Musings from Marilyn

Here it is, once again, that annual event that we all go through together whether we like it or not: the turning of the clock into the new year.  I’ve always liked the feeling of ending the old, and starting anew with a fresh clean slate.  Even though we carry our bag of emotions, concerns and worries with us into the new year, there is that magical moment when the clock strikes midnight when all things seem possible, albeit fleetingly.

I am spending New Years Eve home alone, and feeling very okay with it.  Almost giddy!   I guess I’ve reached a point in my life where reveling with mostly strangers at parties, and driving in the dead of night trying to avoid drunk drivers doesn’t have the appeal it once did.  In fact, I was just thinking about all the New Year’s Eve parties that I’ve attended over the years that never quite lived up to the “expectation” of having a blissfully ecstatic time.  Didn’t really matter if I was single, dating, married, engaged, or divorcing at the time… it all felt the same.

So I’ve learned to just approach New Year’s Eve from a neutral standpoint.  Read a good book, listen to music, make Hoppin’ John and cornbread, watch the ball drop from the Space Needle, sip some champagne, watch the Marx Brothers movie marathon… and make NO resolutions! 

“Youth is when you’re allowed to stay up on New Year’s Eve.  Middle age is when you’re forced to.”  ~Bill Vaughn

Happy 2012!

~Marilyn Huttunen

Well, I finally took the plunge and did what was the last holdout of my Eco-Friendly-Clothesline-Loving-Cold-Water-Washing-Laundry-Goddess status:  making my own environmentally friendly detergent.  I have been meaning to do this for years but finally got a nudge, okay, a push from a thread on the eBay Clothing Discussion board.  There was a lively discussion about making homemade detergent, and since I had all the ingredients (and laundry to do) I made up a batch of the powdered detergent.

There is a liquid version and a powdered version.  I chose the powdered version because frankly, it sounded a lot less complicated.  And the liquid version makes something like 792 gallons at a time and I don’t have the storage space.  Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit on the amount, but it was a staggeringly huge amount!

The powdered version is really simple:

• One bar of Fels Naptha soap – finely grated
• One cup of Borax
• One cup of Washing Soda or Baking Soda

I used the fine grate side of my grater to get the soap finely grated, kind of like Parmesan cheese.  It takes a bit of muscle but it goes pretty fast.  Then just mix the Fels Naptha in a bowl with the Borax and the Washing Soda.  Or you could mix it in a jar and shake it up (lid on, please ).  Now it’s ready to go and should look something like this:

Use 2 Tablespoons of powder per load.  Since 2 Tablespoons equals 1/8th cup, I found an old 1/8th measuring cup and keep it with the detergent.  If you are using warm or hot water, just add the powder to the load.  If you are using cold water to wash, you can put the powder into a little saucepan of water on the stove and heat until the soap melts, then add to your laundry load.

Today I washed a white load in warm water, and a dark load in cold water.  The detergent worked really well on both loads and the laundry came out very clean and soft.  Be aware that there are little or no suds, but it does clean amazingly!  There really is no scent either, just the very faint clean smell of the Fels Naptha, which I happen to adore.

It’s easy, it’s safe, it works, and it’s amazingly thrifty.  I haven’t done a cost analysis of this, but I’m sure it’s just pennies per load.  We don’t need a bunch of over-scented chemicals to get our laundry clean!  We can help the environment and help our pocketbook in one fell swoop.  So give it the old college try and you too, can be on the road to being a Laundry Goddess.  It’s fun!

~Marilyn Huttunen

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, one of my very favorite holidays.  One of the more superficial reasons that I like Thanksgiving is, for the most part, it hasn’t been blown to smithereens by nauseating commercialization.  Oh sure, we have to put up with the Black Friday (and now, Brown Thursday) ads and hype, but the holiday itself seems to retain most of its original intent.

I love that the focus is on good food, loved ones, and not only giving thanks but feeling appreciation for all that is in our lives.  Yes, even the “bad” stuff!  I have a lot to be thankful for, and as I’ve gotten older and hopefully wiser, I am learning to give thanks even when things go terribly wrong.  For it is in those times I have gotten deeper spiritually and learned a lot about myself.  Not to get all zen on you, but I’m feeling less resistant and am trying to just go with the flow of things instead of complaining, blaming, and creating drama.  It is a big relief to just “be”.

