Crisis Averted

Seeing these laying around is usually not a good sign.


Now, see this?


Do you know what it is? Yes, that's right. It is the cover to the top of my mixer. My kitchen tool extraordinaire. My heart of the kitchen. My kitchen buddy. My friend in the kitchen. My kitchen pal who really knows how to carry her share of the load. Sigh.

I have been after my darling husband to take a look at my mixer for quite some time now. Take a look aka fix it. See, the mixer works, just the arm of it has been loose. So, when I would go to use it, I would turn it on and the mixing would begin, but it would not perform that great since the arm was kinda loose and shaking about.

So, when I used my mixer yesterday I thought maybe I would just throw that idea out there again. Ya know, just a friendly reminder. This clearly was the reminder that rang the loudest. Or maybe he was really just trying to get out of making dinner......

The flashlight was needed to assess the situation and to then find all the little bitty screws that needed removed.

The screwdriver then made its appearance and the work quickly began.


This is the part where I begin to get a tad worried. What? You have to take all those parts OFF to get to the screws that need tightened? Really? You cant just use a REALLY long screwdriver? Oh, its the angle in which the screws lie that is the trouble....okay. Well, Ill be over here if you need me. I cant watch.



In the end, everything was fine. The pieces all got taken off, the screws got tightened up, and the mixer was put back together.


It was a bit worrisome while I sat away from all the work being done. Hoping that everything would go back in its proper place and then work once it got there. Turns out, I shouldnt have worried. Once again, my mixer works like a dream....

what not to do

I have a confession to make. I have never had a fireplace before.

Okay, I take that back. When I was growing up we had this big, black monstrosity that sat in the middle of the living room that was called a pot bellied stove....or at least thats what I remember calling it. I have no recollection if it actually burned wood or coal...all I know is that it did burn something and you had to know what to do and when to do it or else it really didnt work that well. Oh, and I seem to remember that the best place to be was right there next to it....all cozied up with a pillow, blanket, and a good book.

As an adult, the only thing close to a fireplace that I have had was a in a rental that we were just recently living in while we had our current house built. It was a little gas fireplace. So, all you had to do was flip a switch and then there was a burst of flames that magically appeared. Ohhhhh....Ahhhhhh....and they stayed there, all pretty and flickering. You never had to open the fireplace door or add any wood. You never had to get rid of any ashes. Cmon, tho....really...thats not a real fireplace. You cant get in there to make smores if you wanted to, you cant hear the popping and snapping of the wood, and you for sure dont get that great fireplace smell....the one that makes you think of snowy days and hot cocoa.

So, when we built this house we had them put in a "real" fireplace. The kind that you have to use wood in. The kind that you have to tend to every once in a while. The kind that can be a little finicky and doesnt always start up right away.

That part I mentioned about not having a fireplace? Well that also means that I had never had the opportunity to light one either....or keep one going or clean one out....nope....none of that. Good thing S knew what he was doing. Or this coulda spelled trubble.

Knowing all that, it shouldnt come as a surprise that we also did not have any of the appropriate tools or equipment necessary to maintain a fireplace. This is what we had.

Yep, thats it. This was our multi-purpose fireplace friend. It removed ashes, stoked the fire, helped to rotate logs....you name it....this little thing did it.


And even tho I really like the little guy, it seemed logical that the next step in fireplace 101 would be to go out and get a fireplace set.....right? That makes sense, doesnt it?


Im making progress....Im learning! And did I mention that it has been kinda cold here....little stretches of cold....perfect time to use the fireplace. So, we get it going...were enjoying it, its very pretty....okay....so the fire burns down....the next day comes around...hey! Lets start another fire.

S brings in a bucket to remove the ashes. Do you notice anything about the bucket? I mean, I do. I look at it, look at S....look at it...look at S. I sorta cock my head to the side and look at it some more. Hmm. In his defense, its not like we have anything else to put the ashes in. Nothing. So, this will have to do. Load the ashes up.....go set the bucket outside on the back step. Get the fire going again....go about our day. Its fantastic. This fireplace stuff aint half bad. Lots of people said we would hate a wood burning one. Not me, I said. I will love it.



A couple days later, I go out to retrieve the bucket. I have been taught how to make fire now. I know what Im doing. And even if I forget something, well, I can always reach back to the really dark and cobweb filled corner of my memory and pull out my Girl Scout lessons. I earned badges, you know.

I step out on the back steps and reach down to get the bucket.....lift it up and, what the hell? I have the bucket, yet ash is blowing all over, in my face, in my hair....im spitting ash outta my mouth and I look down to see the bucket.


Then I look at the step.



Thats part of my bucket on the step. That cant be good. In fact, I know thats not good. Because I am now officially covered in ash and I have a bucket that has a huge hole in the bottom. And I also have a step that now has bucket melted to it. NO, not good at all. This for sure will not do. It just will not.



Back to the store I go! Excuse me, nice Mr. Home Improvement man....could you please show me where the metal pails are? Thank you so very much. I went home with this.



And now it has this in it.

And, Im pretty sure I dont have to worry about this one melting to my step. If it does, well, then I for sure have much bigger problems!

Laundry soap 1.0

Mmmmmm....look yummy? Nope, it's not cheese!

I have had this recipe for some time now. I actually got it online somewhere and just hung onto it knowing that I would make it at some point. She has one as well. Hers has scent added to it. I am not that cool.

My daughter and I finally made it the other day. It was really quite easy. You have to have 3 things to throw it all together. The hardest part was grating the bar soap. And that wasn't so much hard as it was messy. I probably could have used my food processer, but I was worried that everything after that would have a slightly soapy taste. Mmmmm..soapy cheese. Great for tacos.







1 C grated Fels Naptha bar soap
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Washing soda

Mix well in a resealable container. Use 1T per load. 2 T for heavier soiled clothes.



I found all of the ingredients in my local grocery store. They were in the laundry soap aisle.

The soap seems to clean really well. It has a nice fresh, clean scent. However, if you have a super sniffer like myself, it may seem strong at first. It lessened tho, as I used it more. Well, I got acclimated to it, I should say.

Try it out. Let me know what you think. It is a huge money saver. And you know I love those!