February 2016 Book Report

How to Tail a Cat (2012) by Rebecca M. Hale

4^th book in this cute series. Clive the alligator is kidnapped from his home at the aquarium. Monty is hoping to be the new interim mayor of San Francisco. Rebecca is still trying to follow Uncle Oscar’s clues as to what the heck is going on. And of course, the cats know all, but are saying very little.

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Mostly in Clover (1961) by Harry J. Boyle

Mr. Boyle was a Canadian broadcaster and writer. This book is about his childhood in rural Canada between WWI and WWII. Very folksy and entirely enjoyable.

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Stagestruck (2014) by Emily Thomas

A Blue Hills Library mystery. To raise funds to replace the roof of the local playhouse, the library hosts a mystery dinner. Anne finds herself pressured to join the cast while trying to find a missing script that a famous playwright gave Aunt Edie. Along the way, Anne finds that while she is starting to get over her husband’s death, she not ready yet for romance.

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Happy Land (1942) by MacKinlay Kantor

Short novel about a pharmacist named Lew. He followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps as the small town pharmacist and his son was being groomed to do the same. The son, Rusty was about to get his license when he joined the Navy as a pharmacy tech at the beginning of WWII. His ship was torpedoed and Rusty never came home. Lew was so distrait that his deceased grandfather came down from Heaven to console him. Together they went through Rusty’s short life, and Lew finally made peace with it.

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Tacey Cromwell (1942) by Conrad Richter

The book takes place in a small copper mining town in Arizona in the early 1900s. Tacey is a fallen woman living with her boyfriend, his younger half-brother and a little girl they take in when her father is killed in the mines. The townspeople look down on Tacey and take the two children away from her. The boyfriend leaves her and ends up married to the daughter of the rich mine owner.

Skidding to a Stop

I am somewhat in the dumps today for no particular reason. Maybe it's the dreary weather, maybe it's because it's bill-paying day, whatever. I don't like posting "blah" stuff, but that's kind of what I'm faced with right now. Hence the picture.

I was gladdened to see I have a new follower in Lisa Cagle. THANK YOU, Lisa! I would really like to see some pics of what you did with pennies. If you see this post, please contact me. I'm on Facebook as Dorothy Jackson Binder. I have my privacy settings pretty high, but I think you can still message me.

Other than that, about all I can do right now is blather. It's a grey day, but we really need more rain. The lake is starting to fill up again, so that is a big bonus.

I'm starting another altered book. Still in the embryo stage, so lots to do. Still trying to figure out the new Word 2013 thing on how to tweak pictures to my liking. And still trying to find a ruler. I really used that function on the last Word program and miss it a lot.

I've been enjoying having the church services on the screens. Most churches are doing that now, and I'm glad we've finally got things up and running. I got to talk with my neighbor the other day and once again invited her to join us at church. Someday she might surprise me and come. 

And that's about it, folks. Sorry. I think I'll make myself a big cup of coffee (LOVE MY KEURIG!!) and pay some bills. Toodles til next week! ♥
 

Aphrodisiac Foods Proven to Spark Romance

As you might guess, this is from another article I read on MSN. Hey, SOMEBODY has to read them…

Oysters --

Supposedly there are amino acids in these critters that trigger sex pheromones. As for me, you might as well just put a bucket by the table and I can either throw up in it, or just throw the oysters in right away.

Chili peppers--

Same as above.

Avocado--

Ditto…

Chocolate, specifically dark chocolate--

NOW you’re talking my language. If Marv brings home a big box of chocolates for me, he might as well call in sick for the next day…because he will be BUSY…wink,wink

Bananas--

MMmmmm….chocolate covered bananas……

Honey--

Yes, I DO call Marv “honey”…

Coffee if it has caffeine--

Well, at least you’ll stay awake…

Watermelon, pine nuts, figs, strawberries, cherries--

I LOVE fruit salad. Romantic, though? Dunno.

Arugula, olive oil, pumpkin seeds--

Same as above. A nice salad. Maybe feel a little more healthy, and that’s good.

Artichokes--  

Too much effort for very little return. I’d rather eat chocolate.

Pomegranate--   

The fruit tastes OK, I just hate picking those tiny little things out and there’s nothing really there to actually EAT. But, the juice is supposed to be good for ED. Never been a problem here…wink,wink

Let me know if any of these work for YOU….

8 Brilliant (?) Uses For Your Spare Pennies

See that pretty table? See that beautiful floor? All tiled with worthless pennies! How fun! Go ahead, click on the pics for a better look...

However, THIS blog is about common, ordinary, albeit brilliant solutions to use all those thousands of pennies we’ve been collecting all these years…

Save a Glass of Stale Wine 

First of all, “stale wine” implies “leftover wine” which is an oxymoron. If you can’t finish off a bottle over dinner, there is no hope for you IMHO. However, should there be some left and you want to drink it the next day, drop a penny in your glass, swirl it around a bit then remove. That apparently will make it taste like new. But to work, the penny has to be dated 1982 or earlier because they were made with more copper than later ones, and it’s the reaction of the copper with the wine that makes this magic possible.

Repel Garden Slugs 

After you’ve freshened up your wine, take the penny out and put it around your prized plants, along with several others. Again, you need the older pennies for the copper reaction to the slug slime, which I’m told is VERY unpleasant for the slug.

Build a Ruler 

Line up 16 pennies on a flat surface and you have exactly 1 foot. Although in the time it takes to scrounge in the couch cushions and your nightstand drawer to find 16 pennies, you probably could have made the run to the dollar store and gotten a ruler. I could probably come up with at LEAST 4-5 cheap plastic rulers and 3-4 wooden ones at any given moment. I guess this wouldn’t help, though, if you were at a store or yard sale and wanted to measure something to be sure it fit in the house before buying it. Maybe you could borrow 16 pennies from the store clerk.

Drive Some Screws 

Depending on the screw, of course. I read an article claiming that by putting the penny at a 15-20 degree angle you should get enough torque to get the job done. Or undone, if what you want to do is loosen that screw. Again, if you don’t have at least 3-4 screwdrivers in your junk drawer you are hopeless. Grab a butter knife…

Diagnose Your Tires  

Now this one I’m familiar with. Stick the penny in the tread with Lincoln’s head upside down. If most of the forehead disappears, you’re OK for now. If you can see all of his head, replace the tire. All you need is 9,999 more pennies…

Stabilize a Wobbly Table  

I almost didn’t include this one because it’s so stupid. The article I read even suggested gluing the pennies to the leg of the table. If you’re going to go to that much effort, for heaven’s sake get a shim of wood or something! Those little felt pads that self-stick to table legs work well, too.

Make a One-Cent Washer  

Another one that almost didn’t make the list. The article pointed out that zinc washers cost about 11 cents. So you are saving TEN WHOLE CENTS by making your own out of pennies that you drill or punch a hole in. SMH

Collect Valuable Treasures 

Two words: wheat pennies. Yes, that wheat penny in your hand might be valued at THREE CENTS instead of one! Meh. You know what I do with wheat pennies?? I SPEND THEM!