Picture of Lucas throwing

Hiking to Annapolis Rock

Hiked to the top of Annapolis Rock yesterday! They were rock climbers going down the mountain. I'm scared of heights and couldn't even get near the edge, but Michael went right up to it.

Here are the rock climbers.  I believe they are nuts!

My Grandma's Recipes

Check out my grandma's recipes!

http://grandmasrecipespot.blogspot.com/

Snow pictures!

This is a picture of my car before we started digging out.

















Now that we are dug out, the kids are playing!

This is a picture of Michael's back side! I just couldn't resist taking the picture...

Homemade Laundry Detergent - it's AWESOME!

For several years, I've heard about home made laundry detergent. I don't like the chemicals that are in the products we purchase at the grocery store, but I wasn't sure I wanted to start making my own detergent. That sounded like an awful lot of work and I was worried I'd spend a lot of money gathering ingredients only to find out they didn't take way the smell in football jersies or basketball socks. Boy - was I wrong. I LOVE this stuff. It smells so good and works great! And - the cost is about 2-4 cents per load! WOW........................... If I buy the ingredients at the local high-end grocery store, the price is higher. But - I can find some ingredients at the dollar store, so that's where I buy most of it.

To give credit where credit is due, I got the recipe from here: JABS

1 bar of Ivory Soap.
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda

The recipe calls for Fels-Naptha soap, which I guess is a laundry soap??? Although we had this brand at the store, I used Ivory. I buy Ivory by the case at the warehouse store because that's what I use in the shower, so that's what I had.

I wasn't sure about the Borax or Washing Soda, but I went to our local grocery store and they had both items! These items were in the laundry aisle near the stain fighters. They were at the bottom shelf, so they weren't easily seen at a quick glance.

The washing soda is an Arm and Hammer brand product, but it is NOT the same as baking soda. Make sure you don't substitute one for the other. They are not the same thing. If you are having trouble finding washing soda, call your local pool supply store and ask for soda ash. I'm told it's the same thing, but you will probably want to double-check first. Also - if you can call Arm and Hammer (google the company) they will gladly tell you what stores in your area stock washing soda.

So - here are the instructions:
Shave your bar of soap. I take a hand-held food grinder - the kind I use to grate lemon or lime rinds for recipes and grate the bar of soap. I can grate a whole bar of soap onto a plate in about 20 minutes while I'm watching TV. If you have a food processor, you can use this too. The whole idea is to get the bar of soap into tiny little pieces that will be easily dissolved.

Add the half cup of borax and the half cup of washing soda. Stir well.

Use about 2 Tablespoons per load, although if my load is small, I will use a little less.

The great thing is: no chemicals, no additives, no processing. Your clothes smell clean and look great, all for less money and healthier for you and your family.

Meet Pork Chop

Pork Chop is here - and yes - that's his name! For tonight - he's in the dog cage in the garage, but boy - does he stink. The kids are working hard to get his pig pen ready by tomorrow and they've got a full day's worth of work to do. I think we're actually getting two pigs. One of Lucas' friends isn't allowed to keep a pig, so we're keeping it in our pen. BUT - they're supposed to share the work and take turns feeding and stuff. I just think that his friend's mom is smarter than me! LOL.

Here is a picture of Lucas and his friend Ethan putting in the posts for the pig pen.... Luckily - we had the woods behind our house cleared of old brush. They can put in a pig pen and I won't have to see it from the back porch!

High School Project!

Lucas has joined Vo-Tech this year. He is still able to take all his pre-college classes but instead of taking chorus or band - he's decided to join in the Ag classes. I was fine with this. I had no problems with it. We live around a lot of farms and he loves helping out with hay and feeding and tinkering with the tractors, so it makes sense. UNTIL....... (ha ha)

I found out he has to do an Ag project this year. His project: raising a pig.....

In my backyard!!!!!!

He's starting to design the pig pen, the feeding trough and is even planning on making a little house to keep Porker (he's pre-named) out of the sun.

He's promised to feed him and water him and take care of him. I'm told I will have to do nothing, although I'm pretty sure I heard that before. The plan is - in December, Porker's going to auction. But - if it doesn't - we may be having a ham for Christmas..... ha ha