Ula Hoffer

Dear Sweet Ula, How do I begin to tell of all the wonderful things I remember about you. Living with you for those few short months was such a special time in my life that I will never forget. We would stay up late to play Rummikub and you would tell so many stories of bygone days while we ate ice cream and your delicious warm rhubarb crisp. You would talk about your late husband, milking the many cows you had and all the foster children you took in, not to mention your own two daughters, Ruth and Nancy, and all your grandchildren. You had such a gift with young people. Always eager for the next party, bonfire, hayride and/or camp-out you would have for them, and laughing at their antics when most people your age could no longer tolerate all the "noise". I remember one time I came home late from work and you were waiting to tell me of the skunk you chased away from the door because you didn't want me to meet up with it. You always had a smile on your face and a scripture on your lips. You wrote so many people encouraging letters and when your hand got too shaky to write anymore you let Nancy set you up with a word-processor. You had such a love for Christ that you would share with anyone willing to listen. You were an inspiration to me and I shall never forget you. Thank you! It won't be the same visiting Bemidji without you there but I can be at peace with the knowledge that we will see you again someday. Until then, all my love.

Making good-smelling laundry detergent

I think it's about time I wrote a new blog, don't you? So what better subject to write about than saving money!! Yep, did you know that you can save a ton of money each year by making your own laundry detergent? Hmmm, if you can make laundry detergent, just imagine the possibilities this opens up to you!! What about dishwasher detergent!? I spend a small fortune on that stuff, someone send me the recipe!! I know it's out there. So I have been making my own laundry soap since January. I used 4 Fels-Naptha soap bars, 4 cups of Borax and 4 cups of Arm and Hammer washing powder. It lasted for 6 months!! Just pennies a load. I could tell it was getting my clothes clean but I do love a good smell to my clothes when I put them on. Especially my towels when I stick my face in them after my shower. They didn't stink, just didn't smell good either. I wasn't planning on changing anything though until the love of my life said that he wished our clothes would smell good. Like when I used to use Softener. So to Pinterest I went and was not disappointed. I didn't even have to look it up. I just started scrolling to see what was new and a little ways down the page was some homemade laundry detergent. This blogger was having the same problem I had and had come up with a solution, so I immediately headed out to the store, (Ok, it was the next morning) and bought all the necessary supplies.

I was rather disappointed to find that this great state of Louisiana does not carry the Zote soap, that she had used, anywhere near me. I think the closest place was down by the gulf somewhere. I really wanted the pink color too! But it wasn't to be had and ordering off the internet wasn't an option if I wanted to keep it cheap. Sure it was $1.75 a bar but they wanted $10 for shipping!!! Highway robbery I tell you!!!! So I used the yellow Fels-Naptha bars and with the purple crystals we got to make LSU colored soap as the girls so delightedly pointed out. Speaking of the girls they were very eager to help me out. Here's some pictures of the process.

It's funny, but when it came time to clean up the dishes and the fine powder of dust that coated everything, my little helpers had conveniently disappeared. Strange! But anyway, here's the finished product!

And yes, I tested it right away and it has met the approval of my husband and I! My clothes now smell good again :-) As far as the cost and how much it made, she said hers was $28. I'm wondering if that was before she added the 2nd bottle of Crystals, which was $8 something because my total came to almost $40. Still, if it lasts for the whole year, or pretty close to it anyway since my family is slightly larger than hers, I will be one happy mama! Along with those two bottles in the previous picture, I also have this much left in the bucket.

Girl Scout....To be or not to be...

I read an article that's going around on Facebook this morning that made me aware of somethings I didn't know about the Girl Scouts. My girls are in Girl Scouts so this is certainly something I need to check into. Please be aware, this article is not me for or against it, it's my rambling thoughts about whether or not we should be involved. The article says that this organization supports abortion and allows little boys who cross-dress to be involved among other things. This is not something I want my girls to be a part of. The other part of me is saying, but my girls know nothing about all this, I didn't know anything about all this. What we know is what our little troop here is doing. Here is the mission statement: Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. They memorize this promise: On my honor I will try: To serve God and my country, To help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law. What is the law you may ask? The Law: I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and to be a sister to every Girl Scout. When this is all you know Girl Scouts seems like a wonderful organization to be a part of. Do I want to be associated with something like this? No. But where do I draw the line? Walmart also supports abortion and is also partnered with NGLCC, a national Gay and Lesbian group. What's the difference and yet we shop at Walmart almost daily supporting them. I thought Target also supported this but all I can find is that they support Anti-Gay politicians. So if we're going to choose to stop supporting and being a part of Girl Scouts, we have to include Walmart in this also. And I'm sure there's tons of other businesses out there that we must research and boycott. Especially check into your clothing brands, like for instance Hilfiger and Abercrombie and Fitch. So are there other organizations out there that my girls can be a part of that's all good? They really love Girl Scouts but I do have to think of my example in this community. Which also brings me to wonder, what about the influence we may have over our leader who is a non-Christian. There are 6 families from our church represented in the two troops in our town. We make up over half the troops. We've gotten to know her really well. Will us pulling out make her resent us and our church? Okay, I need some thoughts on this please.