Cherry Blossoms

It's that time of year again...time to make the annual pilgrimage to the Lexington Cemetery to check out the cherry blossoms. The show was a little early this year with the unseasonably warm weather we have had here in Kentucky. I don't expect the blooms will last past the weekend. Even though they had lost much of their vivid pink hue, I loved walking through them with the petals falling in the breeze. I was a week late and about a half hour past the softest light, but managed to get a few decent shots.

These are in another part of the cemetery and are pale in color, but I love the tall canopy.

I have shot these so many times that I give myself a new challenge each year. The last one was trying to get long, dramatic shadows in the early morning light. This year I wanted a starburst shining between the branches. I seem to be terrible at this. The sun was really low in the sky, but I did manage to get a few with the star effect I was going for. Mission accomplished. ;)

March Madness

After seeing so images of tornado devastation, I felt so blessed to be able to wander out in the snow alone yesterday with my camera. I had a deeper appreciation for the beautiful sights and the fact I had a warm, safe home to return to. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the violent storms.

We had our first significant snowfall of the season. At our house, we measured 4-5 inches, depending on where we took the measurement. The kids had a day off school filled with making snow angels, sledding, snowmen and hot cocoa. 

This was the winter wonderland my sleepy street awoke to:

I had to run across the street to get a closer look at a neighbor's tree. Amazing how a few inches of snow can turn something ordinary we take for granted every day into a work of art.

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While most of the kids were still snuggled in their beds, I grabbed my camera and headed for the Arboretum. A retaining basin near a local church caught my eye so I stopped off for a few quick shots.

I was hoping to find some snow-covered early blooms to shoot, but was even more thrilled when a pop of color caught my eye in the near white-out. A different type of March Madness here in Kentucky!

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Blowing snow from nearby branches created a natural snow globe effect. ;)

I have not had much love for cold and snow in recent years. Yesterday it was nice looking at the world again with some of the same awe and sense of wonder my children held in their eyes. I was definitely counting my blessings!

Easy Homemade Valentines

We made these little guys a few years ago for school valentines. They were so popular, I thought I would share a couple of simple crafts we made this year.

Both of these crafts came from Disney Family Fun magazine and you can find complete instructions for these and others here.

Let Friendship Ring

 

All Aquiver

We found the gumdrop hearts and cute heart bags at our local Dollar Tree. We also found gumdrop hearts at Target, but the packages contained fewer candies and were individually wrapped.

 

Finished bags:

 

We still need to add tags to the rings. We used address labels for the arrow bags. The kids are excited to take these to school for their class parties. Both crafts were simple to make, the supplies were inexpensive, and the kids enjoyed making them.

Finally some snow

After an unseasonably warm January, we finally got a dusting of snow this morning. These are seed pods on our golden rain tree.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

The poor home/nature blog has been neglected. I have been busy shooting many of the Kentucky men's basketball home games at Rupp Arena. Click here if you want to check out some shots of the number one team in the nation. Go Cats!

With a family of 8, I am always looking for creative ways to save a few pennies. I came across a recipe for homemade laundry detergent a few months ago, but never got around to trying it. Well today the planets aligned and I have now successfully made my first batch of diy detergent. I combined tips from several different places including: Duggar Family Recipes, Fabulessly Frugal and Tipnut. 

The ingredients were all readily available at my local Kroger and the whole process took less than a half an hour. As an added bonus, the house smells like I have been cleaning all day. ;) I also like that this should eliminate the need to wash my daughter's clothes separately due to her sensitive skin and allergies. She enjoyed helping me with the process. It was much easier than I expected.

Here is what you need to get started:

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

I followed this recipe, but chose to use an additional small bottle of All 3X free and clear detergent based on information I read. Some users were adding an oxy booster for white laundry loads and others did not like how the detergent would gel after sitting (gloppy). This was given as a solution to both of those problems. At less than $4 a bottle, I decided it wouldn't hurt. If you do not like the scent or have sensitive skin, Ivory can be used in place of the Fels-Naptha soap.

Next grate the bar soap and add it to 4 cups of hot tap water in a saucepan. I shaved off chunks with a knife and used my food processor until crumbled, others suggested using a cheese grater. You can microwave the bar for a few seconds first to soften (ETA: I tried this when making the powdered recipe and found it to be much easier).

Stir over medium-low heat until the soap is melted. 

Now you will need a 5 gallon bucket. Fill the bucket half full with hot tap water. Add the melted soap mixture, Borax and washing soda. I also added in the bottle of All at this point (Some have suggested adding this after the mixture has set up overnight. I am guessing it would get more of a gel consistency. I would try this next time since my mixture did not gel at all and seemed a bit too watery.) Mix well until all powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more tap water. Stir once again. Most recipes say to cover and let sit overnight to thicken. You will then fill an old detergent bottle or other container half full with the mixture and half full with water. Using this method, the recipe will yield 10 gallons of liquid detergent.

After reading comments from several moms, I decided I was not going to dilute the mixture. I cleaned and filled a large container we had waiting for recycling and several other empty detergent bottles.  I like the fresh scent as is, but you can also add essential oils once the detergent has cooled.

For less than the cost of 1 bottle of Tide, I was able to make 5 gallons of homemade detergent and still have extra supplies for future batches!

 -Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads if diluted)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads if diluted)

 You can add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle to soften and brighten clothes, eliminating the need for fabric softener.

If you are short on storage space or prefer a powdered laundry soap, check out this great tutorial from The Thrifty Couple.

ETA:  Since I had extra supplies, I decided to try the above powdered soap recipe to see which method works best for our family. It was even easier than the liquid and I love that it can be stored in just a coffee can. I added an additional 1/2 c. of Sun Oxygen cleaner (found at Family Dollar-very inexpensive). I think all of these homemade recipes require a little trial and error. Don't give up! There are lots of cost-effective options if one method or ingredient doesn't work for your family's needs.

There is an alternative recipe that uses Purex powdered detergent instead of bar soap. You can find it at The Saved Quarter.

Yesterday I found a great recipe for homemade fabric softener over at Fabulessly Frugal. I had been adding a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle of each load with surprisingly good results. The clothes were soft and there was no vinegar scent like I would have expected. This recipe is a variation, adding hair conditioner to vinegar and hot water. I chose Suave Ocean Breeze because it has a fresh, clean scent. I prefer a little scent, but if you do not, vinegar works well on its own. 

Good luck and let me know if you try this at home and how it works for you!

ETA 3/1/2011-After using our homemade laundry soap for a month now, we are thrilled to have found such a cost-saving alternative. We have tweaked the powder recipe and have changed it to add 1 c. of the Sun Oxygen cleaner and 1 c. of Sun Color Safe Bleach (citrus scent). Both are inexpensive additions. I have always preferred liquid detergent, but the space-saving benefits and ease of producing and tweaking will more than likely have the powder winning out.