Keurig Coffee Machine

Well, here it is, a new year.  With all that has happened in the past year with losing a sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and my oldest brother, I need something new to redirect my life.  There have been some good things in my life happen this year already, but are so personal, I can't relate to them on here.  Here's to hoping 2013 will be the year we can turn our family and life around.

One of the things that did happen was a small, helpful bonus of money.  Since they came out, I've kept my eye on the Keurig Single Serve Coffee maker.  With this bonus money, the kids and I decided to go ahead and get one.  It was love at first cup!!!!  My boy loves coffee, my girl loves cocoa, and I'm a confirmed tea drinker.  I did used to love coffee too, but over the past few years, coffee has given me terrible heartburn.  Before getting this machine, coffee was going to waste in the pot, and all day long there was impatience with waiting for the kettle to whistle saying the water was hot enough to make tea and cocoa.  The link above actually shows the model we did buy.  But I do want to share some hints for everyone that would be helpful if you think this is a waste of money.

First hint:  get either the My K-Cup, Ekobrew, or Solofill Cup Filter. I have both the My K-Cup and Solofill and like them both.  Don't know much about the Ekobrew filter, but from other sites I've read, it works the same as Solofill.  With any of these three, you can fill them with your own coffee and save a bunch of money by using MJB or Folgers ground coffee.  You can even get small samples of coffee and try different flavors without wasting an entire pot if you don't like the coffee.  The whole reason I suggest it is that those K-cups you buy in the store that are pre-made is expensive.  We bought some when we bought the machine and I was in shock that it cost $22 for 36 of those cups.  I could spend that much buying a pound can of coffee and 4 boxes of teabags and still have change left over.  Here's a little bit of math for you-- 36 K-cups or 600 cups of tea and coffee (round figure, since I don't know how many cups of coffee could be made from a one pound can).  I think you can see where I'm going with it.

Hint #2:  and this is the big one.  Being a tea drinker, I was searching the web to find out if anyone was able to use tea in this machine.  Several people say just run it for the hot water and drop a teabag in the cup.  I actually used both the My K-Cup and the Solofill with Red Rose Tea bags, pulling the string off and stuffing them in the filters of those 2 cups.  The tea comes out tasting like it's sat and brewed for 10 minutes on the counter.  The beauty of it is that I didn't have to wait that time for the kettle to heat-- or the 10 minutes for the bag to sit in the cup to brew.  About 90 seconds (if that, I don't time it) I have a hot cup of tea, throw some sugar in it and I'm back to doing whatever I was doing.

We also have been successful with filling a Cup of Noodles cup with this machine.  So that's makes it a win-win-win for this family.  Everyone is happy with being able to choose what they want to drink and when.  With winter in full swing here, we need all the hot drinks we can handle right now.

Homemade Soda-- I'm in heaven!!!!!!

OK, as I sit here tonight, I keep looking into the kitchen and marvel at the new toy this family just got today. What is it, you ask? It's a soda maker. Now I know most people look at that and think that we got the Soda Stream. Well, you couldn't be farther from the truth. I went with this soda system from Keg Connection. It consists of a CO2 bottle, something close to a welding/air pump guage, a hose with a connector on the end and a little gadget called the Carbonator. But before I go on and explain this system, I would like to give you all a background story on the reason we switched from Coke to this system.

As I sit here, I'm comtemplating about getting the LapBand put in. I try to eat right, and do what I can, but my weight has ballooned out of control. There were no diets that were working, and now I'm sitting at over 300 lbs. I've been told I need to cut out sodas, chocolate, anything that would have sugar in it. Someone would have to shoot me if I totally cut them out of my life. Then I sat back and realized, some of the weight problems began when they started bringing out convience foods and putting that high fruitcose corn syrup in sodas. That was around the start of the 80's when the microwave also came out. Before that, food was almost always cooked from scratch, and soda was still made from sugar. Maybe my family needs to take a trip back in time. Or maybe I can bring those days to the present.

