Pinterest Fact or Fiction: A Clean Washer

I was doing laundry the other day, and being a short person, I frequently have to stick my head in the washing machine to grab that lone pesky straggler sock.  This time I was met with a knock down drag out nasty funk of a smell.

Apparently, washing machines need to be cleaned.

How did I not know this?

They clean your clothes so why should they be dirty?  Then again, you clean your body in the shower and the tub and shower can get pretty disgusting as well.

So I set myself to finding a cure for the stinky situation. My trusty old pinterest search found me many a tips and tricks on how to clean the washing machine.  I chose the directions for Cleaning a top loading washer from DIY Naturally.

All you need is 4 cups of vinegar, 1/2 c baking soda, dishrag and a bit of elbow grease.  I had a hard time getting into some of the nooks and crannies so I used Mrblocko's toothbrush to get out all the gunk from the hard to reach places.

No.  Not really.   I just like to throw stuff like that in my posts just to make sure he is reading them.

I did have to use a toothbrush, just not Mrblocko's.

What you'll need to do is:
1. Fill your washer with HOT water.
2. Add the vinegar and let it agitate for a minute.
3. Add the baking soda and let that shimmy itself in the mix for another minute.
4.  Let this stuff sit for 30-60 min.  (Just leave the lid open to make sure the washer doesn't continue onto the spin cycle.)
5.  Scrub the parts you can get with the rag/toothbrush and liquid in the basin until you can't see anymore of the filth.
6.  Let the washer complete it's wash cycle.
7. Voila! You've got a mean clean washin' machine!

 Anyhow.  Above is the before picture. 

I don't know if you can see all the gunk on the plastic part on top of the basin.  Ten years of gunk and filth.

Now here is the after:

No more grodies.  AND no more smell. 

Success! 

Mark this one down as a pinterest FACT!

Thankful Thurs #45

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1. I only have a sinus infection, not strep.

2. The same goes for Blockette.

3. Blockette only missed a short day of school from her croup.

4. I went half way through my antibiotic before I got a wonky tummy.

5. Blockette decided that instead of going out to eat as a reward for her report card, that we would just stay in and order pizza. (Her and I were just so miserable.)

6. Blockette slept through the whole night.  First night all week.

7. I had no excuse not to go out and vote because voting was at the school, and we had parent teacher conferences that day.

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8 . Blockette got an awesome report card.

9. The issues Blockette had at school were resolved by the new seating arrangement.  (No more daily reports about so and so doing this or that...Hooray!)

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10.  I was in a good enough mood to laugh instead of cry when I had a massive fail in the kitchen.

Crockpot Lentil and Ham Soup

I will shout it loud and shout it proud... 

I love lentils! 

 Well, maybe I just love Ham and Lentil Soup.

This particular recipe is crockpot lentil soup from The Apron Gal.  Ham and lentil soup in the crockpot?  I was so there.

My crockpot must have been running cold, because after 4 hours on low, the lentils were no where near being done.  I cranked the slow cooker up to high for another 1 and a half hours and they were lentil perfection.

I was lucky enough to have homemade ham stock on hand instead of the suggested chicken stock.  This made for a very rich ham flavor throughout the soup.  I highly recommend using ham stock if you can.

One more thing, I only had pomegranate red wine vinegar instead of plain old ordinary red wine vinegar.  The recipe only calls for 2 tsp of vinegar, so I don't think it made any difference.

Crockpot Ham and Lentil Soup from The Apron Gal

2 medium carrots, peeled, and diced 2 ribs celery,  diced 1 medium onion, chopped   2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups dry green lentils -  (I used 1c green and 1 c red lentils - I happened to have exactly that much in the pantry) 3 bay leaves 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon cumin  3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 8 c ham stock (or chicken if you must) 1 c diced ham
Cut up vegetables into small chunks. Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Viva La Farcical Aquatic Ceremony!

Now get out there and Vote!

Ni!

Oct Cross Stitch

I've been super stitchy this month! Eight finishes.  My fingers must have been on fire!

Run, Run, Rudolph by Raise the Roof from Just Cross Stitch 2009 Ornament Issue

Nickademus by Raise the Roof from Just Cross Stitch 2010 Ornament Issue

Merry Moose Wishes by Designs by Lisa from Just Cross Stitch 2012 Ornament Issue

Peace on Earth by Glendon Place from Just Cross Stitch 2012 Ornament Issue

Mistletoe by Acorn House from Just Cross Stitch 2012 Ornament Issue

Oh Christmas Tree by Loopylou Designs from Just Cross Stitch 2009 Ornament Issue

Holly Ornament by Sweetheart Tree from Just Cross Stitch 2009 Ornament Issue

O Christmas Tree by Charlotte's Web Needlework from Just Cross Stitch 2009 Ornament Issue

Oct Reads

Not a lot of books this month.  I've been too busy cross stitching I guess.

1. Tiger's Destiny by Coleen Hauck.
This is the fourth and final book in the Tiger Quest series.  Guess what?  It ends with a time loop.  What is up with these books lately?  Strangely, I was more ok with this time loop ending than previous storylines I've read.  Maybe I've been in a better mood lately.  I was not so jazzed about books 2 and 3 in this series, but I liked the finale as much as the first book.  I was please with the resolution of the curse, and the subsequent resulting love triangle between Ren, Kishan and Kelsey.  After having read this book, and seeing how the series ends, I feel I can recommend this teen romance to teens and grown ups alike.  (The Romance is neither smarmy or smutty.)

2. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran.
I started reading this book to put me in the mood for making Blockette's Halloween costume.  I really enjoyed the storyline as I had no knowledge of  Cleopatra's daughter, Selene's, life.  I did find myself picturing some of the characters as their counterparts on HBO's series Rome, which made me laugh for some reason.  There was another series about Selene that I had planed to read, but it was more fantastical.  I enjoyed the style of this story so much that I decided not to read that one.  Instead I plan on reading more books by this author.

Thankful Thurs #44

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1. Soccer season has ended.

2. My new winter coat is toasty warm.

3. Mrblocko and I can now teach 4 yr old Sunday School in our sleep, which I think we might have last Sunday.

4. Mrblocko wound up not having to work on Halloween after all.

5. Our power went out for only a few hours Wed AM.

6. Blockette didn't put up a fight when we made her put on hat gloves and coat when she went trick or treating.

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7. I got two naps in one day.  (Hopefully that will help whatever cold I'm getting not be so bad.)

8. My friend in DC/Maryland was ok after Frankenstorm/Sandy.

9. Stopping to notice the beauty in each day.

10. My mom made it home safely from her trip to Spain.