Summer Reprieve

Summer is too hot. I’m going to roll back the calendar for a minute to early April, when our Redbud trees were just starting to bloom.

Now imagine Oregon in April: sometimes sunny, sometimes drizzle, all the flowers start blooming overnight. Everything is fresh and new. 

The temperature tries to get over 60, but it just can’t.
You wish you could ditch the wool socks you wear with your Birkenstocks, but it’s just not warm enough.
(I did say this is Oregon, didn’t I?)

Ok, back to summer again.
Now 75 degrees doesn’t feel so incredibly hot, does it?
(Again, didn’t I say this is Oregon? I do wish you would pay attention.)

Our summer garden

I love our backyard. It’s small and plain, but there are some elements here that make me so happy that I love to just sit outside and enjoy the space. When it’s nice out, the back deck is my happy place. Here’s what’s growing and blooming right now:

Cherry Tomatoes

Thai peppers 

Lemon balm (it’s growing wild in patches here and there all around the property),
an artichoke, and a tomato plant that is as tall as I am.

Frank is checking out the progress of his red peppers. He says this is the kind used in making chimichurri, a kind of hot sauce/relish. That’s his plan for these peppers. I’m too much of a Scandinavian wimp, though, (Scandinavian hot sauce is butter with a pinch of black pepper) and don’t think I have the guts to try it.

Yes, Frank has long hair. He was growing it to see how long it could grow until chemo made it fall out. The plan sort of backfired though, when he didn’t lose a single hair from the chemo. Now it’s almost like a trophy, and so he continues to let it grow. I don’t care. Could be worse, like him wanting a sports car or a mistress.

Back to the yard…

My all time July favorite is this big vine-y shrub on the left: Jasmine.

Oh, I wish computers had smell-o-vision so you could breathe in the heady perfume of these little white flowers. The fragrance wafts into my open kitchen window and fills up the back of the house.

A little stroll down the alley behind my next door neighbor’s house brings another treat:
Gladiolus and blackberries and more wild lemon balm.
(This neighbor is the crafty lady with the colored pencil fence.)

I asked her what variety she planted and she said, “I don’t know, black ones?”

 

Did you know there are over 1100 varieties of blackberries. We have lots of commercial caneberry (blackberry and raspberry) farms here in the Willamette Valley. Marionberries were developed here in Marion County and are full bodied and sweet, like a cross between raspberries and blackberries. My favorite blackberries for eating out of hand are the hardest to find in the markets: Black Cap. They’re so mellow and sweet and will turn your mouth dark purple in an instant. They’re hard to find for raw consumption because they’re processed into food grade dye and sold to the meat packing industry to be used for marking sides of beef with grades such as “USDA Prime” and the like.

But I digress. With all those tomato plants I can’t wait until late August when we can start picking and eating and drying and canning all the tomatoes. Mmm.

Laundry tip: How to clean grease spots off a shirt

I’m a messy eater. Most of my favorite shirts get dribbled with salad dressing, splattered with grease when frying eggs, or globbed down the front with whatever is served for dinner. I’m also cheap thrifty and buy shirts at the thrift store. Would you believe people get rid of perfectly good clothes just because they weren’t able to wash out a grease spot?

With all those grease spots on the fronts of all these shirts, I figured out a secret weapon that cleans them up like a pro, without costing me a fortune or killing the shirt with bleach:

Dish soap

You know the old slogan, “Dawn gets grease {whoosh} out of your way.” They’re not kidding. If dish soap is so good at degreasing pots and pans, I figured it would work on clothes. Besides, I’ve never seen grease spots on my dishcloths.

I love this secret weapon for grease spots because it’s inexpensive and I always have it on hand. Actually, I now have two bottles; one in the kitchen and the other in the laundry room.

Here are some pictures of two of my shirts dribbled with grease from a carnitas burrito (yummm, pork carnitas) and some chocolate oops from a sundae. No, I am not sticking to my diet, thank you very much for pointing that out.

The burrito grease and tomato sauce tank top:

And the chocolate sundae oops on the t-shirt:

Both shirts are 100% cotton, which seems to be the hardest to degrease in a regular laundry washing.

