littlepitcher's Profile

@SophieRose-Ever hear of fire ants? They set up colonies in yards and love to sneak up your legs en masse and all sting you at once. Borax, sugar, and water, boiled until the water thickens into a syrup and the borax is dissolved, kills quite a few. I pour it on concrete near their trails or set out Pringles lids full of the stuff. The trail will disappear in a day, and then you move it to the next trail or alternate it with Spectracide or Amdro so they don't get wise to your tactics. We've knocked ours down to only a few thousand stragglers.

Used it in a kitchen area years ago. Several coats of cheap United Coatings paint sealed it. Pegboard is not the best of ideas if you are renting in low-end or insecure spaces. If your neighbor brings in roaches, they will build condos in pegboard.

Howard Leight earplugs are industrial-grade R32s, three bucks at Dollar General, and reusable. I live on a highway and my housemate is a partially-deaf night worker whose idea of reasonable human volume is a GOP white water buffalo bellow. I also use roller shades on the bedroom windows and line the window with one layer of bubble wrap and a layer of eggcrate mattress to reduce road noise. Exercise and a serving of a fat-free milk product (if you're not allergic or diabetic) an hour before bedtime will give you better sleep.

OK, Nato: I've utilized public transportation in Jacksonville, FL, Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN, Tuscaloosa, AL, and of course Atlanta's MARTA system, which is great. With a 24-hour system, public transportation obviously would be the preferred option. Unfortunately, most Southern systems only operate on domestic workers' hours and routes. My real preference would be a pedestrian city with plenty of jobs and shopping within walking distance, and good, well-defined bike lanes. Until I retire to a city with those amenities, the jalopy stays.

For computer use, I have an ancient Koss noise-cancelling set, scored at a regional highway yard sale, that gives me excellent sound, has independent volume controls, and has a cord heavy enough to tow a truck. On the treadmill or for cleaning carpets, Sennheiser earbuds with inline volume control keep out enough noise to allow me to hear the phone or doorbell, while still preserving music quality. For iDevice videos, a pair of Altec Lansing Bliss Platinums fit my ear better than anything else I own.
On my active physical job, which destroys earbuds, I use up a pair of cheapies every few months.

I've never seen a dishwasher which gets jars clean enough for canning. I use a sink with a little chlorine bleach in the soapy water.
LSteffen, many regions have community canning kitchens maintained by your county's Agricultural Extension Service. Call their office and see if one is available. Also, check country estate auctions or estate sales for pressure canners. Do your research in advance, though, to keep from purchasing an obsolete model.
I've seen All American canners--an excellent model--at good prices on eBay. You can store it under the bed, with your surplus jar rings inside, when it's not in use.

Could the technology be adapted for an antique rocker-for instance, in a chair pad or add-on box?

@Merilynch: Take the Venetian blinds down, spray them with Scrubbing Bubbles, and let them set a few minutes. Then hose them off. This one does take more than a minute.
Throw your combs in with your wash.

1-All white.
2-All tan
3-Venetian blinds or mini-blinds: condos for dust mites.
Most throw pillows are meant to be thrown, far away. They are always in the way.

I'm scanning my books to e-books, have digitized most of my vinyl, and keep the office electronic. I have no fondness for plastic or Tupperware, believe that butter and other product bowls belong at the recyclers, and use Mason jars for leftovers. I eventually want a set of collapsible BPA-free bowls, collapsible funnel, and a folding colander when I can find one made of something besides plastic.
Now, budding fashion merchandisers and designers, can we please have convertible wrap day dresses made of something besides thin and unflattering jersey, in a variety of colors, and at a working-class clerical's price point, and GoreTex long underwear which will keep us warm without taking up much space?