So, now we are back to the soda maker. I did look at the Soda Stream, and just couldn't justify the cost of it when the CO2 canisters cost $15 for a tiny bottle. There are conversion kits out there, but they cost just as much as the machine does, so I started looking for alternatives. For what I would have payed for a Soda Stream and at least one extra CO2 bottle that might not last, I got the above setup, including extra bottle. These bottles hold 20oz of CO2 and I can get them refilled for only $4 each. Well, there's some savings, $4 vs $30 for the Soda Stream. You do the math. Another bonus-- I can mix the soda in some old 2 liter bottles, or 20oz bottles, where with the Soda Stream, I would be stuck with their 1 liter bottles.

I'm still on the search for syrups for it. I did make a decent root beer that rivals A & W and Hires Root Beers. For those that want the recipe, all I did was mix 1 cup each of sugar and water on the stove until it boils and all the sugar disolve, then mix in one teaspoon of McCormick Root Beer extract. Let cool and then put 1/8 of a cup (2 tablespoons or 1 ounce) in a cup and add ice and the carbonated water. Stir gently and enjoy. I'm also working on an “energy drink”. But we are planning on ordering the syrup concentrate and some 32oz bottles with pumps (like what you see at those sno cone shops) so we can meter out the syrup. We also tried the cola from Soda stream, even though we had to make 2 liters worth of it. It wasn't bad, tasted like Coke even though the syrup smelled like crap.

When we get more ideas about syrups, will come back and post them. One thing for everyone to remember if you get either system; Don't expect to carbonate your water/beverage to bubble like the commercial sodas do. But the taste so far competes with the commercial sodas.

Going Green???

I've sat here for the past few nights and really thought about what "Going Green" really means. I mean, everyone is into saving the planet, use less packaging, blah blah blah, but if you really think about it, most of that is what our grandparents, great-grandparents, and so on had been doing for generations. Don't get me wrong, I like some of the new convenience things out there, like the Swiffer Sweeper and Clorox Ready Mop. But I'm wondering if we are getting the wrong picture when we say we are "going green".

In an earlier post, I made mention that I was starting a soap-making adventure. I've completely given up on bar soaps, mainly because I don't like using the bars. I really prefer liquid soap. I found a wonderful book, Making Liquid Soaps by Catherine Failor. Her instructions could have been more clear, but in a nutshell, it's well written. Using her recipes, I've made 100% Liquid Castile soap, and one of the shampoos. I will say this about the shampoo; it did not thicken on me, and the one time I did use it as a shampoo, it left a greasy, waxy lump on the back of my head. I'm not sure what I did wrong, if my hair went into shock from using pure soap, or it's the residue from the store bought shampoos, but won't try it again on my hair until I figure it out. But it does turn into a very nice body wash. Both of my kids love it.

And that doesn't stop there. The Liquid Castile is now being used in many recipes I found on the net from a degreaser spray to window cleaner and will be using it in my ready mop. If you start on the Edentia Farms youtube page, this gal will show you how to make liquid laundry soap and even has a link to the amounts she uses. A little deeper search will also find her recipe for dish soap. I have made the laundry soap, and will be trying it later on this weekend, but the dish soap is to die for!!!!! I was getting grease and other gunk off of pans that I didn't think would ever come off, so I will believe her claim that it will get Sharpie Marker off of almost anything.
* Just wanted to come back and say that I did try the laundry soap this weekend, and throughout the week and we love it as much as the dish soap. Had to wash blankets and pillows over the weekend, and my daughter is complaining now that her blankets and pillows are so bright she can't sleep w/o sunglasses. One of the pillows is one she made and it's brighter now than when she made it. Those two recipes are keepers in our household!!!!

