So my hubs and I recently took a trip down to New Orleans.  We stopped in Memphis first and experienced our first bed and breakfast which was the best choice EVER.  We also took in Graceland and saw the outside of the Civil Rights Museum on the eve of the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings murder.
I must tell you that although New Orleans itself is an amazing and colorful city, we were surprised at how little the devastation of hurricane Katrina is memorialized. The lack of respect for all those lives lost is unbelievable.   There is a kind of a make shift museum inside a beautiful building that's on the main floor and the 2nd floor is a HUGE museum dedicated to all the years of Mardi Gras parades.  There are dozens of flamboyant sequined dresses some dating back to the early 1900's. Also many crowns worn by past Mardi Gras queens as well as head gear, hair  appliances and other theatrical items. It's a very cool place to go and learn about the history of this legendary party time in New Orleans.  I was captivated by the "dance cards". 🌸
So imagine how sad and unimportant I felt after first seeing a whole floor of basically nothing but news footage and a pair of pants and some street signs in the Hurricane Katrina museum.  As I wondered through it and tried to stay focussed.  I  was saddened by a couple pieces of children's clothing and a broken menorah, some old Louise Armstrong posters and then some pieces of drywall.....with writing on them.  This was the only real dramatic part for me.  A desperate man wrote out his timeline for being stuck for days in the stifling heat with little or no water.  Obviously he wanted his last days of life to be the read by someone.  Someone would surely want to know how badly he suffered.......wouldn't they?  That in the year of 2005 after decades of hurricanes and storms, this is how he and others would die, because of weak broken insufficient levees.  How can this be?  And how can it be that when soooo many poor people living in homes that would be destroyed, came to stay at the convention center because they literally had no vehicles to take them out of the water's strike zone? For days thousands would ensure thirst and hunger, rape and death in that convention center with no food or water.  Unconscionable.  Then it took months for fema campers to be delivered to these people, some still living in those campers today....12 years later.
If you go to New Orleans, the easiest and most affordable way to get around is Uber.  We asked our college age Uber driver what she remembers about hurricane Katrina since she was a lifelong citizen?  "Not much" she answered.  And sadly, she wasn't being flippant.  We asked a few people that question and got basically the same answer.  So I guess it's no surprise that the museum was a quick effort to appease some city council person and a few vacationing northerners.
I'm ashamed of how America has treated their own at times.  We have a current president that was voted into office by these same uncaring kinds.  This isn't the America I proudly wrote reports about in school.  What will the coming generations be proud enough to write about?

I am now and will always remain a kind talking northerner.

Still living simply

So I recently came across a fb conversation about home made laundry soap vs. Store bought.  There was a gal posting that seemed very knowledgeable about the differences and even made scientific references in favor of store bought.
Of course me being me, I had to chime in and share my wealth I formation on the differences and the many benefits of home made soap.  The first being that some had stated that they noticed a bad odor when using the home made soap.  It been my experience that because we have hard water, when the iron content is high, I too have an odor, it's not the soap.  It's a result of the two mixing.  It's not consistently smelly, so I've concluded its the iron or additives put in that did not mix well with the soap.
Second, there have been, over the past several springs water pipes bursting in our area.  Because we were concerned about it we stopped by and talked to the men hired to fix these issues.  It's like a human anatomy we were told.  Fats and bad diet contribute to the build up and sludge I. The pipes.  As they age, they fill up and the results are corroded pipes.
He went on to say that the year Tide came on the market, Roto Rooter made it big.  He eased my mind on this because home made laundry soap, unlike store bought, does NOT contain animal fats to clog up pipes.
I also informed the group that in 2005 when we bought our home, it came with a used washer that ran until last year 2016! In addition to normal weekly laundry that a family of four uses,  3 grands were born and cloth diapered so that added 2 or more loads of washing and extra rinsing per week.  That home made detergent didn't hinder our machine's life in the least!
   On another note, I accidentally ran out of our natural dish soap a few weeks back.  I ran down to the basement and rummaged through our camping things and found a small regular dish soap and used it sparingly.  A day or two later while drinking water from a glass washed with that detergent, I immediately noticed a perfume taste. I smelled the glass and water and sure enough it smelled like lotion or perfume.  It wasn't until a few days later we realized that it was the laundry soap we used! Granted, because we use natural dish soap, it's not really necessary to rinse all that much so it could have been that I didn't rinse effectively but non the less, it was an eye opening happening.
Have any of you experienced anything crazy like this???

There are days when I feel like I'm getting 2 steps ahead and 3 back. Trying to keep up with our little home and big life is somewhat demanding.  I've been making my own laundry soap and household cleaners for years. The laundry soap recipe is just the basic....

