The detergent doesn’t have to be totally dissolved before adding clothing. As the machine agitates the mixture will dissolve even more. But the more the detergent dissolves before I start the load, the more the active ingredients have a chance to do their job.

I should mention that my washing machine lives in my kitchen. Not sitting in the middle of the kitchen next to the fridge, but it’s a stackable in a closet/pantry. So it’s not exactly the “large” size it claims to be, and it doesn’t wash as well as I’d like. But I don’t have to go far to switch a setting. If I am going to walk away I can leave the lid open so the wash cycle won’t start until I’m ready. More on that soon.

I haven’t had a problem dissolving homemade laundry soap with any temperature water — my clothes still rinse cleanly. But you can try putting the ingredients in a blender to make finer particles that will dissolve more quickly. Let the dust settle before you take the lid off the blender. Keep it dry to help prevent clumps.

If you tried the above suggestions for cold water and still have a problem with powder dissolving enough then you might try a liquid. Water in some areas may respond differently. I’ll post a recipe for that soon. Liquids also make good spot removers and may be necessary for some HE machines.

***Editing to add that about 1 inch of Zote laundry bar grates to make about 1 Cup of grated soap lightly packed. About 2 inches of Kirk’s Castile equals 1 Cup. I’d expect Fels Naptha to be similar to 2 inches of bar per 1 Cup of grated soap, but having actually measured.

Catch Up, It’s Not Just A Condiment

09 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

by alightningbug in Writing Tags: , , ,

Well, we all have those moments when plans go out the window, right? Right? I felt like my brain is moving at half speed which means everything around me seems to be going twice as fast. Summers always seem to do that!

We still have a couple if weeks before school starts again, but I already can’t believe how fast the summer has gone by. There’s so much I want to do! I’ll never get to all of it. It’s a bit like my blog entries for the past couple of weeks. Still not done. I am trying to write regularly, but a few days were missed and others strictly ten-minute writing. Though there were a few spurts of productivity in there.

My daughter has an evening camp this week called, Zombie Ranger Camp. I’ll drive her after work. Because it’s a bit of a drive, I’m planning to stay near the camp for a couple of days and find a spot to write. There’s an excellent burger joint near the camp. Super juicy burgers! Add ketchup and maybe I’ll be able to do some catch up writing. If the burgers are too juicy perhaps I’ll have to try for a Starbucks. They have condiments too, right. And I hear a lot of people write and bring computers and such to Starbucks.