All the spots are generously dribbled with dish soap, then I roll up each shirt and let it sit overnight. I did notice that blue dish soap will leave a light blue stain on pure white shirts if left to sit more than 36 hours, but it will eventually wash out.

   

Here’s the burrito tank top:

And the chocolate sundae t-shirt. Perfect.

If you have clothes in the back of your closet that have grease spots that you haven’t been able to wash out, give this a try. It has worked for me on shirts that have had old grease spots go through the dryer. It’s worth a try and you already have the secret weapon on hand in your kitchen.

If you buy clothes at thrift stores and garage sales, don’t be afraid of buying grease spotted shirts. This is such an easy fix to that little problem. 

Forced Cuddling, a tutorial by Ollie

When Frank was on chemo last winter, (the chemo pump is the black thing he wears on the strap) he would lounge on the couch with his laptop and surf the internet.

Ollie, our doofus cat, knew Frank was an easy target for forced cuddling.

Ollie’s method is simple. Walk across your target’s human’s chest. When you come across an area that is even slightly horizontal (anything less than 90 degrees will work), lean in until your body flops onto a soft surface.

In this case it was too easy, since Frank was already reclined on the couch.

Don’t worry about sliding or rolling off the human. An arm will always come out and catch you from falling onto the floor. Also, don’t worry if the arm is busy doing something else, (Frank’s computer mouse is in his hand in the top picture) because the human will always put your needs and safety first.

It’s called a “McGangBang”

We stopped at McDonald’s and the teenager said, “I’m really craving a McGangBang.”

“A what?!” her mother exclaimed.

“Never mind. Just order me a McDouble and a McChicken.”

We ordered, got our stuff, and as I drove away, she tore the wrapper off her chicken sandwich and started to assembled her mad creation: The McGangBang.

Apparently, it’s a McChicken in between the two patties of a double cheeseburger. Don’t ask me about the name. Let’s just say it’s a teenager food thing. Apparently, it’s delicious.

She almost got her mouth open far enough to eat the darn thing, too.

Pencil Fence

Back in March or April, a few giant colored pencils began appearing on the other side of our backyard fence.

Pretty soon a lot of giant colored pencils were leaning up against the fence. Had a young family of giants moved in next door?

No family of giants, whew!

Instead, my incredibly creative and talented next door neighbor decided to change out the fence boards flanking her back yard gate.

I think it’s the coolest thing. Every now and then I’ll head out to work and open my front door to see someone taking pictures from the sidewalk. They sheepishly grin and wave at me, and then they ask: What kind of wood did your neighbor use?

I always reply: “Cedar posts… and a really big pencil sharpener.”

Love Fest

This morning, I walked into Rachel’s bedroom to discover a little head-and-ears-cleaning love fest in progress on her bed.

I guess Ollie could get at Violet’s head and ears better from this angle.
(He’s the black and white dork; Violet is our clingy and very bossy black cat.)

Wicker Basket Planter

This summer we bought a few tomato plants with dreams of beautiful ripe home-grown tomatoes in the late summer. Since we are on a tight budget this summer, it has been impossible to find decent-looking large-ish pots or planters for $5 or less (it’s a very tight budget!) and as renters, I didn’t want to dig up the yard to put in a garden.

Then it occurred to me: all I really need is a container strong enough to hold the weight of wet soil and a little creativity. I decided to make Wicker Basket Planters.

The other day, I picked up a few sturdy wicker baskets at Goodwill. (Remember my quick trip to “William’s Boutique”) I bought a large basket for $2.99, and turned it into a planter in about 20 minutes. Here’s how:

Supplies

• One wicker basket*
• Glue gun (Low temp is best, but high temp will work)
• Heavyweight Garbage bag – Make sure the circumference of the bag will accommodate the basket. If in doubt, measure or open the bag and try to pull it up over the sides of the basket.
• Potting soil
• A plant or two

1.  Fit a heavy duty garbage bag into the bottom of the basket, and fold the top down until the bag height is just a little taller than the sides of your basket. The fold should be to the outside of the bag so when the bag is in the basket, the folded plastic is between the bag and the basket. (In the picture, the grey thing is the handle tie of the bag.)

