We have an awesome kitchen set siilar to the one pictured above that we got from my friend’s daughter. It’s a wood set and the table top is made of square tiles. I always wondered what the best thing to use to clean it was, since I knew I shouldn’t use abrasives. I recently found a possible solution completely by accident. Laundry detergent. I accidentally got some on the table and the table grout lines came out super clean and bright white.

With all of the snow that we’ve had in the area there are actually still Christmas decorations up in people’s yards. There are also Christmas trees in the street waiting to be picked up, finally uncovered from all of the snow. Recently at work we were discussing our holidays and the conversation turned to Christmas trees. Typically we put our tree up around the middle of December, and take it down around New Years. I mentioned that my Mom leaves hers up longer, she doesn’t take hers down until Little Christmas. One of the other girls asked what Little Christmas was. I remembered it had something to do with the Epiphany, but not much else. And here we are.

Little Christmas falls on January 6 and is the Epiphany. It is the last day of the twelfth day of Christmas, which people often mistakenly think start in mid December. The Epiphany is a celebration commemorating the arrival of the Magi and the baptism of Jesus.

That is the most basic answer I can condense my reading into. There is much more to the meaning of the day, and the meaning is a little different for each religion. It is a subject that definitely cannot be thoroughly answered here in this format.

Here are five simple tips to will enable you to turn part of your garage into a useful home workshop.

1. Clean your garage.
2. Create a workbench. You can use wood you already have, such as old doors and scrap wood on saw horses.
3. Hang a pegboard on the wall. Place frequently used items on it, with the most frequently used items nearest you.
4. Create a shelf or area where you can store several glass jars. Use the jars to hold small hardware such as screws, nails and such.
5. Create a trash area. You may think that you’ll take trash to your trash can elsewhere but if you’re in the middle of a project you may not want to or be able to stop. Then you put the trash on the floor and might not get to it. It’s easier to stay organized if you don’t let the situation get away from you.
6. Keep a bucket or carryall for items you need to use around the house or move a lot.

I got a notice on my front door last year from a tree company informing me that they were in the area to trim trees that were near power lines and that my property had one of those trees. The notice stated they would be performing “directional pruning” on the trees. I wondered exactly what that meant, so I checked it out on the internet.

Directional pruning means that whole branches and limbs will be removed from the tree at the trunk, so that as the tree grows the new growth will not be in the direction of the power lines. Also, the thinking is that the after directional pruning only the strong limbs are left, and that the new growth is less sturdy and less likely to fall off of the tree.

After reading about it I realized that the electric company had directionally pruned this same tree about three years ago. They came out one day and spent a couple of hours cutting. It didn’t seem to be an exact science and none of them even wore any safety clothing. Ever since then it’s leaned to one side and looked like it is going to fall over. I met up with the tree company this afternoon around our neighborhood when I got home and I asked him if there’s any way they’ll take the tree down. I explained we’d spoken with four tree companies and none were willing to take it down. He said it wasn’t touching the wires anymore and he didn’t think so but he’d check. Man how we’d love that tree out of there.

Waterbuds were created by two families trying to prevent the spread of germs. A Waterbud is an inexpensive small charm that people can place on water bottles. The ring that goes around the neck of the bottle is made of latex free silicone, so it can tolerate washing, heat and cold. The charms are dishwasher safe, and could even be used with mugs, straws and cans. Waterbuds can be purchased online and in select stores in Virginia.

Do you like bird watching?  If you do there are a few things that you can do to help encourage birds to visit your backyard, giving you the opportunity to watch them a bit more closely. Birds require food, so be sure to offer food in a safe place. They also need water, so be sure to have a bird bath or small water feature in the yard. Be sure that you make a spot for yourself to enjoy watching the birds without being right in their space and scaring them away.

In the summer lots of families spend more time in their backyard than they might during the rest of the year. Swimming is very popular, as can be attested by the crowds at homes with a pool. No inground pool? No problem you can be inflatable ones fairly inexpensively. Aside from swimming you can have a lot of fun in your back yard. You can do a lot of things there. Many families set up different outdoor games, games such as badminton and horseshoes. What’s your favorite summertime outdoor activity?

Our front porch is a fun place to hang out and talk with friends. A chill spot if you will, as my son would say. However the chairs out there are very uncomfortable. In order to resolve this issue I bought outdoor cushions. The front porch is now very comfortable and is once again a fun place to be with friends.

You know that rubber seal that goes around your refrigerator? How do you clean it? For years I would try and fit the corner of a cleaning rag in there. I never got it clean. Recently I learned a trick to getting those spaces in the rubber seal clean. Use a q-tip. Yep. Stick the q-tip into your favorite cleanser and then pull the q-tip from one side of the space to the other. It’s inexpensive and it really works!

If you’re like many parents you put pictures and drawings that your children have created on the refrigerator. I don’t think it’s out of line to display anything you’re proud of. I hung some of my own college tests on there a few years back. I have a picture my 14 year old drew hanging there. I have several pictures that my younger son made. Heck, if my husband were into architecture or engineering I’d hang cad drawings up there if he gave them to me. How long will you or did you display things on the fridge?