A Day in the Life – November 17, 2009

The weather at my place:

Is very grey and overcast and has been like that for days and we have about 8” of snow although it is not cold  only just below freezing. According to the weather reports it is going to stay like that for the rest of the week. Of course Dave has packed away his ATV with the snow blade so it is bound to snow. He will have to shove the stuff onto the road. Hopefully we won’t get a lot at once, just dribs and drabs.

 

 A simple pleasure: 

Packing is all done for Mexico. At least mine is. Everything but the dishwasher is in boxes and that wouldn’t fit! LOL. Dave has yet to do his packing he is only concerned about his boat going into the back of the truck, clothes and toiletries are the least of his concerns. We have five rubber bins with lids containing clothes, kitchen stuff and odds and ends plus an overnight bag each. It all should fit in according to Dave. I am sure I have taken ‘just in case’ stuff that I won’t use but just in case I might I have brought it along, I really don’t want to have to go and buy duplicates.

I did take the iron. We will have to dry stuff on the line and things get so wrinkled that way and I don’t mind a few wrinkles but I don’t want to look a complete mess. I know our landlord will have a iron but I don’t want to have to ask to borrow it and I don’t like ironing everything at once just as it is needed, Dave will probably do the ironing anyway he is much better at it than I am. He learned in the army so why should I disappoint him when he likes to show me how it is done! He like to show me how to do dishes as well and as yet I just haven’t got the knack of it. We have been married 11 years I wonder if I can keep up the dumb blonde act another 11, not so dumb eh. I am just joking of course he is a wonderfully emancipated male and helps a lot around the house.

I am thankful:

That we are able to leave here as winter is closing in now and the evenings are getting long and Dave doesn’t have enough to do so he is having fun bugging me, he says it will pass the time if he does that and I have to fight him off.

From the kitchen:

Trying to finish up the food, some of the meals will get a bit odd as we get closer to leaving date on Monday.

I am working on:

Nothing. Finishing up my library books mostly.

I am reading:

Reading Winter Study by Nevada Barr. Dave read it first and he said it was not the sort of book one wanted to be alone on a winters night to read. It is about wolves.

We leave Monday morning as soon as the water is turned off, the hot water tank drained and anti-freeze put down the sinks and toilets. The electricity will be turned off and away we go. We are stopping briefly in Prince George and will overnight somewhere en route to the  border, where we will overnight before crossing into the US first thing on the 25th. I hope they don’t make us unpack everything but we know they have to do their job so we will aim for a good attitude.

We plan to drive down the I5 to Redding California and then turn east travelling via Reno and on to Las Vegas on our way to Phoenix and then down south to Nogales. We have allowed  a couple of extra days than we originally planned so we can take our time. It is a very long way to travel but we are so looking forward to getting on the road. We will cross into Mexico on December 1st.  It is a four hour drive down to San Carlos from the border. This picture is of the San Carlos marina and where I will be hanging out the following morning having coffee. 

No practical value

"Well-informed people know it is impossible to transmit the voice over wires and that were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value." - Editorial in the Boston Post (1865)

Of course this was said about the telephone but one could apply this statement to prayer and how sometimes we wonder if it is doing any good at all.

Many years ago when attending Bible School we heard a story from a visiting speaker about his mother, who would pray in the evenings after dinner while washing dishes. He said it was the one time, in her big family, when she could guarantee some time alone. During her prayer time she found she often spoke the same word over and over as well as other words. She was speaking in tongues, a method of prayer spoken about in the New Testament, and she did not know what she was saying but asked God to show her someday what she was praying for.

A long time later she and her husband invited a visiting missionary to dinner and in the course of conversation she related this time of praying and repeating this same word many times. The missionary immediately said that he knew that word, because it was the name of a woman, who had become a Christian and because of that was dragged outside her village and stoned and left for dead. However she did not die, she got up and walked back into the village with no visible wounds. Thereafter most people in that village became Christians.

It took a lot of faith for Alexander Graham Bell to persist in order that today we have the telephone, despite the disparagement of society, and it took faith to persist in prayer for something she did not comprehend. There are many marvellous things in the world which we do not understand, but do we need to understand everything in order to believe in them?

Sixty Uses Of Baking Soda

Bicarbonate of soda or baking soda has many different uses in the household. Although much more expensive products have been developed over the years to do the same jobs, baking soda can work for you just as well, if not better. Use it in the following ways:

1. To make your own baking powder, stir and sift together 2 parts of Cream of Tartar to 1 part baking soda and 1 part cornstarch. 

2. Be sure to keep an extra box of baking soda by your stove in case of grease or electrical fire. Scatter the powder by the handful to safely put it out. 

3. Keep a container of baking soda in your garage as well as in your car to put out a fire. It won't damage anything it touches. 

