Best Homemade Window Cleaner

I have used the following window cleaner for years. It's a homemade recipe and works great!

You will need:

1 gallon container (I use a 1-gallon Rubbermaid container shown above), Ammonia, Liquid Detergent (Dawn), Alcohol, blue food coloring and water.

In the 1-gallon container add:

1/2 cup ammonia
1 tsp. liquid detergent (I use Dawn)
1 pint (2 cups) of alcohol
2-3 drops of blue food coloring
Then fill the container to the top with water.
Close lid on container and mix liquid to combine.
Fill spray bottle with this mixture for a good window cleaner!

Repurpose - How to Clean the Print off Kitty Litter Pails

Kitty litter pails. What to do with them?  I hate to just discard them!  They are well-made and can hold lots of stuff.  But who wants to store things in a pail that clearly screams "I'm a kitty litter pail". So, you can remove the print off the pail and voila!  A pail that you can mark or decorate with whatever you want!  Here is how I did it:

DISCLAIMER:  Do in a well-ventilated area!  Wear gloves!  Protect the surface otherwise you might be sorry!  The photos shown here were taken indoors because it's freezing outside! (The actual print was removed in a well-ventilated garage)

Things you need:

Kitty litter pail

Gloves

Rags, waxing-type sponge, sponges

Lacquer Thinner

Material to protect your work are 

After putting on gloves and protecting your work area (Don't  forget! Well ventilated work area!) apply some lacquer thinner to a rag, waxing-type sponge or sponge. Begin rubbing the print on the litter pail and the print will lift off.  Change your rag, sponge, etc. as needed.  

Continue until all print is removed.

Not bad!  Now decorate as you see fit.  Hope this is a handy tip! Have a great day! 

My Mom's Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe

Here is a recipe for my mother's buttermilk cornbread.  It is delicious!  No one cooks like mama!

Mama's Buttermilk Cornbread

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

In a medium size bowl add:

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt

Put dry ingredients in sifter and sift once to incorporate.  Set aside

In another bowl add:

1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup oil
1 egg

Stir above well until blended
Add the buttermilk mixture to the cornmeal mixture stirring well.

Pour some oil into cast iron skillet (pour enough oil in center of skillet to make about a 3" circle.  It will spread as it heats up) and heat on the stove (not oven) until oil is hot.  The skillet is ready when a drop of batter sizzles when it hits the skillet. (check center & outer edge of skillet to make sure entire surface is hot)  At this point pour the mixture into hot skillet and then put in oven.  Bake  20 minutes or until cornbread has released from the side of skillet.  If needed brown top of cornbread under broiler. (Add a little sugar if you prefer your cornbread sweet.  I like cornbread either way!  I just love cornbread!) A great recipe and so delicious!

My First Attempt at a Vegetable Garden

1. This was my first attempt at vegetable gardening.  Being a city girl I had never tried my hand at gardening. I had a lot to learn.  The crookneck squash was gorgeous at the beginning until the squash vine borer attacked my plants.  They were decimated!  But I did have success with tomatoes, okra and sugar baby watermelons.  I also managed to grow green beans and did get a small crop by the end of the season.  To be fair I started this garden way too late in the season!  I didn't even get the plants in the ground until June 24th which was too late in the season.  The poor plants battled the extreme Texas heat and the relentless pests!  This next spring I plan on starting the garden by the end of March before the bugs are a problem.  What a great experience though!  Gardening is so enjoyable and this was a great learning experience!