A Tiny (embarassing) tip, more about my Phang spindle, some new bread pans, and hankies...

Do you see what I'm holding there?  That is the plug assembly for our kitchen sink.  It is a replacement for the original, which finally broke last year.  Now.... here is the embarrassing  part, and I am telling you this just in case it happens to you.  For quite a while, I've been complaining to my husband that the sink drain seems to smell really awful.  I had tried a variety of things to "sanitize" it and it never did any good.  Then I discovered something a few days ago.  See, on the original plug, the black rubber part on the bottom was a solid piece.  But, on this cheapy, you can actually open it up like this:

I didn't know that!  And there was all kinds of icky gooey nasty stuff in there.  Now that I have thoroughly cleaned it out, the bad odor has disappeared.  Sigh....  Now, I clean it every time I clean the sink. *blush.*

Ok, on to more salubrious topics...

I have done some more spinning on my Phang spindle and I don't have a Nostepinne (yet) so I used the handle of a wooden spoon to wind the single ply yarn off of the spindle.  In order to do that, I rested the spindle in the larger bowl you see in this picture:

Here is the center pull ball I made on the makeshift Nostepinne:

Then I removed the ball of yarn and used the spindle to make a 2-ply yarn.

Here it is all wrapped onto the spindle:

This is not very much yarn.  I was too curious to wait until I had spun more. 

35 grams of yarn, wrapped into a little skein:

It is certainly not the best yarn I've ever made, but I am new to using a support spindle, so it's not too bad.

Lately, I've been making bread using natural yeast that I got from Caleb Warnock who wrote The Art of Baking With Natural Yeast .  A wonderful book, by the way. Sourdough (this is really not sour) is much more easily digested, and often, those with gluten sensitivities can eat genuine sourdough without any trouble.  Yesterday I was shopping with our daughter for baby things (she is expecting a baby boy in a month) and saw some new Pyrex pans, that I thought would work nicely for bread.  I bought two of them and used them to make my bread this morning.  They are not technically bread pans, but I like that they are a bit shorter than usual bread pans, from end to end, and the handles are nice.  Here is one of the pans - not washed, after the bread was removed:

and here are the two loaves of bread:

This recipe is Caleb's "Grandma's Bread" that I love so much.  The only thing I changed, is I add 1 cup of King Arthur's unbleached bread flour along with the whole wheat flour when I make it.  That is not necessary.  I have made the 100% whole wheat bread very successfully too, but I like the higher rise the unbleached gives it. 

I am 66 years old.  When I was a young child, there were no "facial tissues."  We used handkerchiefs to blow our noses.  This past month, I had influenza, followed by pneumonia and bronchitis.  It took the whole month, and in that time, I went through two whole boxes of tissues.  I know, I know... so what's the big deal?  I'm such a penny pincher.  So, for the price of the two boxes of tissues, I bought 3 yards of cotton print fabrics and am making 12 hankies for myself.  I have 4 of them finished and have been using them and am very pleased. 

Here is one that is finished, on top of the fabrics I have not sewn yet:

I am making them from 18 inch squares of fabric, sewing up a narrow hem and doing the corners like so:

I carry one in my pocket and use it all day and then throw it into the wash.  Don't be alarmed.  We must wash our hands after blowing our noses, even if we use disposable tissues.  This will save me several dollars a year, they are softer on my nose, too, and make my frugal heart happy.  :)

My new spindle!

I mentioned before that I know how to spin.  My spinning wheel is an Ashford Traditional, and my favorite.  I've tried others, through the years, but the Ashford and I get along very very well.  I have a new spindle, however.  I've had a few "drop" spindles, and they are nice, but this new spindle is really pleasurable to use.  It is a "Phang" spindle.  This is a supported spindle.  You rest it in a small bowl on the table, chair or floor of where you are sitting, instead of having the spindle hang from your yarn as you spin.  I wish I had realized how nice it is to use a supported spindle long ago!  I found this one on an Etsy shop here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/tinasangoras.  As I've looked around the web, watched YouTube videos, etc.  I see that I could probably actually carve one for myself.  (Note to self - this would be a nice project for a summer's day in the woods. )

It will take a while to get skillful with this spindle, but there is no hurry... in fact, it is soothing and gentle to use.  This particular style of spindle originated in India.

Here is mine, with a little yarn I've managed to make with it:

Just in case you are wondering...

Our new trailer house, you might recall, was delivered some time ago.  It is set up and tied down, but that is all.  We are patiently waiting for the utilities to be hooked up, for the skirting to be put on, and for the final cleaning and inspection.  It looks very nice sitting out there, but is cold and bleak inside!  Here is a view of the kitchen from the front door entrance.  The green things on the floor on the left are a couple of shutters that will be put up.  The floor is all vinyl, throughout, which I requested.  I don't like taking care of carpets.  It looks so much like wood.  I am very pleased!  We have the components to make a 5-foot "island" with a bar on one side where we can sit on stools and eat, if we wish. The other side has cabinets and drawers.  This is taking a lot longer than we thought it would, but it doesn't matter, really.  Hopefully, the weather will be a lot nicer when we do actually move in.

