Sunday, May 5, 2013

NATURAL SOLUTIONS FOR WEEDS AND ANT BEDS

I've been seeing all these different "Natural Solutions" and "Home Remedies" postings on facebook and I decided to try some.

Ant Beds In My Yard

I read that you could use cornmeal on ant beds instead of poison. The ants carry the cornmeal back into the nest and they all eat it and it expands inside them and kills them.

I did this. I sprinkled the cornmeal on in the morning before I left for work. I came home that evening to moths, birds, bees, gnats, etc. all fighting over the cornmeal. The ants disappeared for a few days but I wouldn't come out of my house either if predators were outside my door.

Once the meal was gone, the ants came back out. Had they gotten a chance to eat some, who knows, it might have worked. Not worth the drawing of other pests for me.

I might try pouring apple cider vinegar down the entrance holes to the nest next. That is also supposed to work... but doesn't apple cider vinegar cure all things?

Also, some say that if you swap a shovelful of ants from one nest to another and then vice versa, the ants will kill each other.


Also, in our city and county they used straight clorox on the ant beds in the parks and school yards. That didn't work for me either. Maybe it only works on certain kinds of ants.

**Writing about this brought a funny memory to mind. My husband once told me that he wouldn't eat meatloaf made with oatmeal because when you ate it, the oatmeal would expand in your stomach and cause problems. He couldn't understand why I laughed so hard. When I told him that after cooking in meat juices for an hour that there wasn't any absorption power left in the oatmeal, he was embarrassed and we both laughed. It's funny the things we are told as a child that we never think through for ourselves but believe throughout our lifetime... must be that "child-like" faith.

Weeds Growing In Cracks On My Porch And Sidewalk

I know people normally use "Roundup" and similar expensive, poison products, but I'm on a budget that doesn't take things like that into consideration. I also hate to use poison if I don't have to.

I put full strength "white" vinegar into a spray bottle and sprayed the weeds on the porch to test it before I just wasted the vinegar on the side walk.

Knowing it wasn't supposed to rain, I sprayed them in the evening, just before dark. The next morning the weeds were laying flat on the porch. The next day, they turned brown and I swept them away. I was very pleased with the vinegar remedy.

That morning I sprayed the weeds/grass growing through the cracks in the sidewalk. The next day, they had turned brown but I couldn't sweep them away. I sprayed again and was able to sweep them away the next day. Those weeds required total saturation in a larger area but it did work after 2 applications and it's much cheaper than Roundup.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve Activities

Listen to an excellent audio drama about the story of Santa Claus. This may not hold the interest of little ones but it's a great family activity. You will need to create an account before you can see the entire 8 part series, but it's free.

The Christmas Chronicles: A Christmas Radio Drama in 8 Episodes

Series produced by KBYU

At last, a true and complete history of everyone’s favorite Yuletide character, Santa Claus. Listen to this magical Christmas radio drama and learn the long held secrets that occupy every child’s mind during Christmas time. Here at last is the real Santa Claus we have always cherished.


http://www.prx.org/series/31814-the-christmas-chronicles-a-christmas-radio-drama


Couldn't find Gak at the store? Me either! Let's make some!
Recipe:

1 cup Elmer's glue
food coloring, your choice of color (optional: coloring can stain!)
1 cup liquid starch

Pour glue and coloring in plastic container.

Stir until color is thoroughly mixed in.

Add starch a little at a time, stirring with a spoon or with your fingers as mixture thickens.

Stir until mixture holds together like putty.

Test it with your fingers and if it's too sticky, add more starch in small amounts until it becomes smooth and rubbery.

Store in a ziplock freezer bag.





 Don't know what Gak is?  View the commercial here:

http://youtube/kgST63f6x88

Catch up on the lastest Christmas news and find out what's happening at the North Pole.

Visit Santa's Village:
http://www.claus.com/village.php

Stop by the Naughty or Nice meter for a last minute check.
http://www.claus.com/naughtyornice/nn_hmpg2.php

Check out the history of Christmas as told in Judaism
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm

Read about the meaning of Christmas from the Christianity viewpoint.
http://www.christiananswers.net/christmas/home.html

God Bless you and I hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election Day in America 2012

Dear Beloved God in Heaven, Please give us a president that loves this country and everything it stands for. Please give us a president who respects you as the one true God. Please give us a president who will, with your help, restore this nation to its former glory, the way you created her. Please help us to respect what you have given to us and not take anything for granted ever again. Please, God, weaken the evil and strengthen the good both without and within. May our eyes be opened. In Jesus name, Amen.

