"Somewhere children dance to the joyous music of life

and elsewhere they only cling to existence.

They are all ours."

{ laurie kohl }

So, since I just don't seem to make cards and scrapbook as much anymore (not much time!) but I DO want to blog still (my sister likes to read my blog, what can I say?) I decided to start posting the simple things I do each day. Boring for readers , but a way to kind of keep a journal and for my sister to keep in touch (other than the zillion phone calls).
I LOVE to bake and practice frugality and lately I have found some wonderful sites that have given me great inspiration. I learned of homemade laundry soap from the Duggar's site (you know, the people with nineteen children) and while I would never aspire to wanting that many children, I do think they do a wonderful job and the few times I have watched their show on TLC I am amazed at the organization and normalcy that seems present in their home. The main reason I wanted to try the soap came from reading all the praise about it and how gentle it seems to be on skin. My youngest deals with itchy skin constantly and so I thought to my self, "Self, you gotta try it!" I was pleasantly surprised. It IS mild and it has helped my son, but most of all, I LOVE the smell and the way my clothes and towels feel so soft and smell so fresh. The recipe does make lots and both my mom and daughters have benefitted from the abundance of the stuff, but since it is so economical I am happy to share! I did scent mine with some honeysuckle oil that I have and while that makes it smell even better, the Fels Naptha soap has a citrusy smell to it on its own. I also started using white vinegar as a rinse and the only caveat to that is that there was still some static after using the dryer. No problem! I diluted one bottle of softener with an equal amount of water and keep sponges in there. When I throw the clothes in the dryer I put an almost wrung out sponge in with them and Voila! static is gone! If you want to try the soap you can get the recipe here
http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html.

The second thing I have made this week is homemade yogurt. I know, it is an easy thing to buy but darn, the homemade stuff tasted so much better. I added vanilla to it and made it slightly sweetened. Give it a try..http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/10/how-to-make-homemade-yogurt-2/

A Christmas Gift

So much for being back!! My intentions were good to post, but then Thanksgiving and then Christmas happened! However, I am happy to post this little "thing" i made for my mom and dad. I had no idea what I was going to do when I started stitching and wish it looked a little more random but I am happy with it. I took a recent photo of them and printed it onto linen. Then I just took some scraps of felt and some twigs and started stitching. My bird looks a little off kilter, but I could not be bothered to redo it! I want to make another but have it more random. I got the idea to stitch something from this blog.. http://rebeccasower.typepad.com/rs_out_of_hand/2009/12/index.html I so want to make some little journals with all kinds of stitching. I must say that it is so soothing to me to just sit and stitch. My mind wanders and and I seem to forget all my worries.! Try it! Today is a beautiful day out. I even have some of my windows open to let the fresh air in. Will have to close them soon as the natives are starting to complain. I am going outside to take some pictures of some of the little fairies I made and will post one later..