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Trojina

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I got a bit bogged down in biscuits on the US/UK translation thread....but I also noted people were exchanging cooking tips and so on there. So I thought we should have a thread for handy tips to lead an orderly, hassle free, happy, well fed life.

A life where keys are never lost ;)



I can't think of any top tips actually ermm :confused:

Ah, here's one

Always leave the kettle with water in before going to bed so if the water is cut off you can still have a drink in the morning :D


I'm sure you can do better than that ?


Ah here's another ;

To keep towels nice and bouncy and absorbent ;

a. do not use fabric conditioner
b. put white vinegar in to the 2nd rinse.

Hey Presto you will find your hard old towels go all nice and fluffy.


I'm sure you can do better than that too.
 

Trojina

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Seasonal recipes might also go here and I think Tom has an abundance of those. Many were inspired by his chopped green onion with scrambled eggs recipe.

Here it is again


Eggs with green onions (scallions) are a traditional spring food here, perhaps because of the many Welsh immigrants of three hundred years ago. I mix four eggs, one chopped green onion, a sprinkle of jalapeno pepper powder (my substitute for salt), and cook in olive oil on a low heat. Delicious!

I may try it myself
 

Liselle

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(I fear the "tip" would have to be (1) perfect the science of brain transplantation, (2) become best friends with very elderly and very smart person. To cross-pollinate threads some more, don't you have a word "numpty"? :rofl:)
 

Trojina

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Cross pollination of threads...I like that idea...:rofl: yes we have the word 'numpty' but we seem to have thousands of words for dimwits like ;

twat
twazock
nitwit
eejit
plonker
dick head


I could go on but the rest are more obscene and this was mean to be a wholesome living tips thread

We don't have nearly as many words for clever or competent people....maybe there aren't many


Okay top tips for not losing your keys

1. Bear in mind hexagram 37 uc , your home, your hearth, your washing machine...Okay, with your home close to your heart how can you lose your keys ? Oh you hadn't they were in your home all along.

2.

3.


:D
 

moss elk

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How i stopped losing my keys.
'A place for every thing, and every thing in its place'

I put them in the same place every time i get home,
Then i dont have to think about where they are,
Because they are in the place designated for them,
Their little home.

Same with glasses and phone.
 

Trojina

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I remember a talk by a fire officer who pointed out knowing where your keys are in the night...or any time is really important so you can get out ! he told us a few horror stories of where people would have had no trouble getting out of the house except they'd left their keys in the kitchen where the fire was after locking their door from the inside. The extra time looking for keys really endangered them. My keys hang on a hook near the door.



Of course having said that the time keys are lost is when we pick them up to go out and get side tracked.
 

Liselle

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I could go on but the rest are more obscene and this was mean to be a wholesome living tips thread

I did not ask for obscene ones; that was all your idea :eek: :p

We don't have nearly as many words for clever or competent people....maybe there aren't many
It is a sad cause and effect relationship.

Okay top tips for not losing your keys

1. Bear in mind hexagram 37 uc , your home, your hearth, your washing machine...Okay, with your home close to your heart how can you lose your keys ? Oh you hadn't they were in your home all along.

2. Yi told me with 37uc not to be such a numpty housekeeper, therefore I will not be EVER AGAIN :bows:


(right :rofl:)


In all seriousness, I am going to try your white vinegar rinse idea! I have a couple towels etc. that need some help. Will let you know how it comes out.
 

Trojina

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Make sure there is another rinse after the vinegar or you'll have vinegar smelling towels....and then you'll blame me .
 

Liselle

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he told us a few horror stories of where people would have had no trouble getting out of the house except they'd left their keys in the kitchen where the fire was after locking their door from the inside.

That is awful :eek:. My door deadbolts from the inside, but the bolt works just by by turning a small lever with your fingers, not with a key. Much safer.

Of course having said that the time keys are lost is when we pick them up to go out and get side tracked.
Yes, exactly. "Well don't be absent-minded." "Okay, I won't, because of course that is a promise I can make." :rolleyes:

(As I said in the thread, though, Yi has no obligation to bend over backwards helping me when I've been a dimwit. I do get that. I don't like it, but I get it. And I must say that since then I have been more aware of where I'm dropping things, so at least for now things have been better :D)
 

Liselle

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How i stopped losing my keys.
'A place for every thing, and every thing in its place'

I put them in the same place every time i get home,
Then i dont have to think about where they are,
Because they are in the place designated for them,
Their little home.

Same with glasses and phone.

I re-posted this over in the 37uc thread. Pithy version of what I think Yi was trying to tell me. :D
 

Liselle

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Another tip:

Make liberal use of reminder aids, such as marking on the calendar that you've done something (giving your pet his daily medicine, for example), and putting recurring tasks in reminder software on your computer.[sup]*[/sup]


[sup]*[/sup]I use two, if plugs are allowed: AT Notes (which has been unsupported since 2005 but is apparently still available for download - there are surely similar alternatives), and the ReminderFox add-in if you use the Firefox browser.
 

Annamaria

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Another tip for healthy living
Ginkgo biloba
Useful for quite many things :)
 

pocossin

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Another tip:

Make liberal use of reminder aids, such as marking on the calendar. . .

