Simplified laundry tub

If I had to do it over, I would probably have put a laundry tub in garage with faucet that could have hose attached to it.

We even went and looked at laundry tubs that are just the tub, with no attached faucet, to set under the spigots in the garage. Two problems: They do not sit close enough to wall. They were too deep. A hose from under the sink to a drain was doable but awkward.

I fill a deep dish pan with water several times a day to wash dog feet. It is heavy. It is awkward. My hands are not good. I tried a hose but that created its own problems.

While we were looking, it occurred to us that a board might work better, than a sink with sides, in lifting the full dishpan.

So that is what we did. We had the plank. We had the can (which has hoses stored it it and is very heavy/secure).

So it was a free and simple solution.

My empty kitchen space turned into a decaf tea drawer

When we got the tool cabinet for the garage, I moved every tool into it. That cleaned out a drawer in the kitchen.

It does not bother me one bit to go out to the garage for supplies. Since everything is organized and easily found, that cabinet is a pleasure.

I knew a good use would turn up for the empty kitchen drawer.

I have had other empty drawers and cupboards. Some are empty for a long time, others a shorter time, but so far a wonderful alternative has turned up for each.

This time boxes of decaf tea presented themselves as needing a home. They were a jumble in the pantry. I had tried shelves and then a crock and then shelves again and still they were not easily identified.

In the drawer, they are easily found and used. They fit perfectly.

My youngest and my niece were here most of last week and sort of marveled at the drawer.

It is very inviting.

Last year I collected small white tea pots. I have four. And when everyone is here, they are all put to use.

I have an electric water kettle, think England, which is used every day and well worth it. When the tea drinkers are here, it is handy for speed and volume. But I use it every day to fill my thermos. I drink hot water, year round.

Epsom salts

I have been taking a hot bath with 2 cups of Epsom salts every morning.

The combo of the two (heat, salt) gets my (arthritis) legs, back, hands moving each morning.

The missing pan, Christmas tree skirts for wedding gifts, water jugs working well, mountains of laundry, cross stitch Angels, errands, paperwork, looking for suggestions.

Odds and ends post.

I may have mentioned this previously. I have two sets of three each, nesting 9x13 glass pans. I use the "9x13" label/term roughly, because if they were all 9x13, they clearly would not nest. The middle ones are 9x13 sitting in ones that are slightly bigger and with slightly smaller ones in them. Only one of the middle ones, an actual 9x13, is missing. It has been missing for weeks. We cannot think of anywhere we took it. It did not break. It is not in another cupboard or the refrigerator. The two older kids did not take it. Mystery of the ages.

Between us, oldest and middle we have five weddings later this year. I am starting on Christmas tree skirts as wedding gifts. I made a similar type for my mom years ago. I have always liked it. It requires no batting and no backing. My mother's was made from regular cotton fabric and was proportional for a small tree. I am making the current versions from upholstery fabric and on a larger scale. I am collecting fabric now. I will post pictures as I get going. My machines are both in the shop. So no sewing yet. (I have a pile of mending for middle's boy that is next in line when the machines return.) Extremely strange feeling not to have instant machine access. I do have a couple other machines in a cupboard for an emergency. But hoping my regular ones return quickly enough that I do not have to dig them out for set up.

If you recall, I took water jugs with pumps to middle and her boy (who lives with two other guys). The boys go thru a jug a week, so they are clearly using it. It takes middle about three weeks to use hers, living alone. So they are working well. Again, transporting full jugs with pumps attached, like when traveling to or from camping, simply belt jug into seat. It works very well and protects pump.

Mountains of youngest laundry. I tend to wait until she is in need and then do it all at the same time. This is that time. There is something very satisfying about laundry.

Angel stockings. Husband went with me this time. Back over to my friend, who is good with color, for a consult. Stars were too dark on one fabric and too light on another. Curly cues were too light on one fabric. Skin fabric was too light on one fabric. What to do about the ecru wings and doves on light fabric? The result was I picked out/unsewed several things on Saturday night. I started, again, on Monday, now more confident that I am actually finishing five. Hopefully no more unsewing. Then I have two left where we have to pick dress colors, but those are on the darker fabric, so it should be easier. I am still very careful not to do too much cross stitch at a time nor days in a row, to protect my hands.

