April 14, 2005

BarbecueBrown hamburger. Pour milk over bread crumbs and add to hamburger with remaining ingredients and mix like meat loaf. Simmer until cooked through or place in crockpot on low.

 

Missionary CakePut into pan and cook 3 minutes after it starts to boil. When cool stir in 1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in a little hot water. Add 2 cup flour and 1/2 cup nuts.

 

Starlight Mint CookiesSift flour, soda, and slat. Cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar. To creamed mixture add eggs, water, and vanilla. Mix. Blend in dry ingredients gradually and mix thoroughly. Cover; chill at least 2 hours.

 

Sauerkraut RelishDrain sauerkraut. Heat sugar and vinegar until sugar dissolves. Pour over sauerkraut. Add rest of vegetables and stir. Refrigerate in tight container. Keeps for a long time.

 

Threading a Darning NeedleOne way to easily thread a darning needle with a large eye is to fold a thin, rectangular sliver of paper in half the long way, sandwich the end of the thread into it as you would a hot dog in a bun, then slide paper and thread through the eye of the needle.

 

Extending the Life of Windshield Wiper BladesBefore replacing worn windshield wiper blades, try roughing up the edges of the blades with sandpaper or even an emery board. You can probably get a few more weeks of use out of them!

 

Using Aluminum FoilDid you ever notice that aluminum foil is shinier on one side than it is on the other? When cooking with foil, be sure to wrap or cover the item dull side out.

 

Spring Cleaning Tip - Make Dinner FirstWhen you know that you are going to be cleaning all day, start your day by making your dinner first. Find a great crockpot recipe and throw it together and let it cook while you clean.

 

Toning Down the Kerosene Smell From a HeaterI know it might be a little late in the season for this, but my sister taught me a little trick. If you use a kerosene heater to cut down on heating bills, like we do, and you can't stand the kerosene smell, put a pan of water on top of heater, and the smell will be gone!

 

Removing Odors From Down PillowsMy husband tried to help out one day, and do the laundry for me. He ended up putting all of our down filled bed pillows in the the washing machine. Needless to say, even after they were dry, they smelled like dirty diapers!

 

Polident As a Jewelry CleanerUse polident tablets for cleaning, it works great and no ammonia or other harsh chemicals.

 

Wallpapering Idea - Small Torn PiecesI just finished helping a friend wallpaper a bathroom and in all my years I don't think I've ever seen a more unique type of paper anywhere. She got the idea from a Lowes store.

 

Staying Prepared for Tax SeasonTax season is here. I've learned the hard way to stay prepared. Throughout the year I save ALL receipts. I use a bookkeeping program and enter the receipts into it weekly or more often as needed.

 

Romeo (Yorkshire Terrier)This is my male Yorkshire. His name is Romeo and he is 5 years old. I have two others which are girls. I've always had girl dogs. This is the first boy dog I've had.

 

Recipe for Repelling Bugs on Outdoor PlantsMix 1 to 2 tablespoons of Dr. Bronner's liquid peppermint castile soap in 1 quart of water. Fill a spray bottle and use on your outdoor plants. Will not harm plants. Dr. Bronner's liquid peppermint castile soap can be purchased in health food stores.

 

Freezing RiceLiving in Louisiana we eat a lot of rice. Since it's just the two of us now I've learned to freeze the cooked rice. After it's cooked and cooled I put in in a large ziplock freezer bag and flatten it out.

 

Get Your Carpeted Car Mats Super CleanWash your carpeted car mats in the washing machine with laundry detergent and hang inside or outdoors to dry.

 

Easy Method to Clean Stovetop with Gas BurnersI clean my stovetop with oven cleaner. Spray it on and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then wipe off. It melts all the greasy dried on cooking messes with minimal effort.

 

Baking Less than the Whole Bowl of Cookie DoughWhen I make chocolate chip cookies, I always make a full batch. Since it's just my husband and me, I bake a dozen and form and freeze the rest on wax paper in the freezer.

 

MOo-MOo and Stanlee (Cats)MOo-MOo is a boy cat. I'm not sure how old he is as I have tamed him from a wild alley cat. The poor fella was very sad and I think on his last legs, but not now!

 

Motor Oil On A Sweater?My husband has got motor engine oil on a new grey sweater. How can I remove it?

 

Candy Wrapper Crafts?I am looking for any instructions on Koolaid or Caprisun purse, wallet, belt, checkbook cover or any thing we can make? My daughter has been saving the pouches for a while she also gets the ones from her classmates.

 

Sharpie on Kitchen Counter?I need help getting Sharpie ink off my kitchen counter. Any advice?

 

Applying Grommets To Window Coverings?I am making some window coverings that have grommets. Can anyone give me good directions about how to apply them? The directions provided with the kit weren't very good and I didn't find anything better on the Internet.

 

Orphaned Kitty Flea Problem?I've got a 5 week old orphaned kitten. She didn't appear to have fleas at first but as I was bathing her, I noticed fleas going into her ear. They were too fast for me to catch. Would a flea remedy work even if the fleas go into her ears?

 

Natural Repellent For Wasps?Does anyone know of any natural insect repellent for wasps? For example: mosquitoes do not like citronella, fleas are not fund of cedar.

 

Cake Dye On Shirt?I'm trying to get red dye (from cake) out of a grey shirt. It doesn't belong to me so I need to do it ASAP. Please help.

 

Ball Point Pen Marks on Imitation Leather (vinyl?)I have recently started cleaning a doctor's office which has ink marks on the examining tables. I have tried alcohol, Simple Green, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and cannot seem to find anything to remove the marks. Can anyone give me some suggestions?

 

Pre-schooler Craft Projects?I'm just looking for bright and fun crafts I can make with a four year old without doing the whole project for him. Also I'm looking for projects that don't have small or toxic parts so the one year old can be involved.

 

Games and Prizes For a Teen Party?I want to have the best party with people leaving saying that it was a great party, not people saying it was a dump. I have the place, it is big. It's a girl/boy party but not with that many boys.

 

Patching a Plaster Ceiling?i have a plastered ceiling that was cracked and sagging in one spot (a square about 2x2). We cut out the old plaster and we were going to replace it with sheetrock.

 

Growing Peaches With Good Flavor?Does anyone know what makes a peach taste bitter,last year the peaches on our trees had a bitter taste, what can I do to help them have better flavor?

 

Inexpensive 50th Birthday Gift Ideas?This weekend My family and I are traveling 10 hours via SUV to my sister in-laws 50th Birthday. I just paid ALOT in taxes (today) and gas prices are out of this world. I would be grateful for any gift idea that are inexpensive.

 

Crochet Swimsuit For a Doll?Does anyone have a pattern or know a website for a swimsuit for a "Water Baby" or similar size doll? We have 3 baby dolls and we are taking them to the pool naked all the time! Help me cover them up!

 

Burn Mark On Plastic Worktop?I inadvertantly placed a hot plate on my kitchen worktop (marble effect, black plastic) and now have a lovely square white burn mark on my new worktop. Any ideas how to bring it back to black again? Annette