Summer Time

I like summer, not fond of the cold winters. But the last week has been very warm, and the humidity is high. So getting out early to water and do yard chores is essential. The garden takes a lot of water, but is looking good., My cucumbers are blooming,have been picking some luscious blueberries, almost as big as grapes. And my son brings me enough lettuce for a weeks worth of salad, along with fresh green onions every week. I have some lettuce almost ready, due to rabbits, its growing in a deck railing planter . I also have pots on the deck with extra tomatoes, like yellow pear and roma's, so have a lot to keep track of. My family spent a lot of years in Texas, we never saw rain like they are having now. North Texas has snow storms as bad as the midwest, and dust storms that blew in red dust from Oklahoma. Many times we covered the windows with wet towels to keep it breathable for the babies when they were small. Today I am going to pass along some more ideas for your "green" home. Go to the store, and in the laundry area but a BIG box of baking soda, I get a four pound one. And at least a gallon of vinegar(white). With these, maybe a box of borax, some tea tree oil and a few essentials oils, you can do all your cleaning and yard chores in a non toxic way. Start with the toilet bowl, put 1/2 cup of baking soda in a flushed bowl, and add 1/2 cup of vinegar, let sit a few minutes til the bubbling stops, swab and flush. My bathroom cleaner is equal parts of water and white vinegar, a few drops of tea tree oil, and if you want a scent, add lavender, lemon or other essential oil. If you had not known, vinegar kills 99.98% of germs, as effective as caustic clorox, lysol etc and no fumes to inhale. Scouring powder came under fire this week, it contains formaldehyde among other deadly ingredients. Make your own with half salt and half baking soda, one of those old Parmesan cans works well as a sprinkler. Again, add essential oil if you want lemon or lavender etc scent. You can make soft scrub by using baking soda and mixing it with enough Dawn to make a cream. Moving outside, weed killer is as simple as putting 1/2 cup of salt in a spray bottle, fill with vinegar, add a squirt of dawn, and spray on a dry hot day. I also found out this week to watch out what brand of tea bags or tea you buy. Most of them use weed, and insect spray o n the leaves, and the first place it washes off is in your teacup. I buy great organic tea from Swansons. If you have not, go to their website and pull up organic foods, it's amzzing how much they have. And delivered right to your door. Getting ready to brew some peppermint tea, have a great week, see you next time.