Biodegradable Laundry Powder

Our property is not connected to town water or town sewerage so we have a Biocycle, which is and aerobic wastewater treatment system.  The waste water is treated by the Biocycle and then clean odourless disinfected water is recycled through garden sprinklers onto our trees and lawn.

We are careful about the cleaning products we use in the house as ammonia and bleaches should not be put through the Biocycle.  There are plenty of environmentally friendly cleaning products on the market but they are expensive so I had a go at making my own laundry powder.  We've used it about 4 times now and I have no complaints with how clean the clothes are.  I also love that our clothes don't come out with that overpowering perfume smell that some commercial laundry powders have.

I researched many recipes and in the end combined a few together to come up with this. 

Laundry Powder Recipe

• 6 Cups Washing Soda
• 3 Cakes Biome True Castile Soap (any castile or pure unscented soap is fine)
• 1 Cup Epsom Salts
• 1/2 Cup Bi Carb Soda
• A few drops of tea tree oil or any essential oil

I chopped the soap into small pieces and then put it all in my thermomix (food processor) and blended until it was the consistency of washing powder.  Due to the little bit or oil and the waxy consistency of the soap it does form little balls within the powder.  It looks very much like bought laundry powder.

The washing soda, bi carb and epsom salts are all very cheap ingredients. The Castile soap was $7.95 a cake so that made the powder more expensive than it needed to be but still not as expensive as bought laundry power. 

I will source my castile soap from a different place next time. . 

It left a bit of a waxy film in my thermomix but I just blended a lemon with a little water after I'd washed it and it came up shiny and clean just like a new one. 

Penelope Chloe

We have a new little grandchild  Penelope Chloe born on the 10th October 2019.  She is just gorgeous.

Here are a few things I have made for her.

Wool Projects 

I've had a very productive first half of the year. 

A maternity jumper for Danica which was a nightmare to make as the pattern made no sense.  I had to do a lot of improvising.  She loves it though and it looks gorgeous on her so it was all worthwhile. 

 A baby Kimono for little baby Georgia.  I even had G buttons. 

A jumper for Will and finally my own label 

A blanket and socks for Bianca and Jono.  This one took forever but I was very pleased with it. 

Cool things Garry's Made in 2019

Over the last 6 months Garry has been working in paid employment less, and working on the things he enjoys more.  He has made some really cool and creative things that I want to share here.

These are bullet cap tyre stem valve covers and Garry has been selling them on ebay along with a bullet pendant and key ring.  He wakes up most mornings to find he has sold at least another set overnight.








This is a pipe man he made for Will.  He is reading a Mr Men book. 

He made this coffee table out of pallet timber to sell but didn't get any offers so we are keeping it and I love it. 

And my absolute favourite this gorgeous plant stand.

There are more things as well but I'll need to gather photos.  He is very creative and most happy when he has a project :-)

Crochet Mandalas

I've been having fun creating colourful crochet "mandalas", which is just a new age word for doilies.

I love that every row is different and I don't get bored making them.  I love experimenting with colour and different types of yarn and I especially love that they will last more than a lifetime.

I want to be sure that I don't lose the pattern for this one so am posting it here. 

Crochet Mandala 

Made with 4ply crochet cotton. In this picture I used both Sullivans Natural Crochet and Knitting Cotton Patons 4 ply Regal.

Special Stitches:

V-stitch – DC, ch2, DC

Treble Stitch – yarn over hook 2 times, insert in next stitch, draw up a loop (4 loops on hook), yarn

over and draw through the first two loops, yarn over and draw through the next two loops, yarn

over and draw through the final two loops – one loop should be left on your hook

Double Treble Stitch – yarn over hook 3 times, insert in next stitch and draw up a loop (5 loops on

hook), yarn over and draw through the first two loops, yarn over and draw through the next two

loops, yarn over and draw through the next two lops, yarn over and draw through the final two

loops – one loop should be left on your hook

Small shell – 6DC into the indicated stitch

Large shell – 9 double trebles into the indicated stitch

Cluster – work the first part of a DC (= yarn over , draw up a loop, yarn over draw through the first

two loops – 2 loops left on hook),into the indicated stitch, repeat in the next three indicated stitches

– 5 loops on hook, yarn over and draw through all five loops.

