Living Green: Rechargeable Batteries

Rechargeable batteries are the ideal way to power most household items. But for flashlights and smoke detectors, some experts recommend single-use batteries because most can sit idle longer. They’re also fine for clocks and remote controls, which use little power. No local battery recycling program? Look for batteries without harmful metals!

Squirrel Snacks

If you have hungry squirrels in your area this time of year, you can treat them to a nourishing cold winter snack. First, help your child use a butter knife to coat the outside of a dried corn (available to gardening and pet supply stores) with peanut butter then roll it into bird seed until it is well coated. Set the treat outside attached to a log or to a tree the squirrels are seen in. Then watch the little guys go crazy once they have discovered their new found treasure.

 

Three Ideas For Raisins

They boost iron and add a sweet touch to dishes. Even more ways to love them:
O Mix in with chicken salad to perk up a sandwich or wrap.
O Put raisins, a pinch of saffron and a sprinkling of cinnamon in cooked rice. Presto: a fragrant side dish.
O A new twist on PB&J: whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and raisins.

 

Heres A Tip

Blend sweet, juicy fruits in a chopper or blender and add to unsweetened plain yogurt for a healthy treat.
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When raking leaves, use this handy-dandy hint: Rake your leaves directly onto a sheet you’ve spread on the ground. Gather up the corners and drag to your compost area.
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Use a paintbrush to dust wicker furniture. It can get into all the nooks and crannies bet­ter than any cloth.
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Shower curtains can be hung inside a regular curtain to insulate from window drafts.
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Unwrapped bars of soap can be used in closets or dresser
drawers as nice-smelling sachets until you’re ready to use them.
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Use pretty photo albums for holding recipes. The recipes will be protected in the kitchen, and these books prop open for viewing better than most books do.
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Electronic items like cam­eras and cell phones come with so many accessory cords these days. Store them in snack-size plastic baggies. Write on a small piece of paper
what the cord is for and then stick that in the bag.
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Use the plastic lids from large coffee cans underneath bottles of cooking oil or syrup in kitchen cabinets.
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To store cast-iron cookware, it must be completely dry. It can still get scratched up, though. Try inserting a paper plate between stacked pans to protect the cooking surface and to absorb any moisture or excess oil.

Words Of Wisdom

“Beware all enterprises that require new clothes.” — Hemy David Thoreau
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“The bird of time has but a little way to flutter — and the bird is on the wing.” — Omar Khayyam
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“It may be the cock that crows, but it is the hen that lays the eggs.” Margaret Thatcher
“If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it from him.” — Benjamin Franklin
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“If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots.” — Napoleon
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“Don’t do things to not die, do things to enjoy living. The byproduct may be not dying.” —
Bernie S. Siegel
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“Human beings are the only creatures on Earth that allow
children to come back home.”
— Bill Cosby
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“The bird, a nest; the spider, a web; man, friendship.” —
William Blake
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“The world belongs to the energetic.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
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“No man ever listened himself out of a job.” — Calvin Coolidge
“Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”
— Herbert Hoover
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“A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” — George Bernard Shaw
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“What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?” — George Catiin
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‘To be rich is not the end, but only a change, of worries.”—Epicurus