I’M JUST CURIOUS: Save a little money

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by Debbie Walker

I don’t know where this quote came from, however, I am using it here, “With prices of most necessities rising, I’m glad there’s a way to save tons of money in such a simple, healthy manner.” I haven’t tried most of these, but I will put notes on things I have tried. I hope you enjoy reading the possibilities and trying a few.

Car wax: After your car has been waxed there is still a little wax left over, even on the wax pad. Here are a couple of ideas for leftovers:

Do you have bird feeders on a pole? Rub that pole with the wax pad. Slippery going for the little devils.

Rub some wax on dog’s tags to prevent rust. Or do you have a sticky drawer, a little wax will fix that.

Rubbing alcohol: Rubbing alcohol, for all the work it can do, is a very inexpensive purchase.

Got an ink mark on your leather pocketbook? Dip a cotton swab in alcohol, rub it back and forth ‘til mark is gone. Then dry with hair dryer.

Get rid of musty clothes odors. Fill spray bottle with equal parts alcohol and water, mist garment.

Equal parts 90 percent rubbing alcohol and water. Spray on your iced over car windows and windshield. This works. I would do my windshield first, walk around the car doing windows, get back to driver’s door and windshield was free of ice!

Unclog spray paint nozzle – Aggravating!

Turn can upside down, dip nozzle in a small bowl of alcohol. Wait one minute and rinse under hot water.

Lemon Juice: Lift tarnish off your holiday silverware. 1 tsp. baking soda, 4 tsp. lemon juice, makes a paste. Rub on, rinse off.

Keep cats from bothering plants. Soak a cotton ball in lemon juice and rub it around the rim of planter. Cats dislike citrus scent.

Clumpy rice. If you cook it and get sticky rice add a few drops of lemon juice to boiling water.

Stiff paint brushes. 3 parts lemon juice, 1-part water to boil. Soak brushes for 15 minutes.

Keep ants out. Saturate a few cotton balls with juice and place where ants and other bugs appear. Odor disrupts scent trails.

Petroleum Jelly: Kitty got a hair ball problem? Use your finger and dab it on the cat’s nose. She licks it off. It helps her digestive system.

Candlesticks often get covered with candle wax attached, before lighting rub on jelly. Cooled wax comes right off.

Milk: Take large, difficult pills with milk. Coats and slides easier.

Dry damaged hair. Spray bottle to spritz whole milk onto hair. Wait 30 minutes then shampoo and condition as usual.

Dog smells. Give him a bath, add 1 cup milk to water before putting him in. Massage and then rinse as usual. Smell is much better.

Mouth burn. Ease pain quickly, swish a bit of cold milk around in mouth.

Charcoal: Eliminate static from a radio. Place a piece of charcoal on top of it. It attracts the waves you don’t want to hear. It is supposed to make it static free. I have to try this!

I am just curious about that charcoal business. Contact me with comments or questions at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week.

REVIEW POTPOURRI – Maine poet: Isaac McLellan

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Isaac McLellan

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Isaac McLellan

Maine poet Isaac McLellan (1806-1899) was born in Portland but grew up in Boston. He went to Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, where he was friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and made the acquaintance of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

McLellan practiced law during his 20s, but soon grew bored and devoted himself to writing, hunting and fishing. His poetry and essays began appearing in newspapers and magazines and were collected in several volumes.

McLellan traveled in Europe, Egypt, and Syria and wrote about his experiences in an extensive series of Foreign Travels for the long gone Boston Daily Courier. He was interested in agriculture, hunting and fishing and had a spacious farm in the then peaceful countryside of Dorchester.

McLellan’s poem Autumn has verses that sum up the mixed blessings and beauties of the season; he also prefaces it with a verse by Longfellow which will be quoted first before his own stanzas:

Longfellow – ”‘Round Autumn’s mouldering urn,
Loud mourns the chill and cheerless gale,
When nightfall shades the quiet vale,
The stars in beauty burn.”

McLellan – “Now, in the fading woods, the Autumn blast
Chants its old hymn, – a melancholy sound!
And look! the yellow leaves are dripping fast,
And earth looks bleak and desolate around.

The flowers have lost their glorious scent and bloom,
And shiver now as flies the tempest by;
To some far clime hath flown the wild bird’s plume,
To greener woods, and some serener sky.”

