Make Tombstones for Spooky Graveyard

One Halloween

For Halloween one year, I decided to make tombstones and have a graveyard in my front yard. There is a link to my directions making tombstones in this post . Well, this is last years post and inside that post is a link to directions with pictures of the work in progress. That was the year  I added a pot with a dead branch and vine to up the creepy factor. Here is a breakdown of what I spent.

I really love Halloween, but I refuse to spend a small fortune to have fun in my yard.
I already have  free candy to hand out.

Your turn
I don't want this post or comments to be about whether anyone thinks Halloween is evil or not. How do you decorate? Do you go all out? Make your own costumes? Or, do you turn off all the lights until the costumed munchkins are gone for the night?

I Give Up

adjusting now

 

I have long prided myself on never using disposable anything!  However, not being able to stand for long, I finally gave in. I bought disposables. My life is a little less painful. Unloading the dishwasher takes me days. Loading it is a one-event push that puts me in bed or lying in my chair trembling with pain.

 

People ask me why I don't just quit cooking so I won't have so many dishes. Then, I would not have pots and pans to deal with or bowls or large spoons or iron skillets or pans. According to some others I should live on cereal, sandwiches, and prepackaged microwave meals.  Believe me, I have acquaintances younger than I who no longer cook, just eat junk.

 

I do use real plates when I eat meals. But, the sandwich, cookies, leftovers, snacks--all get a paper plate. When I feed my hens, I use a dirty paper plate to take their homemade food out to them.

 

This is being designated as a health issue on many fronts.

*less back pain

*less knee pain

*less shoulder pain

*possible to continue to eat healthier foods

*less stress about my lack of capabilities

 

Anyone understanding how hard this was for me to go through the mental gymnastics to start buying these when I am so philosophically opposed? Besides, it costs me more to live each month! It's only about another $7, but it hurts.

 

Why do I use so many? Cracks where window panes are loose allow flies into the house, so if a fly lands on a dish, I either have to wash it or throw away the disposables! I cannot get to the outside of the house up so high to fix it myself. So, I deal with breezes, summer and winter, plus flies and mosquitoes!

 

I refuse to take pain medication. My choice. If I do give in and take pain meds and overdo activities, then I have to deal with numbness, something that indicates more problems for spine and threatens my ability to walk normally or ever after surgery.

 

Okay, my name is Linda and I use disposable plates and plastic cups.

 

Later this week, I will tell you why I am not having surgery since people are emailing me about this.  finally admitted I cannot sew. This is hard. Sewing and intellectual pursuits define me.

 

Your turn

Have you ever used the easy way out because of your health? Next post--parsimony!



Your Right to Resell Your Own Stuff is in Peril

Many people down-size, buy to sell, just buy too much over the years, declutter, or sell their dead parents' belongings. Persons holding yard sales, garage sales, tag sales, church rummage sales may all be breaking the law soon.

If this law is upheld, you may not be able to resell your grandmother's antiques or a CD you bought earlier without suffering the fate of a "law-breaker," your new designation. Will we all be fined or jailed? How will flea markets, antique stores,  used furniture stores fare?

This law not only affects the seller of used items, it also affects those of us who would like to save a buck and buy used items.

Will used items be the new black market? Will Saturday raids round up the sellers in their own front yards?

Your turn
As for me, I will continue to sell as I please. How about you? Have you heard anything about this law?

My Leftover Life and a Puzzle

 

Something I still want to do--tie tshirts into shapes, kept

 

I had exbf bag up things from the sewing room and place them on a table outside. He got maybe 1/50 of what needs to come out for my inspection and disposal or packing away. It is time. So, I am boxing up what I want in order to store it and throwing the rest away, no matter how much I might get from selling it. All this is left from my sewing through the years. For many years I sewed and went to craft shows. I quit selling at cash shows abruptly in 1991 and went back to school. I still sewed all I wore, all things needed in my house and for adult girls and one grandson. So, there is much to sort.

