SAVING A BATHTUB

We've had a common problem with older homes, a bathtub that no matter how much you scrub or what you use just doesn't look clean.  The previous owner had put rubber decals on the bottom of the tub and they'd etched themselves into the enamel.  Matt had gotten the actual decals scraped off but they'd left major etching and glue that would not come off.  In the picture on the left you can see how badly these were etched into the bottom of the tub.  The picture shows just a small area but the whole tub bottom looked like this.  i apologize that the pictures aren't better but the lighting in the bathroom isn't that great.  Matt had tried everything he could think of to get the glue and the etching off the tub.  Chemicals didn't work.  Wet sanding didn't work.  Someone suggested Lysol toilet cleaner with bleach and that didn't work either.  We had basically come to the conclusion that we had two possible remedies - replace the tub, which we couldn't afford at the moment, or reglazing the tub, which we weren't sure would work. I love to take baths but this had caused me to curtail my bath taking because the tub just looked gross to be honest.

About a month or so ago on a  Mary Jane's Farm chat group someone posted that they bought old claw foot tubs and then used citric acid to clean them up.  She said to dissolve 1/2 cup of citric acid in hot water and let sit overnight.  Sounded way to easy.  I've toyed with trying it just to test it but doubted it would work.  We went to the brewery store Saturday and I noticed they had large bags of citric acid so I thought what the heck I'll give it a try.  I filled the tub Saturday afternoon with hot water and dissolved 3/4 cup of the citric acid in the running water.  We let it sit for over 24 hours.  Looking at it the next day we both concluded it was one of those myths and hadn't worked.  How wrong we were.  After we drained the tub, Matt for some reason decided to see if it had smoothed the bottom of the tub at all and ran his fingers over the bottom.  What he discovered was a layer on top of the enamel that smeared.  He then scrubbed the tub with Comet and a scrubbie leaving us nothing less then shocked at the wonderfully clean and nearly totally unetched tub.  The picture on the right is after the treatment.  Unfortunately there's a lot of shadowing from where I'm standing when I took the picture but you can clearly see there's no flower motif etched into the bottom any longer.  After the tub dried we did notice very faint etching still visible in a couple spots but we think we can probably get that cleared up with one more citric acid treatment if we decide to bother.  Pretty impressive tub save for about $2 worth of citric acid.  I had a very long bath Sunday night in my wonderful looking bathtub and I foresee a lot more baths in my future.

HOW THE GARDEN DOES GROW

I cannot believe how much our garden has grown this summer. In this picture you see the 6+ foot tall pole beans, red cabbages, oregano in the front left corner of the picture and the tomatoes in the back. The white pvc structure is something we built 2 weeks ago after the storms broke and bent the bamboo poles we had used to stake the tomato plants. The heavy vines were just laying across the ground they were so heavy with tomatoes. It was a sorry site to say the least. The vines were so heavy Matt was having problems lifting them all up so I could get the poles in underneath to support them. It wasn't a perfect solution but it appears to have worked and it is supporting the plants and keeping them upright. The huge plant you see on the right bed is the tomatillos. The fruit is really uniquely intriguing, they look like miniature paper Chinese lanterns. The fruit grows inside and fills up the paper like cover. The parsley is in front of the tomatillos, growing over the edge of the bed.

Here's another picture showing the other bed with Roma tomatoes in it. We harvested those sweet red tomatoes after I took the picture. The broccoli plants are next to it and we're waiting the next batch of broccoli after the wonderful first cutting. There are actually jalapeno peppers between the tomato plants and broccoli, but they're hard to see.

Tonight's supper:

Brisket in the crockpot

with fresh cabbage from the garden

quartered red potatoes

and quartered onions

I'm a bit behind on the cleaning chores but not horribly so since I lost a day yesterday due to judging at the St. Clair County 4H Fair. I judge 4H dog agility. Its extremely enjoyable to work with the kids; although, sometimes frustrating. Yesterday was one of those days were it was very frustrating as they kids and dogs were just not ready and I only had 2 that had qualifying scores. The rest I had to disqualify for a variety of reasons; i.e. fouling in the ring, not completing the course, refusing to do obstacles, etc... I have never had to disqualify that many kids since I started judging and it really bothers me. We were able to have a good laugh as a dog jumped on top of the tunnel and tried to walk down the top of the tunnel instead of going through it. I've seen dogs jump on top and then off the tunnel or jump over the tunnel but never walk it - it was a good laugh that we were able to have in the sheer joy the dog was having despite being disqualified.