McLellan’s favorite hunting grounds were in Cohasset, Plymouth and Marsh­field, Massa­chusetts, the last area being the farm of Daniel Webster, who frequently visited with McLellan (Webster’s favorite breakfasts consisted of roasted mutton, apple pie and Scotch.).

SOLON & BEYOND: Good to see 4-H Club still active

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Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percyby Marilyn Rogers-Bull & Percy
grams29@tds.net
Solon, Maine 04979

The following is about the first meeting of the Solon 4-H Club meeting since March:

Saturday, October 10, the club met at the Solon Fire Station. In attendance were Cooper and Kaitlin De Lardis, Lindsey and Charlotte Hamilton, Desmond and Jillian Robinson, Sarah Craig, Isabella Atwood and Autumn Ladd.

The craft project was: Making and decorating pumpkins from sweater sleeves. Members were also given craft items to be used at home to create an additional project.

The club received a $300 donation from the Solon Alumni over the summer. They are excited to start their meetings again after such a long break. At this time they plan to meet monthly unless school is shut down.

The club will utilize To-Go Bags with art projects if they are unable to meet or meet virtually.

The club elected officers: Cooper Dellarma, president; Lindsay Hamilton, Vice President; Desmond Robinson, secretary; Jillian Robinson, assistant secretary; Devyon DeLeonardis, treasurer; Isabella Atwood, assistant treasurer; Sarah Craig, Reporter; Kaitlin Dellarma, Flag 1; Katelyn Deleonardis, Flag 2.

The next meeting will be Saturday, November 14, at 9:30 a.m., at the Solon Fire Station.

And now for page two about how to dismantle a barn, by Jeff McAllister: (Hope everyone enjoyed the first page last week!)

In a barn with rafters and partitions the boards run from ridge poll to eaves. With this type of roof your rafters are spaced 810 feet to 12 feet apart with partitions running horizontal between rafters. Partitions are usually spruce or fur, small trees equal to 4 inches x 4 inches to 5 inches x 5″ inches, and hewed flat on one side for roof boards. With this type of roof another peg is needed. The rafters are pegged to the girders. You then have to cut into the ends of rafter to expose the pinion. This lets the rafter free for the pull. Also removes the peg. Once the roof is flat I unhook a section and pull it off to dismantle it on the ground. After roof has been done I go back to the end dropping section. I de-pin all beams before I drop a section. Otherwise, your pegs are backwards. You can’t drive them out next to the ground.

My controlled pull goes like this. As the first rafter pulls of the plate the chain now goes to the next rafter. As that one pops off plate now the other side of roof is also free. Gravity takes over. I gun my pull, all roof rafters collapse, the back side pushes, all roof rafters collapse, the back side pushes, the pull side six feet out over the plate. It’s not a big barn anymore.

Jeff writes: I refer to myself as a lumber salvage engineer. I have to devize a plan not only to save useable lumber but more importantly to do it SAFELY! Remember 80 percent of a barn of any size is higher than a man’s head. No barn beam is worth a man’s head! This brings into mind a few safety rules I use on any building. #1 Any wasted, damaged, split wood should always be laid down flat so as not fall on it. #2 Don’t pry off any lumber above your head. I use a chain controlled pull down not in the pinch point. #3 Barns with damage due to neglect are dangerous. Things to look out for are #1: is the roof safe to be under? #2 is the barn spreading? #3 is the floor safe to walk on?

I’m running out of space, so please don’t try to tear any barns down until after next week…. I’ll try to get the rest of the information in!

And now, Percy’s memoir, it’s a short one: Friendship is love with understanding.

FOR YOUR HEALTH: Family Caregivers Of Veterans Eligible For Free Professional Help

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Veterans and their families can get help at home to make daily living easier.

(NAPSI)—The Elizabeth Dole Foundation and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have launched an emergency respite care fund for the family caregivers of wounded, ill, and injured veterans. The program, Respite Relief for Military and Veteran Caregivers, will provide non-medical, no-cost, professional home care to veteran caregivers who are struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. CareLinx, a nationwide professional home care network,  helped launch the fund with a donation of $1 million worth of services. Wounded Warrior Project then contributed an additional $1 million to expand the program. The Foundation expects to provide 75,000 hours of care to more than 3,000 veteran caregivers.