I think this next one sums it up for a lot of  people!!!
 

Friday, August 24, 2012

FRIDAY FUNNIES

As I was standing in line at the store reading the magazine headlines, I came across this one.
Bill humiliated by Hilliary???? ha! ha! ha!

A BLONDE JOKE
 

A blonde was shopping at Target &
came across a shiny silver thermos.
She was quite fascinated by it, so she picked it up & took
it to the clerk to ask what it was.

The clerk said, 'Why, that's a thermos.....
It keeps hot things hot, And cold things cold.'

'Wow, said the blonde, 'that's amazing.....I'm going to buy it!'
So she bought the thermos & took it to work the next day.

Her boss saw it on her desk.
'What's that,' he asked?

'Why, that's a thermos..... It keeps hot things hot & cold things
cold,' she replied..

Her boss inquired, 'What do you have in it?'

The blond replied......
'Two popsicles & some coffee.'

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Build A Fire With an Orange



... so build a fire and roast some marshmallows! I recently took my grandchildren camping and I bought some of those extra large marshmallow to roast. Be careful if you use them. They retain twice the heat. I burned my bottom lip on one and I actually had a blister the next day!



Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A Halloween Treasure in May

I am so excited! I've been looking for this little treasure for a long time! I can get the individual cartoons but not the young hosts and their cute antics. It's the Tom and Jerry Halloween Special from the 1980's.



I've also been looking for the 1985 Halloween TV movie, "The Midnight Hour". I can get it from Amazon,com for $300 new or $130.00 used. Part 1 is posted on YouTube but not part 2. Someone else posted the entire movie in numerous parts but the vocals have been dubbed with music so you can't hear the actual movie. I would love to get the entire movie.

You can see part 1 here http://youtu.be/FiN-J7UdpBU

Monday, March 26, 2012

The Green Thing

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

She was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that young lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?




Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Happy Leap Day!

Today may be your birthday that you only get to have every 4 years. If so, Happy Birthday! Also, Ladies, today is the socially acceptable day that you may propose to the one you love if you're tired of waiting for him to propose!

MySpace-Comments

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Reorganizing the Linen Closet

I'm really tired of trying to find a matching set of sheets, so I decided to do something about it. I'm reorganizing the linen closet.



This is a set of king size sheets that I folded, using the method from the following link. It actually only filled half the pillow case. It is folded over. Store Sheets and Pillow Cases.


Here is a video that does it a little differently.






Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Music of Generations

A great nostalgic site! Lots of good stuff on this site from the home page. This is just such a really fun place to play! http://upchucky.com/

You can use the the little scrolling thingy on the side and see more tune choices. The diversity of music in the 50's is surprising. . . Elvis, Bing Crosby, the Coasters, the Everly Brothers, Patti Page, the Big Bopper, Johnny Cash, Louie Armstrong, Bo Didley, Rosemary Clooney, Carl Perkins, the Platters, Little Richard and Hank Williams. Music was all over the place. They knew how to have a good time! But, if oldies ain't your thing, pick any year!

http://upchucky.com/JukeCity/ultimate50s/50splayer.htm

Monday, January 23, 2012

A Retro Pageant


As I was searching for some information, I decided to try YouTube. I came across this video of the Mrs. Georgia 1968 Pageant. Apparently wearing a hat and being able to cook were requirements.

Also of important note... the women were only known by their husband's names and not their own. My how times have changed.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

COMMON SENSE

I don't know where this came from but I like it.

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan". All grades will be averaged and everyone will receive the same grade so no one will fail and no one will receive an A.... (Substituting grades for dollars - something closer to home and more readily understood by all).

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, ALL FAILED and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
It could not be any simpler than that.

Remember, there IS a test coming up: The 2012 elections.

These are possibly the 5 best sentences you'll ever read and all applicable to this experiment:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.