How to Get Cut Roses to Last Longer

Posted by Grandma Jeanne on July 1, 2009

My husband often buys me red roses like the ones I had when we got married in 1966. They still are my favorite flowers, but they don’t last very long.

I saw the following info in a magazine and plan to use it the next time I get roses. Hopefully it will help the roses stay pretty for a longer time.

1. Wrap the flowers in brown wrapping paper to protect them.
2. With a knife, cut approximately 1/4 inch off the stems.
3. Place them in 1 inch of boiling water.
4. Leave the roses in the water until the water is lukewarm.
5. Cut about 1/4 inch off the stems.
6. Transfer the roses to a vase filled with cool water.

Coffee Filters – 15 New Uses

Posted by Grandma Jeanne on June 24, 2009

I got this as an email, and I thought I would share this with all of you. Lots of new uses for coffee filters. I plan to use many of them!

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they’ll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect china. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks up all the grease.
14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great “razor nick fixers.”
15. Put spices in a filter tie with a string for making sauces. Throw out when done.

Using WD-40 Around the House

Posted by Grandma Jeanne on May 1, 2009

I received the following email this week from a cousin of mine who lives in Minnesota. It has a lot of good information in it, so I will share it with all of you.

Before you read to the end, does anybody know what the main ingredient of WD-40 is?

I had a neighbor who had bought a new pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray painted red all around the sides of this beige truck (for some unknown reason).

I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news. He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do – probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open.

Another neighbor came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his paint job that was on the truck.

I’m impressed! WD-40 who knew? ‘Water Displacement #40′.  The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts. WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a ‘water displacement’ compound. They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40.

The Convair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas missile parts. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you. When you read the ’shower door’ part, try it. It’s the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door. If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass. It’s a miracle! Then try it on your stove top … Voila! It’s now shinier than it’s ever been. You’ll be amazed.

Here are some other uses. The items marked with an * are uses recommended by the company:

1. Protects silver from tarnishing*
2. Removes road tar and grime from cars.*
3. Cleans and lubricates guitar strings.
4. Gives floors that ‘just-waxed’ sheen without making them slippery.
5. Keeps flies off cows.
6. Restores and cleans chalkboards.
7. Removes lipstick stains.
8. Loosens stubborn zippers.*
9. Untangles jewelry chains.*
10. Removes stains from stainless steel sinks.
11. Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill.
12. Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing.*
13. Removes tomato stains from clothing.
14. Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots.
15. Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors.
16. Keeps scissors working smoothly.*
17. Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes.*
18. It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn’t seem to harm the finish and you won’t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.
19. Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!
20. Gives a children’s playground gym slide a shine for a super fast slide.
21. Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.*
22. Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises.*
23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open.*
24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close.*
25. Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.
26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles.*
27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans.*
28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.*
29. Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly.
30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools.*
31. Removes splattered grease on stove.
32. Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging.
33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs.*
34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell).*
35. Removes all traces of duct tape.*
36. Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.
37. Florida ’s favorite use is: cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.*
38. The favorite use in the state of New York , WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.
39. WD-40 attracts fish. Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time. Also, it’s a lot cheaper than the chemical attractants that are made for just that purpose. Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.
40. Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.
41. WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.
42. Also, if you’ve discovered that your teenage daughter has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and rewash. Presto! The lipstick is gone!
43. If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.*
44. It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It doesn’t seem to harm the finish, and you won’t have to scrub nearly as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows if you have a lot of marks.*
45. Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40.*

P.S. WD-40 is highly flammable, so please be careful where you use it!
P.S.S. WD-40 is primarily petroleum based, not made from fish oil as many believe.

Amazingly Simple Home Remedies (That Really Work!)

Posted by Grandma Jeanne on April 3, 2009

• Avoid cutting yourself when slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold the vegetables while you slice.
• Avoid arguments with the females about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
• For high blood pressure sufferers ~ simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes thus reducing the pressure on your veins. Remember to use a timer.
• A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
• If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives. Then you’ll be afraid to cough.
• You only need two tools in life – wd-40 and duct tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the wd-40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.
• If you can’t fix it with a hammer, you’ve got an electrical problem.

Vicks VapoRub Recipe for Coughing

Posted by Grandma Jeanne on November 30, 2008

I got this the other day in my email. It sounds like a perfect post at this time of the year. Let’s know if it works for you!

During a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can ‘taste’ it.

Some of us have used Vicks VapoRub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I’ve never heard of this. And don’t laugh, it works 100% of the time, although the scientists who discovered it aren’t sure why. To stop night-time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks VapoRub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children
than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition, it is extremely soothing and comforting, and they will sleep soundly.

Just happened to tune in A.M. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good, due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so, I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly.

My wife tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it.

If you have grandchildren, pass this on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed at how it works.

Don’t shun this one.. Try it the next time you get a bad cold.