The "Step-Down Principle"

The University of Idaho extension educators write articles for our weekly newspaper. They are always very interesting. The county agent, Stuart Parkinson, writes articles on gardening & farming. The home economist, Laura Sant, writes articles on cooking, diet & home.

In June, one of Laura's article was on saving money by using a "step-down principle." The example she used was that you could go buy 3 pancakes at IHOP for approximately $5 or you could take a step down & buy pancakes from McDonald's or you could buy premium frozen waffles or store-brand frozen waffles. Each alternative was a step-down & you'd save money.

This was an interesting concept to me. I've been wondering how I could save money since I shop the DI or clearance racks & buy store brands to begin with.

I also subscribe to a newsletter called "Everyday Cheapskate." I don't read them every day & they pile up in the folder called "Cheapsk8" in one of my email accounts.

Tonight, I've spent a couple of hours just reading & enjoying the things I've read. It's a nice break from the book I'm reading about bipolar.

So, I found an antibacterial solution in the Nov. 24 issue of Everyday Cheapskate entitled, "Don't Poison the Family on Thanksgiving" & I thought, "Hmmm, if I leave this here, I'll never find it again." I immediately thought of copying the paragraph here, but wondered if that would be copyright infringement & saw this little sentence at the bottom:

Copyright © 2008 Mary Hunt. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint required.

So, yes, it would be copyright infringement if I copied the whole paragraph. But if I write about it, is that copyright infringement?

To make the solution, take 1 gallon of cool water plus 1 TEASPOON liquid bleach. I looked at it again, just to be sure that it didn't say tablespoon or cup or anything like that, but no, it says teaspoon. It also says to measure carefully. Ok, so I'm not the most careful measurer. It also says LIQUID bleach. I don't like to use liquid bleach. I have holes in clothes & also some towels that were once a pretty color & are now some ghastly shade. The newsletter claims that this solution will not harm wood, paint, marble or fabric. However, the newsletter does not tell me how to store it.

Now, I'm a great believer in 409. I love 409. Is this a step down from 409? Does 409 harm wood, paint, marble or fabric? Will the weak bleach solution clean as well as 409? I guess the only way to find out is to try it.

The hand of God

In my reading today I came across this, "... how I've seen the hand of God in my life that day." I realized that is what I've been trying to do, not how I've been led, but how I've seen the hand of God.

In the grocery store a week ago Wednesday night I ran into Rex Pitcher, a prominent businessman in town that lives in our ward, while I was in the frozen food aisle getting some frozen pizza for supper. I haven't seen him for a long time. Anyway, he owns a plastic processing plant. He said he had some vinyl siding to offer us. The only thing he wanted is that we come out & look at it right away & move it off his property. We can have it. No charge!!! He doesn't know if it will match our existing siding or not. But to come look at it. I was so excited I would've gone right then. In fact, I had to contain myself not to call Don right then. I told Rex that Don-Mike & I could go out the next day. He said, no, he was going to be out of town. Friday or Saturday would be soon enough.

Nick & Eddie wanted pizza & I couldn't afford take out from the local pizza parlor - any of them. I said I'd buy them frozen pizza & garlic bread. I may have told Rex that. I know I did tell him we were waiting for Don's mom's house to sell.

Don-Mike said we could go out first thing Friday morning. It will have to be first thing. I work Friday.

They got enough siding to do our entire house & it looks nice, they've started putting it up. They got enough for our old garage & shed. Woo hoo!!

Freecycle.com

I have discovered freecycle.com. We have a chapter here in Cache Valley. So far, I've netted a garbage sack full of kids' coats, hats & mittens. I've also spoken for 2 sets of sliding closet doors. I don't know if we can use them or not, but we'll get them & see. We just have to get a pickup to Logan to pick them up. I'm hoping we can do that tomorrow.

The Kiwanis Club is having a Coats for Kids drive. As far as I know, this is the first time they've done it. I saw a boys coat offered in Clarkston on the Utah-Idaho Freecycle group. I jumped at it. We emailed back & forth & I told her what they were for. So, she dug a little deeper & came up with the garbage sack full. I dropped those off today. Sandra Tondini, the person collecting the coats, said that she has had several garbage fulls all day today. Her pickup cab is full. I think they have a twin cab. I'm so thrilled that they are getting such a good response & that I helped contribute. She also said that the clothing will be taken down to a dry cleaners & will be cleaned & mended if needed.