But back to the "going green" thing. We are starting to view this as if it was good enough to do for our ancestors to keep clean, then why shouldn't we do the same thing?? If making soap was just using wood ash from the fire filtered with water, then combined with grease, no one would have to worry about running out of soap ever again. Though I try to take the easier road with this. Instead of trying to filter wood ash, I buy my KOH (Potassium Hydroxide) online. Some of the recipes (see the dish soap) call for organic oils, I just use what I can buy cheaply at WalMart or Winco. Borax is my choice for a neutralizer and thickener rather than anything else out there because it's cheaper and has a two-in-one punch. Our ancestors used what they had at hand to make their soaps, then why shouldn't I do the same thing?? I'm just going about it in a little bit of a lazy way. I just can't bring myself to rend the grease from what I'm cooking to make soap out of. EEEEWWWWW!!!!!

Give it a try, you might just like the results that come out of making your own soap. It sure surprised us with our savings, as well as how clean everything gets. Watch the videos that youtube has, so you can get an idea how it's suppose to look and act when making. Try doing the bars first, like I did, then expand onto the liquid soaps. It does help, and get a copy of Failor's book. I treat mine like a bible. Though I will say one thing, you don't need a double boiler system, the crock pot does even better. Plus, you don't have to worry about making sure there is enough water in a double boiler to keep it going.

And if you are wondering about those savings, for around $20 I was able to get the KOH, oils, borax, and distilled water. Out of it all, I've made approximately 2 gallons of Castile soap, 1 gallon each of the body wash (just can't call it shampoo), laundry soap, and dish soap. You tell me, can you get all that for around $20 and have it last for about 4 months?? 5 gallons of soap. I think our ancestors were on to something there.

Another "Green" Experiment

Lately, I've been playing with going green, or going natural with everything in the house. Finally got the guts up to try to make my own soap bars. The first 2 were a bust, so started looking into other soap ideas. Finally tried making my own liquid soap.

The first one I tried to make was for a liquid castile soap. I tried to make it the old fashioned way with 100% olive oil. It turned out great!!! I'm starting to use it for most of my cleaning, and I am pleased with the results. Still have to tweak the window cleaner recipe, but found several others on the net for this "liquid gold".

I've also tried my hand at homemade dishwasher powder. Figured out what I was doing wrong. (Yes, I will share the recipe after the story) When I first tried it, it was borax and baking soda. Left an awful powder residue on my dishes. Then found one recipe that said to use Kool-aide packets with the recipe. Same story. Then came Kosher Salt. Didn't help. Finally, after some more research, and a screw-up on my part for the chemical to make the liquid soap, I finally came up with the following recipe:

1/4 cup borax
1/4 cup Washing soda
2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
3 tablespoons Citric Acid
Small Amount of Rice *

I don't know what it is with this area, but using the washing soda instead of baking soda really helped. I tried the Citric Acid mixed with my regular dishwasher powder, and suddenly had glasses that were clear, not cloudy. These were the same glasses that I tried the other experiments on, they clouded up and I just couldn't get rid of them. This does make a small batch, in fact, I'm keeping it in a pint-sized mason jar. When I use it, I use about 1 tablespoon in each cup, and my dishes haven't looked better. I also use white vinegar in the rinse compartment.
* Side Note: After making this, it went into a rock-hard mass that I had to scrape out of the jar. I went back to look at other recipes that others have made, and they were having the same problems. One person added about a teaspoon of regular white rice and the clumping problem disappeared. I haven't tried this myself since my rice supply got bugs in it, but will try it again soon with the rice and see if that helps.

At the rate I'm going, I'll be able to clean out all of those old chemical cleaners the ads say we just can't live without. Between what I'm finding to make with regular cleaners, and my steamer, we should be free of those store cleaners in next to no time!!!

Cloth Menstral Pads

Ok, ok, ok, don't yell, way too much has happened for me to keep up with this blog. But I'm going to try harder.

One thing that this post will be about is saving money. Sort of. I lost my job last year just after Christmas ( and i won't go into that story) and started having a hard time getting some of the "necessities of life" for my family. My daughter has been menstrating for over a year by this time, and with buying pads becoming harder and harder to do, we finally researched cloth pads. After making a bunch, both of us give it an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up. I will supply the pattern I've been using, but we found that there are no leaking, less odors, and less waste than we had with the commercial pads.

