Our Blessed Mother hanging laundry

Thanks to Jennifer, I now have this beautiful image of the Blessed Mother hanging laundry that I was seeking. It's called the "Polish Madonna."

Here's the description that came with the image: "This charming picture depicts Our Lady hanging laundry while the infant Jesus sits nearby. Polish legend has it that the bright warmth of the sun must shine upon the earth on Saturday, if only for a brief moment, in remembrance of Christ's infancy when on that day Mary would wash immaculately clean his swaddling clothes so that Sunday might find delight in witnessing the baby God in pure and fresh-scented dress."

I know that this blog by now must surely seem to be all about LAUNDRY. :) Hang in here (no pun intended) with me and you'll see that it will encompass every aspect of our domestic churches. :)

Dear Blessed Mother Mary, please look down upon my family. Protect us always from the snares of the devil. Help us to be open to one another in love. Please ask Jesus to grant us the graces we need most and help me to be the mother and wife that I am meant to be. Help me to embrace my vocation and all that it entails with a happy heart! Amen.

Our laundry soap

(My daughter, Chaldea's artwork above which she sells at her Etsy site. She has illustrated several of my books.)

To make our home-made laundry soap, we start with these ingredients pictured below. My 23 year-old daughter, Jessica concocted the recipe. We use equal parts of each of the boxed items (really cheap) and then we shave a bar of laundry soap with a cheese grater into the mix to give it an extra boost. The half bar of soap is on top of the box below. It's hard to make out what it is in this photo. You can get bars of laundry soap almost anywhere.


We add a few drops of lavender essential oil or another scent at times to give it a nice fresh fragrance and then store it in a jar or container. You just throw a scoop of it into your wash in place of another detergent and you'll have nice clean laundry. :)


Here's Molly's recipe at Heaven Not Harvard who melts hers down first:

1 bar Fels Naptha soap grated
1 cup washing soda
1 cup Borax

She says: "Melt fels naptha in 4 cups of water, fill a clean 5 gl bucket half full with hot tap water, add melted soap, and powders, stir until dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water, let sit overnight. It will gel up and become quite thick. Add (optional essential oil) fill clean laundry soap container half with water, and half with gel. Shake well before each use. Viola, for $2.00 you can wash 640 loads in a front loader."

Visit her here.


This creative woman also makes clothes pin bags! Here's one of her designs that she sells from her blog. No, this is not a child's shirt hanging on the clothes line. It's a clothes pin bag. Clever!

You can also take a peek at Line Dry.Com for various laundry needs.

Do you have a laundry soap recipe to share? Or a laundry story? Feel free. :)

May God bless you in your domestic church as you strive to serve Him in your families!

hugs,
Donna-Marie

Isn't she sweet?

Laundry day...

Isn't she so cute? This is Sara, Jennifer's daughter. Sara loves doing laundry with her Mom! Jennifer is the first to send in photos of laundry day and will be entered into a contest to win a book!

I didn't get a chance to post my laundry soap recipe as I said I would. Sorry about that. It was a busy day and night. My daughter who is graduating from high school received two scholarships at a ceremony tonight. I am very proud of her. Since it's getting very late now, I'll visit with you tomorrow with that recipe.

Sweet dreams! With all of this laundry talk going on, you'll probably dream about folding towels or hanging clothes out on the line! But, just think of all of those graces. :)

God bless and hugs,
Donna-Marie

Laundry - more laundry!

While this blog is not all about laundry, (it may seem so at this point!) I thought that while we're on the subject, I'd offer a couple of prayer verses today about that never-ending but grace-filled chore.

Love for Laundry: Folding Hail Mary’s

Laundry: a never-ending task,
Looming over me, growing beside me,
Requiring my time and lots of energy.
How can a mother embrace this job?

Quietly, I pray.
Folding my family’s clothes,
I think of them and of you, Lord,
Thankful for this blessing;
The awesome privilege
Of caring for them!

***
Dear Lord, please grant me all of the graces I need to see the hidden treasure in housework and in caring for my family!

(Excerpted from my book: Grace Cafe: Serving Up Recipes for Faithful Mothering, Circle Press)

In my Laundry Room

As I carefully fold my sheets,
Smoothing out the wrinkles,
Bringing corner to corner...
Lovingly, I think of You, my Lord.

The pile of laundry seemingly grows beside me,
As I strive to keep up
With this never-ending chore.

But, in my laundry room...
I thank You, my dear Lord,
For loving me and allowing me
To serve You in my family.

(Excerpted from my book: Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers, Our Sunday Visitor)

I'll be bringing you a home-made laundry soap recipe that I use, a bit later on today and maybe some other goodies as well. Stay tuned!

Enjoy the day and maybe you'll even get in some Hail Mary's as you tackle some chores. Go have some fun too!

Hanging out our clothes...

(UPDATED TO ADD SOMETHING AT THE END OF THIS POST)
Who likes hanging their clothes out on a clothesline? I personally love the look. Maybe I'm old fashioned or a country bumpkin as I have been called - but I absolutely love clothes hanging on a line. I love knowing that they are being dried out in nature.

Years ago, I was labeled a "country bumpkin" behind my back in one neighborhood where I lived because I hung my wash out to dry in the natural breeze under the hot drying sun. I like being natural, what can I say? Not everyone appreciates nature. We live in an age of technology, after all. I will admit though, that most of my clothes are dried in a gas dryer these days. Various physical injuries and a car accident a little over a year ago prevent me from lugging wet clothes out to a clothes line. I miss it, but I adjust.

So, what am I getting at besides talking about the beauty of clothes drying out on a line? Well, I'm asking you to send me a photo of your clothes hanging out to dry on your clothesline! I'd like to feature them in my blog title for this blog. So, what do you think? Do you have a camera nearby? Are your clothes on the line? If so, send me a photo to DMCOBoyle@aol.com and I may use it with your permission, of course! And, guess what? All those submitting photos will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of my book, Grace Cafe!

I'll leave you with a kind of a poem which is in the back of my book, Grace Cafe: Serving Up Recipes for Faithful Mothering which describes a Mom somewhere in this great big world:


Seen by God Alone

Her hands are red, wrinkled, and chapped from the bitter wind
As she pins the clothespins, one after another,
To the line of clothes, already stiffening in the freezing temperature.
The bitter wind mercilessly lifts at the hem of her coat,
Attempting to blow through her clothes and whip at her back.

She briskly continues her loving tasks,
Unnoticed by the speeding motorists passing by.
Only our Lord sees her putting out her family’s laundry to dry,
Stretching out her arms,
Hanging out one wet article of clothing after another,
As only a mother’s love can.
Our Lord will never fail to notice all mothers’
Seemingly hidden loving acts of service to their families
All around the world.

***
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, have mercy on us and pray for us.
Jesus, I trust in You!

Just after I posted this, I heard from Helen on Face Book telling me that she had posted something similar recently. I just love her post and her clothesline. Go take a look.