Handy Hacks

 

We’ve all see the articles/videos about hacks that make life so much easier. Some are pointless and solve a problem that never existed. Some of them I look at and think “I’ve been doing that for YEARS! Who DOESN’T know this??” And some are actually of value. Since I love my peeps so much, I decided to try some of the ideas that were new to me.

 

Cut an empty TP tube along one side to make a cuff to keep wrapping paper from unrolling. This one makes so much sense and I was embarrassed that I never thought of this. I’ve been using rubber bands all these years. Then I tried it…IT DOESN’T WORK! There isn’t enough tension for the cut tube to retain the shape. If you store your paper upright, like I do, the tube will just slide down to the bottom. It helps a bit, but I’ll stick to rubber bands. If you store it horizontally on a shelf, then it would be fine.

 

Coffee in ice cube trays. I’ve mentioned this one before, but it bears repeating. I love iced coffee in the summer and using coffee ice cubes makes a huge difference. I don’t always drink an entire glass of it at one time, putting the remainder in the fridge. It’s pretty much diluted from the water ice cubes by the time I get around to finishing it. Yuk. Coffee cubes are better.

 

Use pop-top tabs to offset hangers for more space. You can buy hooks or tabs to put over the hanger top to add another hanger below, but using your own things is cheaper. However, the tab from a soda can will only take wire hangers. If you use the thicker plastic ones (like I do) you will need a different size tab. The pull-top ones from canned fruit or vegetables work just fine for that.

 

Put some ice cream in an almost empty jar of Nutella, or other type spread to get the last bit of yumminess. My suggestion would be to heat up the jar of Nutella in the microwave first and then put in the ice cream.

 

Something I started doing years ago was to set my kitchen timer for laundry. Since the washer/dryer set is in the garage, I don’t hear the buzz sound when the load is done. The timer really helps. That way, when you get ready for bed and want to put the clean sheets on, you don’t suddenly remember that they are still in the washer ready to put in the dryer…

 

One absolutely amazing thing I learned about came from a FB friend who has since passed on. She would make what she called “Muffin Tin Meals” for her daughter. You take a muffin tin and fill the individual spots with mainly finger food that is easy for a very young child to deal with. No cutlery required. Quarter a sandwich, or use a cookie cutter to make fun shapes. KEEP THE LEFTOVER SANDWHICH BITS. You can put them in soup or stews. Have carrot and celery sticks. Nuts and raisins. Cheese sticks. Little crackers. A cookie or two. Fruit. I thought this was brilliant and tried this with Lia. NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER!!! I still love the idea, it just didn’t work with Lia. 

 

What are some of your favorite hacks?

 

 

9 Dead and Counting…

 

Ha! Made ya look! This blog comes to you with the help of my lovely granddaughter, Lia

 

Like me and both my kids, Lia has a very fine warped sense of humor. It never ceases to delight me. She seems to have a penchant for the macabre. A few years ago, she told me about a dead bee that she named Billy Bob. When she was visiting here, she made a little memorial for Billy Bob in the back yard complete with flowers and a stick. Billy Bob wasn’t a Christian so he didn’t get a cross…

 

This last visit, we were gifted a dead lizard by Neelix. He played with it on the concrete by the sliding doors until it was dead. We admired it and praised Neelix. Later the lizard was gone. Over the next couple of days, there were several more lizards brought to the concrete and Lia decided to name them and have funerals.

 

The first one that was already gone was lost to the ages. The next one was buried nameless. Number 3 was named Richard Jr.Jr. He was buried with the nameless one. Number 4 was named Ricardo and had a separate grave. Number 5 was Roxanne. Yesterday Neelix brought me Rafael. Since Lia wasn’t here, I had to do the duties myself. However, after I dug the grave and placed Rafael in and took a picture, I stood to get the trowel to cover him. Neelix had watched all this intently and in a flash he had grabbed Rafael from the grave and ran off with it. So no flowers for Rafael.

 

And then there was Ronnie…she would have been #7…

I had the slider open so Neelix could get in and out by himself while I was busy in the kitchen. He came in at one point and plopped down in the area between the kitchen and dining room. I noticed he was playing with something. I went over and saw that it was a lizard. I named it Ronnie and picked it up in a Kleenex and put it on the cement by the slider, took a picture, and went to get the trowel. As soon as I flipped Ronnie up with the trowel she scurried off! She successfully escaped the grave!!

 

Rupert became #7. Again, Neelix brought this one in the house and played with it until it was dead and left it on the step in the family room. So I took it upon myself to give him an honorable burial.

 

With #8, Phil, the thing that was a bit disturbing came when it was time to bury him. It had been a while since Rupert’s demise. I went to the burial ground by the fence and it looked like all the previous graves had been robbed!! Either that, or we have some zombie lizards roaming around…

 

Murray is #9. That’s his pic with Neelix at the top. Neelex brought him in on the tile in front of the slider. He wasn’t happy when I took Murray for burial.

 

So here’s the tally so far…

#1  nameless

#2  nameless

#3  Richard Jr. Jr.

#4  Ricardo

#5  Roxanne

#6  Rafeal

The escapee Ronnie

#7  Rupert

#8 Phil

#9 Murray (That’s his grave below)

 

 

June Diversions

 

Month of June – Aquarium Month

For several years we had a fairly large aquarium. It requires a certain amount of diligence to keep and maintain a healthy tank and healthy fish. We had a very large Oscar that took up most of the tank. One day when Paul was very little, he walked by the tank and Oscar jumped up, hitting the lid of the tank and landed at Paul’s feet. Scared Paul to bits! I scooped up Oscar and just put him back in the tank.

 

 

4 - Hug Your Cat Day

If you are lucky enough to have a cat (or 2 or 3) EVERY day should be Hug Your Cat Day.

 

 

13 – Sewing Machine Day

The first sewing machines were made in France in the 1830s. It wasn't until 1846, that they were patented in the U.S. My grandma had a treadle machine that was later converted to electricity. That’s the one I learned to sew on.

 

 

22 - Doughnuts are created (1847)

I have spoken before regarding my love of French Donuts (Crullers), but in truth I embrace ALL donuts. I embrace them by shoving them into my mouth…

 

 

 June 25, 1874 – Birthday of Rose O'Neill, the cartoonist that created Kewpie Dolls.

Cute little things. An original one is worth big bucks now.