In the research we did, I came upon a pattern similar to this, but we changed it some for our use. If you own the orginal pattern, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due.

Now, on to the pattern---( I'm sorry I don't have pics to post with this, my internet connection has problems with loading pics)

You will need:
Package of washcloths (usually the 18 count washcloths from WalMart work well)
Flannel--I used a couple of yards worth for myself and my daughter, and thinking of needing some more
Sewing thread
Serger works the best, but you can also use a sewing machine with a zigzag setting for most of the work.
Snaps (press-on would be the best-- will explain more later)


First thing, open those washcloths you just bought and toss them in the washer with the flannel and wash on the hottest water setting you can. You need to pre-shrink them before anything is done, or they will shrink on you afterwards, and that is something you don't want to have happen. It might not hurt to iron them afterwards, that was a step I didn't worry about since no one will see them when they are used, unless they are doing laundry for you.

After that- you will want to lay out a washcloth on top of the flannel and either just cut, or draw around the cloth to get a square of flannel the same size as the washcloth. Or you can do the cheaters way, which is what I did. I layed out the washcloth on top of the flannel, and then serged around the washcloth, letting the serger cut away the extra flannel as I went. You should be able to do the same thing with a sewing maching, just cut the flannel after zigzagging around the washcloth.

Once done, you will have your pad completely made, just fold it into thirds and stick it where it belongs. It's best if you have somewhat of snug-fitting undies to wear them with. If you prefer the tabs, then here we go with that:

Take some extra flannel, cut two strips about 2" to 3" wide by 3" long. Fold each in half longways and sew up one end and the side. Turn right side out and finger press flat. Grab your snaps and follow the directions on the package for the press-together snaps and place a female snap on one tab and a male snap on the other. Now grab a pad, and fold it into thirds. Use a straight pin to mark where those folds are, or a marker that will wash out to mark those fold lines. Open the pad back up and place the tabs about halfway down, lining up the fold line with the open end of the tabs (it helps to keep the tabs snapped together at this point so you can make sure they line up at the same point). Give yourself about 1/8th to 1/4" room to catch the tabs in the sewing and then sew a straight line down that fold.
You can do this with regular buttons and buttonholes (that is something I never learned how to do right, plus I think it would feel uncomfortable between the legs), sew on snaps, hook and loop tape or other types of fasteners, but just remember when you choose the fastener, think about how much you are going to be snapping them on and off. This is why we chose to stop when the squares were sewn together.

That's all there is to making these. We don't use the tabs, and I haven't even made the fold lines. Since I started using these, my cycles have been lighter, so I don't need as heavy a pad like I did using the commercial ones. At first, my daughter was going to balk at using them, saying she didn't like the feel of flannel on her skin. She has since started using them and fell in love, since they don't itch like using a regular washcloth did against the tender skin ( and we both have done that in a pinch). They open flat when washing, so they take no time at all in drying.

And speaking of washing, this is how we care for them. Use, throw in hamper afterwards, wash with regular clothes. Every once in a while, I will throw them in the washer and just let them soak in cold water for an hour or two, but never had a problem with staining with them. There are some out there that keep a bucket of water by the toilet just to drop them into, change the water every day during use, then wash at the end. With two big labs, that wouldn't last long around here, but they do leave the hamper alone. After drying, I just fold them up into the pad shape and store in a bag by the toilet, so they are ready for the next time or person. Just remember to keep the fabric softener use to a minimum so they will keep absorbing like they should. I rarely use it myself, so don't have much to worry about it around here.

And figure this: We were spending about $8 a month on commercial pads ( and that is going with store name brand). Haven't used them in over 8 months now-- so we have saved over $50 so far. Now if you think my math is off, some of that money went to water and electricity use to keep them washed. My daughter is very enviromentally concious about what waste we throw away. She is happy about the less plastic we are throwing in the trash now.

