Composting - Nature's recycling center!

This week I started a compost pile.  It's very simple, because the rule of thumb is that you can compost about anything that originally started out as a plant!  Of course this includes any yard waste from your garden, in addition to such household waste as shredded paper & cardboard (which of course is produced from tree fiber), tea leaves, and fruit & vegetable scraps.  And p.s. you can also use egg shells!  Which I suppose are a sort of mineral.

Tips: Use half "brown" waste (paper, cardboard, and eggshells) and half "green" waste (everything else) to balance the pile, leave air pockets for breathing, and remember to turn your heap regularly!

I'll let you know what comes out in 6 months!

---------- My Alexa Joke of the day ---------------

Why are farmers so cool ? 

.... because they are outstanding in their field !

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Computer Cable Clutter - Tell us what you do!

Got Computer Cable Clutter?

I think almost everyone with a computer at one time or another has encountered this problem. But until everything can be wireless we have to love with it. Send us some pictures of what yours looks like, and any tips you have for keeping it clean and tidy.

 You might be one luck subscriber who might win an all inclusive trip to Cuba!

----------------------------------------------- My Alexa Joke of the day -------------------------------------------

I was going to tell you a joke about infinity? 

But it did not have an end !

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Microwave Cleaning - An easy chore if you know what to do !

I noticed the inside of my microwave is looking greasy and the top has some exploded food particles -- Yuck!

Time to steam-clean it!

I learned this trick when I went to camp a decade ago.

You're basically going to put our famous vinegar & water mixture in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it up until vinegar-steam forms and absorbs into the gunk on the walls and roof and floor of the microwave.  

But first you may have heard the stories about folks who heat up their coffee or tea too long in the microwave, and it explodes when they take it out?  To avoid that situation, just drop a toothpick in the bowl before heating -- this lets bubbles form on the irregular surface of the toothpick which prevents super-heating.

After heating on High for about 5 minutes, stop and let it cool for a while with the door closed, to let the steam soak in.  Then open the door, remove your bowl with oven gloves, and wipe down the surfaces with paper towels or J-cloths.  You can even dip the cloth in the remaining vinegar-water first for a thorough wash-down.

----------------------------------------------- My Alexa Joke of the day -------------------------------------------

I don't trust people with Graph Papert?

.... They are always plotting something !

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...and now the Kitchen Sink !

My kitchen sink started draining very slowwwwww, so I realized I had poured too much food scraps down over the years while washing dishes!  Time to unclog my drain.

I suppose the first thing to try would be those chemicals like Drano…but those are like acid, aren’t they?  I’d rather not spread all that stuff into the environment – who knows where our drain water ends up!So I’ll try the old-fashioned method of removing the trap under the sink and clean it out.
Make sure to put a bucket underneath first, because remember the trap is always full of water (after all, its purpose is to keep the sewer gas out of the house!)

First find the two large “nuts” on either side of the trap – you’ll need to loosen both of these in order to remove the trap. I don’t have a big pipe wrench like the plumbers, but a friend gave me one of those rubber strap wrenches “As Seen on TV” so I use that for large jobs like this.  Detach one end of the rubber strap, wrap around one of the nuts, and attach back onto the wrench handle.  Tighten it snugly and turn slowly to loosen the nut.  If it doesn’t budge, try the other direction!  Once you can turn it with your hand, loosen it the rest of the way to expose the joint.  Repeat for the other nut.

You may want to don rubber gloves for the next part:

• Now rock the trap a bit from side to side and it should come loose (along with all the trapped water and gunk!)
• Dump the water into the bucket and as much gunk as will come out.
• Now it’s just a matter of taking the trap to another sink (perhaps outside!) and clearing it of debris and rinsing it out clean.  An old toothbrush may come in handy here to loosen caked-on gunk.
• Re-install the trap, tighten the nuts, and you’re good to go!

P.S. I kept a bowl under the trap for a week or two in case of leakage. I'll let you know how it turned out.

----------------------------------------------- My Alexa Joke of the day -------------------------------------------

Why are farmers so cool ? 

.... because they are outstanding in their field !

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