Rescued From Oil Stains! :P

Generally one worries about a child spilling things your lap. Or, for those of us from large families, you have learned to stop worrying at all, and merely expect the inevitable. But this past Sunday, during the fellowship meal, I was sitting with one woman, and talking with her while eating our lunch. Her husband came up to stand beside her and eat his lunch, and, throughout the whole of the meal, dropped pieces of his salad, dressing and all, onto my skirt. I discreetly ignored them, wondering what sort of dressing he had used, and hoping it would come out! Later on the porch, Sarah informed me that I had an oil stain all over the front of my skirt. It was a new one, (to me) from the thrift-store, and I couldn't afford to trash a new skirt! So I went on a Google mission: to find out how to remove oil from clothing. There were many suggestions, some complicated, some strange, and finally, I found the load-star of them all. Let me introduce the BEST EVER WAY TO REMOVE OIL FROM CLOTHING!!!! Yes, you will want to listen, because this little tip could very well help all you large families from having to retire quantities of clothing from oil stains. The woman who shared this tip, said that she had removed the stain from a whole pound of butter from one skirt with this technique, as well as car oil, and other things. Sounded great! So I carefully followed the directions:

"Do not wet the fabric! Apply shampoo to both sides of material on top of stain, and rub together gently. Rinse in warm water, as both hot and cold water may set the stains instead of removing them. Continue rubbing and rinsing until the stain is gone. Wash as usual."

And so I did. And you know what? The stain is completely gone just like they said! Try it sometime! It really does work! :) -Rachel

Hints From A Homemaker

Here are some random kitchen tips that I decided to post. (My mind is currently bent kitchenward, since I have been doing dishes and tucking cinnamon rolls into a pan while singing "Bonnie Dundee" with Sarah, after gardening all the ding-dong day! Whew! Run on sentence!)
Anyway, without further ado:

1. When you make cinnamon rolls, cut them with dental floss. Really! Take a long piece, tuck it under the edge of the long roll, bring the ends up over the top, and cross, pulling tight. Voila! This way you can see the swirl super well! :)

2. Zucchini takes on the flavor of whatever it is cooked with, so use it to stretch things like spaghetti sauce, ground beef for tacos, etc. Supposedly, you can't even taste it! :]

3. ALWAYS WEAR AN APRON!!!!

4. Wash your feet before doing much in the kitchen. This sounds silly and strange, but if you have been gardening all day (as I was) and then you walk through a puddle of water on the floor, you will be mopping later. :) Ahem.

5. Wash you dishes while you go. I am sure you all already know this one, but seriously, it is important to avoid dish-overwhelm at the end!

6. Forsake the mixer now and then, and experience making something by hand for real! And use a wooden spoon! Nothing is quite so sturdy and comfortable as that! If you seek a real challenge, try whipping egg whites till they are stiff and glossy using elbow grease and a whisk. I did it the other day, and it wasn't all that bad!

7. Do things by hand. No, this is not a repeat of the tip above. I mean, doing things literally with your hand. Like when I make my cinnamon rolls, I rub butter on the dough with my hands. Then I scrub the cinnamon and sugar in with my hands like I'm scouring the floor. It helps the flavor really sink in! :)

8. Always bribe siblings with tastes. ;) This worked on Leah when I begged her to go upstairs and get me the dental floss for cutting my rolls!

9. Sing some random song and laugh if you hit the high notes wrong. This helps keep you from getting stressed, and makes anyone smile who walks into the kitchen! ;) Singing while you work is an art that goes by the wayside far too much!

10. Spatulas are handy tools for smacking over-eager hands that reach into the cookie dough too many times! ;)

So, these are some things that aren't as helpful, maybe, as you'd expect, but I hope they make you laugh, and realize once more how much fun being a homemaker is! :) -Rachel