Archive for Uncategorized

Gifting a Cell Phone

The new models of cell phones have been out only a short while, and you HAVE TO have one! When you buy one, remember that all CA (and some other states) cell phone companies are required to take back the old ones.  Some manufacturers take back phones, iPods, and similar devices and give coupons for new ones.  If you give an electronic gizmo to a charity, call first to be sure they want it.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. For a description of the book go to My Free Books).

Friday Fun Fact: Your Nose Knows Who it Is

Here’s something to think about the next time you board a bus, train, or plane on a hot summer’s day: 2% of humans have a gene that lets them produce non-smelly sweat.

Why do I always catch the wrong bus?!

Image of disgusted handsome man in winter sweater, rejecting something with bad smell, shut nose and raising hand to decline, standing over red background. Free Photo

OK To Criticize … IF

Today’s Thursday Thought quote offers some wisdom from our 16th President:

“He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help.” – Abraham Lincoln

An Idea for this Season

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent for Christians. But my post is for everyone, not just Christians and others of faith. Please think about this.

Pope Francis offered this simple Lenten reflection: “A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”  Almost every day, if we watch for it, we can find a situation in which we can offer “a little bit of mercy.”  Simply put, mercy is showing compassion or forgiveness.  Can you forgive the person whose unthinking remark insulted or hurt you; or their selfishness when they jumped ahead and took the parking space you were waiting for; or your co-worker who took credit for your idea; or your spouse for forgetting an event very important to you?   Can you show compassion by letting a frail elderly woman go ahead of you in the check-out line; or offering to babysit so that exhausted parents can go out to dinner by themselves; or helping a live-alone neighbor clean up their yard that has been ruined by a harsh winter?  God gives us ample opportunity to do His merciful work, and Lent is the perfect time to practice mercy toward those around us, starting a habit that can “make the world less cold and more just.”

Easing Our Kids’ Fears

In this media-drenched world, it’s hard to keep our kids from hearing about, even seeing videos of, the war in Ukraine, with kids their age being killed and maimed. We parents can’t pretend it isn’t happening. We must talk to them about it. Why? And how to go about it with different ages? How to talk to children about the invasion of Ukraine, and why those conversations are importantnt is an excellent guide.

Stop Washing Dishes!

Yes, you SHOULD use your dishwasher. It uses less water than hand-washing (save 20 gallons a day). But–and here’s where most people make a big mistake–DO NOT pre-rinse those dishes. Tests show that pre-rinsing is not necessary with modern machines and wastes 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Just scrape off the chunks and place the dishes in the washer. Of course, you’ll also do only full loads, use the lightest setting to do the job, and open the door to let the dishes air-dry rather than wasting electricity on the drying cycle.

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[For more easy, money-saving, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. For a description of the book go to My Free Books).

Thursday on Friday

I didn’t offer a Thursday Thought quote yesterday because I was stunned and appalled by Putin (against popular will of the Russian people) started a war by invading Ukraine. So today I offer you one that seems timely:

 “We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.” –Jimmy Carter

The Power of One Person

I hear it so often: I wish I could do something to make things better in my city/state/country/world, but a single person alone can’t make any difference. If that were true, the safety and peace of our world right now would NOT be in the hands of a single man–Putin.

Sushi Rip-off

Before you pay those hefty prices for that tasty sushi, consider what was reported by Oceana, an international organization that focuses on ocean conservation.   They went to 21 states and did DNA testing on 1,215 samples of fish from stores, restaurants, and fish markets.  A third of the labels or menu descriptions did NOT match the fish that consumers bought.  Sushi bars were the worst culprits, with their seafood mislabeled 74% of the time.  Buyer beware!

Why, Why, Why…A Lighthearted Questioning of Ourselves

Here are some not-so-earth-shaking questions that prove that human beings are perhaps not as logical as we’d like to think we are.  [Thanks–I think–to Linda Younts for sending me this.]

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Why do banks charge a fee due to insufficient funds when they already know you’re broke?

Why is it that when someone tells you that there are one billion stars in the universe, you believe them but, if they tell you there is wet paint, you have to touch it to check?

Why do they use sterilized needles for lethal injections?

Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose cruel idea was it to put an “s” in the word “lisp”?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that, no matter what color bubble bath you use, the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people run over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the first end you try?

How do those dead bugs get into enclosed light fixtures?

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that’s falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

Why, in winter, do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?