100 Years Ago Today

On this day, 100 years ago, my Father was born. That is a bit strange to even type, thinking that if he were alive he would be 100 years old and we would be throwing a huge party. However, he passed away when he was 72, so he will forever remain that age in my memory. But just think, he was born 100 years ago. I surfed the Internet and found many sites devoted to life 100 years ago. Quite interesting.

Now, in case you think I am 75 or 80, I am not. I am the last of 9 children, born to an already “older” father. The first photo was taken when he was about 27 years old, the other at my wedding in 1978. He passed away in October of 1979.

Happy Birthday Daddy.

Art and coffee

We traveled to college town tonight to see youngest son’s exhibit at a local coffee house. What a fun night. Youngest had a few of his unique paintings on display and worked on one throughout the evening. There were local bands and individuals singing and others also had their works on display. We met quite a few of our boy’s friends and we delivered the cookies and boxes of groceries for the starving artist and his big brother. It was a late night for us, but I am very glad we went. In case you are wondering, I did not drink coffee. I am not old enough to do that. I had a cup of hot tea as did youngest, although I thought his tea tasted like dishwater. Maybe it is an acquired taste.

Baking Marathon

One batch oatmeal raisin walnut …………………….45 minutes
One batch brown sugar ……...……………………......45 minutes
One batch chocolate chip……………………………......45 minutes
Double batch peanut butter………………………….....One hour

Look on college sons faces
when we deliver them tonight………………………....Priceless


Youngest lives in a dorm, and his best friend lives in an apartment with two other guys. Youngest visits there often. Oldest lives in an apartment with 2 other guys, so the cookie eating potential is high. Every now and then you just have to spoil them. Just in case you are wondering, husband might get a few of these as well. (If he’s a good boy.)

Now you know why I wanted the extra large canister set!
Take a close look at the peanut butter cookies. I discovered a time saver. The tenderizer side of my meat mallet makes a perfect cookie masher. Saves time from going over them twice with a fork, and makes an interesting design.

***Commercial endorsement*** If you have never tried them, might I recommend Dough Maker’s cookie sheets? (Check out doughmakers.com) They are lightweight, aluminum, naturally non-stick, and bake very evenly! (I just wish I could get stock in the company, or free product every time I give them a plug.) They are a little more expensive than some, but I am fortunate to live close enough to the company to take advantage of factory sales. The great thing is, I will never have to replace them. With that in mind, they are a bargain!

A Penny Saved...

Okay readers, I have wanted to share this for a while, but have not taken the time until now. I have quite possibly the secret to financial freedom and have been keeping it mostly to myself. Inkling knows about it because I have shared it with her, but here goes readers, my recipe for…

Homemade Laundry Detergent! Now, let me tell you that I stumbled upon this recipe on the Internet about a year and a half ago, and since then I have been using it almost exclusively. I have bought perhaps 3 bottles of the pricey stuff when on sale for a back up, but this is my main detergent. I am posting pictures of the ingredients just in case you are like I was and wondering what in the world I am talking about. Now, mind you, this is not goofy science here, we are not using Kool-Aid and Hubba Bubba and turning them into detergent, these are actual laundry products that with a little work, a little mixing, and your own tap water end up making a liquid detergent that saves you big money. I can purchase enough of these products for a year’s worth of detergent for about $10.00 and just today in Meijer’s ad, you can get 2 bottles of Tide for $10.00. Hmmmm…To save even more money, I have found that I can wash everything in COLD water and still have excellent results!

I will tell you though, that this detergent will not have the same consistency as what you buy, this will be more of a gel like substance. However, if you put it in the washer with water before adding your clothes you will never have a problem. It is wonderful at getting your clothes clean, and yes, I do still use a purchased product for pre-treating tough stains when necessary. I have altered the original recipe to one that I like best and will give you my version. I purchased a large tub with a lid at Wal-Mart and make a huge batch at once. Husband carries it to the basement for me, and when we use it ( yes, husband does laundry) we scoop it out with a long handled ladle. Of course you can funnel it into old detergent bottles, but this works best for me. The hardest part about the whole procedure is grating the bar of soap. Once that is done the rest will take only about 10 minutes or less. Here goes:

Homemade Laundry Detergent


6 pints water
1 bar Fels Naptha Soap, grated fine
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
4-6 gallon bucket or tub
2 quarts hot water
More Hot Water

Mix grated Fels Naptha with 6 pints of water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in the Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 2 quarts Hot Water to a large bucket, add soap mixture and mix well. (I use a whisk) Fill bucket with Hot Water to equal 4 gallons, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until thickened. Use ½ cup of this mixture per load. You may mix this again to break up the gel consistency after the 24 hours.


Let me know if any of you are brave enough to try it. I will never go back to spending what I used to knowing that for just a fraction of the amount and my own water I will have the same results.