2.  Using a glue gun, apply a blob of glue to one spot on the inside edge of the basket. For the rest of my instructions, I’ll refer to this point as North. My North point was under the handle.

Apply a blob of glue to the opposite side of the basket (South) and stick the opposite side of the bag to it. My South point was under the other side of the handle.

3.  Now glue your way around from North to East, then South to East. Repeat going North to West and South to West. This way you don’t have a lot of extra bag bunched up at one spot in your basket, and when the soil goes in the weight won’t pull on the part of the bag that’s already pulled tight.
You should have a little extra bag at East and West. Fold it flat and glue it down.

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The nice thing about using hot glue and a garbage bag is that the glue will still stick when it has cooled down a bit, so you have a little bit of working time between gluing and sticking.

I also have to admit a little faux pas at this point. I was sure my 13 gallon garbage bag was big enough, but it wasn’t. If this happens to you, just rip out the bag and start over. My heavy duty 30 gallon leaf bag was perfect.

  
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4.  Now that your bag is glued around the inside edge of the basket, spread it out across the bottom of the basket. Using a sharp blade, cut two small drain holes in the bottom of the bag underneath where each plant will sit.

5.  Start filling your basket with potting soil. Using a mix with vermiculite will lighten the weight without compromising your plant. As your soil fills the basket, pull up a little on the sides of the bag to create some slack. You don’t want the weight of the soil to pull on the bag where it has been glued.
Add your plants and finish filling with soil. When the basket is almost full, tuck the excess bag down and hide it under the last 2-3” of soil.

6.  Move the basket into place (you might have to lift it with two hands if the handle isn’t very sturdy), water thoroughly, and enjoy!

 

*Select a basket large enough to accommodate the roots of your plant. Generally you can expect the roots under the ground to be about the same size as the mature plant above ground. I figured my basket could hold two tomato plants.

William’s Boutique = Goodwill

I have a little bit of snob in me; I think I get it from my Grandma, who was the type to always changed into clean underwear and her best clothes for a simple trip to the store. She wore fine clothes and was proud of it.

Sorry Gram, but although I love clothes with a fine label like you did, my budget won’t let me buy them at Saks or Nordstrom. On the other hand you’ll be proud of how I managed to add $120 Nordstrom trousers, Macy’s labels and lots of Liz Claiborne to my wardrobe. I even have hundreds of dollars worth of Lane Bryant in my closet.

How? I shop at “William’s Boutique.” (That’s Goodwill to most people.)
Yes. I shop at Goodwill. But don’t tell anyone; I’m too snobby to admit it.

This past week I spent less than $23.00 on about 5 shirts that would have cost me about $140 if I bought them off the rack in their respective stores. Aside from a couple of duds I shouldn’t have gotten, nobody knows my clothes are second hand unless I tell them. (And the dud only set me back about $4-7, so it’s no big deal.)

Here’s how to do it:

First, there are some rules you need to know before you start.

1. You will be speed shopping. Take a friend (recommended) but do not take young kids as they will slow you down.
2. You are looking for the few hidden gems in the store. Expect to put a huge amount of merchandise in your cart before you head to the fitting room in order to find just a few items that you will actually buy.
3. Be familiar with what looks good on you: colors, patterns, style. For example, I know I cannot wear horizontal stripes, lavender, or button up blouses. They just don’t work for me. On the other hand, I get compliments when I wear salmon, florals, and long-waisted pullovers. You also need to know your size based on how the garment looks on the hanger, not based on the tag. There is no standard measurement for sizing womens’ clothing, so a 14 from Target (Mossimo and Cherokee labels) is similar to a size 10 from JCPenny’s (Hunt Club, St John’s Bay) Other tags are wrong due to factory error, or just plain missing. Do not ever rely on the tags inside of the clothes.
4. Don’t worry about salad dressing or other oily/food spots on the front of blouses. I will explain how to clean them. Ditto for loose/missing buttons if you don’t mind doing minor repairs. Many people would rather toss than fix these two problems, and I have noticed the more well-made (and upscale) the garment is, the more frequently I see these two very fixable issues.
5. Goodwill’s return policy requires you to leave on the tags, return with receipt to the store where the item was purchased, and you get store credit only that expires in 30 days. That’s a hassle for me, so I treat every purchase as “all sales final.”
6. Get the store discount card to save 5% off each purchase. It all adds up.
7. If you really want to scoop up the deals, go to the expensive stores and try on their stuff. Learn the labels that fit your body well, then as you’re flipping through the clothes racks, you’ll recognize when you see an (almost) instant winner. This is how I ended up with so many my favorite labels. Even if it’s questionable on the rack I put it in my cart and usually end up buying it.