Oh is this true. I write on the calendar heavily. For the garden I record planting dates, sprouting dates, transplanting dates, first harvest dates, and information about related weather. These records give me guidance from one year to the next. I record every medical appointment on the calendar, every time I find a tick on myself, and the date on which I treat the cat for fleas and ticks (every six weeks). I live more consciously and more confidently by marking the calendar.
 

pocossin

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A life where keys are never lost

I am left handed, and my keys are always in my left hand front pants pocket. How consoling it is to put one's hand in a pocket and find the keys exactly where they should be! If I were a fancy dresser and hung up my pants at night, when the keys could fall out, then I'd need other arrangements. Keys can wear out a pant's pocket, so I keep my keys in a sandwich bag to protect the pocket.

Always leave the kettle with water in before going to bed so if the water is cut off you can still have a drink in the morning

One of the benefits of becoming a wino is that I have an endless supply of beautiful four-liter wine jugs. My sister has begun to used them as bases for lamps and gave me one for the kitchen. By breaking off the bottoms, I use them as cloches in the garden. I also use them for water storage and usually have at least two in the house and one on each porch for ready water.

Ah here's another ;

To keep towels nice and bouncy and absorbent ;

a. do not use fabric conditioner
b. put white vinegar in to the 2nd rinse.

As I recently found out, commercial fabric softener can be dangerous. I became allergic to it and began breaking out with large itchy bumps. When I stopped the fabric softener, the bumps went away.
 

Trojina

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and the date on which I treat the cat for fleas and ticks (every six weeks).

Your cat informs me, telepathically, that you only think you treat her/him every 6 weeks. She has a system too you see, gets at the calendar with a bottle of tippex when you're out. Tells me you are 'easily duped'. her words not mine :D


Economy Tip​


When you have tubes of cream, hand creams/body creams and so on and you cannot get any more out by squeezing do not discard. You will find you have several more weeks worth left if you cut the tube in half, so much is still in there to use. You can keep it stored by slipping one half over the other half after using. Tubes of cream can last another month or so by doing this :D
 

pocossin

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Your cat informs me, telepathically, that you only think you treat her/him every 6 weeks. She has a system too you see, gets at the calendar with a bottle of tippex when you're out. Tells me you are 'easily duped'. her words not mine :D


That tricky cat! By consulting my calendar I see that she was treated on the fifth of this month.

When you have tubes of cream, hand creams/body creams and so on and you cannot get any more out by squeezing do not discard. You will find you have several more weeks worth left if you cut the tube in half, so much is still in there to use. You can keep it stored by slipping one half over the other half after using. Tubes of cream can last another month or so by doing this

Yes, and toothpaste too. I keep a pair of shears in the bathroom just to recover these otherwise wasted materials.
 

Liselle

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Your cat informs me, telepathically, that you only think you treat her/him every 6 weeks. She has a system too you see, gets at the calendar with a bottle of tippex when you're out. Tells me you are 'easily duped'. her words not mine :D

First of all - :rofl:

Secondly, http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/frie...-UK-US-Translation-Thread&p=189191#post189191 ?

When you have tubes of cream, hand creams/body creams and so on and you cannot get any more out by squeezing do not discard. You will find you have several more weeks worth left if you cut the tube in half, so much is still in there to use.
I have done this! :D

You can keep it stored by slipping one half over the other half after using.
But I don't see how this part works...am manipulating imaginary tube-halves in the air, trying to picture it...wouldn't there still be open ends exposed to the air?

I've used those strong black binder clips to hold the halves closed.

(Actually what I think this accomplishes is mostly delaying the errand to replace it, rather than saving much money. What clings to the insides of the tubes may last a while, because you're only using a little at a time, but as a percentage of what was in the tube to start with it's pretty small from what I've seen. I'm all for delaying errands, though :D)
 

pocossin

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repackage

Buy in quantity but repackage. Buying in quantity means a lower price and you don't run out. I always repackage meat and rice. I use sandwich bags for individual portions of meat, which are then put in Zip-lock bags and frozen. Rice I store in four-liter jugs. During hurricane season I do not worry about coming up short. I live in the country, distant from markets, and if I run out of anything it can cost me a gallon of gasoline to replace it. My experience is that nothing is well-protected unless it is sealed in glass. Matches go into a Mason jar, and my matches never go bad from humidity. For corn meal and dried beans, I put them in oatmeal boxes. Plastic bags are easily penetrated by bread beetles.
 

Liselle

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For corn meal and dried beans, I put them in oatmeal boxes.

I use oatmeal containers for things, too. Lately I've been storing rice in them. Much easier to measure a cup of rice by scooping into a box than trying to pour it out of a bag.

(Actually what I think this accomplishes is mostly delaying the errand to replace it, rather than saving much money. What clings to the insides of the tubes may last a while, because you're only using a little at a time, but as a percentage of what was in the tube to start with it's pretty small from what I've seen. I'm all for delaying errands, though :D)
Though of course you're also delaying the expenditure to buy a new tube. Even if you're technically saving only 10 cents worth of remnants, you're putting off spending a chunk of several dollars. The almighty cash flow :cool:

(I love when we argue with our own selves on these threads :D)
 

pocossin

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I use oatmeal containers for things, too. Lately I've been storing rice in them. Much easier to measure a cup of rice by scooping into a box than trying to pour it out of a bag.