1 part fels napth or your choice soap
1 part washing soda
1 part baking soda
MIX and use a couple scoops per load. I CHOSE  to switch the baking soda
for the Borax as a whitener as I think it's not as harsh on fabric.

I ALSO use a scoop of the soap in a bucket of HOT water to wash throw rugs in the summer. I lay them out on the lawn use the hose to saturate the rugs, put the soap mixture on the rugs....I have an old mop that I use to squash and squish the rugs using pressure. Rinse WELL  with the hose and hang to dry.
I've found it is always a great wall wash in the same amounts and way.

I've recently found and began using items from a company called Radiantly You. It's very similar to all the items that I make but don't always have the time to. It's all quality items made in the same way with the same ingredients and I've used most and like all I've used.
The prices are very affordable and in some cases the same as it cost to make. They also have the home made detergent in liquid form that I know a lot of my friends prefer. Here is a link to my site...
radiantlyyou.com/RondaK

I make, use and sell dryer balls. WHAT in the world are those you ask?  Well these.... 
I buy only high quality Alpaca wool to wind and wind then throw them into the washer with HOT water and a TON of  good quality dish soap. As they agitate, they are felted (the fibers attach themselves to one another) then I throw them into the dryer where the felting process is finished.  There are some pictures below.
I also hand dye the wool which is of course all chemical free. That's done before I wind the balls then add a layer of color onto the balls. In large loads, using 6-8 balls cuts the dryer time around 50%!  It's works because the wool absorbs the moisture from the clothing, once the moisture is mostly gone, they then add the moisture back into the air and that's what eliminates the static cling....see YOU are learning even from me :) If you're interested in learning more or purchasing some of the dryer balls, leave me a message and I'll contact you.

Another tip that I offer is buying the wet, generic swifter floor wipes.  I  add  lemon essential oil and a bit more water then make sure that all the wipes are absorbing the liquid.  I personally use doTerra essential oils for their high quality and amazing purity and strength. The lemon adds more cleaning and offers an awesome aroma to the wipes. 

Well that's it for today but there will be a LOT more tips and rants to come on living natural and green. What more would you expect for me?? 
Have a great day and remember to Talk Like a Northerner whenever you can!

Minimalist

Kind of a big word, with bigger meaning. When we moved from our 5 bedroom home some years ago it was because we were on the way down, sd#1 was almost a senior in high school and sd#2 had only 4 years to go.  Just imagine what buying a 2 bedroom home was going to be like for us. I first approached it as a gift. An opportunity to clean and declutter. We donated several rooms of furniture to the local agencies that helped fire victims, women leaving abusive homes etc. It felt liberating....for awhile. And in just 2 years we'd need a crib for our first amazing grand. Although he and his mom never permanently lived with us, it was quite the revolving door home for the next few years as we'd be blessed with 2 more amazing grands-a girl and another boy. Our house was sometimes busting out at the seams but it was blissful. We cherished our time as we knew they'd grow up and as a close family, that's what we do. It's our belief that the old adage "it takes a village" is so important. That and I'm a bit of a control freak but that's another story.  
In between grandchildren  and their mom's trying to find their independence I've developed quite  the scrap room where I'd sew quilts and dresses for our grand daughter. I'd also scrap 25 years of pictures that I'd captured at various stages in 5 lives. Then I took up knitting and crocheting. By the time sd#2 brought home baby #2, I warned her that there was a chance that a yarn ball or two may land in the bassinet. Or that a ream of fabric could quite possibly be grabbed instead of a blanket. It was at this time that I had to come to terms with reality..  I'm a crafting HOARDER.  I simply can't keep moving stuff from room to room and denying.....I admit that I have an issue. So a few weeks back I began decluttering my craft room which my children affectionately call the CRAProom. It's so not easy but I can do this. With each item that I donate or give away, what goes with it is a sweet memory and the love taken to create something from it. I love the memories and reliving them is so sweet. Ill hold on to a swatch or piece of yarn that holds special memory. 
After my dad passed we cleaned out his house. He had several cloth table cloths from his mom, my grandma. I remember the few times we visited her, she used fabric cloths on her tables...no plastic that could easily be washed with a soaking rag. She used fabric and most likely were gifts or from a good will or salvation army. I brought them all home, hand washed them and hung them to dry. When my hubs commented that it's too bad the few stains didn't come out, I remarked that I'd wanted them to remain. That way all the coffee drip marks and tea bags stains would be in my heart as we now use them. I love how they smell and feel. I have one on daily and YES our crazy grands spill and soil them quickly but they aren't the first and hopefully the last to do so. 
So minimizing is a good thing, but holding onto special items in the process is a VERY very good thing. 
So until next time talk a little like a northerer, catch some memories as you do so.