Back to School

I returned to school today, much to my dismay. Our weather for spring break was quite awful. I did accomplish quite a bit at home, so even though the weather was yucky I guess it was a good break. Youngest son finally did begin to share stories about his trip, and it sounds like it was a great week. The work they set out to do was completed and for a treat at the end of the week, they took 20 children from the slum (those with the best grades at school) to a giraffe park to feed the giraffes. He escaped any form of stomach bugs, although some in their group were hit hard. All in all it was quite an experience and he is willing to go again if the opportunity presents itself. Now to move on to the next family challenge: Number one son’s upcoming graduations and trip to Amsterdam. I do not know what I will do this summer when there is no major event to be planned out (or stressed out because of). I guess I will have to hire my services out as an event planner and fundraiser. I think there might be a great corporate job in my future if I try hard enough. If only they would let me work in my pajamas we might strike up a deal.

Happy Easter-Anniversary

I am proud that two very special days have converged into one on this date. The first is Easter, and the second, my 29th wedding anniversary. Now, I am fine with giving Easter top billing. I know that the very fiber of who I am is dependant upon the circumstances of this day. I am grateful to have a Lord who loved me enough to die on the cross to forgive my sins, and then rose again to ensure my own resurrection some day.

The second event, my wedding anniversary also speaks volumes as to who I am. I have loved and lived with this man and have carved out a life on this earth which includes him. That these two days are celebrated together this year is quite a blessing.

I say all of this to introduce my walk down memory lane. I would like to reminisce for a while and explain how this wedded union all began….


If you remember from earlier posts, husband and I went to the same small town Bible College. That is where we met and this is the how:

I was a cheerleader on campus and a friend on the basketball team first introduced me to future husband, he was a nice guy and it seemed he was at all the games, so I saw him often. Soon, these meetings became slightly intentional and we entered into the pre-dating phase of a relationship.

I held an on-campus job, which in itself speaks of the 70’s. I was a receptionist in the lobby of my dorm. This was in the day when there were no cell phones, and no telephones in the dorm rooms. A single pay telephone was positioned in the middle of each hall. However, when prince charming had no pocket change he would resort to the other method of communication for his potential princess. Each room was equipped with a state–of–the-art intercom system. That is where my job came in, if I were on duty, it was my job to buzz whatever room and announce to the resident that prince charming was in the lobby. (Or possibly the pizza delivery guy)

Now, the single most important dating event of the campus was approaching and a poster for this event was positioned right behind my desk. Not only did I have to buzz other girls for their dating opportunities, but also I had to endure staring at that poster each night I worked. Dateless me helped further many relationships while I longed for a date to the Ball. Did I say Ball? Oh no, let me explain that. Remember, this is a Bible College. In the day, no honorable Bible College would host a dance; they just could not take the risk of what that might lead to. Instead the most important event of the year, one that any girl seriously working on her “M-R-S” Degree would aspire to attend, was The Winter Banquet. I was no exception. So far, a date for the banquet had eluded me. But, the very job, which seemed a curse, would also prove to be a blessing. On this particular night, my prince charming had decided to spend his evening hanging out at the desk!
This was very nice, because it gave me a chance to get to know him better and I did not feel so sad as I buzzed girls to come to the lobby. As we sat there that night and made small talk, I noticed he got rather quiet for a moment and then he quietly pointed to the poster on the wall and asked if I wanted to go to THE WINTER BANQUET. My heart leapt as I turned to him and sweetly answered yes. His next words should have spoken volumes about this man as he said, “Well, not with me, I just wondered if you wanted to go”. It took a moment for me to gain my composure and decide my next move, and while still deciding, he said he was kidding and did indeed ask me to go.

So there it is, that is how prince charming and I began this wild ride of a life together. We were married two and a half years later, have two great sons, and have been blessed beyond what we feel possible. The bottom photo is of The 1976 Winter Banquet, the date which started it all.

Kenya Homecoming

My Kenya traveler is home. Sleeping. We picked him up at his college tonight rather than the airport. After hello, his next words were, “I am so tired”. I asked if he had the cable to his digital camera so we could see pictures at home and he informed me, “I didn’t take any pictures, only about four. I will get copies of everyone else’s”. At that my mouth must have dropped because he asked if I was all right. Then he said something quite profound; he said, “I figured I should have either been working or playing with the children, not taking pictures”. I guess he has a valid point, but how can a mom show off her son’s trip to Kenya without pictures? I guess I will wait for those copies. He then wanted a milk shake but we did not stop until an hour into our trip home in order to get the best one. At that point we woke him, he took a few sips then went back to his deep sleep for the rest of the way home. Upon arrival at home he said, “ I am going to bed real soon”. He did. Five minutes after walking in our house he is fast asleep. So there you have it. I must wait until tomorrow to get any details of his trip, and that is okay. He is safe on American soil, looks healthy to me, and evidently had a good trip. I have to remember that with travel, layovers and the time change he had been awake nearly 3 days. Thank you for your prayers for all of us. I will have more details to share at a later time.

HmmMM....

Okay, so I have too much time on my hands. But, they say you are what you eat….