Carol's Magic Eight Ball

Most of the people I know have logical brains. They think from point A to point B to point C. My brain on the other hand is like the Magic Eight Ball. When you shake it up and turn it upside down, random answers to random question float up to the surface. That is is my brain.

I have learned a lot during my life and someone else may find them useful. But since my mind works in such a mysterious way, there will be no rhyme or reason to what will appear when.As my words of wisdom surface from the Magic Eight Ball that is my mind, I will post them.

I an making a change in the order of my word bits of info.  I will editing this site like a blog with newest entries first.  It will be easier to find the new bits of wisdom posted.

Are you like me and love the taste of sweet? I have found a way to slowly decease my taste buds' sensitivity to sweets. I began first by substituting a powdered stevia product for my usual artificial sweetener. Its sweetness factor was a lot less intense. Then I slowly began to decrease the amount I used on my cereal and in my coffee. As time went by my taste buds became much more sensitive to the taste of sweets. I find I no longer need sugar in my coffee or on my cereal.

First hublet in ages. But this is a new year isn't it.

I love orange juice but it is loaded with calories. I have tired the 50/50 ones but they taste weirde to me. I found a fun way to cut the calories. Take club soda (no calories) and add to orange juice. A 50/50 blend works well for me. You add a little fizz to your OJ while cutting the calories. Give it a try.

Lafayette Wilson, if for some strange reason you find this hub stop by the house, you know the address. Your family is worried about you, Xavier misses you and from what I hear, you probably could use a hot meal and a shower. The kids and I are the only ones home during the day. So stop by. I am a good listener and there is no problem that can't be solved when people put their heads together. If you get this message, catch up with me on facebook. My kids even say I give good advice. Ms. Carol

  This is a question that I have been pondering all winter.  Maybe one of you hubbers has an answer. 

Last summer while on my walks with my dog, I would see a sock here, a sock there, here a shirt tossed into the woods, a pair of pants in a tree, and tennis shoes tossed over the electrical wires. I can understand if you took off all your cloths and ran home naked.  How to you lose your cloths one piece at a time and not realize it. Or why would you take of just one sock or toss ways just your shirt. My dog and I often puzzled over  this question as we walked past all these random cloths.  If anyone out there has an answer, I sure would appreciate know what it its. 

No, not by the date on the calendar but by Mother Nature herself.  It's not to say that there won't be a storm before March is over (remember when March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion).  But on my walk today, I saw:

Robins

crocus

snow drop

and this little blue flower-name unknown.

Just thought I would pass on this happy observation

I have to put this in before I forget.  Just like the Magic Eight Ball, ideas quickly surface and then just a quickly sink into the great abyss.

  I was in desperate need for new winter boots.  Although the ones I had had lasted for many years they were starting to leak.  Not a good thing when you live in Michigan.  Now you have to understand, unlike my children who like nothing better than to buy new shoes, I hate it.  Have  you seen the cost of shoes? 

So, what kind of boot to get.  I know what I wanted.  They needed to be warm,water proof, come in wide and not to high.  We ladies with healthy calves have to be careful about tall boots.  After searching through my stack of catalogs, I found them.  They were perfect, they met all my requirements and one more, they were made in America (can you believe that).  I cringed at the price, $100.00.  I took a deep breath, went on line and ordered them.  These L.L. Bean boots are the best I have ever had.  So if you are looking for a good, sturdy pair of boots but don't need the I climb mountains in my spare time kind of boot, I highly recommend them.

This year my kids got me the best Christmas present ever. Except for the Christmas Eve my youngest son was born.

I love Crocs, but all I can afford is the pretend ones like Family Dollar sells. They saw a pair of plush lined ones in the mall and got them for me. I love them. They are my indoor-outdoor shoes. Now I can't go snow shoeing in them but I can run and get the mail or stand on the back porch while the dog is out. I even were them when I have to make a quick run to the store.

Why do I like them. Well, if you look at how Crocs are made, my foot looks just like them, short and WIDE.

I melted a hole in my small shop vac hose. Don't ask me how but I did. With my vacuum broken, I had to clean out my pellet stove by hand-hated it. As I don't drive, getting to Meijer's to buy replacement hose-if they even had it-is a pain the the "you know what".

