The Damsel in Dis Dress
Feb 9th, 2010 by damsel
The Damsel has added a community widget to the Old School. What? Talking in class?
heh.
This is the place to go if you have questions about any of the Old School lessons. You’re free to comment, ask questions, or answer them. Of course, you can always leave comments on individual posts as usual. The community sounds like it might be fun, though.
Look for the community down, down, down on the right side. See ya there.
Feb 7th, 2010 by damsel
The Damsel had hoped to create an Old School post about how to fix a leaky faucet. But once the Knight got into the guts of the faucet in question, it was clear this faucet was beyond saving. Corrosion had dealt a death blow, and even the Knight’s magic wouldn’t be enough.
Removal became necessary.
How does a 6′7″ Knight in Shining Armor cram himself into a tiny cabinet? There were words, and they weren’t “Forsooth” or “Lo here!”
The Knight got his big hunky self under there. The Damsel clapped, praised, and offered brownies.
To remove a faucet carcass, you must:
Turn off the water supply (there are normally taps to twist off under the sink).
Carefully remove the u-shaped piece of pipe. Just so you know, it will be full of water. And possibly diamond rings or contact lenses.
Remove the pipe connected to the bottom of the sink.
This will allow you to take the drain ring thing out. Oogie warning.
There are supply lines that run from the water supply taps to the faucet. They might be gray plastic. They might be white plastic. They might be braided metal. In any case, you have to undo those at the faucet end.
Disconnect the thingy that raises and lowers the drain plug.
Now you can raise the whole apparatus and lay it to rest.
Because this bathroom has a double sink, the Damsel regrets to show you what happened next. She desires that you briefly glance at this picture and then forget you ever saw it. That is her wish.
Feb 4th, 2010 by damsel
Back here, the Old School discussed what happens when you use liquid dish soap in your dishwasher, and what to do to temporarily tide you over until your next trip to the market.
But is it possible to make your OWN dishwasher detergent? To use on a regular basis, not as an emergency substitute? Can you really unhook from the crazy that is the price of Cascade?
The Damsel is happy to inform that yes, you can easily make your own. As a matter of fact, the hardest part is trying to buy the ingredients: washing soda and borax. Apparently, these were pretty common items in the olden days, but are harder to find now.
Both of these items are considered laundry boosters, and generally that’s where you’ll find them at the store: in the laundry aisle. Borax is pretty easy to find. It’s the washing soda that’s tricky.
After sufficient sleuthing and you still come up empty, you COULD buy this. The ingredient is the same: sodium carbonate. The Damsel bought this at Wal-Mart in the pool/spa chemical aisle. However, it’s twice as expensive this way. $7 vs. $3.50.
If you’re interested in making other homemade cleaners as well, it’s worth it to keep hunting down the washing soda. It shows up in many cleaner recipes.
To make it, all you do is mix equal parts of washing soda and borax. The Damsel measured one cup of each into a container and stirred. That is all.
To use, try one tablespoon first and see how your dishes look. If you have a compartment that looks like this, fill the little side with the mixture and the big side with vinegar. This will help the glassware come out looking great.
The Damsel hesitates to give this an enthusiastic review. She’s only tried it once so far, and while most of the dishes looked perfectly clean, some didn’t. To be fair, she has extremely hard water and her dishwasher is trying to die. No dishwasher should have to work as hard as hers. She’s going to try it again, with a little more detergent and possibly adding the vinegar to the rinse cycle rather than in the dispenser. This will require more vigilance and hovering than she’s used to, but that is her plan.
Jan 30th, 2010 by damsel
Want to know how to take care of your kitchen drains the un-nuclear way?
It’s easy, as long as your drain isn’t already backed up. If you do this every month or so, your drains will be happier, and you won’t have to use poison.
Grease gets stuck on the sides of sink pipes in the most fastidious of kitchens. The Damsel doesn’t want to think about what that would look like, with other stuff stuck to that, etc. No wonder drains don’t always smell like a daisy.
This method uses stuff you’ve got hanging around–nothing toxic.
Pour a cup (don’t fuss…doesn’t have to be exact) of baking soda down your drain.
Follow with a cup of vinegar. Yes! This is the same thing you make volcanos out of at the science fair. It will bubble in a satisfying way.
Follow with a gallon or two of boiling water. (Poured for this picture by Sprog #1. Yes, he’s quite tall) This melts grease . . . and any time you pour boiling water down your sink, you’re doing it the same favor. Pasta water, teapot water, etc.
P.S. Did you know you can pour boiling water on weeds, especially those growing in the cracks of cement, for a completely chemical free form of weed death?
Jan 28th, 2010 by damsel
Guess what? The Damsel is featured over here: Mormon Mommy Blogs. Go see!
Jan 25th, 2010 by damsel
Self-reliance is the main course of study at the Old School. And, being self-reliant and pursuing simplicity go hand in hand in the Damsel’s eyes. She’s always wishing she could take it down a level. Let’s just say some days go better than others when it comes to avoiding the crazy.
Yesterday at church, the speaker told the Parable of the Mexican Fisherman. It struck a chord with the Damsel, and not just because she was sitting on the organ bench. Apparently this story has been around a while, but this was the first time the Damsel had heard it. She thought it would make a great “field trip” post for the Old School. Pardon the length, and please comment if you know an attribution.
