The loss of our Beloved Bentley

10/27/08

Saturday was a very sad day at the Blandford House.  My mom was in town and we were headed to breakfast and a day of shopping.  We took the dogs out before we left and we could tell that Bentley was in pain.  He had been pretty whinny but that's normal and we thought nothing of it.  He could not get back into our building and when Currey went to pick him up Bentley cried in pain.

We rushed to the vet and by the time we were there his back legs were paralyzed.  We were told that he could still feel deep pain which meant there was some feeling so we rushed to the hospital with the plan of him having emergency back surgery.  Unfortunately by the time we got there he was no longer experiencing the deep pain.  Apparently one of his disks had carbonated and slipped into his spine causing the paralysis.  Our only options were an incredibly expensive surgery with small probability that he would be able to walk or putting him down.  We could not justify a surgery that would would lessen his quality of life just for our selfish desire to keep him with us.  We made the very difficult decision to put him down.

It's been a rough few days around here.  It still makes me cry as I write this 2 days later.  Even though he was a dog he was our first pet as a married couple.  He brought us so much joy and was a precious part of our family.  He presence is already greatly missed but we will treasure our sweet memories with him.

Napping with Daddy



Sunning with Sister





Our Sweet Baby

3:37 PM | | 1 Comments  

Our Precious Puppies

10/8/08

Last winter we got Bentley a fleece lined rain coat.  It's the only way we can get him to go out in the rain and due to the incredibly cold winters we felt it was a great investment.  Once we got Gracie we realized she would need one too!  Wet Nose just got their fall merchandise so we got Gracie a pink one.  They look so cute that I thought we needed pictures.  They were really uncooperative so here's the best I got.

10:28 PM | | 0 Comments  

Laundry Detergent

10/8/08

I had been wanting to make my own detergent for some time and I found this recipe on another blog.  It can actually be seen here.

So here's how it goes:

1 cup washing soda (I use Arm & Hammer) 

1/2 cup borax (I use 20 Mule Team) 

1 bar soap (I used Dove because I like the smell and knew we wouldn't have a weird reaction to it) 

Approximately 3 gallons water

You’ll also need a storage container.  We just used a large tupperware with a lid.  I set aside some kitchen utensils for this project including a wooden spoon, a grater and a measuring cup.

Begin by putting about four cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil.  Reduce it down to a simmer.   


While it’s heating up, take a bar of soap and grate it into some sort of container.


After taking this picture we realized that grating it over the boiling water made it melt and then we couldn't grate it. When the water is boiling, start putting in the soap. Just do a little at a time, waiting until each batch is dissolved.  

Stir the soapy water with a spoon until all of the soap is dissolved. In the end, you’ll have some very bubbly water.

Next, get out your large container and add three gallons of warm tap water to it. To this bucket add a cup of the washing soda and the soap solution you made and stir. once that is dissolved add the Borax.

After stirring, you’ll have a container full of :


The color of the detergent will vary depending on the shade of soap that you use. The soap needs to sit for 24 hours before use, preferably covered.  The soap can turn out many different ways.  It might be firm, like Jello; it might be very watery; it might even be like liquid laundry detergent. Just stir it up a bit and it’s ready to be used.  Ours came out very watery but it works great!  I decided to wait until I used it to post about it but we can't tell a difference at all.  I'll keep posting about our adventures of going green.  

I promise that there are farmer's market recipes to come!

9:51 PM | | 0 Comments  

Getting Greener

10/6/08

It's been while since I posted. There are lots of posts I've been considering but I just haven't taken the time to do it. Life is crazy busy and will be for the next few weeks. I've had several posts in mind but I think this will be about our steps to go green.

For us, we have decided that supporting local businesses and farms is part of going green. We are also trying to make more things at home instead of buying process foods at the store. Honestly, I am loving every minute of it! We are shopping every week at the farmer's market for all of our produce. There is also a woman who has an olive stand and sells pita bread which I purchase to make homemade pita chips. They are AMAZING! Simply cut the bread into rectangular strips, brush each side with olive oil and then sprinkle with the seasoning you desire. My favorite thus far is fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt. A small amount of pepper with garlic salt is also good. Be generous with the seasoning!

We are also making our own bread. I know this may launch us into the "weird" category but we spend a lot on bread each month so we started making our own. I like knowing what's going into the bread and we have enjoying trying several recipes. It's also about 1/4 of the cost per loaf so we are saving lots of money.

We had been talking to friends about this whole green thing and they mentioned that they made their own bread. We have 2 friends who have found great deals at garage sales or thrift stores so we began looking as well. We didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on something we wouldn't use. So one day in downtown Glen Ellyn we were in a consignment store. It was Labor Day so they were having a half price sale. We found one machine and were so excited but it didn't have an instruction manual which we knew we would need. Another shopper overheard us talking and began helping us look. We stumbled upon another machine with instructions. It was priced at $6 so we got it for $3 due to the sale. We figured that $3 was worth a try so we brought it home. We were pleasantly surprised that it actually works!



And here are the yummy results! I have enjoyed lots of baking and this Sunday alone I made pita chips, 3 dozen zucchini muffins and broccoli cheddar soup. I love being in my kitchen and making food that I feel is better for my family. Hopefully I'll post again this week about my homemade laundry detergent and some of the recipes I've been using with my fresh veggies. Yes I'm serious. We've made detergent! I'll post soon!

9:06 AM | | 1 Comments  

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