Going Green

Though it's been a while, I decided to take a little time to talk about going green. I know everyone is doing it, but does anyone realize that by going green is basically the same as what our grandparents and great-grandparents were doing all the time?

The ReadyMop pads and cleaning solution I posted before is just one step in combining the old with the new. It also saves me alot of money since I don't buy the solution or pads anymore. The solution only costs me about $1 to make by the gallon and I use it more than just on the floor.

I keep looking around the internet for different ways to replace what I use with cost effective alternatives. I'm still currently for an alternative for the dishwasher, since the baking soda/borax mix that is currently out there just doesn't get the dishes clean enough for me. The best I have been able to come up with is a mix of the soda/borax with GV dishwasher powder. When I looked over the box, it has both of those ingrediants in it, but also emzynes that help remove the food. So I've been using that for my mix.

My newest love is the laundry soap recipe I found. It came from the Duggers' website (18 and counting, or is 19 and counting now?). Their recipe for the powdered laundry soap works wonders here, but I ended up making a few changes to it.

For one, I use Ivory Soap bars. And the best way to shred it is to open the bars up enough to let them dry out for a week (or longer) first, then use a cheese grater to grate them. Then I mix it all in a clean Ice Cream bucket and use a 1/8c coffee scoop per load. It hasn't built up on the clothes and they smell nice and clean when it's done. I actually had enough to fill a one gallon ice cream bucket using 4 bars of soap. And it cost less than $10 to get that much. Plus I still have some of the borax and washing soda left over for other things.

As I find more out there, I will post where I find them and what I think about how they work.

Kitty's Barefoot Sandals

Ok, I had to take a break from working on the sweater, especially as I have a lot going on in the family at the moment. Tonight, my thoughts turned to summer and warmer weather, so I started pulling out some patterns for Barefoot sandals. Well, the pattens I do have either take special elastic thread, or creating long ties that end up hurting the back of my ankle when I put my feet up. So after some thought and a little experiment, I came up with this pattern:


Kitty's barefoot sandal

Sz 10 Crochet thread-- Your choice of color, one ball will make too many for a sane person to keep track of
4 4mm beads in coordinating colors (or whatever beads you want, but it must be at least the 4mm size- though you may go bigger) 6mm or larger, only need 2
US 7 crochet hook

This was made to fit my big, sz 10 feet, but my daughter loves them as is for her sz 7, so adjust as needed for size of foot you are making them for.


Pattern:
Ch 25, join in to 1st chain to form ring
Ch 1, sc around chain until completely covered, sl st into 1st sc.
Ch 1, sc in 1st 3 sc of ring, turn
Ch 1 (does not count as starting sc) sc in each sc. Repeat this row until 37 rows completed, or until it will fit comfortably (w/o stretching) from second toe to ankle.
Next row: Ch1, put bead on hook, sc in first sc around bead to secure it. Sc in next sc, put bead on hook and sc in last sc. (If you feel better about it, you may string the beads on the thread before hand and just do a beaded crochet stitch, the choice is yours)
Optional—if you used a larger bead, then sc, add bead, sc.
Now Create a chain that will around the ankle and just touch the bead(s) on the other side, plus 15 chains.
Sc in 15th chain from hook, sc in each ch until back to the bead(s). Finish off and weave in ends.
When I made mine, I wove the beginning tail into the ring when I covered it, and used the end tail to go back through the beads a few more times to make sure the beads were secure.

To wear: Slip covered chain over toe, then wrap ankle strap around ankle and slip other loop over beads. Enjoy your new "sandals" this summer.





I've been the type of person that really don't like wearing shoes, though as I get older, I find I can't handle the hot pavement during the summer. My father always called me an Okie for not wanting to wear shoes all the time. So this is my answer to those that can't stand seeing me w/o shoes, while I get to relax with no shoes on.