My husband swims at a local high school several days a week. I give him errands to do on the way home nearly every time. He is out anyway, so it is convenient. If he does one or two each time he swims, we keep up with all errands.  And honestly, he is learning where things are and how to do them. An example is water jugs. We keep two full ones in the garage at all times, ready for a water emergency, and for normal use. (We take full jugs to middle, and bring the empties home. We also go thru jugs at home.) So if we have an empty jug, it gets refilled immediately. I am getting him in the pattern of refilling immediately. Patterns are important.

Youngest is still in the midst of major paperwork. Oldest, husband and I are all helping. Oldest has proofed a couple essays. I supply some missing information. My husband supplies more (copies of taxes mostly). So much paperwork.

I AM LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS - I found new, unopened, Creative Memories, photo album stuff while cleaning out my closet last fall. I found more last week in my sewing room. I contacted a local Creative Memories sales person to verify what I had because the items did not have labels. They are (still) sealed in plastic, so you can see them. I want to sell all of these. I also found a lot of doll clothes patterns. I am keeping one of each and want to sell the rest. They are new, unopened, discontinued, duplicates. I am thinking my best bet for all of this is either Amazon or eBay. It is all ship-able, it might be my best bet of the most $$$. Oldest has used Amazon to sell electronics and books, in past. I buy things in eBay, but have not sold there. I have considered, it might be easier to sell from home, mini garage sale with very good ad in paper, no shipping. But not sure how much money I would get, garage sale people are looking for cheap, normally. I have two sewing machines I would sell too, if I was doing mini garage sale. Not shipping those, clearly. A good sorting of attic and rest of house might yield a lot more. That would be good. And I could probably get my husband to man the sale. He likes cleaning out, he likes $$$. If you have any thoughts on any of this, please leave me a note.

5 gallon purified water with hand pump

I might have mentioned college town water is not good where middle and her boy are living. As in it tests poorly. And it tastes terrible.

They both have lived on campus in past. And the university runs the city water through a major filtration plant.

Now they are both off campus, They have regular city water out of taps.

All of us use stainless steel water bottles (Kleen Kanteen). We only use the plastic bottles sold in stores (individual serving size) when there is a need (can't take a Kanteen for some reason). We do not want anyone drinking out of the kind of plastic used for individual serve bottles on a regular basis. Other points against individual water bottles - amount of recycling it produces, and the cost.

So, I spent some time on the phone last week looking for a better solution. An easy, safe water solution that would work long term.

I ended up going with the same water company we use at home. Their water comes from a big filtration plant. No water is produced from city water in the towns where their stores are located. There is a location in our home town and in their college town.

This (bottle above) is the same style 5 gallon bottles we buy for our water cooler (upstairs at home).  The same type of bottle in the picture above (minus the pump) gets turned upside down in our water cooler at home.

Water coolers are expensive and not very portable. At home, it works great.

But I was looking for a better solution for middle at school.

And I was also looking for a solution for middle's boy 1. because I would not do something like this for her and not him, 2. because he was concerned about the water quality and taste, also 3. because middle is at his house a lot and a water source for her there too is smart.

In talking to the water supply company we use here, the guy told me to drive out to their location because they had several options (other than water coolers). So, I did.

The picture above shows what I ended up buying.  (Two $20 pumps. Two 5 gallon water bottles. One of each for middle and her boy.)

That is a 5 gallon bottle in the picture. (I think it looks small in the picture, but it is a big bottle).  To install the pump - The cap on the water bottle is removed, the pump fits securely on the top of the bottle. 

This is how the company works - we put a one time deposit on each bottle. It is around $8. We then buy the water for just under $5 a bottle. (So, I went home with two pumps and two water bottles for middle and her boy.) When their bottles are empty, they pull up at the water store. They do not get out of their car. The guy at the store takes the empty bottle(s) out of their car and puts in a new full one. So the store does not refill the empty bottles for you right then, they give you a whole new bottle. The empty bottles are then sterilized and refilled at the plant. We pay just under $5 per bottle for the new water. There is a punch card system. 10-12 purchased bottles nets a free one.

The plastic of these bottles is different/safer than plastic used for individual water bottles.

The guy at the store said people buy these pumps for offices and camping mostly. BRILLIANT for camping. Brilliant for a trip/weekend away from home anywhere really. That bottle is easily set in a seat and safety belted in to the car so it does not move around while driving, and to keep the pump safe. The pump makes it very simple to use directly from the car's back seat.

Middle's pump was defective. She took it back to her college town location and they replaced it without even asking for her receipt. The second one is fine. One push on the pump button produces a lot of water. Two pumps fills a 27 oz Kanteen I think.

The boys who live with middle's boy all thought this was stellar. They are all using the bottle and then splitting the cost of refills.