While I was removing my shower head to give it a good soak in lime scale remover, my eyes fell on the roll of plumber's tape in my tool box. Aha, my brain said! Will it work it replied! The answer is yes. I sat down with the hose in my lap and the tape in my hand. And then:

• sealed the holes with a little silicon caulk
• wrapped several layers of tape over the hole and surrounding area
• turned on the vacuum and sucked the ashes out of my pellet stove.

The plumber's tape is thin enough to seal down in between the ridges on the hose. By extending it out an inch on either side, a good tight seal is made.

Will it last, no. Plumber's tape is pretty thin so it will not hold for very long but I will be covering it with a little electrical tape and it should last until I melt the hose again.

I have always believed never lend money to friends or family.  If you can't give it away don't lend it.  Yesterday on Dr. Phil, he said the same thing.  Imagine that. 

My computer has been in the shop for over a week.  Thought I was going to die from withdrawal.  I couldn't do anything, pay bills, make stupid comments on facebook and I couldn't finish the hub I am still writing.  I had several new ideas but I have forgotten them.  But at least I got my computer back.

  For years, kids ate toothpaste.  I know I did.  The fact that it contained fluoride was not as important as preventing cavities.  Because fluoride is a heavy metal and heavy metals are toxic, it it's recommended that only a pea size amount of toothpaste should be used and should never be swallowed.  Well, I know that secretly doing what my mother told me not to do was the high point of my day.  Children haven't changed. I am sure that they are still eating toothpaste whether it is good for them or not.  It just tastes good. 

Health food stores do carry fluoride free toothpaste but they are usually not as easy to get to as the supermarket. (I take the bus so I like to do everything at one stop) I discovered that although they didn't carry fluoride free toothpaste for adults, supermarkets do carry fluoride free toothpaste for toddlers.  So I am just passing this info on.  If you have young children of any age, at home , pick up a tube and make it their special toothpaste.  If they eat it or swallow some, there is nothing in it that will hurt them.  Then just to keep temptation at bay, store adult toothpaste just as you would any adult medicine.  Up and out of reach.

Hope this tidbit of info has made your life a little easier.

Every fall do you get an influx of mice?  Do they get on your counter tops and leave their little poopies everywhere? Is trying to caulk or fill every hole between your house and the outside world seem a daunting task?  DID YOU KNOW THAT MICE HATE STEEL WOOL?  They do, they hate to walk in it and they can't or won't chew threw it.  Now don't get me wrong, I am not anti-mouse as long as they don't leave their little poopies all over and don't eat my bread.  I have used steel wool to successfully keep mice off of my kitchen and counter tops by putting steel wool in any place that mice might gain access.  I find it especially helpful when place between counters and appliances, counter tops and back splashes.  If the mice are particularly bat, I even lay them end to end along the edges of the counters and any where else I want to keep mouse free.  Hope this helps you as much as it has me.

Along with using paper towels in the bathroom, switch to paper cups too.  Paper cups can be recycled in the compost heap so they are more bio-friendly than plastic ones.  You may wan to invest in individual cases for your family's toothbrushes. Better yet invest in a toothbrush sanitizer.  They are fairly inexpensive and will help prevent passing germs from one family member to the next.  Investing in pocket sized bottles of hand sanitizers is not a bad idea either.

give each member of your family their own hand towel or use paper towels instead.  This keeps germs from one person being picked up by another from using the same towel.  Remember colds and the flu are most often passed from one person with germy hands touching something that is in turn touched by someone else or a person who sneezes into their hand and then shakes hands with someone else.  I know there is lots of info floating around on how to prevent the spread of H1N1, so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth.  To prevent the spread of germs between family members, If the idea of using paper towels sounds waste full, I have found that some brands will actually stand up to being washed quite well.

Oh one more thing let your dishes air dry, dish  towels can transfer germs from your hands to the dishes.  Then make sure to wash your hands before putting them away.

I have gotten so tired of the energy company's solution to the high price of natural gas. "Turn your thermostat down", they say. I already keep it a 60 most of the time. How much lower can it go before I freeze to death.