“The lack of affordable, convenient, professional respite care has always taken a significant toll on the emotional and physical well-being of veteran caregivers,” said Steve Schwab, CEO of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation. “Now, due to the increased health risks and limitations created by the pandemic, we are seeing a spike in the need for short-term relief.”

Even as states re-open, some of the most critically wounded or ill veterans and their caregivers will have a long journey back to the pre-pandemic world. These veterans often have vulnerable immune systems that require their caregivers to take every precaution against exposure. By asking family and friends to keep their distance, they are losing a vital source of daily support.

“We are grateful to CareLinx and Wounded Warrior Project for helping us respond to this urgent need,” Schwab continued. “We hope other organizations also step up, so we can ensure every veteran caregiver suffering during COVID-19 receives the help they need.”

The program is rolling out in select regions and will expand nationwide over time. Eligible caregivers can request services that include companionship, grocery shopping, cooking, mobility assistance, transportation, bathing, and other activities of daily living. AARP and Bob Woodruff Foundation have also joined as key collaborators for this effort to help spread the word to military and veteran caregivers.

To learn more and apply, visit www.hiddenheroes.org/respite.

SCORES & OUTDOORS: Do moose and deer ever get their antlers caught in trees?

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On the left, moose in full “velvet.” On the right, deer in full “velvet.”

Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

Last week, I received an email from a colleague, and follower of this column, asking the question, “Why don’t deer and moose get their antlers caught in trees?” Well, it isn’t uncommon to find deer with their antlers caught in trees. But it usually occurs following adverse conditions, especially from flooding or being frightened into a desperate retreat.

Well, actually, that was a question I always wondered myself. I always thought that maybe their antlers were like whiskers on a cat, using them as feelers to determine whether they can pass through an opening.

It turns out I probably wasn’t far off with my assessment.

I turned to my contacts at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for an answer. According to the state moose biologist Lee Kantar, “As the moose antlers grow, the moose ‘develop’ a sense of their width.” I can only deduce that the same holds true for deer.

Following the fall rut, male deer and moose will shed their antlers. In spring or early summer, March or April, the new antlers begin to form, growing out from a pedicel bone, a bony stalk situated on the frontal bone of the skull. The antlers begin to grow at a rapid pace. During growth, they are covered with a skin, called the velvet, a living tissue, which contains many blood vessels for the nourishment of the growing bone tissue.

“During antler growth,” said Kantar, “the antlers are highly vascularized and the moose can feel where those antlers are, touching other surfaces during the growth phase.”

When the antlers have reached the size and shape characteristic for the particular species, the blood circulation in the velvet is stopped, the velvet dies, and the buck or bull then rubs off the dead skin against branches,

In the case of moose, “During antler growth this velvet layer of hair that covers the antlers are the ‘feelers’ for the antlers,” the biologist continued.

“At the end of August into September the antlers essentially harden into bone and the velvet is rubbed and sloughed off as the bull thrashes and rubs against vegetation. By this time, the bull has essentially ‘learned’ the dimensions of his new antlers for his travels.”

Deer and moose have played a very important role in the history of our country, especially deer. The American Indians and European settlers depended on deer for food clothing, implements, ornaments, ceremonial items, tools and weapons. The hides provided shelter and protection from the weather.

Did you know the term “bucks” when referring to money comes from the American Indians. Deerskins were considered valuable for clothing and the skins were called “bucks.” They were traded for various other articles.

The Netsilik Inuit people made bows and arrows using antlers, reinforced with strands of animal tendons braided to form a cable-backed bow. Several American Indian tribes also used antlers to make bows, gluing tendons to the bow instead of tying them as cables. An antler bow, made in the early 19th century, is on display at Brooklyn Museum. Its manufacture is attributed to the Yankton Sioux.

Throughout history large deer antlers from a suitable species, like the red deer, were often cut down to its shaft and its lowest tine and used as a one-pointed pickax.

Antler headdresses were worn by shamans and other spiritual figures in various cultures, and for dances. Antlers are still worn in traditional dances.

Gathering shed antlers or “sheds” attracts dedicated practitioners who refer to it colloquially as shed hunting, or bone picking. In the United States, the middle of December to the middle of February is considered shed hunting season, when deer, elk, and moose begin to shed.

