Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tips and Tidbits

If Out of Confectioner's Sugar ~ Here's how to save a trip to the store of you run out.  Put granulated sugar in your blender.  Blend at top speed and you will have powdered sugar!

How to Test the Freshness of Baking Soda and Baking Powder ~
       To test baking soda, put 1/4 tsp. of baking soda into 2 tsp. white vinegar.  If it fizzes, it is fresh! 
       To test baking powder, put 1 tsp. of baking powder into 1/3 cup of boiling water.  It it fizzes, it's fresh.  If not, toss it!

Clean Corn Silks Away by using a thick rubber band!  Twist the rubberband, hook over forefinger and thumb, spread your fingers apart and wipe away the silks with a downward motion, while griping the husked ear of corn with the other hand.  This was shown by a guest on Rachael Ray's cooking show. ~ Thanks to Elinor Wright in Virginia for sharing this tip!

Steamer to the Rescue ~ My electric can opener was sluggish, in that the knob used to insert the can under the blade was difficult to move.  I used my hand-held steamer on the can opener and presto!  All the goo or gunk that was inside, keeping the knob from turning easily, came oozing out and it works like a charm again!

How to Find Water Leaks in Your Home ~ Our water bills were higher than normal, so my husband and I set out to find the problem.  After he thought he heard water running somewhere in the house, he used the "stick to the ear" trick, by touching a stick to a water pipe in the house and putting it to his ear, like a stethoscope.  Next my husband made sure all the water faucets and toilets were turned off, one by one, while I held the stick touching the water pipe to my ear, until we found the one that was leaking.  It was one of the toilets and after he replaced the float and valve assembly, the problem was solved, saving future high water bills. So if your water bills increase unexpectedly, try this.

Basket of Country Style Balls as a Decoration ~ Cut 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide fabric of country plaids and stripes into long strips.  Using several sizes of wooden or Styrofoam balls, wrap a strip of fabric around a ball, securing with white glue as you go until it is completely covered.  Use a variation of fabrics.  Put them into a rustic looking basket to set on a coffee table or end table. ~ Thanks to my daughter-in-law, Emily Breneman in Virginia for teaching me how to do this fun project!


More Information on Broken Crayons ~ In the last newsletter you mentioned broken crayons..we take ours and use muffin tins to put the pieces in..bake at 300 F. until melted and then allow to harden..these are great for little hands that love chunky crayons! ~ Lynne Wight in Maine
         Wanted to tell you we used a muffin tin and those foil muffin liners to "bake" broken crayons. Katherine and Luke loved them! They were great for regular coloring, but what we loved the most was using them to make rubbings. I taught children's Sunday school then and brought home a big container of broken crayons and made a slew of these for my class.  Big hit! ~ Barb Campbell in Mississippi 

For Immediate Hire
: Activities Director, housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, CEO, psychologist, computer operator, facilities manager. Please note that all titles have to be fulfilled by one person, and your compensation is being appreciated by your husband, and, once in a while, a "thank you" from your children. ~ Author unknown ~ Thanks to Diane Fenlason, a busy mom of four in Montana for this contribution!  I'm sure all of you Mamas out there can relate to this one!  Don't ever forget what a valuable "employee" you are, ladies!  Your wages will come later and have eternal dividends!

Photo Technology ~ Jalisa Wenger in Pennsylvania shares this information:
      If you have film negatives, did you know that CVS puts them on CD for a decent price? Then you can easily order reprints or view the pictures on a computer? Walmart does it too but their quality was awful. Lee’s Camera will do it as well but their price is awful (if you have a lot to do)!! CVS did it for my sister-in -law for $3.40 and the pictures looked good when I viewed them on our computer.
      I enjoy mail time this time of year!  Getting photos from family and friends is a highlight!  Some photos and letters come by email and are welcome as well.  I decided to try developing a photo that came by email and although the quality wasn't top notch, it worked amazingly well.  I just saved the attachment, then inserted a memory stick (or camera card) into the correct slot.  Then go into "My Documents" where it was saved and right click on the picture and go to "Send to" and click the appropriate destination for it.  Then you can take the memory stick and develop it wherever you develop digital photos! (You could also burn the picture to a CD to take it to be developed.)

Spelling Is Important! ~ Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. If you can raed tihs, psot it to yuor wlal. Olny 55% of plepoe can. ~ Thanks to Lori Staley in Ohio and Nancy Marlow in Pennsylvania for this one!

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