Category Archives: Frugal and Green

This is 68!

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Sunday, July 26, 2026

Well, I’m not sure I believe that I’ve had another birthday! I was talking to my aunt today and she said that she’s 83 and I’m 68? How the heck did that happen? Neither one of us should be that old. And we sure don’t feel this old! Regardless, I had a most remarkable, memorable birthday! My daughter asked me to do an errand for her and pick up something she had made by an artist in Freedom, Maine. When I was thinking about going to pick it up (we’d agreed on Sunday morning) it occurred to me that we’d be close to the Lost Kitchen and had heard they were serving lunch on a “first come first served” basis. BUT they were closed on Sunday so we reached out to the artist and switched it to Saturday morning and figured we’d head to TLK after that. And we did.

The bridge to The Lost Kitchen, Freedom, Maine

We were 15th in line waiting for their 11am opening. Unsure about whether the dogs would be ok (they are) and what to expect about waiting because we read it could be a wait of up to 3 hours, we took our spot in line at 10:15-ish and forty-five minutes later, we were crossing the bridge.

They managed the line, which was longer behind us than ahead of us by 11am, efficiently and with care. Once across, we headed into the Little Lost Kitchen to order our food. We ordered one of each item on the list and tried their house-made drinks – unsweet iced tea, a fruit shrub and a lemonade. Everything was presented beautifully and everything was delicious. We seem to have neglected taking a photo of the vanilla custard dessert which was all of our favorite. We all shared all the dishes and we all had our favorites: the fried chicken was one as was the roasted vegetable focacia. The caesar salad (also un-photographed) was gorgeous and delicious. Overall it was an extraordinary experience. 10 out of 10. Highly recommend!

The Birthday Adventure Team

We went on to Liberty to visit Liberty Tool and Liberty Graphics, got iced cream at Johns and then headed home. Everything fell into place on my special day and I was so grateful that my son and his girlfriend and their dogs came all the way up to celebrate witThe h me. We had a Dairy Queen cake after the kids made “ramen” for dinner with all sorts of leftovers from the fridge. We are well-fed with full hearts, too.

I haven’t been knitting much! I’ve worked a few rounds on my Lochside socks and have taken several rounds back to correct mistakes that I made. Ha! Ha! The pattern is so simple but when I get involved in conversations … oops! I’ve got a few more inches on the foot and then I’ll knit the second sock. I’m not a huge fan of the yarn as it seems “fuzzy” and my needles are so pointy that it’s splitting a lot, too. So, it’s slow going but it’s moving along. Progress is being made.

I’ve gotten some time this afternoon to work on the Easy Folded Poncho, too. I’m getting close to the 50 inches of fabric and then it’ll be blocked and seamed and ready to wear when the weather starts to cool off. We’ve had some lovely cool nights that are perfect for sleeping! My body has been healing from my pneumonia “adventure” and I find I am sleeping more and even napping. I seldom nap.

Tomorrow I’m going to try to finish the front of my tabard and get the pieces blocked before they’re seamed. I will have to make the ties that hold the sides together, too, but that’s not big deal. Once that’s finished (I have only one side of the front shoulder to finish) I am going to cast on my Sabai Top. I have some black linen for my Sabai and I am planning to knit the ribbed neckline. I think it’ll be a great top to make and wear. In early September, I’ll measure my daughter and pick up her Levitate Wrap. I don’t want to knit further before I am sure it’s going to fit – frogging anything with mohair is a monster!

August is going to be a busy month for work, volunteering at school and my knitting life, too. So, for now I’m going to sign off … gone knitting!

Mrs. Clean Battles the Stinky Dish Washer

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My muscles are not nearly as well-defined!

When I turned the dishwasher on the other day, I figured the stench that was emanating from it would go away once the dishes were clean. That the fish residue was causing the odoriferous cloud.

NOT!

Just read a blog post that said I can replace the expensive rinse aid (the light was blinking that the rinse aid was low) with white vinegar. Wow! I just HAD to share this! I’ve been buying that blue bottle of stuff for years. If only I’d known! A teeny weeny bottle of a well-known brand is quite an expenditure. Using vinegar is a lot (note: A LOT!) less expensive and better for the environment, too. One thing to note, however, make sure the rinse agent stuff is all gone before you add vinegar. Lots of chemicals used in the normal course of life don’t like each other and make a toxic blend! So, err on the side of caution.

But get rid of the blue stuff you’ve been using because the packet came with the washer! You’ll save enough money to buy more yarn! 🙂

Gone knitting

PS – wanted to add one more thing about vinegar. It has anti-microbial/anti-bacterial properties and is edible and biodegradable. It will not harm children or pets. Put full-strength vinegar in a spray bottle and use for disinfecting countertops and bathrooms. This “cleaner” can be used for so many things – and has no chemicals which makes it safe for humans and pets with allergies and asthma. Forget about “convenient” (and expensive) throw-away cleaners. Vinegar is a fabulous all-purpose, green, frugal household cleaner!

Laundry Soap Pudding

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Well, we’ve talked about making our own laundry soap and it seems fitting that we would do that here in Maine where because of our proximity to the lake, we feel like we care even more about the earth and what we use on it.

Today we washed (for maybe the first time in their lives) the seat covers on the porch chairs. To be fair, we had to pick two of the same items to see which one cleans better … laundry soap from the store or the soap we made.

No clear results. Our chair cushions were so dirty that we don’t see any noticeable improvement with either soap! Next!? Guess we’ll have to try our clothes and see what happens.

*Queen Bee’s Update* – I’ve got to tell you, this is a great discovery! Not only does this laundry soap really work (clothes are at least as clean as they are when washed in the grocery store soap) but it costs only pennies per load. And it’s easy enough to make and keep! Here’s the recipe:

Grate a bar of Fels Naptha soap into 3 quarts of water. Simmer the water and grated soap mixture until the soap melts. In a bucket filled with a gallon plus 1 quart of water, add 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda. Now mix the hot soap mixture into the bucket. Mix well.

That’s it! When you let the mixture sit around it’s going to turn to a pudding-like consistency. It’s not “pretty” but it works and you can buy all the ingredients at the grocery store. We are using 1/2 cup of soap per large load and the clothes are smelling fresh and getting clean! Woo Hoo!