In the United States in 2017 sheds fetched around $10 per pound, with larger specimens in good condition attracting higher prices. The most desirable antlers have been found soon after being shed. The value is reduced if they have been damaged by weathering or being gnawed by small animals. A matched pair from the same animal is a very desirable find but often antlers are shed separately and may be separated by several miles. Some enthusiasts for shed hunting use trained dogs to assist them. Most hunters will follow ‘game trails’ (trails where deer frequently run) to find these sheds or they will build a shed trap to collect the loose antlers in the late winter/early spring.

Lewis and Clark might never have been able to finish their journey from St. Louis to Oregon if the hunters they took along had not furnished them with deer meat along the way. For the four months they wintered in Oregon, they had little to eat other than deer meat.

Have you ever seen a set of deformed moose antlers on a mount, and wondered why? Well, if a bull moose is castrated, either by accident or chemical means, he will quickly shed his current set of antlers and then immediately begin to grow a new set of mishapen and deformed antlers that he will wear the rest of his life without ever shedding again.

I know I wandered off the initial subject, but I found all this information fascinating. I hope you did, too.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the last NFL team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.

Answer can be found here.

Give Us Your Best Shot! for Thursday, October 22, 2020

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To submit a photo for this section, please visit our contact page or email us at townline@townline.org!

EARLY SUMMER SUNSET: Michael Bilinsky, of China Village, photographed this sunset early this past summer.

EAGLE EYES: Pat Clark, of Palermo, snapped this bald eagle watching its surroundings last May.

I’M JUST CURIOUS: Life’s experiences

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by Debbie Walker

I know all this will sound “Polly-Anna” (it means to be excessively or blindly optimistic). What the heck, we can all use some positives right now. Do you remember the little saying about, “If life throws you lemons, make lemonade?” What a simple saying but how important.

I know, in the middle of a crisis, if someone told me to make “lemonade” I’d probably want to hurt them! However, when the crisis is over, I’ve found what you do with it is of utmost importance.

Seems like there are two files for these to go in. We have the “poor me” file or the “How can I use this” file. After a little practicing it’s amazing.

Like when I had to fly to Maine when Dad was sick that year. It was really an emotional trip. Everyone thought he was going to die. Up against death, going in debt for $500 doesn’t matter very much. You just do what you feel you must do, beg, borrow, but hopefully not steal.

Two weeks of such emotional upheaval is quite tiring. Leaving your comfort zone of home and having to deal with unfamiliar circumstances is quite a trip. The stress, the worry, then the emergency was gone, everything was going to be okay. A lot of life changes for mom and dad, but at least it was going to be okay.

Two weeks passed, life continued but then the reality of having borrowed the money and how in the world was I going to pay it back. I guess the reality of what really took place was over and I was exhausted.

It was an expensive trip money wise and emotional. So, the choice is to be upset with lemons, yet another blow to my already financial disaster or to realize what an education I got from that investment. It was an education that I learned a great deal immediately, however I believe I will be remembering and learning more in the years to come.

I learned a lot about myself, my values, human nature, culture, medical facilities and care givers, the process and the list goes on and on. That is how I make my “lemonade”, otherwise it’s just a waste of lemons!

That’s enough of serious, how about some fun!

Our friend Ed sends out “funnies” to some of us each day. The following was in Wednesday’s collection:

I still can’t believe people’s survival instinct told them to grab toilet paper.

I’m going to stay up on New Year’s Eve this year. Not to see the New Year in, but to make sure this one leaves!

They said a mask and gloves were enough to go to the grocery store. They lied. Everybody else had clothes on!

Keep in mind, even during a pandemic, no matter how much chocolate you eat, your earrings will still fit!

The dumbest thing I’ve ever purchased was a 2020 planner!

If I had only known in March it would be my last time in a restaurant, I would have ordered desert.

When does Season 2 of 2020 start? I do not like Season 1.

The buttons on my jeans have started social distancing from each other.

I never thought the comment, “I wouldn’t touch him/her with a six-foot pole” would become a national policy, but here we are.

I’m just curious if you are ready for some laughs without politics being involved that is! Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org with questions and comments. I’ll be waiting. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week.

REVIEW POTPOURRI: Warren Harding; Bill Haley and the Comets

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Warren G. Harding

Peter Catesby Peter Cates

Warren Harding

During this political season, I was re-reading the rambunctious Baltimore Sun correspondent H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) on one of our great former occupants of the White House ­– the, for me, ever-fascinating Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865-1923) whose administration was beset by challenges of a unique nature, in particular the Teapot Dome scandal. Books such as the late Francis Russell’s biography, The Shadow of Blooming Grove, abound in pro and con details, while historian Paul Johnson’s Modern Times makes a convincing case for Harding as an underrated president.