When I took him the water/pump, I said if this is not a good solution for you, just pass it back and I will use it in our kitchen pantry. So, if he hated it for some unknown reason, he had an out. They clearly did not hate it.

Yes, having good bottled water increases the amount of water they will all drink, hugely. It also decrease the kind of other drinks they will buy, I think.

My husband calculated the cost of a case of individual serving size water bottles from the store is about the same cost of the 5 gallon bottle; and, the 5 gallon bottle has one more gallon of water than the case of water. A trip to the store is the same as a trip to the water supplier. And at the water supplier, you do not even get out of the car.

We keep three 5 gallon jugs full at our house all the time. One is on the cooler. Two are ready in the garage. I do this so if there is a water emergency, we have a stock pile of water. (The water store would simply send more truck fulls from their plant it this happened, but there might be a delay.)

And I think this (all) is a good life lesson for middle and her boy. I think this whole experience will make them think about what water they are drinking. And whether they end up together or not, it will make both of them think about what water they are giving their kids. If they are on a well, I think they will have that water tested. If they are on city water, they will check the reports. (Actually we will all have our close friend check the reports, she gets them regularly and reads carefully. She is the one who sounded the alarm about their college town water last week).

What's in my yoga bag

If you are someone who carries one yoga mat (and that is it) into class, been there, done that. I understand and was at that point once upon a time.



I am in a wide variety of classes on a weekly basis.

I am at studios where props are used in every class.

I leave all the supplies (shown below) in my car trunk 100% of the time.  I simply grab what I need for each class.

I take my Kleen Kanteen into every class. Most of the time, by the end of each class, I have finished one full Kanteen.

I take my phone (on silent) into each class.

In the winter, I wear my boots and then take clean shoes (to change into) for free weights and stations.


For the rest of my supplies -


The simplest class is circuit/stations. For that class, I only take in my beach towel and my strap. I pull them out of my yoga bag and then replace them immediately after class. I use the beach towel under my knees in a lot of stations. Sometimes I use it to prop the back of my butt for better posture. Often at the end of class, there are more people than mats for stretching. I can either sit or lie on my beach towel (folded in half length wise my head and torso and butt fit just fine and it offers a bit of padding from the floor). I use the strap at the end of class to stretch my hamstrings in order to protect my lower back.

The next simplest classes are free weights and Pilates. I take the same supplies into these separate classes. All these supplies fit in my yoga bag (very old, no longer available, originally from Target).

In my yoga bag are the beach towel and strap (shown above).



Also included (in my yoga bag) are my mats. One is full length and the other is half length. When rolled they are exactly the same size in my bag, side by side.

The full length, lighter blue mat is the thinnest I have ever seen. It is 1/8 thick and has a lot of traction. It is a gripping type of mat that prevents slipping. The other, half mat that is more of a royal blue is 1/4 thick. (It started as a full size mat that I cut in half with my kitchen scissors. I gave the other half to one of the women in my free weights class.)  I use it under my hands and knees in free weights class. I fold it in half and then half again and put it under my hands for tricep dips in table stance. I use the half mat under my torso when we are on our sides in Pilates to protect my hip. When I am flat on my back or on my front or on my feet, I do not use the extra padding, I only use the thin mat. 

In the very bottom of my yoga bag are supplies that I sometimes need in free weights or Pilates and a pair of emergency socks.

In the pocket of my yoga bag are other supplies - tissues, foot moisturizer for after class, rescue inhaler, pad, chap stick and hair ties. My hair is not long enough for hair ties, but I keep them there for other people's hair emergencies (sometimes my own girls are with me).

All of those things (show above), stay in my yoga bag.




When I am going to a regular yoga class, I add my two yoga blankets to my bag. I use them (in some form) in every yoga class (under me in shoulder stand so my neck is extended and protected, as a wedge under the back of my butt for improved posture, etc).

For my 1 1/2 hour relaxation class on Sunday nights, I take in my yoga bag, my blankets and also my own bolsters.

My yoga bag, with the blankets, goes over my right shoulder. I can carry all three bolsters in my left arm/hand, that leaves my right arm free for carrying my Kleen Kanteen by its loop, opening doors and signing in at the desk. My car fob is around my neck. My phone is either in my pocket or my bra.  

The class is often crowded, there are not always enough studio supplies for everyone. My bolsters are old, but still very firm. The studio bolsters have lost a lot of their support. I am more comfortable with my face on my own bolsters instead of on studio bolsters where faces, bare feet and clothed butts have been for years.