The plastic lids I uses as coasters. I cut containers in half and use them as plant collars. If the containers are white inside, they can be cut into strips for plant markers by writing on them with a Sharpie (a brand of permanent ink).

Though of course you're also delaying the expenditure to buy a new tube.

Don't buy a new tube. Buy two new tubes at a discount store. When you are down to your last tube, buy two more and never run out.
 

Trojina

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Here is a moral tale :blush:

On April 17th I blithely/smugly wrote ;

I remember a talk by a fire officer who pointed out knowing where your keys are in the night...or any time is really important so you can get out ! he told us a few horror stories of where people would have had no trouble getting out of the house except they'd left their keys in the kitchen where the fire was after locking their door from the inside. The extra time looking for keys really endangered them. My keys hang on a hook near the door.


Of course having said that the time keys are lost is when we pick them up to go out and get side tracked.


A few nights ago being sleepy I went to check the door was locked, keys hanging up.....and I found the door was locked but my keys were nowhere to be seen. This meant I couldn't get out if I needed to, I was locked in :eek: I immediately thought this was divine retribution for the above post......also I felt unexpectedly very claustrophobic, felt very uncomfortable about going to sleep with no way of getting out. I live quite high up, can't get out of window.

Lisa is going to enjoy this.

I felt claustrophobic and wanted to find the keys....and I wanted to go to sleep. I hunted around for sometime and could not find them.....but I did find them eventually, ...

....hanging off the clothes airer :confused: hanging off the clothes airer as if they were a towel or something !

:confused:

why would anyone hang their keys on a clothes airer ?
 

Trojina

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Top Tip

Don't give others advice on how to keep keys safe and so on as it's bad luck and you will lose your own. When others lose keys just be sympathetic and say 'it can happen to anyone', that way , fingers crossed, your keys might stand a chance of staying somewhere normal, where you'd expect to find them.
 

moss elk

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Top Tip

Don't give others advice on how to keep keys safe and so on as it's bad luck and you will lose your own. When others lose keys just be sympathetic and say 'it can happen to anyone', that way , fingers crossed, your keys might stand a chance of staying somewhere normal, where you'd expect to find them.

Does this apply to Shared Readings room? :)
 

Trojina

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could do... who knows...but I think keys are potent little animals and so especially tricksy.
 

pocossin

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Since you fear being trapped in your flat, why not have a duplicate key made and leave it in the lock? The dead bolts in my house have keys in the locks on the inside that cannot be removed.
 

Trojina

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I suppose because it's never happened before. If I am locked in then at least I know the key must be with me in there somewhere since I have locked the door with it from the inside myself.

It might be a good idea to have another key in the lock though...would be a good idea to have another key generally I suppose. Until I lost the key I had no idea how uncomfortable I would feel with no available exit.

Of course I could always ring the landlord in the morning if I just couldn't find it....and then if he could find his, he could let me out. But I didn't like the prospect of going to sleep with no exit.
 

pocossin

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Of course I could always ring the landlord in the morning if I just couldn't find it....and then if he could find his, he could let me out.

In which case you would still need to have a duplicate key made. I believe in backup -- security through redundancy. Safety through diversification. I have multiple sources of food, fuel, water, transportation, income. Yes, I don't have the excitement of living on the edge, but I am also in a position to take care of the less provident, a major source of satisfaction for me, and I sleep reasonably well at night. Some of us are grasshoppers, others are ants. I am an ant. "...a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
 

Trojina

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Well I wouldn't say me only having one key was me 'living on the edge' :rofl:
 

Liselle

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Top Tip

Don't give others advice on how to keep keys safe and so on as it's bad luck and you will lose your own. When others lose keys just be sympathetic and say 'it can happen to anyone', that way , fingers crossed, your keys might stand a chance of staying somewhere normal, where you'd expect to find them.

Etc. Etc.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: Oh my goodness.

NOT TO WORRY, Trojina :) :hug:. You actually were being sympathetic, and I had picked up on that. Moreover, in the thread we were discussing my 37uc reading, and my best guess about that is still that Yi was (1) very obliquely pointing me towards my laundry area by describing the dryer in the trigrams (which I would never have figured out, and I'm sure Yi knew that), but mostly (2) fussing at me for being disorderly in the first place (and in general in my life).

So since Yi thought it was best to not be overly sympathetic, I will give my fellow humans a pass on the whole matter :hugs:.

The fact that you lost your keys, for the first time ever, in a laundry-related area, is pretty spooky though. I wonder what Yi would have told you if it had gotten to the point of you asking? In your case it was a more serious matter than in mine, which might make a difference.

And I will repeat what I said earlier, which is that I'm very glad my door operates differently from yours. Locking and unlocking from the inside means turning a lever with my fingers, NOT using a key. This is not something I'd ever thought about before, but it really doesn't seem good to need a key to get out of your own door.
 

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