Anyways, Mencken comments that Warren G. “takes first place in my Valhalla of literati. That is to say, he writes the worst English I have ever encountered.”

The essayist continues developing his main idea in the next paragraph:

“More scientifically, what is the matter with it? Why does it seem so flabby, so banal, so confused and childish, so stupidly at war with sense? ….That answer is very simple. When Dr. Harding prepares a speech, he does not think of it in terms of an educated reader locked up in jail, but in terms of a great horde of stoneheads gathered around a stand. More, it is a stump speech addressed to the sort of audience that the speaker has been used to all of his life, to wit, an audience of small-town yokels, of low political serfs, or morons scarcely able to understand a word of more than two syllables, and wholly unable to pursue a logical idea for more than two centimeters.”

This article can be read in its entirety by googling H.L. Mencken on Warren G. Harding and scrolling down to H.L. Mencken on Balder and Dash.

Mencken did interview Harding and his wife, Florence (1860-1924), who was known as the Duchess; he wrote that Harding exuded charismatic charm and that the Duchess was a very handsome woman.

A worthwhile quote of wisdom from Harding’s inaugural speech – “Our most dangerous tendency is to expect too much from the government and at the same time do too little for it.”

A highly recommended viewing experience is the five seasons of HBO’s series The Wire which ran from 2002 to 2008. It takes place in H.L. Mencken’s home town of Baltimore, Maryland, and deals with the tribulations and small victories in the drug war, the city’s shipyard docks, City Hall, the schools and the Baltimore Sun newspaper’s working conditions.

Bill Haley

Bill Haley and the Comets

Fractured and Pat-a-Cake
Essex, 327, ten-inch 78, recorded in 1952.

These two early examples of rock music were recorded two years before Bill Haley (1925-1981) hit success with the 1954 Rock Around the Clock and are similarly rocking good examples of rock and roll during the Eisenhower years. Later after Haley moved to Decca records, he unsuccessfully sued Essex for unpaid royalties.

 

 

FOR YOUR HEALTH: A grandparent’s best friend

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(NAPSI) — Here’s good news for America’s approximately 70 million grandparents: A growing problem that has been bugging families since the advent of the digital photo revolution—“Where is the latest photo of my grandchild?”—may have a surprising solution thanks to two enterprising granddads, Silicon Valley alumni.

Vinnie Jones and Boyd Pearce put their heads together and designed a simple, free and user-friendly mobile app that lets families share and re-live at will their daily experiences, as well as special moments with loved ones even thousands of miles apart. Called My Grandkids, it works with a simple click or two of a button.

Explains Pearce, formerly with IBM, Teradata and Hitachi, “Vinnie and I decided to take what we called the Ph.D approach (Press Here Dummy). We wanted to design an application that solved the photo problem but in a simple, easy way.”

Jones, who worked with Pearce at Teradata, said, “My wife and I became swamped with all the photos that started to accumulate digitally. We were creating the digital equivalent of that old shoebox where you used to store your pictures and rummage from time to time to find the one you wanted. Yes, some people took the time to create photo albums but for those who didn’t, My Grandkids is a great solution—almost instantaneous albums that you can access at the touch of a button, right there on your mobile.”

The app lets you collect all photos taken by or received into your mobile device and display them in a handy reference gallery ready to be stored for easy access in self-designed albums.
These galleries grow automatically as new photos appear ready for storage. Sharing is easy and safe via a private, secure network operating in the Cloud. Add as many contacts as you wish and have them share and exchange photo and video experiences easily—no emails, texts or post required.

My Grandkids can be used not only for family photos but for categorizing your favorite dishes or recipes, wine labels, whatever visual information you want at your fingertips.

The app works on most mobile phone operating systems and tablets and it’s available in the Apple Store and as an Android version on Google Play.

It could be a wonderful gift for grandparents who haven’t seen enough of their grandkids lately (and what grandparents have?) — even if they give it to themselves.

PHOTO: Another gorgeous sunset

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Michael Bilinsky, of China Village, captured this gorgeous sunset over China Lake recently.