Category: Homemaking

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A Sheepy Stack

Now, I don’t typically take people on a tour of my bathroom…usually.

But, these little Wallace & Grommet-esk bath tissue sheep are screaming to be shown off. When I stumbled across them on Amazon my trigger finger began to tremble…and well…

you know the rest. It couldn’t be helped.

In my defense– have you ever seen anything so adorable in all your life?!

The answer is certainly, no…you have not.

In fact, I think I should be congratulated, celebrated even–for not buying 5 sets. See–I can control myself…

if I have to.

Using restraint.  Check.

“Clap for Aunt Grace. She did a hard thing today.”

 

 

 

 

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Perfect Politeness

Ever since I was a kid, growing up in Los Angeles–I’ve been great–perfect even, at keeping very still when a stranger knocks on my door. We didn’t live in a particularly great part of town and I knew better than to just fling the front door open at any and every knock when, as my mother explained, “we have no idea who is on the other side of the door and what they really want.

It scared me sufficiently.

My sister and I even got good at ducking down fast so that we couldn’t be seen from the outside.

When I was a young mom, I got braver because…well, now I lived in Utah and it was safer to open the door. Right? Well, that’s what I thought.

While I admit, I was never threatened or frightened at my own front door in Orem or Provo or Lindon or American Fork–I did end up buying a billion dollars worth of stuff that I really didn’t need, all because I didn’t want to be rude to the nice kid on the porch.

That, my friends is costly politeness. Something had to be done.

So, I went back to the stop, drop and roll method from my childhood and quit answering the door again…for years.

*Sigh.* There had to be a better way.

Enter Etsy and the cute little shop called  Lisabees. 

This sweet gal made me a couple of No Soliciting signs for my door that ward off the too kind and too cute sales folks without me having to do anything! And the best part is that I don’t even feel guilty about it because the sign is so cute that it’s actually…you know…polite. Perfectly polite. Checks all the boxes for somebody like me.

Now, you may think that another easy solution would be for me to just learn to say, “no.”

Insert gutteral laughter here.

Pretty sure saying no is a maturity level that I haven’t reached yet.

Don’t wait for it.

Heh.

 

 

 

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17 Ridiculously Useful Tips~

just for the heck of it.

Just like “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” these clever little tips can help save time and energy…and in some cases, maybe even your life.

A friend of mine posted this a while back–but I don’t know the original source. If you do, share it and I’ll be happy to link back to the author.  Some fun tips, no matter where they came from.  :}

1. Reheat Pizza

Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove; set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

2. Easy Deviled Eggs

Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal bag and mash yolks till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing roughly; cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done – easy clean up.

3. Expanding Frosting

When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

4. Reheating Breads

To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

 

5. Newspaper Weeds Away

Start putting in your plants; work the nutrients into your soil. Wet newspapers and put layers around the plants overlapping as you go; cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic; they will not get through wet newspapers.

6. Picking Up Broken Glass

Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can’t see easily.

7. No More Mosquitoes

Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

8. Squirrel Away!

To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn’t hurt the plant and the squirrels won’t come near it.

9. Flexible Vacuum

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

10. Reducing Static Cling

Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and — ta da! — static is gone.

11. Unsticky Measuring Cups

Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don’t dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

12. Foggy Windshield?

Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

13. Reopening Envelopes

If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

14. Smoother Legs With Conditioner

Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It’s a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It’s also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn’t like when you tried it in your hair…

15. Goodbye Fruit Flies

To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2″with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

16. Get Rid of Ants

Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it “home,” can’t digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works & you don’t have to worry about pets or small children being harmed!

17. Info About Clothes Dryers: May Save Your Life!

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes.) He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material – I’m sure you know what your dryer’s lint filter looks like.

WELL…the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn’t go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh and that’s what burns out the heating unit. You can’t SEE the film, but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free – that nice fragrance, too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box? Well, this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen.

This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

So, there you go. Now don’t you just feel like the wise woman of the mountain?

