Use nine: Try softening brushes that are hardened with old, dried-in paint by boiling them in vinegar and let them stand for one hour. Then heat the vinegar and brushes come to a gentle boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Rinse well, working the softened paint out of the bristles. For extremely heavy paint encrustations, you may need to repeat the process...or head to the hardware store.

Use ten: A little vinegar and salt added to the water you wash leafy green vegetables will float out bugs and kill germs.

Use eleven: Soak or simmer stuck-on food in 2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar. The food will soften and lift off in a few minutes.

Use twelve: Clean and freshen the garbage disposal by running a tray of ice cubes, with 1/2 cup of vinegar poured over them, through it once a week.

Use thirteen: In a pinch, you can use equal parts of lemon juice and vinegar to clean brass and copper. On difficult areas add a little salt to the mix for some abrasive action.

Monday, August 30, 2010

60.Things Golden

Fifty years is a very long time, especially when you have been married to the same person.  Sometimes though it seems just like yesterday.  Our fiftieth anniversary won't be until December of 2011, but our friends Bruce and Dorothy Lacey celebrated their fiftieth this past Saturday.  Bob and Bruce have been the best of friends since they were eight.  We have celebrated all of life's successes and failures, happy times and sad times and everything in between with them.  There is something inexplicable about the bond that forms between people who have been through so much together.  It's wonderful to have confidants who will listen and not judge, help without reward, be there just to hold you up when you can't on your own.  We are blessed with many friends and I don't use the word blessed lightly, but few that have stood the test of time like the Lacey's.

They leave for a trip of a lifetime next week to Europe for seven weeks of cruising, train rides, guided tours and more fun than the average tourist.  You'll go a long way before you find people who love to travel like the Lacey's.  We should all pay attention to them and how they have learned to "Stop and smell the Roses!"  I don't know anyone else who has the lust for adventure as they do.  It simply makes Bob and I tired just to hear where they have been.  I defy anyone to out walk them and I swear that they have eaten at every restaurant in United States!  Their travel tips always start with the best places to eat, especially local cuisine.  They love to eat "where the locals eat."

We will be tracking their adventures with them through their "blackberries."  It's a funny world when Old Farts can keep in touch within seconds across the world holding something without a cord that fits in our pocket.  When we went to Europe with the kids and my sister in 1972 we had to make a reservation for a phone line in Greece 24 hours in advance to call home on Christmas.  We've come a long way.

We have put in our request for sand from the Isle of Capri and a couple of other places and asked them to look at everything twice, once for them and once for us, but mostly we wished them happy adventures, fabulous food, safe travel and remember there are still some places where you shouldn't drink the water!   Bon Voyage!

No comments:

Post a Comment