Homemade laundry soap

I love laundry. What other chore can you cross off your list while reading a book or making dinner?

But I've never liked laundry detergents. I hate the scents but I dislike paying more to have no perfumes added. A few years ago I spied a bar of Fels Naptha soap at my local upscale grocery and happily put it to good use pretreating stains. So when I saw a recipe for homemade laundry soap using Fels Naptha on Modern Cottage, I put the ingredients on my next shopping list and got to work.

Local upscale grocery had all the ingredients (clearly, I'm part of a trend). It was easier to grate the Fels Naptha bar than I thought -- I little NPR made it a pleasant chore. (Read through the comments on the site to get some good tips on grating and reviews.)

When I first went to use it I had doubts — will this really work? It doesn't foam up or look like it does anything when you add it to the water! But I gave my first few loads a thorough inspection (including the smell test), and yep, it seems to work great.

Tacohead's Running Gear Review

At the camp I went to as a teen, people prided themselves on making do with scavenged gear. Beat-up hiking boots, Goodwill wool sweaters... it was 1996, after all -- deep in the flannel grunge years. And no deeper was it felt than at a canoe tripping camp where you couldn't even wash your hair. But since my parents always sent me off with appropriate REI gear (as they should have), I always feared being called a one of the dirtiest words around camp - a "gear-head."

So you can understand why I'm embarrassed to show my stash of running accouterments. Heck, I was embarrassed to buy most of them. But I quickly learned when I finally tried my first goo-gel that there's a reason this gear exists -- most of it really works. Many of them come recommended from very sensible, experienced people. So I bring you:

Tacohead's Running Gear Review



















BioFreeze. This product has been a near daily part of my life since its purchase. I love it. It's like Icy Hot but fancier and more effective and in a spray bottle. It helps soothe sore muscles and joints and can be applied in seconds.

Frozen veggies. Broccoli and spinach go under the legs, corn and edamame go on the knees. I've used this a lot as a preventative -- when things are a bit sore to prevent them from becoming really sore. Good before and after a run.

Goo gels. I actually like the taste of these enough I could eat them anytime. But for some people they upset the stomach, so test before race day. Although I have no proof, I'm a believer that caffeine helps, so I always pick the kind with caffeine. (Favorites: Powerbar green apple and tangerine). I felt really silly when I started to use these, but it makes sense -- your really body needs the 100 calories and (during hot weather) the sodium that these supply. I use 1 for 13-14 miles (taken at mile 10 or so), 2 for 18-20 miles. About $1-$1.50 each.

Endurox. I was most embarrassed to buy this, but everyone I know who trains uses it. It's a muscle and joint recovery powder that you mix with water and take after long runs. And again, I can't prove it, but I feel like I started recovering better and quicker after taking this. $25 (enough for me and Husband); available at REI and running stores.

The Stick. I finally got one because I figured why not -- it's a staple at my run club, and they were doing a bulk order (only available online) and I figured it was better than trying to massage my own leg muscles. I don't really think it does much, but it helps you feel like you're doing something. $20 (bulk price).

Garmin Forerunner 301. This GPS running watch tells you your pace, speed, and distance -- all based on a satellite. This means you can stop guessing at mileage or counting up long columns of numbers and know exactly how long you run. It also means you always know your pace -- which is amazingly helpful. While this watch has been invaluable to my training, I know there are other good watches out there, so if you're interested, I'd do the research. The only drawback is that it doesn't work in the woods (too much tree cover) or in the rain. It's also big, although the new versions are smaller. $150 (on sale, regularly $200. There are also different version available for different prices).

New Skin Liquid Bandage (not pictured). I've had a blister on my left pinky toe for over a year. It was really causing me pain last fall, but then I read a Wired article about Dean Karnazes (the guy who ran 50 marathons in 50 days) and he talked about using Krazy Glue on his blisters, so I took his suggestion but took it one safer. The blister is still there, but now it doesn't hurt. I apply it every morning as I blow dry my hair (when else am I regularly sitting immobile for five minutes?). Now if I could only figure out how not to get a blister there...

Next I'll find out I'm really a Taurus

My world is thrown upside down. I've lived my life thinking I had type O blood only to find out today that I'm an AB! I've always thought of myself as a universal donor -- now my blood is useless! And instead I am the universal receiver!
The Japanese are particularly into blood type, and think that it influences your personality. Prospective spouses and workplaces judge you based on your type. And it's a good thing I'm already married and employed because they do not like AB's. We are loose cannons, apparently -- a mix of the A/B yin/yang that can't easily be classified. They even sell condoms according to type. (I passed one on my bus route, conveniently located in a vending machine on a residential street, next to an Asahi beer vending machine. Those Japanese are all about the 24-hour no-clerk-interaction-required nature of the vending machine. Thankfully, I never spied any of the famous ones offering used panties.)