I did a lot of research and decided on a pellet stove. I had it installed last year and I love it. I chose a stove that does not get hot on the sides and the top. That way there is no danger of burns to the little ones hands. Those parts of the stove do get rather warm to the touch but not red hot.

I have found a way to keep my entire house warm through out the day with just my stove. It may not work in the dead of winter but right now it works just fine. When I get up in the morning, I turn my furnace thermostat to about 68 degrees. While I am cleaning the ash out of my stove, using my trusty shop-vac (I do not burn it all night), the house heats up. Then I fire up the pellet stove and once it gets the room up to 70 degrees the furnace shuts off. The stove then puts out enough heat to keep the entire house at a comfy temperature. It takes approximately 1 bag of pellets to keep my house heated all day.

  The jaw muscles are some of the strongest muscles in the body.  If you tend to carry a lot of tension in your upper body, here is a quick way to ease the tension. 

• Close your eyes and think about the point where the lower jaw meets the upper. 
• Relax the muscles at this point.  The rest of the facial muscles will relax as the jaw muscles relax. 
• Do this for 5 minutes and feel the tension begin to leave your face, head, neck and shoulders.
  

This is simple the best heating pad in the world. It is cheap, its green and it works like a charm.

You only need three things

1. A BAG OF RICE-the 2 pounder is the perfect size
   
2. A LONG SOCK-knee high tube socks work best
   
3. A MICROWAVE
   

It requires no sewing or artsy-crafty talent. If you can tie a knot you can make it. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3.

1. Get a clean athletic sock for your dresser drawer
2. Get a bag of rice from the kitchen cupboard (the larger bag works best but a small one will do). Pour the rice into the sock leaving enough room at the end for a knot . Tie a knot in the top end of the sock to keep the rice in.
3. Put it in the microwave and microwave till hot. A large bag of rice will heat up in about 4 minutes give or take depending on the microwave used. It will be quite warm so handle carefully.

Put it where it hurts. It is completely mobile, you are saving energy a.The sock will stay warm for at least 4 hours and can be reheated over and over.

I have found that the rice sock is great for:

• Putting on any ache and pain that would benefit from extended period warmth. The you can drape it over your shoulders or place in the small of your pack when you are watching TV. Put under or over your knees and hands to relieve arthritis pain.
• Warming little hands and feet in the winter time,
  
• warming up a cold bed or crib (ever notice how babies seem in your arms but as soon as you put them on the cold sheets they wake up). Use a rice sock just remember to remove it and check the temperature of sheets.
• Keeping your favorite hot beverage warm longer,
  
• When the sock gets dirty, just pour the rice into a new one.
  

That's it Try it and tell me I am not right!

Hey, I forgot to tell you another use for a small shop vac.  It is great for vacuuming ash out of my pellet stove.  I use a bag, then once it is full, its out to the compost heap.  Bag and all will turn into compost.  Since I don't burn my stove once I go to sleep, the ashes are stone cold in the morning.  It beats the $99 ones I have seen in home catalogs.

Just thought I would pass it on.

Get outdoor cats.  Yep that's right, outdoor cats.  Every spring, I had mole tunnels in my yard.  I really hate to use poisons of any kind and digging a hole to put those horrible looking mole traps in, well, I just wouldn't do that.  

Last fall, I adopted two kittens found living a hole in the roof at the water department.  Now that they are full grown, they love to be outside.  This summer, I had no mole.  Didn't put 2 and 2 together until Peter brought me a present.  You know how cats like to bring you dead things.  Low and behold, it was a mole.  This morning there was another one on my doorstep.

So if you have a mole problem, I strongly suggest you get a cat.  They make great friends and they will keep the moles out of your yard.

Here is what I discovered in a nutshell:

1. walked the dog
2. came home
3. sat at my computer
4. was sweaty
5. long hair getting in my way
6. to lazy to get up
7. twisted my hair and pinned it up with paper clips
8. learned NEVER DO THAT! They don't come out as easy as they go in.
9. had to unbend them to get them out
   

THE LIGHT BULB CAME OR someone shook up the Magic Eight Ball.

