Great idea Linda. I have a hook type lawn tool in the garage, that I use the same thing. I am not sure what the tool is called, but I know it is used for weeding...I think. LOL

Here is a Kitchen tip for today. Make sure lid is on Sugar cannister before picking up by lid when making cake. I have got a mess on my floor but the Blueberry Cream Cheese Bundt cake is in the oven.

I keep a gripper out in my condo, to help me reach high things in my kitchen, etc.
Also use it to pull the pulls on my ceiling fans. I'm short :o)

Hi Mscsipper,

I've often said that it's a poor day in which one doesn't learn something.

It looks as though the lady at Goodwill learned something useful on the day of your visit.

I hope that you did, as well.

Tit for tat is fair, isn't it?

ole joyful

This was on the site Moni get some of her daily tips from.
Leslie

Ever since my husbands doctor suggested avocados to promote good health, weÂve been on an avocado kick. We live in California where avocados grow in abundance (95 percent of the worldÂs supply is grown here) so that makes it quite easy for us to comply with the doctorÂs orders.

But hereÂs the problem: When avocados are ripe, they need to be consumed immediately. An overripe avocado is not a lovely thing. And since I am not one to visit the supermarket every day, this means we can have a bag of rock-hard avocados on Monday, the same on Tuesday and the entire lot ready to be eaten on Wednesday. I hate it when that happens!

IÂve picked up a lot of myths about avocados over the yearsÂwho knows where they came from. I had always thought you should never refrigerate avocados or try to freeze them. But recently I put those and other myths to rest with a little experimenting of my own, and IÂm anxious to tell you what IÂve learned:

SEED. Start by cutting the avocado lengthwise around the seed. Then cup it between palms of your hands and gently twist the halves apart. Now whack the seed with the sharp edge of knife so it is slightly embedded in the seed. Turn gently and the seed will lift out easily.

PEEL. Avocados are easy to peel when ripe. Place one half of the avocado cut side down and remove the skin with a knife or your fingers (start at the small end). You can also simply scoop out the avocado meat with a spoon. Sprinkle lemon or lime juice over peeled avocados to prevent discoloring.

RIPEN. To ripen avocados slowly, put them in the fruit bin of your refrigerator (do not mix with apples). Avocados can be kept for up to two weeks this way. They will ripen very slowly, so when you take them out of the refrigerator they will be ready to eat in a couple of days. To ripen an avocado faster, place it in a brown paper bag and set in your oven with only the oven light on. Once avocados are at a desired stage of ripeness, they may be refrigerated for two to three days.

FREEZE. To freeze, mash the avocados with a fork. Add one teaspoon lime or lemon juice per avocado and mix well. The best way to freeze the prepared mashed avocados is to use a freezer-strength zip-type bag. Fill the bag with the mashed avocado. Remove the air from the bag, zip closed and freeze. To thaw, put in the refrigerator, or place the bag in a bowl of cool water to accelerate thawing.

DIETING. Contrary to popular belief, avocados can be a helpful part of a successful weight-management program. An avocadoÂs monounsaturated fat speeds up the basal metabolic rate, as compared with saturated fat. Its high fat content gives a quicker feeling of satiation ("fullness"), thus helping to reduce overeating. Its high fat content makes an overall sound diet more palatable, reducing the temptation to binge on foods high in sugars or saturated fats.

When I had my pickup I took one of those hooks for hanging bicycles with and screwed it into the end of an old broom handle. Great little grabber and it would lie flat on the base/lip of the topper that sits on the truck so it was always available and not buried under stuff. In the garage, I took another broom handle, drilled a hole close to the end of the pole, put a 6" threaded rod through it so it stuck out 90° from the pole and use it in the garage to hang things from the rafters. Great for hanging up the small coolers, water jugs and all reasonably lightweight things and you can even reach over a vehicle or other stuff with it. I also use it now to reach the bird feeders hanging from the eaves on the house. Sure beats dragging out a ladder!