Pattern:

1.     Round 1: Starting with a magic circle, chain 4 (counts as a treble) work 15 more trebles. Join into the fourth chain

2.     Round 2: Start working at any point in the space BETWEEN the stitches of round 1, 1DC, ch2 in each space around. Join to the top of the first DC (or equivalent chain)(48) (cut and tie yarn)

3.     Round 3: Starting in any 2ch sp, work 2SC in each space, and 1SC into each DC of round 2 Slip stitch into the first SC. (48) (cut and tie yarn)

4.     Round 4: Counting the SC worked into the DC in the previous round as the third stitch, work 1 V stitch into the first SC of each repeat (it will look like the bottom of the V is directly above the DC of round 2), join with a slip stitch into the first DC of the first V-stitch. (64) (16 V stitches) (cut and tie yarn)

5.     Round 5: Starting at any V stitch in round 4, in the first DC of each V-stitch, work 3 trebles, ch2 slip stitch into the top of the first treble (or the fourth chain) (80) (16 repeats) (cut and tie yarn)

6.     Round 6: Starting in any chain space - SC in the chain space, work small shell in the middle treble of each triplet from round 5 (112), end with a slip stitch into the first SC. (16 shells, 16 sc) (cut and tie yarn)

7.     Round 7: Start in any SC. In each SC from round 6, work 4DC, chain 1. Work 1SC in 4th DC of the shell in round 6, chain 1. Finish round with slip stitch into the top of the first DC. (112) (DO NOT cut and tie yarn)

8.     Round 8: Continuing from round 7, ch2 (counts as the first partial DC), work the first part of a DC in the next three stitches as described in the cluster stitch above. Yarn over and draw through all four loops. *CH10, skip the SC, work a cluster in the next four DC from round 7, repeat from * CH10, join with slip stitch into the “eye” above the first cluster. (16 clusters, 16 ch10 loops) (cut and tie yarn)

9.     Round 9: SC2 in any chain loop, ch3, work 1 treble in the top of the cluster, ch3. *3SC in loop from round 8, ch3, 1treble in top of cluster from round 8, ch3. Repeat from * until you return to the starting chain loop and work 1SC, and sl st in the first worked SC to join round. (16 trebles, 48 SC, 96CH) (cut and tie yarn)

10.  Round 10: SC in second SC of any repeat in round 9. *Work 1 large shell in treble from round 9. SC in next SC.** Repeat from * to ** until you return to the first SC – join with slip stitch. (16 large shells, 6 SC) (cut and tie yarn)

11.  Round 11: Choosing any shell, start working *1SC in the second DC of the shell. Work two more, then in the next (peak) work 2SC, work 1SC in the next 4 stitches. Decrease: draw up a loop in the next two stitches, yarn over hook and draw through all three loops. **Repeat from * to ** until you

return to the first SC – slip stitch to join.

What I did during the winter we didn't have.

It was a very mild winter here in Brisbane but for those living on the streets the nights still carried a chill.  I broke out the old loom and made about 40 beanies in all different sizes and a few different shapes (some planned, some not).

I then joined a group called Knitting for Brisbane's Needy and donated my beanies to their cause.  KBN provide amazing support for the homeless around Brisbane and do their best to provide them all with beanies and blankets all year round.

I will do this again before the start of next winter.

Making a Recycled Worm Farm

 

Like all good ideas we got this one off Better Homes and Gardens.

 

The Thai Restaurant near us always puts their styrofoam boxes out the back of the restaurant for people to take, so we went and got two this morning. I had some hessian left over from the garden I made a few weeks ago.

 

The only thing we needed to buy were the worms and we got these from Bunnings this morning for around $48.00 for 1200.  I think we actually got a good deal as I counted 1251 when we put them in.  I was also very pleased to see that we got QLD Worms.

The top box has holes in the lid to let some air through and some holes in the bottom to let the juice out.  The brick on top is to keep it secure in case our resident possums get interested.

The bottom box doesn't have a lid on it and the hessian between the boxes is to stop the worms slipping out the holes.  The hose feeds down into a plastic container in the tray of the wire basket. 

We needed to put our worm farm up this high just in case Layla got interested.

First we put a layer of shredded wet newspaper in the bottom, then the worms and a layer of vegetable scrapes and dirt.

We'll see how long it takes to get some fertiliser.   I usually pay around $40 for a small bottle of seawood fertiliser for the garden so we should see a return on our investment pretty quickly.

Knitting on a Loom

I had my first attempt at knitting on a loom.  This is like oversized French Knitting but instead of knitting jumpers for worms like we used to do at school I could actually make something practical like a hat for Meg to cover her dreadlocks.

Chair - Old to New

I've had this chairs for 10 years and was considering throwing them out.  Instead we decided to give them a makeover and use them on our deck.  We had 4 but one was beyond repair.

 

Garry hung each one on the clothes line and sprayed them with black paint.  Just another use for the all important rotary hoist

The finished product on the deck ready for use.

Slow Living Diary - August 2012

I'm joining in with a community of bloggers started by Christine over at Slow Living Essentials.  Christine had this fantastic idea at the start of the year to focus on 9 elements that will help to maintain a focus on slowing down and enjoying the simple things in life.  I only found Christine's blog half way through August but thought that it blended well with what I am trying to achieve on my blog so I wanted to get started straight away.  The idea is post at the end of the month (or the start of the new month) and reflect on the 9 categories and share your achievements (or even lack of) for the past month.   I've included Christines description for each category in italics next to the title.