4. Baking soda will also put out fires in clothing, fuel, wood, upholstery and rugs. 

5. Clean vegetables and fruit with baking soda. Sprinkle in water, soak and rise the produce. 

6. Wash garbage cans with baking soda. 

7. Soak and wash diapers with baking soda. 

8. Oil and grease - stained clothing washes out better with soda added to the washing water. 

9. Clean your fridge and freezer with dry soda sprinkled on a damp cloth. rinse with clear water. 

10. Deodorize your fridge and freezer by putting in an open container of baking soda to absorb odors. Stir and turn over the soda from time to time. Replace every 2 months. 

11. Soda absorbs kitty litter odors. Cover the bottom of the kitty box with 1 part soda; then add a layer of 3 parts kitty litter on top. 

12. Always add 1/2 cup soda to your washing machine load. 

13. Clean combs and brushes in a soda solution. 

14. Wash food and drink containers with soda and water. 

15. Wash marble-topped furniture with a solution of 3 tablespoons of soda in 1 quart of warm water. Let stand awhile, then rinse. 

16. Clean formica counter tops with baking soda on a damp sponge. 

17. Wash out thermos bottles and cooling containers with soda and water to get rid of stale smells. 

18. To remove stubborn stains from marble, formica or plastic surfaces, scour with a paste of soda and water. 

19. Wash glass or stainless steel coffee pots (but not aluminum) in a soda solution ( 3 tbsp. soda to 1 quart water). 

20. Run you coffee maker through its cycle with a soda solution. Rinse. 

21. Give baby bottles a good cleaning with soda and hot water. 

22. Sprinkle soda on barbecue grills, let soak, then rinse off. 

23. Sprinkle soda on greasy garage floor. Let stand, scrub and rinse. 

24. Polish silverware with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rub, rinse and dry. 

25. For silver pieces without raised patterns or cemented-on handles: place the silver on aluminum foil in an enamel pot. Add boiling water and 4 tbsp. baking soda. Let stand, rinse and dry. 

26. Reduce odor build-up in your dishwasher by sprinkling some soda on the bottom. 

27. Run your dishwasher through its cycle with soda in it instead of soap to give it a good cleaning. 

28. To remove burned-on food from a pan: let the pan soak in soda and water for 10 minutes before washing. Or scrub the pot with dry soda and a moist scouring pad. 

29. For a badly-burned pan with a thick layer of burned-on food: pour a thick layer of soda directly onto the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean next day. 

30. Rub stainless steel and chrome with a moist cloth and dry baking soda to shine it up. Rinse and dry. On stainless steel, scrub in the direction of the grain. 

31. Clean plastic, porcelain and glass with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rinse and dry. 

32. Remove that bad smell from ashtrays with soda and water. 

33. Sprinkle a bit of dry soda in your ashtrays to prevent smoldering and reduce odor. 

34. Clean your bathroom with dry soda on a moist sponge - sink, tub, tiles, shower stall, etc. 

35. Keep your drains clean and free-flowing by putting 4 tablespoons of soda in them each week. Flush the soda down with hot water. 

36. Soak your shower curtains in water and soda to clean them. 

37. To remove strong odors from your hands, wet your hands and rub them hard with soda, then rinse. 

38. Sprinkle baking soda on your wet toothbrush and brush your teeth and dentures with it. 

39. Sprinkle soda in tennis shoes, socks, boots and slippers to eliminate odor. 

40. Add 1/2 cups or more of baking soda to your bath water to soften your skin. 

41. Putting 2 tbsp. of baking soda in your baby's bath water will help relieve diaper rash irritations. 

42. Apply soda directly to insect bites, rashes and poison ivy to relieve discomfort. Make a paste with water. 

43. Take a soda bath to relieve general skin irritations such as measles and chicken pox. 

44. Take 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 glass of water to relieve acid indigestion or heartburn. 

45. Gargle with 1/2 tsp. baking soda in 1/2 glass of water. Freshens and cleans your mouth. 

46. Used as a mouthwash, baking soda will also relieve canker sore pain. 

47. To relieve sunburn: use a paste of baking soda and water. 

48. Bug bites: use a poultice of baking soda and vinegar. 

49. Bee sting: use a poultice of baking soda and water. 

50. Windburns: moisten some baking soda and apply directly. 

51. Making Play Clay with baking soda: combine 1 1/4 cups water, 2 cups soda, 1 cup cornstarch. 

52. Use soda as an underarm deodorant. 

53. If your baby spits up on his shirt after feeding, moisten a cloth, dip it in baking soda and dab at the dribbled shirt. The odor will go away. 

54. When scalding a chicken, add 1 tsp. of soda to the boiling water. The feathers will come off easier and flesh will be clean and white. 

55. Repel rain from windshield. Put gobs of baking soda on a dampened cloth and wipe windows inside and out. 

56. Add to water to soak dried beans to make them more digestible. 

57. Add to water to remove the "gamey" taste from wild game. 

58. Use to sweeten sour dishcloths. 

59. Use dry with a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean. 

60. Use to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from toaster. Dampen cloth and make a mild abrasive with baking soda.

    Author: Harry Godwin
Date: 1/15/1999