Tuesday, January 03, 2006, 18:36
"Clean It, Fix It, Eat It"
Boy -- you learn something new every day. Or at least -- I've been learning something new for the past couple of days from a book called "Clean It, Fix It, Eat It" that was among our Christmas presents. The book is a collection of "tips" from people who have used "common household items" for other uses.
For example, did you know that you can use Coca Cola to clean rust off wrought iron railings and bathtubs? Or to clean used motor oil off of car parts? Or to clean spilled grease off a linoleum floor?
I didn't know that. But now that I do, it gives me pause for thought. I mean, really. And people drink that stuff?
Another thing I have learned is that you can use Bounce dryer sheets to repel mice from classic cars and to keep them out of dog food, cat food and bags of grain for horses and to keep deer from eating the vegetables in your garden.
One notation said that Bounce works because of the oleander in it. I'm not sure if Bounce actually has oleander in it -- or if it's merely the scent that is close to the way oleander smells. Either way, this also gives me pause for thought. Oleander is poisonous. So I am glad I don't use Bounce dryer sheets. (I use whatever is the most inexpensive -- store brand or Arm and Hammer or some such thing.)
Another thing I have learned is that you can use 409 spray cleaner to kill ants, houseflies and bees and wasps. Many people contributed that particular tip. Most of them say it works better and faster than Raid. And most of them say they are "thrilled" because they don't have to spray chemicals around their houses.
Oh, really? And what do they suppose 409 spray cleaner is made out of if it's not made out of chemicals?
One particular tip that I have already used actually worked. The tip was to use Vodka to clean labels off clothing or jars or bottles. We don't have any Vodka in the house, but I was thinking that it was the alcohol that did the trick, anyway, and I always keep a spray bottle of ordinary rubbing alcohol in the bathroom to clean the faucets and to clean my eye glasses. I had taken a new pair of jeans out of the drawer, and the jeans had a long label pasted down the back of one leg. I was able to peel off most of the label, but part of it was stuck, and I couldn't get it off.
I spritzed the label with rubbing alcohol, waited a minute, and then used a sharp pairing knife to scrape the rest of the label off the denim. It worked like a charm.
Other tips in the book don't sound so great. Such as putting marshmallows between your toes to hold them apart so you can apply fingernail polish without getting the polish on your feet.
Well, to be truthful, it's not the part about putting marshmallows between your toes which doesn't sound so great. It's the suggestion that you can eat the marshmallows afterwards.
I'm sorry, but I am NOT eating marshmallows that have been between my toes, and I don't care HOW clean my feet are beforehand. Not that I have to worry about it. I may have put fingernail polish on toes once or twice in my life, but if so, it was probably more than 20 years ago now.
Anyway, some of the tips in the book make sense, and some of them seem like clinkers. But if I'm lucky, the tips that I actually try will work!
LeAnn R. Ralph
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Monday, January 02, 2006, 20:50
Dusk-to-Dawn
Our dusk-to-dawn light is not feeling very well. It automatically comes on at dusk, but then the next thing you know, it has flickered off. It will stay off for a minute or so, then it flickers back on and then goes off, stays on for a while, goes off again.
Sunday evening when I went out to feed the horses, the light went out four different times while I was outside. It went out a bunch more times after I came inside.
I am wondering if the light bulb is about to burn out. I keep thinking that one of these times, the light is not going to come back on.
It is very dark in our corner of the world without the dusk-to-dawn light.
We have had a dusk-to-dawn light on this place for the last 30 years. Many rural residences in the area have them, and it used to be, when there were more farms around, that every farm had one. Very handy for seeing your way out to the barn at night or early in the morning. Or if you have to go out in the middle of the night to check on a cow. The lights automatically come on at dusk and automatically turn off at sunrise and are maintained by our rural electric cooperative. The cost is nominal -- $7 per month in the summer months, $6 per month during the winter.
I am disappointed with the performance of this particular light. It is only 5 years old!
The previous light, which, as the repairman told me 5 years ago when he replaced it, contained mercury, and that's why they don't use those models anymore. The new lights, he said, are more environmentally friendly.
Really?
The old light FAITHFULLY came on at dusk and went off at dawn for 25 years. That's right. Twenty-five years. Two and a half decades. With no maintenance.
The existing light has only lasted 5 years. And now it's blinking and not working properly. So with this kind of light, it means that bulbs will be discarded 5 times as often during the same 25-year period.
Five times as much debris to discard is more environmentally friendly?
Sure, mercury is not good for the environment, but I would imagine that if the bulbs are disposed of properly, the mercury does not cause a problem.
Anyway, I am going to have to get someone out here from the electric cooperative to fix the light. As I said, it is very dark in this corner of the world without the dusk-to-dawn light. I didn't realize how much I depended on it until it blinked out the other night while I was giving the horses more hay. Suddenly, in the space of a breath, I could not see where I was going! The dusk-to-dawn light also comes in handy when I am taking Pixie outside before going to bed. And it provides a "night light" of sorts inside the house where it shines in through my office window.
The last time the light needed replacing 5 years ago, I fell in the culvert that runs under the driveway while taking Charlie around the house to put him in his kennel.
I had called about getting a new dusk-to-dawn light, and the lady had told me the repairman would get to it "when he had time."
After a week -- and after I had fallen in the culvert and bruised my shin and elbow in the process -- I called back.
"I called last week about our dusk-to-dawn light, and I was wondering when I might expect a new one?" I said.
"Oh," the lady replied, "dusk-to-dawn lights are a low priority for the linemen. It will probably be at least three to four weeks before they get around to it."
"THREE TO FOUR WEEKS?" I said. "But I've already fallen in the culvert once! It's dark out here at night with no dusk-to-dawn light!"
"Well, I'm sorry. It's a low priority," she said.
Much to my surprise, 10 minutes later, the repairman pulled in the driveway.
"Only 10 minutes left until quitting time!" he said cheerfully as he got out of the truck. "And that's just enough time to change your light."
Hmmmmm. Imagine that.
I have always wondered if it was a coincidence that the repairman showed up then -- or if the lady I talked to called him on the radio and he just happened to be close-by?
I suppose I will never know.
LeAnn R. Ralph