Too Hot To Be Cool

Seriously, this weather is kicking my ass. Today will be the third day in a row of it being over 100 degrees and I know that some of you may be saying, "so", but for Oregon, this is end times. I think if I was tall and thin and blond and in a bikini laying on a rock at the river my outlook would be completely different, but short, fat, on the very south side of forty, on a trailer park farm in a tie died mumu and Birkenstocks, it totally sucks. The ONLY thing about this weather that I love is the line dried clothes, especially sheets and blankets. Towels are a close second mostly because I live to hear the howls from the bathroom when Wyatt gets out of the shower and rubs his skin off with a fresh towel. It's the only way I can think of to get him to use a towel more than once. It's only the first time that hurts. This is way off topic and probably a story for another day, but honest to God when I was a kid, we lived in a tent and then a house without electric heat (only wood), a regular stove or oven (only wood) and NO dryer. We had to hang dry all of our clothes next to the wood stove and you don't know how effing ridiculous until you have to put on line dried underpants and jeans so stiff they stand alone. I know you think I'm making this up so I'll give you all the stupid details later. Remind me though, because I'll probably forget.

What was I talking about? The heat. Whatever, I'm over it. David Olsen.

Here's a picture of my linens on the line. How dumb is it that I have a snowflake flannel sheet hanging... I use it as a blanket.

As I was out getting the laundry this morning Buddy, the blackishbrown and white dog laid down to chew a stick in front of our little house. That was the house that I came home to when I was born and then for the following forty or so years it was used as a rental, but the last few years has been hard on that little house, and it's started falling apart. The chimney side wall is falling off, the floors are falling in, the widows don't fit any more and birds fly in and the blackberries have taken over. Wendy and Jesay even lived there right after they got their kid, and I loved it when they were my neighbors, but I guess I'm glad if it had to come to an end, that it ended with them. Kind of a full circle in my heart.

I was going to use it as my craft house and hauled all my junk over there, but it's too far gone even for that. So we hauled all my junk back to the barn and now that all my stuff is back in the utility room. I think I'll make some soap today, the Etsy store has been out for a long time.

Here's the falling down house with the resident coyote control officer.

Next. 

I'm having a problem. My dad had stainless steel teapots on his boat and I of course inherited them. For years I never used them because they just didn't really go with anything, but then I decided to use them anyway and because I used them they sat on my stove and got all my cooking junk on them and even though I would wipe them down and wash them they still got gunky and now I have two gunked up stainless steel teapots that I have been forever trying to clean (before I put them away again). I have tried the green Scotch Bright pads and Barkeepers Friend and even Melaleuca Tub and Tile because hand to Jesus that stuff will clean the spots off a hog, but nothing is working. The big flat areas look great but the cracks won't budge. Any ideas?