I made some Banana Bread today....

I had 3 very ripe bananas sitting on the counter, so I made some of my really yummy and healthy Banana Bread.  Here is my recipe:

BANANA "NUT" BREAD

Pre-heat oven to 325 F

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons flax seed (freshly ground- I do it in a little coffee grinder)
1 teaspoon powdered kelp
1/3 cup hot water
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, lightly toasted in a skillet  (If you don't toast them, they turn green when baked.)

Sift the dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, mix the oil and honey.

Add the eggs and mix well.

Then, add the bananas and mix well.

Now, to the banana mixture, add the dry ingredients (not the sunnies yet) alternately with the hot water and mix well.  Then, mix in the sunflower seeds.

Butter a medium sized loaf pan, and spread the batter in it.  Bake for 55 - 60 minutes, and test with a toothpick that you stick in the middle of the loaf.  If it comes out clean, then the banana bread is done.

Cook for 10 minutes in the pan and then on a cooling rack or towel (have you ever noticed that some recipes you read say, "a clean towel?"  Good grief!  Do they think we'd use a soiled towel?) 

When cool, slice, wrap and keep it in the fridge.  Serve with butter.  Oh, my, this is good!

Of course, the kelp powder and flax seed are optional.  And you can change out the flour and sweetener if you wish.  This is just the way I prefer to make it.  If you don't use the flax seed, then reduce the hot water to 1/4 cup.

How to clean your tub/shower - Soooo exciting! ;)

We have lived in this house for just over 20 years now.  I just cleaned the bathroom.  I would have preferred to write that I clean it every week, but I don't always do that.  I was thinking about that as I was down on my hands and knees washing the floor and I decided that I've probably cleaned that bathroom about 500 times in the years we have lived here.  That's a lot of times.  Not remarkable, except, that I have finally, as of today, come up with the Best Method Ever for cleaning our bathtub/shower.  It is one of those molded fiberglass units, very smooth and nice, actually. Unfortunately, like all such things, it gets a build up of soap scum and grunge on it.  I have tried many ways to clean it - "scrubbing bubbles", Commet cleanser, Bar keeper's Friend, baking soda, borax, and probably some I don't even remember.  All of them were okay, but nothing to get too excited about.  But NOW!!!!  TA-Da!!!  Eureka!  I have discovered something.  You are going to be amazed and shocked! 

Here is the scrubber thingie I've been using for a few years now, and I love it.  It does make the job easier.  These sorts scrubbers are available all over the place.  Just look in the area where they sell rubber gloves and toilet bowl brushes.  Here is one available online.

Now comes the secret -  Get the scrubber wet first.  Then, squirt a smallish stream of cheap shampoo in the bottom of your tub.  Then scrub as usual.  Voila!  Clean!  Easy!  Sparkling!

It makes sense... I mean, we use that stuff to wash our hair and it removes oils and other things.  It Really Works.  I used Suave (because that's what I have on hand) but I'm sure any regular shampoo would work.  There is no need to use anything expensive.

Try it and see what you think!

It's here! - Sort of...

Here is our mobile home, out in the road yesterday.

And here it is in place.

There is still a lot of work to be done to get it set properly, and install all of the utilities.  But, at least it is here!

More Rag Rugs!

See this mess??

My kitty likes it.  As you can see, my dining room is not exactly ready for company.  That is because we are preparing to move into our mobile home after it gets here.  I am trying to make some braided rag rugs to put by the bedsides in our new bedroom.  I found THIS tutorial, and am following it. 

I went to our local Goodwill store and purchased 3 bed sheets.  I began working on the braid and suddenly something occurred to me.  My sweet cousin, a number of months ago, redecorated her guest bedroom and she gave me the bed comforter, curtains, lamps with shades, pillow shams and sheets that she was done using.  When I bought the sheets for the rugs, I was not thinking AT ALL about trying to match them to the decor in our bedroom.  But, I got up from where I was working and brought out one of the lampshades.  As you can see, my rugs will match perfectly!

This really made me smile.  Here is the shade atop the fabrics:

Nothing short of amazing!

I tore all of the sheets into 2 inch strips:

And, I've been braiding them into a long long braid.  Instead of joining them as she did in her instructions, I am sewing them like this:

Then I trim off the excess:

and here is how that seam looks:

The rug will be smoother and I think maybe a bit more durable?

When you are braiding, you need something to hold onto the completed braid while you work.  My husband made this really cool thing for me. 

The part hanging down below wrapped in duct tape is metal and very heavy.  All I have to do is push it up and advance my work.  Pure genius!  He saw me struggling with a clamp and knew it would make my hand sore after a while.  I do love that man.  I will, hopefully, post pictures when I get the rugs done.  This is fun :).