:}

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Bathroom Redo

or UPdo or undo. You can decide.

Now then, it goes without saying, though I’ll say it anyway, that anyone who shows you their bathroom on a busy day is indeed calling you a friend…in the truest sense. Seriously, you should be so flattered.

Having had several weddings, a dozen or so hairdo tryouts, a million make-over parties, a bridal shower and too many friend sleepovers to count, in the last few months, I could pretty much pick any day of the week and call it a busy, noisy day…and mean it.

After seeing the place, you would be a believer too.

Then, one afternoon, I had a thought. “Hey,” said that inner voice, “you don’t actually have any kids living with you in this basement anymore. So, why on earth do you have guy’s shaving cream in your cabinet and strawberry body spray made in 1987, on the shelf?”

I don’t know, inner voice. I don’t know.

So the gutting began. I hope you’re picturing puffs of smoke and things flying out the door right now–cause that’s how it happened, I swear.

Hair spray, foot spray, tanning spray, baby oil, baby powder, light bulbs, lovely smelling lotion, nasty smelling lotion, travel cases, body scrub, wet wipes, pump soap, polish remover, hair brushes, mirrors, flashlights, peroxide.

Oh, and six different sized curling irons.

Is there no end in sight?

Apparently not. Soap I love, soap that makes me gag, hair gel, bath tissue, toothpaste, spare sink parts, hand sanitizer, pomade, scissors, dental floss, cleanser, essential oils and a magic eraser.

Sort, sort, sort. Pile, pile, pile. Toss, toss, toss.

Some things went in a stack to keep, some went in a box to give away, tons went directly into the trash…without passing Go and everything else went into a big bag for all those married girls of mine, to sort through, because, well–because it’s quite likely that half this stuff was theirs in the first place–a decade ago.

Next, I picked up 10 baskets from the dollar store and stood in front of the shelf for a while trying to decide how I wanted it all to be arranged. What exactly did I need, where?

In the last 35 years, I’ve never been completely in charge of a bathroom, that had no one else in it, so I was free to get rid of anything that wasn’t positively mine. What an odd sensation.

Yes, it was very odd…but kinda fun too.

And since I live in my daughter and son-in-law’s basement, and they aren’t all in love with my kitty friends, I even made a place for Beany and Jiff to eat that is more out-of-the-way than before.

I found some hookey suction cups and tacked a shower rack in the window for the my Dove soap and scrub brush. The Serenity bath bar I hang in crocheted mesh bags to keep them from getting mushy. Razors go in a suction cup toothbrush holder to keep them from sitting in water–they last twice as long that way.

Yeah, I’m feeling pretty darn clever right about now.

My pretty little plants…

a flowery calendar…

and some soft crocheted rugs look just perfect…

now that it’s only me…all alone. Perfect, except for one thing.

It’s a bit tooooo quiet around here.

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Cooking With Lortab

Being the sturdy mountain woman that I am–I went with Daney-boy to the store–when I should probably have been resting. After all…Lortab makes one a bit sleepy sometimes but the guy did the driving so it was good. ANYway, we found this adorable little egg pan that seemed just perfect for making Bagel breakfast sandwiches. So, of course we bought it.

I brought it home and tore the label out of the inside of the pan and proceeded to cook my perfectly round fried eggs. It was just lovely. A wonder to behold.

But then Dane hollered in, “How’s your pan doing? It kinda smells funny.”

I hollered back, “It’s doing fine and no it doesn’t. It smells wonderful, like a beautiful fried egg.”

Just then, there was a puff of smoke and a tiny flame shot out from under my cute little egg pan. What the…?

How was I suppose to know that there was another label UNDER the pan? Huh?!

One label is certainly enough. Two is just silly…and I can’t possibly be the only person who thinks so…or who nearly set the kitchen on fire as a result. Sheesh.

Over-achieving label-maker-guy-anyway.

The egg–cooked under extreme duress, was still quite tasty despite it’s sordid beginnings.

Is the room is starting to spin?

I’m taking a nap. 😕

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