 

 

A friend sells in yard sales and different places. I offered her all I did not want if she would help me. It seems she has suddenly developed a back that is just as bad as mine...yeah. You know the type. Then, I asked another woman who is very strapped for money and sells full-time. She did not show up at 10 am the next morning as she said she would. Either would gladly come by if I actually packed it up for them.  Today has not been too bad since I was rested. I got six trash bags sorted and now have two small boxes that have room for more items.

 

six more tapestry panels for making pillows, kept

I have already made one for each of my three children and one for me.

paid $1 each during a summer sale

 

paper bag pattern drafted for antique child mannequin I dressed 25 years ago,

along with the rest of the pattern--40 pieces, trashed

This mannequin was the one "waving"

 

 

 



 



a dozen or more scarves I never finished, kept
I was making these when I went back to school after a short break--1997

iron on mending and decorating fabric,
kept just for the package

linen jacket, cut out with pattern pieces attached, gone, trashed
no regrets

I have two crocheted collars, prettier than these,

kept patterns

may sell online

1980ish?

 

 

This is my favorite size needle to sew with,

Quilting betweens size 8, only about an inch long

with a tiny eye. kept.

 

I don't quilt, never have. Between the ages of 8 and 12, I won awards for my hand-hemming. At first, I used the larger needle with the larger eye that Mama gave me to use, then I found these. I can still handle this tiny needle. Does anyone know why it is called "betweens?" This package will go in my sewing "container," a round cake-sized tin. I have drawers, shelves, and plastic storage all over the sewing room, but I keep the tin near the sewing machine with all the things I need often, right with me. This was stored in a drawer because my pincushion had several in use in it, kept in the tin if not right on the sewing machine. Needles I bought several weeks ago were somewhere near $3.

 

Pattern for A-line skirt I drafted 30 years ago, kept

 

 

15 yards of 4 inch fringe used for lamp shades, kept

 

gold, looped fringe, about 17 yards still in box on Styrofoam spindle

used for wine bottle holders, kept

seven gold fringe tie-backs in box and not dusty at all

used for wine-bottle holders, kept

 

yellow fringe that I bought on a whim because it was so pretty

my favorite pant pattern, both kept

 

Big Puzzle

 

stickers? kept

 

I can guarantee you that not everything in the sewing room pertained to sewing, but for the life of me, I do not remember any of these stickers. I have a grandson (6) and g-daughter (4) who will love these, doled out at the proper season. There are stickers for Christmas and Easter, summer and fall, plus the stars and "Good Work" type. Do girls who are 11 still like stickers? My grandson who is 17 and a senior is probably not interested. Maybe I got these when he was of the sticker age? At a yard sale?

 

The rest of the story

 

Lots of fabric went to the rag bag. Well, it will go there as soon as it goes through a rinse cycle with vinegar to rid it of the musty smell. Some things were thrown out just because of the mustiness.  For six bags of stuff, I am throwing out one huge bag and have organized the rest into two boxes and replenished the rag bag.  I have no regrets about anything tossed. Maybe you don't think I tossed enough.

 

Your turn

Have you been forced to abandon a room because of structural damage? Would you have tossed some of this?  I am not sure where I will store this! I might have given some of what I kept to the two women who were asked to take it in exchange for help in sorting.  Some of the fringe may be sold later when I can organize a sale. I am giving myself another chance at using them.

 

Do you use tiny needles? Have you ever made animals from t shirts?



 





Butchering and Hanging Meat

Wendy says "It's Time." So, she and her family get the job done. I have many blogs I read, but this is just the most interesting one of all. I am fascinated! She is not a newly, self-minted survivalist. She just does this. And, I suppose I am a blog groupie. Okay, I guess when we "follow," we are all blog groupies.

And, she explains the whole procedure closely enough for me.

Last year, they came upon a still-warm, road-kill bear, and she butchered that, too. That was gross and thrilling. I am sure you can find that post.

