Homemade Laundry Detergent, and other things

Well, I'm feeling much better these days and so I've decided to finally post about homemade laundry detergent. I started making this several months ago, using the below recipe (which I got from the SouleMama blog), and am happy to report that it's super easy to make and works wonderfully--even on Keith's nasty hospital scrubs. Also, I am sure it's saving us at least a little bit of  money!

Homemade Laundry Detergent:
-2 cups finely grated castille soap (I use Dr Bronner's)
-1 cup borax
-1 cup baking soda
-1 cup soda ash (also called washing soda)

Mix together and that's it! I use about an 1/8 cup per load.

PS I've recently discovered some very nice blogs:
Tend
Food in Jars
BapStory
Natalie Creates
Local Kitchen
How i Get Through Today

Oh, and reading this great book, The Dirty Life--it almost makes me want to become a farmer...and this looks like it might be good, The Future by Miranda July.

Well,

it's no fun to be sick in spring. not when there're weeds to be pulled, sweetpeas, chamomile, calendula to be planted, irises to be cut. not when there's handcream to be made, cooking to be done, a baby to nanny for.

that said, how lucky i am that the sweet family i work for has let me take a few days off from work to recuperate, that i finally have health insurance!, that i have a warm comfortable home to rest in!

so, here i am on the couch with plugged ringing ears, a cough that won't quit, reading a book about a woman who volunteered at a radio station in bhutan, trying to figure out how to make more money without getting a second job outside the house, staring out the window at the droopy wet lilacs, trying to remember that things will get better--in a few years k will be done this dreadful residency and our lives will open wide.

The Countdown is On and Trying to Be Present

-14 days till keith finishes this dreadful ob/gyn rotation
-37 days till my parents come to visit
-74 days till we leave for retreat
-116 days till we leave for india

oh so much to look forward to!

and if i can just stay in the present a bit--down in salt lake, kale, broccoli and lettuce
are growing nicely in the garden
along with lavender, lemon thyme, rosemary, peppermint, spearmint and cilantro

now, if it would just stop snowing up here in park city!

The Beautiful

1) Bryce Canyon
2) Children of God - heartbreaking korean documentary about children who live on the grounds of the crematory beside the bagmati river in kathmandu. you see these street urchins (often huffing glue) every day in kathmandu and getting a glimpse inside their everyday lives in this movie is unbelievable.
3) By the sundeck, the strawberries and lilacs are blooming
4) Inspiration
5) An upcoming visit from the dearest of parents!

zion

there were billions of caterpillars falling from cottonwood trees--onto our necks, our heads.
each night we'd pick dozens from the firepit, roast potatoes, chocolate oozing into marshmallow. there were red mountains, day long hikes up and up and up.

here, we wake before dawn. hours before dawn.
before the sun has set, we fall into bed.

today, the birds are merry.
the sun shines, warming the front porch.
plans for our first dinner outside this evening!

and in less than three months we will be in a little tent in a forest in new york. basking in the glow of the three heart sons, khenpo...hooray!

This

is a reminder to myself that despite the 30 degree temperatures and snow on the grass, it's still spring. 

Over the Hill by Agnes Obel

Arabic Coffee

Well, it's April, and it's snowing. This weather calls for a hot drink, namely, oh so delicious arabic coffee.

Arabic Coffee
adapted from Crescent, by Diana Abu Jaber
(makes 1 cup)

2 tbsp finely ground coffee
1 cardamom pod
1-2 tsp sugar (depending how sweet you want it to be)
milk or cream

Put coffee and water in a small pan and stir. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add cardamom and sugar, stir. Bring to a second boil, let settle. Then bring to a third boil. Pour into a cup and add milk or cream (traditionally it's supposed to be served black).

Also, the recipe says the third boil is supposed to make lots of foam which you then top the coffee with, but i've yet to accomplish this (Diana Abu Jaber says being able to do so is the sign of an accomplished coffee maker--guess i'm not there yet)!

'No safe levels' of radiation in Japan - Features - Al Jazeera English

'No safe levels' of radiation in Japan - Features - Al Jazeera English

This article is not for the faint of heart-including myself. I fervently hope all that is said in this article is not true...I think I'm going to throw up...

Spring Time

Keith and I have begun having little adventures each evening--taking walks and noticing all the tiny things we'd otherwise miss--carpets of purple violets, tiny green buds--discovering secret little neighborhood trails.

We've also been getting back into reading dharma to each other before sleep--so sweet.

The forsythia outside our window is in bloom, the daffodils and crocuses are up, but this morning we awoke to a thick layer of snow.

I just now made cardamon arabic coffee--so good.

Yesterday as I ate lunch I was looking at a magazine and saw a blurb about this female rapper from Baltimore named Rye Rye. I wondered what she sounded like so I watched one of her videos on youtube. It made me slightly anxious (and not just from the insanely raunchy dancing). I think I have Baltimore PTSD...

Two days ago K and I discovered that at the top of our neighborhood are wonderful amazing hiking trails. We walked to the top of a hill and the above photos were our view! Oh the picnics we will soon have!

Oh, also, do you know about Pinterest? First, let me backtrack. I have this problem where I somehow accumulate a thousand bookmarks/favorites on my computer and phone. And then I worry they'll somehow get deleted (or perhaps my computer gets stolen and they're all lost). And Keith is always like, "How on earth can you have all these favorites cluttering up the computer!!!" Mostly they're recipes I want to make, but then I forget about them or can't find them. But, now there is Pinterest. It's this website where you can keep track of these sorts of things (and thus I can delete all my bookmarks!). Hooray, now I can organize all the recipes I want to make (and movies too see and books to read and music to listen to). As you can see, I keep trying to convince myself that Pinterest is actually good--it's a way to be organized--not a way to while away more time on the internet, or is it?

Finally, do you know about last.fm? It's an online radio which in my humble opinion, is way better than Pandora--there are so many more options and it's not so mainstream. Now I can discover new music as I clean the house!