I ruin more cloths because I forget to change my nice cloths for work cloths. As I went down stairs to get my first cup of coffee, I passed part of my vintage apron collection (really they are just old but vintage makes them sound classier). What a revelation. Why not just wear one of my full length aprons all day? It would keep my cloths clean as I went from working at the computer to cleaning the bathroom or transplanting cuttings into my garden. Do you know what I found out?

IT WORKS!!!!!!!

PS. The picture of the apron is from about 1934, mine bibs aren't that long and (sigh) they don't have hats either. I love hats. Here's a question.  Why did we stop using aprons? These long ones look like a great idea.  To bad I can't sew.

I am so excited. I have lived in Michigan most of my adult life. I have seen leopard frogs, bullfrogs, toads and salamanders. BUT I HAVE NEVER SEEN A TREE FROG until today. I have included a picture from Wikipedia taken by LA Lawson just show you what I say. My camera is going to be my constant companion on my walks from now on. I was taking a closer look at a bent branch and there he was. I was torn between leaving him there, he seemed pretty content or bringing him to my yard. Since I know very little about gray tree frogs, I left him there.

I have 4 pets, a boxer Blade and three cats, Ms. Kitty (Queen of the house), Sinatra and Peter. Needless to say, occasionally fleas become a problem. I hate to use pesticides inside the house (see my notes about killing flies with soap spray). I have tried some all natural powders and sprays but found them highly scented (cloves and cinnamon are ingredients) and expensive. I use diatomaceous earth outside but it is too fine for inside use.

Twenty Mule Team Borax to the rescue. Just like diatemacous earth, borax kills pest by abrading through their hard outer shells (exoskeletons), causing them to dehydrate. I just buy a box (about $3) and sprinkle it all over the floors and rugs. Let it sit overnight and then vacuum up with my handy little shop vac. It is really effective with no odor and no poisons to harm my children or my pets.

Borax mixed with sugar is an excellent ant deterrent. They carry it back to the nest and kills the whole colony. Just put it in a jar lid near the ant trails but away from pets and children.

I love to garden.  I am especially found of herbs.  They are God’s gift to us.  They have been used for thousands of years to treat all many of health problems and illness.  Their use has been passed down through the ages.  Why? Because they work.  If they didn’t, their use would have died out like the ancient civilizations that initiated their use. So when your friends make fun of you for using peppermint tea for an upset stomach instead of Pepto, or catnip tea to sooth a baby’s colic or fever, just remember what the British Journal of Medicine has to say about  “gold standard” of testing. modern medicine’s double blind, randomized, placebo controlled, crossover trial.

" In conclusions: As with many interventions intended to prevent ill health, the effectiveness of parachutes has not been subjected to rigorous evaluation by using randomized controlled trials. Advocates of evidence-based medicine have criticized the adoption of interventions evaluated by using only observational data. We think that everyone might benefit if the most radical protagonists of evidence based medicine organized and participated in a double blind, randomized, placebo controlled, crossover trial of the parachute."

  Do you try to plant sunflowers in the spring?  Do those darn squirrels and house sparrows dig them all up and eat them?  Don't get mad, don't get out the BB gun.  They are only trying to get by the best they can.  For animals, spring can actually be the "starving time". 

  I used to get so frustrated.  I knew the squirrels where just being squirrels.  Then I had a light bulb moment.  I started to make sure that the squirrels and sparrows where to full to eat the sunflower seeds that I planted.  Black oil sunflower seeds are fairly inexpensive.  In fact they are a lot less expensive than some of the fancy sunflowers I was buying through my seed catalogs. 

Now when I plant my seeds, the squirrels and birds are too full.  They get all the sunflower seeds they want with a lot less work.  I have also found that I can give the sunflowers a head start inside in containers.  The animals have little interest in the plants themselves.  That is untill the seeds are ready to eat.  Then my little friends are free to eat to their hearts content because then they scatter the seeds that will come up next year.

My brother-in-law gave me this secret.  It is the easiest, cheapest and best computer desk I have ever used.  It is now not only used by everyone in my family but it is now starting move in the my kids circle of friends.

