Proud of my college girl :-)

My momma amazes me. She has so much spunk and more get-up-and-go than most young people and she's 75 years old! I am so proud of her. She was so worried about her finals this past semester. I spent the night one night and got up early to quiz her because she was concerned about how she would do. She is on her second year and the kids at the college love her. Anyway, the pictures below are the results of some of those finals. :-) Of course I had to sneak and take these pics. She just doesn't understand why I'd want to post things about her tests and such on facebook. To her it isn't that big of a deal that she's going to college, why, people would think she's silly. :-)

She has inspired me and once my daughter gets a few years older I want to go back to school. I just hope I can do half as good as she is doing. I am so blessed to have a momma like her. Below is this years school picture! Isn't she lovely? :-)

Homemade Cleaning Supplies

There are so many different recipes for homemade detergent and using the Fels Naptha bar soap is my favorite. The above pic is what the soap looks like grated. You can double or triple the recipe. This batch I used the whole bar of soap.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 whole bar Fels Naptha (can use other types but I prefer this one) Found in the detergent isle

1½ cup washing soda

1½ cup borax powder

~You will also need a bucket, about 6 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a pan. Add 1 gallon and 2 cups water and heat until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 13 quarts hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 4 gallons plus 2 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load. I stirred it several times while it was cooling. My daughter also liked playing in it. lol http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm (Link where I got the recipe)

The pic below is how it looks while it's cooking and it basically looks the same when it's done.

I just poured this into laundry detergent containers that I had kept. Oh, I put some essential oil in this last batch. I think it was orange. :-)

Now for the scouring powder. My sister makes this and I think it's all she uses now except for straight baking soda. :-)

Ingredients

http://wellnessmama.com/1348/all-natural-homemade-scouring/ One of the links that has more info than I do. :-)

2 parts baking soda

1 part salt

1 part borax powder

Pour ingredients into jar or bowl. (or a styrofoam plate or whatever you have handy lol) Mix or stir until well mixed. I made a shaker out of an empty icing container. I poked holes in the top with an antique ice pick. :-)

Lightly wet surface with water or undiluted white vinegar. Sprinkle powder on and let sit 5 minutes . Scrub with a brush or just a rag like I do, until clean Rinse with water and I read that you can rinse with vinegar for really bad messes.

A pic of the container I used and what it looks like sprinkled on my daughter's school work. ;-)

And you can't forget the puppy who is hoping that you're fixing something to eat. lol