For the sugar container... I'll share a couple...
First my sister's episode. She went to pick up some things for an elderly friend of hers and was bringing it to her apartment for her friend. Her friend told her to be there at a certain time and they'd have breakfast together (senior apartment and they were having a pancake breakfast) and she made arrangements to have a special breakfast made for my sister because she's got celiac. When sis arrived, she pushed the button to open the trunk, heard the usual click, got out and the trunk wouldn't open. Tried it again, nothing. Tried the remote control on the keyring (these people with their fancy-schmancy cars...) nope. OK, she'd flip the back seat down and grab the stuff from there. Well she had latched the seat in the trunk so it wouldn't open from inside. Went and called the dealer and they said "did you try the manual release on the floor?" Oops, hadn't thought of that. Went out, tried it, nope. Called them back. They asked if it was giving resistance or not. It wasn't. Called the dealer and they said, well that's all they can do over the phone - it'll have to come in. So she went in and told her friend she couldn't get the stuff and had to go to the dealer and get it fixed. (at this point I had a question for her... but anyway...) on the way out she was walking to the car, stopped and thought, "I may be blonde but what about if I try the KEY????" I asked her why the dealer didn't suggest it? Do I need to say, it opened, she went back in, brought the groceries and had a nice breakfast!

And now my admission... Suffice to say, I give partial blame to one of the cats for knocking over the stand with my phone and answering machine, alarm clock and more. After shouting some choice expletives and both cats running a few feet away from me, I quickly called them and reassured them I wasn't angry with them and they both rubbed against me and got petted a bit. We made peace. So, now calmed down I picked up the base, one of the phones (it's a dual cordless phone & answering machine system) and saw the battery compartment popped open and was easily put back together. Put things back in place and the answering machine worked, I tested it, tried the one phone and it seemed to power on but no dial tone. The other wouldn't come on at all - seemed to have no power. I tested the line by trying to connect with the computer since they're plugged into the same phone line on a splitter. The computer connected. Phone still didn't work. Pulled the battery and reinserted, nope. Tried putting it on the stand to reconnect and tried again. Nope. Then it hit me on the one phone... I had a headset plugged into it! Of course I didn't hear the dial tone when I didn't listen through the headset! DUH, then the other one was a bit of a mystery until I left it on the charger a bit.... Uh, yeah.... battery had gone dead. Double DUH! I decided I'd better sit down and not touch anything for a while... until the stoopidity wore off. But I did have a bit of a chuckle. :)

Grammahony, Thank You for the avocado tips. I bought some at Sam's and they are all getting ripe at the same time. I wondered if they would freeze well or not. This is good to know!

I thought someone had asked about freezing avocados. I was going to say then that I know you can buy frozen guacamole, but I didn't. So, I'm glad I posted this and it'll work for you.
Leslie

Well, I was making a mess with my twice a day swishing with mouthwash, so I bought me a soap dispensar pump, and vaaaaaaaaavoooooooo! Pump for my mouthwash!
Now my bathroom counter looks nice and no sticky mouthwash spills to clean up.

Growing up in northern Arkansas, we always kept a hoe handy...near the kitchen door...near the pump house...by the barn door...etc.

Why? Copperheads. Nasty little pit vipers. Poisonous. They were the number one reason to not leave home without a hoe nearby. A quick chop-chop and the copper's head comes off. Grandma was better, and quicker, than I was at dispatching them, but I could hold my own, too.

A childhood friend of mine spent a frightening weekend in the hospital after being bitten by a copperhead. We were walking down a wooded path in the evening. I apparently stepped on, and tripped over, a copperhead, but it struck and bit her.

I don't know if there's that many copperheads in the area now; it's really grown with more people and houses, but from the earliest childhood we never left the house without the admonition to "Watch out for copperheads."

Another avocado tip.Save the seed (don't wash it off) when making guacamole or dip.Stick it halfway down into the mixture,point up,cover and refrigerate.The seed will keep the avocado from turning dark.