Natural, Cheap, Safe Cure for Toenail Fungus

One day in late spring, I noticed a white place on my toenail as I sat in a public place. Hmmm, what could it be? Did I drop yogurt on my toe? I know you are laughing, but it is possible. Did I dribble milk that dried? All things are possible with me due to limited mobility but insistence that I am not limited. I keep doing things I need to do or want to do!

At home I washed  it, examined it best I could, scraped at it, and decided it was not food. TOENAIL FUNGUS?  Ack! How embarrassing. To me it is a sign of really nastiness to have toenail fungus. However, the doctor assures me that is not true. Okay, so not getting rid of toenail fungus is a sign of neglect like rotting teeth? Ack! ....sooo embarrassing!

I grabbed the first thing I saw--a smidgen of leftover vaginal cream for a yeast infection. I smeared it on and the spot was gone later.  The next day the white spot under the toenail was back and larger. The kitchen for a cure occurred to me. I found a pint plastic bottle with an inch of Heinz Apple Cider Vinegar. An old toothbrush was my applicator. Since I had on sandals, I just applied this to my big toe each time I peed. The ACV was labeled "bathroom" and kept with the dedicated toothbrush.

Note: I did not use the unfiltered ACV in the picture. I just used plain ACV.

About three or four days later, I decided that this could spread, so all toenails got a dose of ACV. One day, I was sitting in my chair with feet up and sandals off. Exbf, sitting on the sofa said, "What is all over your toes and down on your foot?" I was horrified because he is never critical of anything, especially my feet? The bottom of my toes were a rusty red with lines running almost to the first arch. As I laughed in relief, I told him it was ACV.

In late July, I visited my obgyn for my yearly checkup and told him about the toenail fungus and my vaginal cream cure. He confirmed it was fungus because I had sandals on and it was evident. When I told him about the cream usage, he laughed and said it would do no good at all. Well, that was sort of humiliating! I added the ACV to my story. He told me to go to a dermatologist, that his wife had to take an anti fungal medicine for three month to cure her toenail fungus.

At home, I continued with the ACV, about a dozen times during the day.  The old ACV and the toothbrush for my toes stayed in a certain place. I put the ACV all around all my toes and under the toenails best I could with the toothbrush, using the bristle to go around each toenail.

Now, the middle of October is about here and there is no sign of the fungus and I have cut off the end of the damaged nail finally free of the nail bed area. I do continue to use the ACV and will for the winter, though not as often. All toenails get their dose.

The normal prescription route is three months. The medicine may or may not kill the liver. One doctor said he would live with toenail fungus rather than subject himself to the anti fungal.

The small bottle will be emptied this week and have another two inches of fresh ACV put in it. The toothbrush will be washed and then put through the dishwasher and labeled with a Sharpie. I am ready to start my winter regimen of toenail treatments!

If you have thickened nails from a very advanced case of toe fungus, you need to file down the thick toenail but not entirely. I hear soaking daily in a foot tub of vinegar helps kill an advanced case. I would reuse the vinegar for at least a week before discarding it. Vinegar is probably less expensive than the antibiotic. You be the judge on the information in this paragraph. It will take months, so don't give up daily or twice daily soaks.

However, damp conditions, not changing damp socks, not letting shoes air out, and other things contribute to toe fungus. Remediate conditions that are conducive to fungal growth.

Your tun
Do you have a toenail fungus? Have you ever taken the anti fungal for toenailss?  Have you ever cured your toenail fungus with ACV?  Do you even keep ACV in your food supply? Used toothbrushes under the bathroom sink?

DIY Solar Lamp

How about making a DIY solar lamp.
Here is an Eco-Friendly Sun Jar.  This looks like something I might like to try.

Ha! With a hurricane and almost certainly tornadoes, also, I should have made this earlier. My solar yard lights that I bought during the electrical outage last year can be used if I need them.

Have you ever made one of these? I just purchased the solar garden lights after the tornado cut off our electricity. At night, I brought them in at night. They were a great comfort to me.

Your turn
Do you ever use solar garden/yard lights for lighting when the lights go out?