Chores completed today:

4 loads of laundry (so far)

living room: decluttered, dusted, swept, mopped and de-furred

bedroom: decluttered, dusted, swept, and mopped

WEEKENDS MEAN CLEANING?

Actually I've come to notice that I'm enjoying my weekends less and less. After this weekend I finally realized why, I spent the entire weekend cleaning the house. I'm going to have to work on this issue as I need my weekends to be enjoyable and to have a break from work and that includes housework. I realize this cycle came about while I was working 2 jobs and weekends were the only time I had time to clean or the energy.

Part of the problem this weekend was Matt was working the boat races downtown in Detroit at the Detroit Yacht Club (DYC) and wasn't home for the entire weekend. He works on one of the tow boats every year. He even had a front row seat for the boat hitting the wall. None the less, I don't like being separated from him. I also can't sleep when he's not home so I go into cranky sleep deprived mode - not a good thing.

The boy unit had to work doubles Friday and Saturday night so I couldn't even suggest that we go see a movie or anything. Friday I did go to a BBQ for my friend, Becky, who was visiting from Tennessee. It was awesome seeing her and a really enjoyable BBQ. I got to see another friend, Ralph, whom I haven't seen in probably 2 or more years and catch up with him.

I went to a psychic fair with Matt's sister and then out to lunch afterwards Saturday. It was interesting as I've never had a psychic reading or any other type of reading to be honest. The woman I chose was a tarot and playing card reader. It wasn't a bad reading. The Lover card was the first card drawn showing my partner really loved me - as if I didn't know that - but it was still nice to see in a reading nonetheless. Scary part was that the pregnancy card appeared 3 different times in back to back shuffles. I'm to old in my opinion at 44 to start another family and I'm hoping its none of my daughters (or sons) as I'm not ready to be a grandma yet. I'm hoping its all the pregnant females I have around me.

The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday I pretty much spent cleaning. As it was hot and the air unit isn't working well, I had to take frequent breaks to cool off. Saturday the living room got a thorough cleaning along with the hallway. Sunday the kitchen was thoroughly cleaned. I'd hoped to knock out the bathroom and our bedroom Sunday also, but just got to tired. The boy and I went out and grabbed Jimmy John sandwiches for supper as I wasn't about to dirty the kitchen after spending that much time getting it clean. I think Matt's comment after walking to the bedroom to drop his stuff off and coming back out was "Wow, were you bored or what." He was impressed enough that I received a nice foot massage for my work.

Being Sick Is Not Fun

So much for posting more consistently. I got flattened this weekend with a stomach bug, probably food poisoning, that started suddenly Saturday night. I hate being sick and of late seem to be having a hard time fighting stuff off. I don't necessarily come down with a full blown case, but it pulls my energy level way down.


On the positive side, Saturday morning/afternoon my man and one of his sisters went to see the Edsel Ford House and did a tour of the house and grounds, including the playhouse and garage. We then ate at the little cafe. I had a bowl of warming wild mushroom bisque and a reubin sandwich on pumpernickel and rye swirled bread. For those that live in the metro Detroit area or are visiting, I can definitely recommend taking this tour. The house tour took about an hour and the grounds about 30 minutes, but it was bitterly cold outside so we would have been out longer if the weather had been nicer. The playhouse, pictured, is absolutely adorable. It was a house built to 2/3 scale of a real one for their daughter to play in while she was growing up. Everything was 2/3 scale from doorways to electrical switches. Wouldn't this have been a fabulous place to play as a child! We definitely want to go back after the rose garden blooms and see the gardens again. We noticed when we were checking out the web page that they offer wedding photos and we plan on looking into what that allows and where. Currently there are no photos allowed in the house and I would definitely want a photo on the staircase if we decide to go with this idea.



My cleaning tip today is to keep a container of disinfectant wipes under your bathroom sink or on the counter and use them each morning to wipe down the counter, sink and toilet. I alternate days and do the counter & sink on opposite days as I do the toilet. Makes for a quick bit of cleaning after I get done with my shower in the morning.