Flapper

I just read the book Vixen by Jillian Larkin.  It dealt with girls trying on the flapper lifestyle in Chicago, 1923.  The details of the clothes, hairstyles, ect. had me wanting to play dressup.  I seriously considered chopping my long locks to a flapper bob.  So I looked online at flapper haircuts, and the cutest pictures were always entertainer Louise Brooks.  But alas, everytime I cut my hair, I miss the femininity of my long hair Although I've seen many feminine ladies with shorter hair, I just don't think I look cute that way.  However, hair aside, I'm now totally obsessed with flappers, speakesies, ect.  The search is on for Louise Brooks movies, because she has me curious just from the still pics.  Also, the search is on for some fun, jazzy twenties tunes to listen to.  Let me know if you want to come along to the 20s with me, we'll have a gay time!

Grandma Lou

I was so proud of my grandma Lou.  She was the grandma you pictured when you thought of a grandma.  She had curly white hair, and she always had it fixed.  She wore polyester pants, cute little shirts with birds on them, and matching necklaces and earrings.  Her house was also the quintessential grandmother’s house.  It was yellow with cute black shutters and a perfectly cared for yard with little cement animals.  I had so many adventures in her yard and ate her tart green apples right off the tree.  Grandma’s oven always had treats inside, although not fresh cookies like you might think.  Better yet, there were individually wrapped Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls and Star Crunches.  She  made Spaghettios piping hot, and let us watch The Price Is Right and The Young And The Restless with her.  She said phrases like “For Pete’s Sake” and “I do declare”.  There was never a holiday dinner, birthday dinner, or family reunion that she missed.  At Halloween, we went to her house and she gave us a special ziplock bag filled with several kinds of candy and a dollar.   However, none of these things compared with the way she paid attention to me.  She listened intently to stories I told her like I was the only one in the room.  And I have a feeling she was the same way with all seven of her grandchildren, because family meant so much to her.   She passed away the other day, and I was quite surprised to see that she was not always my grandma.  She used to be that beautiful young thing pictured above.  It is so easy to think that she was just mine, but she wore many hats throughout her life.  I sometimes wish I could travel back in time and be her friend.  I love her and miss her, and will try to keep her memory alive by sharing her wonderful grandmother qualities with  those who weren’t fortunate enough to have my grandma Lou for themselves.  

Late Night Tooth Fairy...

A special, once in a lifetime moment happened in my son's life today.  He lost his first tooth.  He was so brave, proud, and excited.  I found a little container with a lid to keep the tooth safe until evening.  However, after taking it out to examine it, he lost it at least two times.  It was found on both occasions.  So, after many cups of coffee throughout the day, I played tooth fairy tonight at 11:30 pm.  Had he spent the night in his own room, rather than his sister's room, it would have been much less difficult.  At 11pm I went in, and his sister was still awake.  She knows the tooth fairy is a farce already, so I could have done it then, but sometimes I like to think she might still semi-believe.   The next time I checked (carrying a load of her clean laundry to put away as a cover story), she was out.  In my pocket was a tiny vial of blue glitter dust and a $1 bill.  He was on the top bunk of her bunk bed, so I had to reach up, and find the tiny container with the tooth in it.  After much searching, it was found, and the tooth was extracted.  Replacing the tooth was the bill and money.  Then I put it back under the pillow and took off.  It was such a rush, like playing dong and ditch when I was a child.  Hopefully I can get all this glitter dust off my hands by the time he sees me in the morning....

How about some homemade fabric softener to go with all that....

• 1 cup baking soda
• 6 cups distilled white vinegar
• 8 cups water
• 10 -15 drops essential oils (Lavender, Vanilla, Citrus, whatever you please)
•  one gallon container

1. Add the baking soda to the plastic container.
2. Add 1 cup of water to start with.
3. Add the vinegar slowly to the bottle due to the fizz factor.
4. Add the rest of the water and swirl
5. Add the essential oil.
6. 
   
   Add 1 cup in your final rinse cycle for each load after giving a good shake.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Since I was on the topic of loving to hang my clothes outdoors, I thought I would search for homemade laundry soap recipes on the internet.   There were many, but most of them consisted of the ingredients below.  It is so much cheaper to make your own.  Plus it is fun.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1 bar Ivory bar soap or 1/3 bar Fels Naptha (harder to find but stronger)

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder 
1 oz Essential Oil

1 bucket

2 gallon containers (white vinegar containers are kind of cute if you take the label off)

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan.  Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.  Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.   Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will turn to a watery gel(like egg whites).  Add 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice, such as a mixture of Lavender and Vanilla, which I love.  Pour into cute containers.  Use ½ cup per load.

aaah, summer

All of my senses get a workout in the summer.  Every morning, I wake with glee ready to see the what new flower is in my garden from the 100s of seeds I planted in the spring.  Finally I am reaping the visual rewards of all the weeding and watering.  Daily, I walk out barefoot on the soft, cool green grass to peek at my gardens.  For a while, it was just lush green, but now at least one new flower opens every day.  The colors of nature are so vivid, and the butterfly visitors make it feel so ethereal.  Yesterday, I harvested my Chamomile flowers to make tea.  They smell so enchanting, and the tea will taste so good come fall.  

Another thing about summer that I love is hanging clothes on the line to dry.  Who knew it could be so fun.  First of all, it makes me feel like a vintage housewife.  I smell the lavender fabric softner on every towel or garment as I hang it (Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Lavender has edged out my old favorite Downy Lavender Vanilla).  The sound of birds singing, bees buzzing, and the distant lawnmower float in and out of my ears as I hang.  All the senses are so delighted in summer, I am so sad to see it come to an end.

Girl's Weekend Part Deux

The first evening ended in cocktails and debauchery at our temporary pad.  The next morning, we were feeling a little worse for wear, but we cooked a delicious breakfast, and headed out for an unscripted adventure in Estes Park.  This adventure included taking old tyme photos, shopping, seeing the famous Stanley Hotel via The Ghost Tour, and going on a wine tasting at a little independent winery.  I was grumpy and ready for a nap by the time we went to the winery, but I guess it acted as hair of the dog, because after the tasting, I was fresh and new.     Two of our friends took a little nap, and Erica and I soaked our feet in the jacuzzi tub, drank champagne, and chatted.  She told me the funniest stories and had me laughing so hard.  The crazy thing is, this was close to my favorite part of the trip, and yet we could have done this at one of our homes for free.  After our homemade pedicures and the other gals naps, we dolled ourselves up for a night on the town.  During our shopping excursion, one of the salesclerks told us about the beach party at an Irish Pub called Lonnigans.  Erica had already been itching to go there, so after much debate we decided we would end our day with that.  However, we had to eat first.  There is a cute little resturaunt hotel called Nicky's.  It had the cutest seventies lounge vibe and the yummiest salad bar.  Samantha and I bought a bottle of wine we could all decorate.  Then they hang the bottles of wine from the ceiling.  There are very old decorated bottles up there.  Perhaps we can go back one day and see ours.  Next stop, Lonnigans.  We had a cute little table at the beach party, talked, laughed, ect.  Then I won $25 in a dance contest.  I enjoyed limbo, and we saw a guy's knee get dislocated.  We left before the night was over, and we got a good nights sleep before heading home.  It was a gloriously fun weekend, and it rejuvenated my girl time battery(although I already want to see them again).