Happy Saturday! It’s our weekly ‘Three Things” post is where you’ll find a peek into my week and some things that are making me happy. And yep, that’s more than 3 things- I’m simply using 3 as a way to organize these weekly updates. Let’s get started! (Note: the links I provide are often affiliate links, though not always.)
Three Things That Happened
The beautiful yellow finches returned! I never get tired of seeing them – they still amaze me with their tropical coloring right here in Oregon. Maybe I like looking at them because then I can pretend I’m in some warm place with sandy beaches right outside the door…
Ah, my sweet husband. He’s taken it as his mission to plant (and transplant) anything he can to help our side yard have some trees again. He trekked through the forest of a relative to find some native Douglas Fir trees to add to our fence line and transplanted all the English Laurel shrubs we had planted last fall (to grow up to the thinned line of the stand of evergreen trees…that are no longer there). They’ll now help to disguise the not-so-lovely cyclone fence that’s a lot more noticeable without the forest behind it. We’re also shopping for some Leyland Cypresses and will harvest a native cedar to try and have a mix of tall evergreens growing there eventually.
MY LATEST VIDEOS
The first ever AOC survey closed on Friday morning and I’m SO thankful to all of you who took the time to leave your thoughts and information!! I’m still processing it all, but I’ll write an article about it when I’m done with the major take-aways I get from it. I have already read a few of your comments and some caused me to get a bit teary -you guys are the BEST.
Oh, and I also chose a winner of the set of 4 eBooks – congratulations, Kellie! (I’ve notified by email)
Three Things I’m Loving
These pillows from H&M. Did you know H&M has a home section? Our local store doesn’t carry any of them, so it’s only online for me, but they have some great things and terrific prices. And these pillows? The large (20×20) green stripe covers were on sale for $3.95! Can you believe it? I thought the regular $9.95 prices wasn’t that bad, though they regularly have canvas pillow covers priced at $4.95 and $5.95 (which is what the smaller solid covers were), but I just happened to hit the jack pot that day!
This dishwasher detergent. After trying many different eco-friendly dishwashing detergents – including making my own (never will do that again – ruined a few silver items…) – I now only use Seventh Generation powder. It leaves the glasses clear, which is one of the things the other brands just don’t do well. I always use a powder because then I can add just a tablespoon (it’s all you need – you don’t have to fill up the containers) and it seems to last a longer.
The Boundaries class we’re taking at our church. We’ve been wondering lately about our responsibilities to our families- what is loving vs. enabling, etc., and this is helping Brian and I to determine, biblically, what our job is and how to love our family in the right way. I highly recommend the class if you have one available, or to read the Boundaries book if you don’t. It answers a lot of questions, especially around the issues of parenting as our kids age.
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I was so glad to read that you have found that the eco-friendly dishwasher detergent options (including DIY) just didn’t clean as well. I have tried many of them with poor results as well. How is the 7th Generation for removing tea stains from mugs? That seems to be a shortcoming of many of the brands, eco-friendly or not.
You’re right, Jackie – tea and coffee stains just don’t come out with anything I’ve tried for the most part. What I do is scrub them with Bar Keeper’s Friend when they get bad, usually once a month or so. It seems to take awhile for the stains to build up and some mugs are worse than others (cheaper ceramic maybe?), so I don’t bother doing it each time.
Do you only put 1 tablespoon of the 7th Gen. detergent in the dishwasher per load? Does it work well and get the dishes clean? I use the same detergent and love it, but if I can stretch it farther I would be happy to.
Yep, only 1 T. Michelle and it works fine. I didn’t notice any difference when I went to this amount a few years ago after reading that most boxes say this amount, but people just fill up the dispensers without looking. 🙂
Thank you SO MUCH for my survey prize e-books win! I can’t wait to read all of them.
We get those yellow finches down here in southern Oregon too! I love them. They must be migratory because within a few weeks they won’t be here anymore. We have a water feature in our backyard and it’s so fun to watch them “play” in the water. So cute! I’m not sure if you have a Costco nearby but every year about this time they carry some really nice leyland cypress that are in 10 gal containers and approx. 4-5 ft tall for only $40. They’re big and usually healthy. It’s the best deal around that we’ve found. Good luck covering up your eye sore. What a shame to lose your privacy.
Oh, thanks for that Costco tip, Dianne! We’ll check them out on our next trip.