1. Here is what you will need:
2. flat door from any home improvement store.  It needs to be flat on both sides and have no doorknobs.
3. 2 file cabinets, you can get really cheap ones at resale shops and garage sales.  I got mine at K-marts for around $30 each.  If you get them from resale shops or garage sales make sure they are both the same height.  Learned that the hard way on my daughter's desk at U of M.  We had to use various sizes of books to level them out.
4. drill for making holes for cords
5. wood stain if you want it

This makes one desk.  If you want to get fancy, you just get 2 more file cabinets and another door and you have an L shaped desk.

All you have to do is put the filing cabinets on the floor so that the door can be set on top with the narrow edges over each filing cabinets.  The outer edge of the file cabinets should be even with the edge of each door.  When you decide where to place your computer, you can drill a hole in the door where you can thread the cords from the tower to the monitor.  You will need the kind of bit (I am not sure if that is what it is called) that you would use to drill a hole in a door for the door knob.

You know have a computer desk with more surface area and more storage space than any other computer desk.  Well at least any that  I have found or could afford.  Its easy to take apart and move.  If the desk is to low, simply cut 2x4s to fit between the file cabinets and the desk top. This will raise the desk top higher.  Or you can take the lazy man's way like me and just use old books.

  I hate houseflies. With kids coming in and out of the house all day, they always manage to get in.  I also am not a fan of poisonous bug sprays.  Why in the world would I spray a poison in my home?  Especially in the kitchen. So the question was, how do I kill the flies without killing my family (I must tell you I am an awful flyswatter).  I have and still do, use fly paper strips but not all flies are dumb enough to land on them.

So what do I use?  Soap spray, yep that's all it take.  I used to use hairspray for a while. I  read somewhere that  it  makes the winds sticky so they can't fly and plugs up their little breathing holes.  It does work but it leaves a sticky residue behind that is awfully hard to clean up.

  You can use any type of household spray cleaner or make your own for pennies.  Soap sprays will even work on the bugs in your garden, even the hated Japanese beetles.  I just get a large spray bottle, fill it with water and and a good sized squirt of dish washing liquid and shake well.  Set your nozzle on spray and wait for the fly to land.  Then just squirt it with the soap spray.  Once their wings get wet they can't fly and then just keel over dead.  Soap spray works by soaking into the fly and drying it from the inside out.  The best things about this spray are #1. It is not poisonous to humans or pets and #2 because it is soap, it is easy to clean up.  If you add a touch of bleach, you can kill two birds with one stone, kill flies and clean the counter tops.

  Killing bugs in my garden without toxic sprays is as important as in my home.  A product found in most garden stores and home centers is my weapon of choice.  Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder made from fossilized deposits of hard shelled algae called diatoms.  It is a mild abrasive so it acts as a mechanical insecticide. 

  It not only to kill the insects that are on eating my plants but slugs too.  It is simple to use.  Make sure you wear a dust mask and simple sprinkle it on and around your plants. It abrasive properties is what makes it work.  When insects or slugs walk through it, it simple cuts through their skins causing them to dry out.  Make sure that you don't by the kind that is used for swimming pools.  It contains chlorine.  It will not only kill the pest but your plants too.

Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, as a mild abrasive, as a mechanical insectici

When you are making an omelete add just a pinch of baking powder to the egg mixture. When the eggs are added to the pan they will fluff up right before your eyes.  Instead of a flat omelet, it will be fluffy and light.  Oh and the baking powder has no affect on the taste.

Does your husband or son work on cars. Are their cloths almost as greasy coming out of the washer as when they went in? Use the hottest water that you can and add a quarter cup of Murphys oil soap to the wash along with your regular detergent. They might not look as good as new but the Murphy's really helps cut the grease.

These are some lessons life has taught me.

NEVER LOAN MONEY TO FAMILY OR FRIENDS THAT YOU CAN'T DO WITHOUT

Never, ever sell or buy a used care to or from a friend or family member. If the car's a lemon, I guarantee it will ruin the friendship.

Used Sports cars are a bad investment.  They are usually owned by young men who drive them hard.

