Everyone who knows me well, knows that I adore rainbow bright colors.. but, not so well known is that I also really love white. You'd never guess because I wear black everyday, but I love white linens.
I paid for part of my college education by working for 3 years at a commercial laundry. The facility had washing machines that did hundreds of pounds of sheets at the same time. I loved the sound they made.. it was almost like the ocean. I loved the feeling of the steam in the air and the smell of stacking clean linens.
It wasn't always pleasant job. I found a turtle and a snake in a bag of lab coats.. and subsequently saved them from being washed in one of the large commercial machines. I actually had some trouble at the particular stop.. Another time I went to pick up lab coats.. I became curious about a stuffed Alligator.. who wasn't actually stuffed. I nearly had a heart attack when he jumped and snapped at me.
I also occasionally picked up the lab coats from a local slaughter house.. I nearly became a vegetarian.. not out of compassion.. just because the uniforms did not smell good lets say.
Anyway, I did love that job. It was one of my favorites and I came to have quite a few opinions about laundry which of all the household chores is still by far my favorite. If you are interested in a few tips.. you can read on..
1. I keep white sheets, towels, bath mats and bar mops in my home. They can all be bleached. While I keep colored towels in all the baths for drying hands and decorative purposes, when I get out of the shower, I want a big, clean, white, fluffy towel waiting for me. I love to fall asleep surrounded by the smell of good, clean, white, cotton sheets. And, for obvious reasons.. bath mats and bar mops are better off bleached.
2. I am opposed to perfumed laundry soap. I know that many people like certain perfumes found in soap, but I find that if I am sitting next people (I have quite a nose.. mind you) I can smell their laundry soap, deodorant and perfume mixing. I find this particularly annoying on men. Most laundry soap perfumes are floral in their base and you don't want to send your son to school smelling like a bouquet. I love Tide Free & Cheer Free & Gentle which only smell clean and do a great job.
3. I am a big believer in Borax and even though we have soft water in our home. I add Borax to every load. It does so many things that it's difficult to list. It's especially great for non-bleach able whites and delicates. It's wonderful for getting that icky smell out of colored towels (you won't have noticed that if you use perfumed soap.. but it's there). If you have a small baby.. it's a must have for spit up stains etc. But, just read the back of the box.. it does all those wonderful things.
4. I prefer dryer sheets as opposed to adding liquid softener for several reasons. Even with the Downy Ball or whatever.. I would mess that up timing wise and secondly... softeners separate the fibers in your clothing.. thus making them soft.. but also reducing the amount of wear you get out of them. So, when I do a large load of the fluffy white towels.. I use a full dryer sheet, but for clothing I only use 1/2 a dryer sheet which is enough to take out the static and soften the clothes sufficiently. Dryer sheets also can leave some residue on the lint screen of your dryer. Lint screens should be rinsed and air dried about every 6 months to increase the life of your machine. I have the same problem with perfumed dryer sheets and use Bounce Free sheets which are somewhat expensive, but if you are buying the box of 120, but getting about 200 loads out of the box.. it's not so bad.
Sorry to be gone so long. C's brother suffered a medical trauma on Tuesday and passed away Thursday... so I won't be checking in much for the next week. 
I have been having some difficulty making a final decision on this design for some reason. I guess that I appreciate various stages of simplicity or complexity, or I just don't groove on this one.. still not sure. If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it.
These boxes will all be found in..
From the Earth to the Moon is one of the most inspiring programs I've ever seen. It takes you from John F. Kennedy's 1961 moon speech at Rice Stadium through the entire efforts of the Apollo program.
The drawing today is for a Love Boxes Angel Doll
Looking your best. AAAAaah! People who paint all day wear clothes that can be spilled on and not cried over and sadly I have found that once comfortable in these clothes.. they go out... IN PUBLIC! .. much to the dismay of certain of my more fashionable relatives. (Sorry Rob.)
I'm sorry about this photo, but I just wanted to show you a tree that I don't have, but covet. This is a Blireiana Plum tree. It has deep red leaves and these beautiful lavender blossoms. It smells like heaven, but not really like anything I can describe.. it's subtle. I think there is a variety of this tree that gets really twisty interesting branches as well. I love this tree.. they are difficult to come by in Utah.. but possible I understand and they do well here.
This is the herb garden. We hope to have it growing in more attractive containers at some point, but right now we are recycling the pots that the trees and shrubs came in from last years plantings. We planted about 10 trees last year, but I am always finding trees that I love and would love to have.. and with the price of fruit lately.. maybe an apple or a pear tree because.. HELLO fruit costs about $1 a piece these days. Maybe I should get a tree and a fruit stand!
I'm in heaven at home. I never go on vacation in June ever. I wouldn't even consider it. Why would I leave when my roses are blooming. Why? It would be crazy! Yep, here it comes.. Tiffany's yearly rose revelry. You can just skip this post if you are gagging. I love roses!!!
I took these photos this morning. this is a picture of our yellow climber. I love it! You know it has taken awhile for all the roses to get established. It takes about 3 years for them to really start producing, but this yellow has made big strides.. every year being better than the last.
I will have to show you the peace roses and the Abraham Lincolns tomorrow or something. It's been a busy week. Dance week.. little c is high as a kite! 
I stole the Nacho dinner idea from Janice. Thanks Janice!
This is today's Giveaway Box.. inside it reads, "Above our life, we love a steadfast friend.."
Yes.. I chickened out on Good Manners Thursday yesterday. But, I still want to post something from Happiness for Two, which was one of the best books I read last year. It's a book about marriage and there is a lot in the book about etiquette in marriage. If you haven't read Alexandra's books before, you will enjoy her short essay style. Each chapter is 3-5 pages and she gets right to the point.
The BBQ was so much fun! My friend Shauna put together these decorations by having us all bring our children's cowgirl/cowboy gear. Then she brought two backs of Hoody's roasted peanuts that we scattered and smashed a little.
Bandannas and sunflowers ...
.. and lots of good food, but by then the people were there, which is when I stopped taking pictures and went to the party myself. 
Everyone who knows me well, knows that I adore rainbow bright colors.. but, not so well known is that I also really love white. You'd never guess because I wear black everyday, but I love white linens. 
No one seemed to like this butterfly hat that Princess Beatrice wore to the latest royal wedding... but I loved it!
This is really an easy one. Make your rice. Chop any veggies you like and steam in a microwave safe container in 1/2 inch water for 4 minutes. Combine everything and add lite soy sauce, sea salt and pepper.
This is my favorite brown rice. I love it! It's now available in bulk at Costco. It makes a healthy brown organic rice that turns out as yummy as your favorite sticky rice every time.
We finally finished the whole series last night. I feel like someone should give me an award. I loved books 1-3 (you know.. the short ones). I am not a series person, with the exception of Jan Karon's Mitford series, which I adore, I have a difficult time if a series is longer than 3-4 book and usually move on.
Little c and I have listened to this series several times on recorded book from the library and they are wonderful. In the film, they had to add just a bit to Prince Caspian to make it a full-length feature film, but for the most it was a fantastic job.. the kiss and the lame theme song at the end weren't quite on target and the Lion made a comment that I didn't think fit.. but for the most part it was really great.
I wanted to make a collection of recipes... not fancy recipes because I'm NOT a cook. These are just going to be easy non-time-consuming recipes and they have to meet 2 other criteria so I don't know if I'll be able to add one every week or not. It has to be pretty healthy and cheap because I like to spend my food budget eating out! 
