If you’ve found that your garden hose hand-held nozzles or your lawn sprinklers have gotten clogged and you’ve tried everything, maybe this will help.

We have well water with a high iron content so we wind up with sediment now and then which doesn’t cause a problem as long as you detach your faucet screens now and then and let it out as well as some alterations to laundry (can’t use bleach because it turns brown). 

SO…I had gone out this past spring and I bought all new hand squirters and I vowed to take care of these ones <as opposed to…?> and they were already really clogged when I went out yesterday to take care of the gardens!

I’ve used CLR and other products that claim to remove hard-water and rust and all that before and found that most of them really don’t do what they say they’ll do!! <surprise!> Suddenly, it dawned on me that every time that I clean the drains, it also removes any rusty colored stuff from whatever it touches!  So, I poured a very small amount of drain cleaner on the nozzle and used a utility brush to make sure that it got into the holes and rinsed it off and now it’s like brand new, once again!
(Please be careful of the fumes though…thank you!)

In this day and age where every dollar counts, it’s best to fix and take care of what we have rather.  I do believe that many manufacturers have caught on that making things that last doesn’t fill the pocket so they make thing that they’re sure will break down the day after it’s 2 year warranty!! 
SO…If this helps anyone, that is cool…

Bummer

I ordered a few perennial grasses from the Michigan Bulb Company to fill the gardens that I used to tend to like crazy but are too laborious for me now.  I received everything I ordered in good shape except for the Zebra grass.  I planted it anyway not really knowing if that’s how they are when you plant them (like a bulb) but it was obvious in a few days that I was waiting for something that is dead to grow!  I’m a very patient gardener but also realistic.  I once transplanted a Red Maple sapling and it looked like a dead stick with garden fence around it for about 2 years…it’s now almost 3 feet tall! 

So, I emailed them simply asking what to do I do if one of my plants didn’t make it and I received the automated email confirming their receipt of my email.  I didn’t hear from them for about a week and a half and then I got up this morning and there was an email that a new Zebra plant has been shipped to me Free Of Charge!!

Michigan Bulb Company’s Risk-Free Lifetime Guarantee

If you’re not happy with any item you order from us, notify us anytime for a full refund or replacement, whichever you prefer.
What’s more, any item that does not grow and flourish to your complete satisfaction will be replaced free–with no time limit–for as long as you garden.

I did not know that!!
Michigan Bulb Company  gets  2 thumbs up in my book!

What with gas prices hitting $4 and possibly reaching $5 by the summer, shopping online is a better bargain from my point of view. 

I just bought about $25 worth of perennials from the Michigan Bulb Company and the shipping was only $2.50!  That’s way less than a gallon of gas and Wal-Mart had nothing I wanted and some other garden shops cost an arm and a leg for what cost them 50 cents!  And it’s so nice to see the UPS guy (or gal) walking up to the door with packages!  <sigh  I love UPS>

I’ve always been an on-line shopper because I get deep discounts by shopping around but only shop at safe sites with a reputation to uphold!  It’s way better than going out looking for what you want!  You know right off the bat if they carry your size <stores never have size 4> or if it’s out of stock.  There is no wandering around aimlessly.  And chances are that if you walk into a store with only 2 items on your list, you’ll most likely walk out with at least 4!! 

So, on-line shopping is the way to go for me when it comes to many things.  Some people even buy their groceries and have them delivered but I’m not to that point…yet!

I have been searching for the secret to having streak-free windows for years now, obviously not finding it until now!

I switched a while ago to “Invisible Glass” made by the Stoner Company  which I found in the Automotive department at Wal-Mart.  It works really good…better than others I think but my bay window was always left streaky…clean as hell but still streaky!  Of course it is also the most used window in the house!  <yes, I tried newspaper, vinegar, etc. thank you> And, it’s always at the end of the day when the sun comes to the west of the house that I notice the streaks, long after I finished cleaning! 

While I was at a dollar store a few weeks ago I impulsively threw a small rubber scraper into my basket.  It’s like the regular squeegees but without the sponge side?  Anyway, it was pretty…white and torquise and I couldn’t resist .  So yesterday I cleaned the windows using the Invisible Glass/Squeegee combo and lo and behold!  As the sun set last night there were no streaks!!!  Plenty of new nose prints but no streaks!

They form a straight line that leads right to it!

I found a few ants so I went out and bought some ant bait traps.  The thing is…it’s filled with bait which means that if you only had a few initially, once you put this contraption out, they’ll ALL want to come to your feast!!

I don’t know why I don’t have any ill feelings when I kill an ant either.  It’s not like when I have witnessed the death of other undomesticated animals … and that’s all you need to know.  And I was the kid with the magnifying glass or other torture methods that plague the ant community.  Hair spray makes them go real slow… Of course if you live down south you are familiar with the fire ant (which I’m sure live other places than down south but that’s all I can speak for first-hand) and if you are familiar with the fire ant, you know what pleasure comes from bringing those bastards down!!!  It becomes all-out war when those suckers have chomped at your feet and left behind a venom that will make grown men cry…well, some of them anyway.

Please no hate mail from ant lovers or men who cry…I love ants too but only at picnics…when they come to my house they’ve gone too far and men who cry?  I don’t know… 

I wonder if their size (the ants size, not the crying men)  is an indication of how much they do or do not feel ?
I imagine their screams are pretty loud but I don’t know…I always sneak up from behind and they never see me coming!

I’m really hooked on buying the frozen veggies rather than canned mostly because they say the benefits sometimes gets lost in the processing, but because they taste SO MUCH BETTER!!

Anyway…I see that they’re advertising “special steaming bags” probably at an escalated price for it’s ingenuity when in reality, you have probably have steam bags right next to you tin foil.

All you need to do is pop your veggies in a Zip-Loc type bag that you already have and add a dash of water.  Seal it shut and cut 2 or 3 small holes in the top and microwave!!   Make sure to place whatever it is in a microwave safe plate because it will be hot!  You can season your veggies before or after steaming.

Less money!
Less time!
Less Clean-up!
Healthier veggies!

What more can I say except if you’re trying to make ends meet, don’t fall for gimmicks.  Instead, use your head.