The best way to get a moocher to leave you alone is to loan him $10. Make sure he leaves  with the understanding that you expect to be paid pack next week. I guarantee that the moocher will cross the street when he sees you coming.

  As time goes on, he will think you have forgotten all about the loan and will ask again. Then all you do is remind him that he still owes you ten bucks and  as soon as he pays you back, you will be more than happy to loan him more money. After a couple of these sessions, the moocher will look elsewhere for a handout.

I hate to say this but I learned this from my ex. When you are driving on a highway always leave enough room between you and the car in front of you so if the bridge collapses when he goes over it, you have plenty of time to stop.  This holds true for bad weather as well.  If the car in front skids, there will be enough space for you to react and avoid a similar fate.

Nothing makes me madder then to come home from work and find all the flowers from my containers tossed in the driveway by those danged squirrels. Its not their fault, they are just being squirrels. But to keep those cheeky little varmints out of your planters, dust them with ground cayenne pepper. You can use the whole red pepper flakes they work too. But much to my surprise, when I used the whole pepper flakes the flakes turned into pepper plants.

  Ground cayenne is also great for keeping squirrels out of your bird feeders. Just mix the cayenne pepper with the bird seed and put in your feeder as usual.The pepper will keep the squirrels out without bothering the birds..

Oh, another thing cayenne is good for, keeping the neighbors dogs out of your yard. You will need a large amount, Sam's Club and Gordon's are two stores I know of that carry it in large amounts. You can also buy it any website that sells herbs. Anyway, sprinkle it over your grass especially around the edges. I guarantee that once the dog gets a snoot full of red pepper, chances are he won't be back.  It will need to be refreshed after a good hard rain.

The pet hair kept clogging up my vacuums. It didn't matter if it was a canister vac or an upright. With the canister vacs, they all had fancy handles with a crook in one end. The only way I could get it unclogged was to run a hose with water through it. I needed to take the uprights all apart to unclog them. @$%%$@%^&^ is what I said every time I vacuumed.

With 3 cats, one of them a long hair, and a boxer that sheds like crazy, pet hair is everywhere. All the internet research I did sang the praises of several of the high end vacuums. Five hundred dollars was more than I could spend.

Then I discovered Shop Vacs. There is a very small one called the All Around.  It runs around $50.00 and it is WONDERFUL. The suction is unbeatable and it rarely clogs up (it clogged up really bad when I tried to vacuum up pine needles) and usually because I suck up something really big like a sweat sock. But when it does stop up, unclogging it is a snap. The hose is just that, a hose and it screws right into the vacuum itself. If if is clogged up with something big, it usually stops right where the hose attaches to the vacuum. Just removing it unplugs it. If it gets clogged up in the hose simple run a broom handle or similar long object through it and out comes the clog.

   It is not the perfect vacuum. It comes with the standard attachments for dust, crevices and a combination bare floor/carpeting one.  It's the combination attachment that is lacking in something. So carpets are not it's forte but on hard surfaces like wood or tile, it can't be beat.

I have even found another use for it. Because I am by nature a lazy creature, I hate to bend over to pick things up. Well, the shop vac has enormous suction. I just stick the shop vac on top of what ever needs to be picked up and presto chango, it is in my hands in no time. The best thing is THAT I DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO BEND OVER! Now isn't that wonderful

Don't you just hate it.  Use the restroom, wash your hands and then you are facing the hated bathroom hand dryers.  I don't know about you but I usually am so impatient that I end up wiping my hands on my pants.  Until the other day. 

I had one of the Eight Ball moments of mine.  When I was training to be a Med Tech.  the technique we used to dry out test tubes was to shake them really hard 10 times.  Do you know that before using the hand dryers, if you shake the bejesus out of your hands before you turn on the dryer, your hands dry in nothing flat.  Just make sure there is nobody near by as you will get water on them and then they might not be to happy.

Just thought I would pass that on.

If you like to read like I do, hunt the resale shops.  Shop second hand stores  like the Goodwill and the Salvation Army thrift stores. They are cheap and  when you are done, take them back to the charity thrift stores and get a tax credit for donating them.t.