I hope they do it again next year. If I had all year to work on it, I could knit or crochet some hats & scarves. I remember doing some mittens for my kids & myself. They were huge & didn't fit very well. I'd like to start knitting again. I started reading Debbie Macomber's series about Blossom Street & love the knitting patterns she's given in each book. I remember knitting used to calm me. Which reminds me, I signed up for an online stress relief course through Don's insurance & the new class is posted each Wednesday. I wonder if I did last week's homework.

Stress is one of my big health concerns. Mother asked me not too long ago what I had to be stressed about.

One of the things I've started doing again is keeping ONE list & not little lists strewn all over. Another reminder, I left it out in the car!!

More about Mufasa

Mufasa finally seems to have settled down a little. Today he finally got fed in the daylight. I hate working until 6 p.m., & coming home in the dark. After Mufasa knocked me flat & I bumped my head so hard, I haven't dared go down by myself to feed him. I'm going to have to start doing it before work.

Today, I got home from Logan & my foray into Christmas shopping & it was still daylight, so Don & I went down to feed & care for him. His kennel needed cleaning out. I got the rake & was raking it up, while Don was holding Mufasa. I commented to Don that it looked like a horse stall. Don commented that he was as big a small horse.

I took one of the sleeping bags that Don & Don-Mike were going to throw away & put that in the corner where he sleeps.

He has been knocking his food bowl over & hasn't been eating his dog food. I bought the brand that Lynette told me to buy, it just wasn't chicken & rice, it was lamb & something. So, when I needed to buy more food, Wal-Mart still didn't have the chicken in that brand. They had more lamb, but I've been worried that he isn't eating. I bought Purina One in the chicken & rice. He gobbles it right up. I know it's not what she wants him fed, but I'm not about to drive to Brigham, just to see if they have the chicken in that brand.

NIck's Christmas present

This is a picture of Nick's Christmas present, a 1951 Willey Jeep pickup. Nick took them with his cell phone.

Don-Mike & Nick picked it up in Farmington (Utah) on Tuesday for $100. The pickup they had taken to haul it back with didn't do well with the added weight. They were only going 35 mph on the freeway. Don-Mike said he did get it up to 45 mph.

Don-Mike had thought of going out to Jim & Donna's near Tremonton (Utah) & parking the trailer there, going on home & getting another pickup. I suggested Loraine Selman's place. Chris & Loraine are right off the freeway in Elwood, near Tremonton.

So, after much debate, it was decided to leave it there. I met them at Loraine's & Nick drove my car home to Preston & Don-Mike & I came on home in the diesel pickup.

We are grateful to Chris & Loraine for graciously allowing us to park the trailer & pickup on their property.

Fire at Big J's

If you live in the Preston area, you know that Big J's was gutted in a fire the first part of October. If you don't live in the area, you may be surprised to hear it. I found a really cool blog called Preston Idaho Digital News. It is one I follow. They have some pictures of the Big J's fire on their blog. I have included that link here. I have mentioned it in passing, but never specifically said, "Big J's burned."

Don-Mikel is an employee of Big J's. Bob & Nancy Egbert, the owners of Big J's & Pizza Villa in Preston & Richmond, Utah, were so well insured that their employees' payroll is covered by their insurance. If the employee does not get another job, their salary is paid by the insurance.

Front door in front room

About 2 weeks ago, Saturday, Nov. 22, to be exact, I made an entry about the front room remodel. A couple of the points were:

• Move door to south corner of room, approximately over heat vent, 36” wide door, like back door.
• Move heat vent from present location to under new window.

But a friend posted a picture of her front door & when I showed Don, he said that's what he wants to do with the door in the front room. The door in the picture is just like the door we installed for the addition. I really like it.

I obtained permission to post the picture here so we have a visual reminder of what we want to do. Hold the control key down & click on the picture, it will open into a new window & is greatly enlarged. Notice the heat vent is just to the right side of the door, under the window. We may be able to do that here & not have to move the heat vent or if we do, it will just be a few inches & not a few feet. The door is in the corner too. That's where I want the door here. In the corner & not in the middle of the room. Almost every house I've ever lived in has had the door against a wall, not opening in the middle of the wall.

With the door in the corner of the room, the traffic is directed along the wall & not right through the middle of the room. I love the hardwood floors, but that's not going to happen here. It will be carpet, at least in Mother's part of the house.