While I will be gathering with family and friends tomorrow, sharing the repast of Thanksgiving, I will be feeling much gratitude for everything in my life.  Especially the stuffing. 

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you”, that would suffice.  ~Meister Eckhart

~Marilyn Huttunen

Even though Autumn has been quite firmly ensconced for several weeks now, there are always several things that I do with amazing regularity once the autumnal equinox has passed.  On the household side, it is cleaning out the furnace (an utterly thankless task) before turning on the heat for the first time.  I think I made it until October 7th this year before finally giving in and turning it on.  After the low utility bills of summer, frugal me is always loathe to have to spend money on such obscure things as heat.  But being a creature of comfort, I do love to have warmth!

Being an air-dryer, the outdoor clothesline is now pretty much closed for the season (or two, or three…).  My drying racks have pretty much set up permanent shop in my kitchen, with a constant rotation of wet laundry yearning to dry.  It takes a day or two for the laundry to dry indoors…gone are the days of laundry drying in mere hours out on the sunny, breezy clothesline.  But I adjust pretty quickly to seeing the constant array of underwear, towels, and clothes adorning the drying racks 24/7.

On the fashion front, I’ve dug out my vintage cashmere sweaters and have been wearing them every day, and most likely will until next spring.  I adore wearing cashmere, especially the thick vintage sweaters that keep me warm without the tremendous bulk of wool.  Cashmere is about the only natural  fiber that I can wear next to my skin without irritation.  I have gotten into wearing skinny jeans as well.  I like the look of cashmere sweaters and skinny jeans on me, and it is certain that this will be my uniform for the next 8 months or so!

I’ve always been a bookworm, and fall tends to lend itself to reading quite easily.  There is just something about wrapping up in a wool blanket, or my leopard Snuggie , and getting lost in a good book.  I’ve made a concerted effort lately to read more novels, and delve into the classics that I somehow missed reading over the years.  For instance, I just finished reading ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, and I was engrossed, stunned, and completely engaged in this magnificent book.  How I never managed to read this classic until now is beyond me!  But it was a total delight.  I’ve got a stack of books just waiting to be read, and there is nothing quite so intoxicating.

The leaves are falling, the rains have set in, the wind is blowing;  settle in and enjoy!

“Autumn’s the mellow time.”  ~William Allingham

~Marilyn Huttunen

I just had to share this fab 1960s knitting pattern for a head scarf.  Perfect for the upcoming chilly days, you can rock the mod 60s head scarf look, and keep your ears warm!

Made in either fluffy angora or mohair, it is triangular with tie strings.  The instructions look pretty easy, so it’s a good project for a beginner.

So get out those knitting needles, buy that angora yarn, and get stitching!

Download the pattern here: Angora Head Scarf Pattern

~Marilyn Huttunen

Now that autumn is firmly ensconced,  I turn my attention once again to those lovely angora sweaters.  I love angora sweaters, but my special devotion lies with vintage angora!  You see, most of the new angora sweaters that you find today are flimsy, thin, and in a blend with about five other fibers, leaving the angora content around 10%.  They tend to pill very easily, and are not soft, furry, or have that extreme hairy fluffiness that vintage angora has.

I am always on the hunt for quality vintage angora.  The best decade for FABULOUS angora sweaters was the 1980s.  OMG, those sweaters are just the bomb!  Usually made in Korea (where I think the best angora comes from), and in incredibly bright colors, with bold shoulder pads and ornate beading and embroidery embellishments.  Just completely out there in that bold 80s way!

But the most fabulous thing about the 80s angora is that is almost always 80%, 90% or 100% pure angora rabbit hair.  It is just incredibly thick and plush, with long fluffy hair.  The softness is not to be believed!  I have sensitive skin, and cannot wear wool or mohair next to my skin.  But angora (and cashmere) is so soft and nonirritating against the skin.  Very warm too, without the heaviness of wool.

I gently wash my vintage angora sweaters in lukewarm water and Woolite.  I air dry, and then carefully comb out any pills with a fine tooth comb.  Never, never, NEVER dry clean angora!  The natural rabbit hair was meant to be washed, not bathed in chemical solvent.  It will turn out sparking clean, soft, glossy and fluffy.

The vintage 1980s white angora bolero and pink angora sweater shown are two that I have sold recently.  They are off to new homes with appreciative angora lovers.

So don’t be afraid of angora!  It is truly a glorious fiber, brought to you by mother nature.

~Marilyn Huttunen