I really like white bed linen. It always feels fresh and clean, both cool in summer and cocooning in winter. I buy white, cotton, good quality sheet sets. So far both sets we use have lasted over 12 years, although I have had to mend the lace edging on one set.
Love the embroidered bees on these white sheets.
This beautiful set of sheets needs occasional mending to maintain the lace edging. As a new puppy, Louis somehow got onto the bed and chewed about 30cm of the lace edging. He found it very satisfying, I didn’t find mending it very satisfying at all.
We also have a white quilt cover. I throw a cream wool blanket over the quilt cover during the day. The sunlight and the dog have slowly caused the cover to become more cream than white, despite the protective cover.
Time for a whitening treatment. I didn’t want to use bleach because the chlorine component in bleach reacts with protein stains and causes discolouring. Protein stains are typically sweat, blood, vomit, egg and other foods. The chlorine causes these stains to yellow. After lots of research I settled on using Borax. I bought some at the supermarket.
HOW TO WHITEN BED LINEN
I wiped the laundry trough to ensure it was clean. Then I dissolved ½ a cup of Borax in very hot water before adding the quilt cover. I used a copper stick to agitate the cover and returned to do this every now and then. After four hours I put the wrung out cover in the washing machine with a scoop of my usual washing machine powder and put it on a long, hot wash.
This is the copper stick or washing dolly. It was originally used to agitate washing in the copper, a big copper tub over a fire. Then the stick would be used to “hook” the washing out to put through the wringer/mangle to remove as much water as possible, before rinsing or hanging to dry. We didn’t have electricity until I was 12 and my mother relied on the copper to do the laundry. My copper stick is actually a cut down broom handle with the ends slightly rounded. I am surprised how often I use it to stir things soaking in the trough.
Borax from Woolworths 500gm $4.10. The tub has a list of instructions and cautions to follow when using this product.
When the cycle finished I hung the cover on the line. Line drying, if the weather permits, always smells fresher. I like ironed pillow cases and the decorative edges on the top sheet but didn’t bother ironing the cover. Back on the bed. White, fresh and crisp. Covered with a wool blanket to protect the cover from the wet weather dog. A good result.
This treatment would work equally well on stained white shirts, sporting uniforms, other bed linen, tea towels and bath towels. I wish I’d known how easy it is to restore stained white fabrics when I was washing and ironing so many business shirts and school shirts every week. I think almost anything white would respond well.
cooking
Last week I made slow cooker beef bourguignon as a way of using some tough pieces of steak. This week I found we still had three pieces of that tough steak which was not quite enough for two meals, so when I made it I added a tin of cannellini beans. They bulked up the stew and tasted very good. Perfect dinner for wet and windy nights.
growing
These are vegetables grown from scraps. When I cut off the end of the celery and bok choy to use them I put the bases in water until they developed roots and then planted them. They are growing well. Something else likes them, too, and has nibbled at the leaves of the bok choy. A neighbour simply puts the ends in soil and her celery plants are impressive. I’ll try this next time.
At least 13 years ago I planted the ends of spring onions in a pot and they have thrived ever since. I have a year round supply of spring onions just outside the laundry door. Spring onions are used frequently in Asian cooking, but I add then to so many things. A quick favourite is an omelette with eggs, spring onions and a grating of strong cheese. Add a chopped tomato if I’ve got one. Almost instant food.
Versatile spring onions.
And the first of the tulips.
reading
This is another library book I reserved during isolation and now it has arrived. It is wonderful to have access to the library again.
Anne Tyler writes about the ordinary, the everyday. She manages to portray those same characters with depth and compassion.
Micah never really understands or connects with any of his girlfriends, although at 44 he feels too old to call them girlfriends. He works, he occasionally visits his large, chaotic family but mostly he lives a simple life, following his own strict schedule. He’s puzzled by how things have turned out, but an encounter with an old girlfriend makes him think, then act. Love a happy ending!
A beautifully told story from this brilliant story teller. Really enjoyed it.
The title refers to Micah refusing to wear his glasses on his morning runs and mistaking an advertising sign on the footpath for a redhead at the side of the road. This hints at how he often sees things a bit differently.
The beginning of July marks PLASTIC FREE JULY. The tagline this year is CHOOSE TO REFUSE SINGLE USE PLASTIC. Lots more information at PLASTICFREEJULY.ORG. You are encouraged to avoid waste, protect the ocean and sign up to be part of the solution.