Nourish : Make and bake as much as possible from scratch.  Ditch overpackaged, overprocessed convenience foods and opt for 'real" food instead.  Share favourite links/recpies/tips from the month.
Cooking from scratch is pretty normal for me.  I think my best effort in the past month was my Zucchini pesto and chicken dish made with my Spirooli.   You can see the whole blog post here

 

 Prepare: Stockpile and preserve, Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce.

Having only just moved in the last month I haven't done a lot of this.  However I did shop in bulk and stock the freezer as well as making a couple of weeks worth of meals for Layla (the dog) and freezing those. 

 

Reduce: Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing.

Not sure if this counts but we did sell some unwanted furntiture on e-bay at bargain prices to help out others and cut down on the excess "stuff" in our life.

 

Green: Up our lives. Start (or continue) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies.

I discovered the wonders of Coconut oil.  Not only is it great and healthy for cooking it makes the best mosituriser.  This is all I use now and my skin seems to love it.  It has also cut down on all those little plastic bottles that used to fill the bathroom shelves.  (ahh just realised this also fits the Reduce category).

 

Grow: plant/harvest. What's growing this month?  What's being eaten from the garden.

My favourite category and on moving into our new house the first thing we did this month was plant.  We now have herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and bok choy growing.  Check out my planting post

 

  

 

Create: to fill a need or feed the soul.  Create for ourselves or for others.  

My other favourite :-) I finished off some dishclothes and face washers.  I made a little crochet purse and finished off this mat just in time to go under my anniversary flowers.  

 

 

 

  

Discover: Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests. Trawl libraries, second hand shops or local book shops to find titles that fill the need. 

I enjoyed re-visiting my gardening books to learn how to grow herbs and vegetables in pots in the new house.  I've only been used to planting in garden beds, so this is new and experimental.

 

Enhance: community: possibilities support local growers and producers.  Help out in your community. Start a blog!

I started blogging again after a 3 month break while we got settled after the move.  I found the local growers market and have been supporting it every Sunday morning usually while others are sleeping. I have also really enjoyed reading other blogs and I'm just amazed at how many inspirational and talented people there are out there.

 

Enjoy: Life! Embrace moments with friends and family.

I had a couple of really nice dinners with some special friends this month.  I've also bought some beautiful framed prints. These are from a very talented photographer.   I posted a pic below but please check out Jen Waltmon's Red Bubble site  Thanks Jen I'm enjoying them immensely !

 

 

 

Thanks Christine for starting the Slow Living blog idea. I look forward to having a whole month to reflect on next time.

Jen



 

 

 

 

 



Sunday Projects

I'm off to a good start, I've been to the market and bought a punnet of lettuce and a few herbs.  I then came home and potted them and re-potted some of the lettuce that had grown from seed all too close together.  I'm now calling this the table garden.

 

I have a few unfinished projects that I'm going to start to finish today.  I have some cloths to finish off and I might make a table mat with all the little squares.

 

 

I've picked up this magazine rack at an op shop over a year ago.  I have taken the old cover off to use as a pattern and I have sanded it back and lacquered it.  I just need to make the cover next.

 

 

Shame I also have to do things like grocery shop and clean the house today !

 



Restoration Complete

Well we finally completed the restoration of my grandmothers dressing table.  The delay wasn't in the amount of work it took it was just that other things have taken priority over the last couple of months.

I posted the original photos in this blog on the 2nd of October.
http://two-days-at-a-time.blogspot.com/2011/10/restoration.html

Here is one of the photos I posted but to see them all click on the link above.

And this is the finished product.   It turned out exactly the way I had pictured it in my mind.  I knew we wouldn't get rid of all of the green as the silky oak absorbed the colour into it's grain.  I like that the green lives on in a more subtle way..................

I'm very pleased with the end result.

Creativity - On My Mind.......

This post is part of a Friday photo feature called "On My Mind" over at the Down to Earth Blog. 

http://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/   (I'm just a little late this week)

It's been a busy and intense week and I'm feeling the need to exercise some creativity and get the right side of the brain going.


I'll do some work on this mat today.  I've made a few of these before and they are handy to put on the kitchen bench to put hot pans on as they come of the stove top.  They are made with natural jute (bought at the hardware store) and this is combined with some variegated natural cotton.  It's just single crochet stitch simple and fast to make.

Restoration

This silky oak dressing table belonged to my Grandmother and was then passed onto my parents sometime in the 1970’s.   At this time there were some very interesting colours in furniture stains around and my father chose Antique Green for this grand old piece.

I have just had it shipped up to my house and unfortunately on the way the main mirror was broken so we will be getting that replaced within the next few weeks.We have been busy sanding off most of the green.  I don’t believe we could ever get it all off and I actually don’t want to.  I love the colour that it is becoming and plan to only finish the table with a clear protective coat.

We’ve been onto this project for couple of weeks now and probably have a couple more to go.

The dresser was unassembled to ship so I wasn’t able to take a before photo however I’ll look back through some old photos to see I can find and post it together with the finished photo soon.