Update On Baby Hummingbirds

I thought that we only had 2 baby hummingbirds but yesterday I discovered that there are actually 3 of them, here are a couple of updated pictures of all of them. 

Homemade Fabric Softener

This fabric softener is really great and you have many options for scent because it is made with hair conditioner.  My personal favorite scent is Sauvé’s 15 oz. bottle of “Waterfall Mist” and it’s less than $1.00 a bottle.  There is vinegar in this recipe but you cannot smell it at all on your clothing after using this, it just has a great clean smell, nothing super strong or overpowering.  This takes less than 5 minutes to make and is very inexpensive. 

Fabric Softener

Yields: Almost 3 Quarts

Ingredients

6 cups Hot Water

3 cups Distilled White Vinegar

2 cups (16 or 15 oz.) Suave Conditioner

Steps

1.  Mix conditioner and hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely (I just funnel both into an old fabric softener bottle, put the lid on and shake.) 

2.  Add the vinegar, and mix well.

3.  Store in a large container (empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc.).

4.  Pour into a downy ball or use 1-2  tablespoons per load.

Our Humming Bird Family

This little humming bird has been living on a water line to our house for a while now.

 

Just yesterday I went out and noticed that the humming bird looked different, at least that is what I thought at first glance. When I looked closer I discovered that it wasn't the same humming bird at all, but instead, TWO humming bird babies.

 

Their Mama made sure to fly over by me when I was taking pictures to let me know she was there to protect them.

 

These little guys are SO cute!

No-Bake Cookies

Not only are these cookies so delicious but they are so simple and quick to make!  Who doesn't love chocolate and peanut butter?  These taste fudgey (is that a word?) and have just the right amount of peanut butter.  The cookies I made I only used 4 cups of oats but they were a little too wet so they didn't dry right away, so I bumped it up to 5 cups, which should take care of that.

Here's what you'll need to make them:

Ingredients                                                                              Yields: about 2 dozen cookies

1 cup Milk

4 cups Sugar

8 Tablespoons Cocoa

1 cup (2 sticks) Butter

2 teaspoons Vanilla

1 cup Peanut Butter

5 cups Quick Oats

Wax Paper

Steps:

1. Set out a couple sheets of wax paper (about the length of your arm). In a pot, mix together the sugar, milk, cocoa and butter. Place the mixture on the stove, and let it heat until it reaches a boil, boil for 3 minutes, no need to stir.

2. Next, add the oats, vanilla and peanut butter. You can either leave the mixture in the pot when adding these ingredients if it is big enough, or carefully pour them into a large bowl before adding the oats etc.

3. Mix all of the ingredients until completely combined, then quickly drop the mix onto the wax paper. You can make the cookies whatever size you want, whatever size you put on the paper is what size they will be when they harden. Now let the cookies cool so they will fully harden, which doesn't take long at all.

That's it!   Enjoy!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

I love this recipe, it saves me so much money and works great in my HE washer.

            Liquid Laundry Detergent

Ingredients

Half a Bar grated Fels Naptha Soap 

5 Gallon Pot (for water) 

5 Gallon Bucket (to mix soap ingredients in) 

1/2 cup WASHING Soda 

1/2 cup Borax 

2 Gallons and 64 oz. Boiling Hot Water 

Hand Held Stick Blender 

3 Empty, Gallon Milk Jugs

*All soap ingredients can be found in the same part of the laundry aisle, in my experience all three are almost always side by side.

Steps

1.  Put grated Fels Naptha in small saucepan and cover with 3 cups of hot water from the 4 ½ gallons of water, heat on low until dissolved.

2.  Fill bucket with 1/2 of the boiling hot water and add melted soap. Stir to combine.

3.  Add the washing soda and the borax, mix well.  Fill the bucket with the rest of the hot water, as it cools it will thicken.  Do not transfer into containers until the soap has completely cooled, I would wait a day or 2 because it will become gelatinous. 

4.  After the 1 to 2 days, If the soap is too thick gradually add a little hot water to it, 1 cup at a time, using your hand held stick blender to mix the soap up each time you add water. Then funnel the soap into 3 gallon milk jugs, old laundry detergent bottles etc.  Use 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup per load, be sure to shake up the detergent before every use.

First Time Making Soap

So I made my first batch of soap recently, and I think it turned out pretty good! It is still in the "curing" stage which lasts 3-6 weeks. Over this period of time the bar hardens so that it will be nicer and last longer. Also, by this time all of the lye will be gone from the soap (all true soap must be made with lye). For my soap I used olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and castor oil. I made my soap using the "cold process" method. For more information on making your own soap and great free recipes I highly recommend reading the Soap Queen Blog.  You can find great soap making tools from Brambleberry and Wholesale Supplies Plus.  I also recommend the book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Natural Soaps" by Sally Trew. There is great information in this book on what types of oils you can use and what properties they add to the soap, as well as recipes. It was very easy and fun to make my own soap but be sure to research extensively on the proper use and procedures of using lye before trying to make your own.

Getting ready to make my soap, I am also wearing rubber gloves.  When using lye you have to be very, very careful.  If it comes in contact with your skin immediately pour vinegar directly on your skin before doing anything else and don't try to just wash it off with water, lye can eat through your skin.  Here is a great link on handling lye and a lot more videos on soap making.

Here is the soap right after I mixed it all together.

This is after letting the soap sit for 48 hours, now it can be cut.

All of the soap is cut and now must harden for 3-6 weeks.  It smells so good!