Saturday PWYC

[Harmony]

Whoever has front loading washing machines: pull the rubber seal around the door up so you can get a rag underneath and wipe every time you're done using the machine. Vinegar water is good to use. Do NOT close the door all the way. Mine never smelled because I read about that when I first got mine and never closed the door completely, so it did dry out. Also, at least every month, unscrew the pump filter and wash it out. This is a coffee-cup-sized gizmo that screws in and out and it collects stray stuff from pockets, etc. and it holds water. Put a bucket or big bowl under the filter handle to catch the water that will come out. Be quick, it spews out all over the place.

The first time I opened mine up, that water had an odor. Blek! But my clothes and the tub never smelled because I keep the door open a bit. I had some tiny pins and what I think was screwdriver tips in there (I must have missed from DH's pockets) and that stuff was all rusted badly. I did not know I was supposed to be doing this every month.

Mine is a GE and I must unscrew the bottom front metal panel and take off to find this thing. Other models have a nice little door at the bottom to open up and voila there it is.

Harriet, I had trouble pre-washing materials for those quilts I made. The red still bled after washing it. After that I used the bathtub to soak and then washed. If that happened, how clean can my clothes possibly be getting?

I have DH's sheets washing in there right now. I have so many little rust spots on them now it will be hard to tell if the problem is gone.

So, I did make some progress: we worked on the picture frame and put metal bracing triangles on the back of the corners of this one and my Christmas one. Hopefully they won't warp any more. I put some antiquing on the frame, a couple coats. All I have left to do is the clear coat.

Gave DH a haircut.
New sheets on the bed.
Dinner and dishes.
Went through a stack of magazines and put in recycle bin.

That's enough for today!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Harmony: my friend told me about keeping the door open and I seldom bother to dry the seal because the apartment is so dry, it doesn't have time to get moldy. I check it occasionally because it can hold stuff too (like an iPod touch!) There is also a cleaning cycle that I do annually (I think it is to be done monthly.) And I didn't know about the basket thing until the machine leaked one day. The repairman checked it (that wasn't the issue, probably it was overfull so overflowed) so that's when I learned about it.

Just about bedtime here.

I finished reading my book. So that's an accomplishment for the week.

Before we went to the pub I got the government tax docs uploaded. So that's another item done.

My ankle hurts like it did 2 weeks ago. It started hurting last night after sitting on a wall with my foot pointed to get support. I think that's what triggered it this time, and last time I was sitting for a long time with my foot pointed as well. I kept it strapped today but it is still achy and I didn't try walking any further than the pub. It was a bit threatening while we walked to the pub so we didn't go for a longer walk. The temp was nice but you could feel the changed in the air coming. The storm hit 2 hours after getting home and didn't really hit here - it just got scary windy for a few minutes and scary sky (dark clouds above but sunshine in the distance.) Just one lightening that I saw and the thunder came over 15 seconds later.

I didn't eat well again today. I'm really struggling these past 4 days.

[Lynlee]

Saturday
I tried the Saturday tai chi class. Instructor was not someone I've met before. It went fair enough. I liked her different style.
The buses are hourly on the w/e so there was a wait. I took the first one headed for the coast, then another to get to the beach and stopped first to buy some food - fruit, water and a bliss ball.
I enjoyed sitting on the grass overlooking a rock shelf and the ocean. The sailing clubs were off doing their thing to the horizon. Commercial shipping on the horizon waiting for the pilot to take it to the port to the south. people were out on the beach for a lovely day. Lots of nationalities present as it is very much a tourist accommodation place, as well as a safe / protected (from some weather systems) beach for locals.
I'm not sure if some were doing official fashion shoots, particularly around the sandy beach part. I took the walk along the path to the southern old food stores and bought some thai food. Relatively inexpensive and meets my needs. Missed the bus back home so went to explore the newly enlarged shopping center near the terminus. Make that missed the next 2 buses.
Despite all the missed buses it was a good for me day. I need to get down there just to sit more often.

Sunday
Who ordered the wind.? Westerlies and wind from the southern storms as well I think.
I'm in luck, it isn't a tornado, I guess. Commiserations and best wishes for those facing that in the US.
bfst, church - walked there (didn't twig about the wind until I was otd.)
Walked to town and bought a slip that might be sleep wear for another clothing layer. My cotton dress might have long sleeves and the micro slip I wore covered not enough of me. Decided to come home rather than the beach again. Well - I'd missed the bus going that way.
took tmeds later when I got home.
Lunch is next. I think I'll get into warmer clothing first. Inside its now 15c/60f. Outside if I could find a sunny spot out of the wind it would be ok.

[Lynlee]

re washing machines/ front loader: I do dry out the fold in the rubber seal as water tends to pool there. I never have found the little trap door thing that leads to the filter. I leave the door and the detergent dispenser drawer open between washes. Treated the door seal as much as I dare for the mildew in there.
My washing machine came with a warning against using bleach (and dyes). I found that out after it was bought.

[BookSaver]

Morning came very early today.
I could not get moving fast enough it seemed, so that I left the house late and raced in to TheBigCity for my sewing group meetings. I will plead the fifth on how fast I was driving! I did make it there on time -- but, of course, after having to wait every month for everyone else to come moseying in, THIS was the day they were all early and waiting for me so it looked as if I was really late. But then I couldn't get them to sit down so we could do the board business before the rest of the group arrived for the general meeting.

The meeting itself was fun. Several members brought projects they had made including one really flattering tunic by a friend who is my same size, so I might try to copy that style.

For the educational part of the meeting, we played with 3 dye techniques. My focus was mostly on the procedure that used ice cubes. I took an old white cloth purse that I was going to throw away because over time it looked dingy no matter how many times I soaked and washed it. I am hopeful that the dye will revive the purse so I can use it again.

The procedure is to first soak the fabric at least 15 minutes in a mixture of water & soda ash (washing soda) to make the dye colors stay in the fabric. Put it on a rack on top of a plastic bin (to catch the runoff) and pile ice cubes on top. Sprinkle powder dye(s) wherever color is desired. Let it set for 24 hours so that the ice will melt and combine with the color(s) to form random patterns. Then I was told that after the 24 hours, it needs to be rinsed until the water runs clear, and then left out to dry. I need to do some research on the internet to make sure that is correct. I don't think it will help to ask the person who was teaching the class, as she was just going from instructions she found on the internet.

So far my purse looks like it will be pretty. I scrunched it up a bit on the rack. I used 3 different colors, starting at 1 side with fuschia, then purple through the middle, then a medium blue. The recommendation was to bring a plastic dish pan with a wire rack on top, but I took a large plastic bin and a dish rack that fit all the way inside -- I did not want to risk dye splashing out on my drive home. As soon as I got home, I put the bin in the back yard and lifted the rack up to set it across the top. It was at that point that my latex glove developed a hole and as a result, I now have a purple ring finger. (If I had left the rack down inside the bin, the purse would have been sitting in the colored water and would have ended up all 1 color instead of the 3 separate ones.)

I went out and checked it an hour ago. The ice had finally all melted. I drained out the colored water, put the rack back inside the bin, and brought it into the kitchen to set overnight. I was afraid that if I left it outside overnight, I would end up with bugs and bird poop or worse, a possum might come along and turn the bin over and destroy my purse looking for food.

The rest of the day I've been hanging out with DH and messing around the house.

I have a laundry basket full of mending sitting at the machine but I'm too tired to tackle that tonight. Must do it tomorrow, or at least do my jeans. How is it possible that every pair of jeans I own all suddenly have places worn through that need patching at the same time?