Vacation Diaries, Day 9: On the Farm

For the last few years I've dreamed of visiting my grandma and learning from her all the amazing things she knows how to do -- like quilting and sewing, gardening and canning, cooking and baking -- all things I've tried with varying success to learn from books. But for some reason I've felt too dumb to ask her. The vacation challenge gave me the courage I needed, so on Mother's Day my mom and I headed out to the farm.



















Some of my favorite childhood memories occurred at my grandparent's farm — learning how to ride a bike down the apple tree hill, riding in the tractor with my grandpa, ringing the old school bell in my grandma's garden. And what a beautiful farm it is -- it's in that wonderful glacierless part of Wisconsin full of hills and valleys.



















I was still feeling a bit nervous when we arrived, but my grandpa broke the ice by inviting me on four-wheeler ride. Soon we were sailing down the lanes, he on the old three-wheeler, me following on the four-wheeler. We stopped and picked Sweet William for my Grandma and (don't tell mom!) drove down the steep grassy hill by the creek so we could see some deer.

I begun my apprenticeship by learning how to bake rolls. My previous attempts were edible but not great. Under grandma's tutelage we baked Great-Great-Aunt Lila's rolls, and I have to say they turned out great. The skill of grabbing the dough and smoothing it into a roll is certainly something I couldn't have learned from a recipe. (They fetch $7/dozen at bake sales, Grandma informed me).




















We also did a few loaves of bread, to make sure I had down the water temp for yeast (hotter than I thought) and the stickiness of dough while kneading (OK to add flour as needed). We skipped pie crusts because Grandma rightly guessed that I couldn't handle working with lard, but we discussed technique and tips.

I also had a mini-tutorial on gardening, and came home with a bucket of flowers and jars and baggies of seeds. Also a big bag of asparagus that I harvested myself (I didn't get a chance to tell Grandma the kind of price that could fetch in the city).

We didn't get to sewing, but I think I'll take that up with my mom later this summer (I just got Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing and am excited to dive into it). So maybe next summer I'll be ready for Grandma School, Session 2: Quilting and sewing. Or maybe even this winter...

Special thanks to The Scratching Pole for photo editing help.

Medieval torture device

I saw someone curling their eyelashes while waiting at a stoplight this morning and I almost threw up. I don't know what it is about those things but they freak me out.

Vacation Diaries Index

So I have this surplus of vacation days that will be no longer if I don't use them by July. This seems like an opportunity that I should use wisely, as surely wasting days = bad karma = my next job having only 10 days vacation.

If the challenge of finding things that cost little money and that often don't involve [vacation-limited] Husband wasn't enough, I added the following goal for each day used:

1. Go somewhere I haven't been OR
2. Do something I haven't done

Here's what I ended up doing:

Day 1: Madison Weekend
Day 2: Family Discovery Day
Days 3-7: St. John
Day 8: Chicago
Day 9: On the Farm
Day 10: Marathon!

Vacation Diaries, Day 8: Chicago

When I mentioned to my family my vacation problem, my dad immediately rose to the occasion like the adventurer he is and told me to reserve May 3. Over the next couple weeks he peppered me with a series of clues (It's midway between two really cool things. Think of the 12th letter of the alphabet) which of course I didn't get because I thought, as one would, that it would be in driving distance. So when I learned we were flying to Chicago for the day I was super excited. Despite it's relatively close proximity, I'd never been.

We left on a 7:30 am flight, so we touched down in Chicago, hopped on the El, and made it downtown by 9:15. Although we'd already had two coffees, we headed to our first stop, Intelligentsia coffee shop, and spent some time with the barista choosing from their amazing selection of fair trade coffee. We spent so much (including a $33/half pound Brazilian reserve) that we got free coffee, and good thing we did because it was the MOST AMAZING COFFEE I'VE EVER HAD.

Abuzz, we headed over to Millennium Park to see the big silver bean!
It didn't disappoint.



















I'd booked us tickets on the highly recommended Architectural Boat Cruise through downtown, and I was glad I did because it was amazing - we learned a ton about the city and got to see a good portion of it, too.



















We stumbled off the boat, famished, and stumbled into South Water Kitchen for a one-martini lunch, before setting off to the Macy's/Marshall Field's Flagship Store, primarily because it contained a LUSH mini-store -- cause boy do I like my bath and body products. The salesgirls fluttered around us as we whirled through the shop. We decided on a host of sorry-you-stayed-home-gifts for Mom, and for me, Ocean Salt facial scrub, Ultimate Shine shampoo bar, and Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar for my sore post-run legs.

We returned to Argo Tea, where we'd breakfasted on quiche, so I could get some tea (mango, bubble), which turned out to be the MOST AMAZING TEA I'VE EVER HAD.

Then we shopped, wandered, and explored some more before heading back, scooping up some souvenirs at the airport (including a Chicago big pencil, nostalgically adding to the big pencil collection I had as a kid). My dad dozed on the flight home as I contentedly sipped a Bloody Mary, ate pita chips, and worked my way through a kakuro puzzle book we'd thrown in at the airport.

"We should do this more often," my dad said when he awoke.

I heartily agree.