Ready to shop?

When you enter the store, grab a shopping cart. This is important. Next, decide what you’re looking for: pants, tops or dresses, and head over to the rack that has your size. Starting at one end, push all the hangers away from then end.

Look at every single piece on the rack, sliding the hanger down to the empty end of the rack, one by one. Don’t skip a single item. Go fast: no more than one second per item.

Most items will be rejects. The items you are looking for are:

• In a color/pattern you might consider wearing.
• In your approximate size.
• In reasonably good shape.
• In a style that looks good on you

When I paw my way from one end of the clothes rack to another, the process is sort of like this: 
Flip flip flip (that’s me flipping through the hangers as fast as I can) flip flip flip flip
Oh hell no
flip flip flip flip flip
WTF??
flip flip flip flip flip flip
What were they thinking?
flip flip flip flip flip
Mmmm, maybe…

When you find something that does not repulse you, put it in your shopping cart.
I usually hang it from the handle of the cart. Ok, you’re laughing about me saying “When you find something that does not repulse you” but this is not ordinary shopping. You can’t expect to find awesome clothes calling to you from the rack. Trust me on this.

By the time you reach the end of the rack, you should have about a dozen items in your cart. At some store locations, I have put as many as 3 dozen items in my cart.

Go to the fitting rooms with your hoard of clothes. Goodwill limits people to 6 items, so take in 6 items with you to start. Just park your cart nearby; you’ll need it. Try on clothes as quickly as you can. I usually average about 45 seconds per item. (I am in and out of the store in about 30 minutes.)

Use your first impression to judge if it’s a keeper or reject. Remember, you’re still speed shopping. If you kind of like it, put it in the keeper pile. If you’re not sure, it’s a reject. Again, go as fast as you can. If it’s tight when you start putting it on, don’t waste time getting it all the way on.

If you brought a friend with you, let them help you judge the keepers from the rejects.

When you have gone through all 6 items in the dressing room, go get more from your cart and carry on. Goodwill probably doesn’t like how I make the switch, but in order to keep the same changing room, I leave on garment #6, stick the empty hanger on the doorknob so the door doesn’t lock behind me, then run out with the other 5 garments. The rejects go to their reject rack, the keepers go to my cart, as I load up 5 more garments and run back to my room. Then I repeat as necessary until I have tried on everything.

Here are the pictures I took in the dressing room during my recent trip to Goodwill:

             
             
         
         

This last one is nice… oh wait. That’s what I wore to work today.

In the end, I started with 12 garments in my cart and bought 5. That’s a good haul. The floral shirt is linen and never worn from Avenue ($50 new), the teal one is Lane Bryant ($50 new), a slinky black polo-type shirt (about $20 new), plus a couple of cotton t-shirt tops (about $10-14 new.)

Oh, and I picked up 3 wicker baskets for a project I’ll tell you about later.

Grand total: $29.47 including about $7 for the baskets.
I used my Goodwill club card for 5% off, which means one of my $1.99 purchases really only cost me $.59!

Last thing - I know the stores are clean and all, but whenever I’m done shopping at William’s Boutique, I always need to do a little post-shopping ritual in my car before I leave the parking lot.

PS: I have had several compliments already on my $6.99 teal top. Score!

Next week I will tell you my secret for removing salad dressing and other oily spots from shirts.