An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied only a little while. The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.
The American then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time?
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution.
You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”
“But what then, senor?”
The American laughed and said “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”
“Millions, senor? Then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Jan 22nd, 2010 by damsel
At the Damsel’s cottage by the mountains, the Knight erected a flag pole, upon which an American flag waves 24/7. (A light shines on it at nighttime to make that okay.) Except last night, it was so windy, the family decided to bring the flag in.
The Damsel noticed the bottom corner had gotten tattered from snapping in the wind, and fired up her google-fu to find out if it’s kosher to mend a flag. She was surprised to find very little information. She saw plenty of references to the proper way to dispose of a worn-out flag (let the boy scouts or veterans burn it in a special ceremony) but what about mending? Is that okay?
The Damsel actually had to (gasp!) pick up the telephone and call a flag company to find out. It is considered respectful to wash and/or mend a flag when needed.
As you can see this corner is in bad shape. According to the flag company, it’s permissible to trim this off and rehem the flag, although it throws off the balance of stripes vs. stars a tiny bit.
Cut in a straight line, all the way across. Mark the line first if you feel nervous about eyeballing it. Just make the cut so that all the frayed fabric is cut off.
Thread the machine with white thread. Fold over a bit of the cut edge, 1/4″ or so, or a presser-foot-full, and simply sew a straight seam to hem the flag. Once that’s done, you can fold it over once again and sew. It’s not strictly necessary, but you can if you like. Don’t stress. No one is going to be judging your flag hem.
While the Damsel was sewing, a sprog wandered in. “Hey, Betsy Ross!” One is left to suppose that comment is unavoidable if you’re sewing and a flag is spread across your lap.
Oh, and to wash it…you can just put it right in the washing machine, along with a towel or some such just to help make up a load. Flags are made of extremely durable fabric, so a washing machine won’t do it any harm. Or a dryer.
Long may it wave!
Jan 20th, 2010 by damsel
Have you ever been tempted to put liquid dish soap (the kind you handwash dishes with) in your dishwasher?
Perhaps you’ve heard. Or maybe you’ve learned from personal experience. Try this, and you’ll end up with suds irresponsibly billowing out of your dishwasher. The volume of suds is quite astonishing. On the bright side, your kitchen floor will never be cleaner–once you’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time cleaning up all the suds.
So–what if you’re out of dishwasher detergent? Is there anything you can use, just until you can get back to the store?
The Damsel will permit you to use the aforementioned liquid. But you must use only a couple of DROPS. If you can’t trust yourself to stop with two drops, then just forget about the whole thing.
Also, add a handful of baking soda to the machine…just throw it in. It will help control the sudsing, and is actually a pretty good cleaner itself. Some folks even say to just skip the two drops of dish soap and use the baking soda alone.
Others make this heretical statement: Take the dishes out of the dishwasher and wash the silly things by hand. The Damsel can hardly bring herself to write such words.
Jan 13th, 2010 by damsel
The Damsel was fascinated by this list of things you can do with coffee filters. She finds herself craving a package of them now, and she’s not even a coffee drinker. Someone whispered they are quite cheap at the dollar store, a thing the Damsel never supposed, since she’s never bought them before.
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.
2. Clean windows, mirrors, and chrome… Coffee filters are lint-free so they’ll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect china from chipping each other by separating your good dishes with a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
5. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
6. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
7. Use instead of a paper towel to drain bacon, or other fried things.
8. Use a filter as an easy-to-tear-away backing for embroidering or appliqueing soft fabrics.
9. Use them to strain soup stock and to tie fresh herbs in, for soups and stews.
10. Use a coffee filter to prevent spilling when you add fluids to your car.
11. Use them to wrap Christmas ornaments for storage.
12. Use them to sprout seeds.. Simply dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it and place it into a plastic baggie until they sprout.
13. Use coffee filters as blotting paper for pressed flowers. Place the flowers between two coffee filters and put the coffee filters in phone book..
Jan 11th, 2010 by damsel
Maybe.
Because cheap pillows, like the ones you buy at Wal-Mart for $5.99, won’t weather the process in a way you’d desire. They’ll come out looking like nothing you’d want to put your head on…lumpy and strange. Who wants to put their face on lumpy and strange?
But a nice, high quality pillow can be washed, right in the washing machine. Yes, even feather pillows–especially feather pillows.
Check the pillows first to see if there are any tears in the ticking. Wash two at once if you can, to balance the machine. You don’t need much detergent. Set it for a gentle cycle if possible. Then, to dry them, put them in the dryer with some clean tennis balls. They’ll refluff the pillows nicely.
Or you can even use clean tennis shoes if you don’t have any tennis balls handy. What is it about tennis items and pillows?
If your pillows have a musty smell, Grandma would tell you there’s nothing better than setting them outside in the sunshine for a while. And you know about pillow covers, right? They look sort of like pillow cases, except they have a zipper closure instead of being open on one side like a pillow case. Pillow covers give you a nice extra layer of protection. Zip them on, then put a pillow case over that. Then you can wash the pillow cover and case very easily, whenever you feel your pillow has hit its drool limit.
The time table for fastidious folks is to wash the pillow case weekly, the pillow cover every other month, and the pillow itself once or twice a year. There you have it.
