Friday, April 17, 2009
Frugal Veggie Wash
If you are concerned about pesticide residue or bacteria on your fresh fruits and vegetables, try washing them with a mix of white vinegar and water instead of ready-made washes. It much less expensive, non-toxic, environmentally friendly and quite effective.
Mix 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water and put in a spray bottle. Spray your fruits and vegetables with the mixture, then rinse with plain water.
Further Reading: What's the honest-to-goodness best way to wash your produce? at Ideal Bite
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Rest in Peace
This air conditioner served well for 12 years, with a few repairs. Unfortunately, the repairman was unable to revive the compressor for more than 5 minutes this past week. So in about a week, this old thing gets hauled away and replaced with brand new, more efficient system.
How will I live without air conditioning for that long? This air conditioner has been kaput for at least a week already. Probably longer, but it took temperatures in the upper 90s last weekend for me to conclusively decide it was not cooling.
My Heroes
This is the air conditioner that cools the upstairs of my house. This little guy has been a trooper, working overtime to keep the house from being an oven. Hopefully, he'll continue to do so for the rest of the summer.
The upstairs A/C is assisted by 7 ceiling fans, 3 floor fans and occasionally the attic fan. (It's too hot and humid right now to use the attic fan.) The living room is open to the loft area, so the ceiling fans do a wonderful job of pushing cool air downstairs.
I covered my bedroom windows with blankets. My bedroom is downstairs on the west side and soaks in the afternoon sun. The blankets really reduce the heat gain.
All the rooms I spend time in are staying pretty comfortable. Of course comfortable is 80 to 83°F for me.
Eureka - It's Back!
SciFi Channel premiers the first episode of Season 3 of Eureka at 9:00 pm Eastern on Tuesday night, just 2 days away. I'm ready to welcome Sheriff Jack Carter and the gang back to my Tuesday night TV viewing.
To prepare viewers, SciFi ran a Eureka Marathon today, showing 10 episodes from Season 2. Tuesday, beginning at 8 am Eastern, it will air all 13 Season 2 episodes, immediately followed by the debut of Season 3. Summer is about to be a bit more entertaining.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Pets - Cheaper By the Dozen?
Last Saturday, I visited with my (step)sister Susie's family, most of them anyway. A visit to Susie's house requires planning. Otherwise, one or more of my nieces and nephews are likely to either escape or knock you down. Without further ado, here's the gang.
Stevie on her favorite spot on the kitchen counter. Stevie was the first addition to Susie's household, many years ago.
Ruthie and Zoe - the latest and first canine family members. It's rather shocking how grey Zoe has become.
Seven - has grown up and left his puppy attitude behind.
Barclay - still a bit rambunctious, but he has outgrown most of his puppy habits. Lovable when he isn't climbing on you.
Marcel - what a peaceful cat. He stayed close to the action without joining in and positioned himself within reach of the visitors. All the better for getting petted.
Henry - still has a bit of puppy in him after all these years. Henry was my first nephew. He thinks all new family members are his personal playmates.
Trixie - loves to be the center of attention.
Eloise - the newest family member is always in motion. It took a lot of patience to get a picture of her sweet face. She was much more interested in the plant and the fringe on the lamp shade than posing for a portrait.
Rocky and Coco missed the photo shoot. They were roaming the neighborhood as some cats love to do.
Caring for this many pets is not inexpensive by any means, but at least Susie can buy the giant economy sizes. With this many animals to sleep with, she can turn the heat down on those cold winter nights and still keep warm. She is one pet short of an even dozen, but close enough to inspire the title.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Cool is Relative
Drive an air conditioned car into the garage and walk into an 82°F house and the house is warm.
Walk to the mailbox in 90°F heat and go back in the same 82°F house and the house is cool.
Cool is relative.
