Little Tips From William's Corner Back to William's Archives.
Here are a few little tidbits I have picked up along the way.
Some of them may be new to you. I hope you find something useful.
Itching Eyes:
Like many folks, I am prone to itchy eyelids. We have all seen
the normal human response to that. Knuckles into the eyelids,
rubbing away. Sometimes that can cause redness and inflamation.
For me, especially, it became a kind of dangerous thing to do
after I had cataract surgery. Then my eye doctor made a suggestion.
He told me to use a Q-tip with baby shampoo to clean the edges
of the eyelids. Believe it or not, that relieved the itching.
However, it was a pain to do. So, I went the doctor one better.
Now, whenever I shower, I lather and wash my hair and my eyes
with baby shampoo. I have not been bothered with itchy eyes since
I started doing that. In addition, my old bald head shines like
a new penny.
Screwing around:
Have you ever had that problem of trying to put a tiny screw into
a tight place? You keep dropping it into the works, right? Here
is a trick which works for me. I slot the screw onto the end of
the correct sized screwdriver. then I use a small piece of masking
or clear plastic tape to tape it in place. The screw will stay
in place long enough to get it started in the hole. then the tape
peels away easily and I can tighten away. It works and it's cheaper
than those cute little screw holding screwdrivers, which you can
never find anyway when you need them.
Opening cartons:
How about when you buy a new television or other large appliance
and bring it home? Now you have to get it out of the carton. I
have spent many angry and frustrated times trying to lift a heavy
object out of a cardboard carton until I finally got smart. Here's
what to do. Put the carton upside down. Open the bottom of the
carton. then, holding the flaps back, turn it right side up. Now
just lift the carton off of the appliance. Oh well. Live and learn.
Pop a top:
Here you are in the park. You have your sandwiches and your six
pac. Then you go to open a beer and you discover, "Oh Crap!"
it's not a twist off. It's a real old fashioned cap and you did
not bring a bottle opener. Not even in your tool box. Did you
know, that's the real secret reason channel lock pliers were invented.
The real secret is, they are for opening beer bottles. Just set
the plier in the second channel, put the long lip on top the cap
and the short one under the edge of the cap. Twist up slowly.
Shazam! Or whatever. I still prefer the real channel locks which
carry the original trademark, but the others would also work.
Peeling apples:
Do you make apple pie from scratch. Some people do. I do! I learned
from my mother. As kids, we used to go to visit an old abandon
apple orchard and climb the trees. We would shake down a bunch
of apples. Then we had the problem of bringing them home so Ma
could make pies. What we did, is stuff our trouser cuffs into
our sox. Then we would loosen our belts and fill out trousers
with apples. Believe it or not, my brother and I could carry almost
a bushel of apples this way. Of course, we walked kind of goofy
and it took both hands to hold our drawers up. I think we may
have been the original model for the Michelin Man.
Sorry! I got carried away. Carrying apples in the drawers was
not my point. Peeling apples is the point. I have watched the
traditional method of peeling around and around the apple. My
mother could make a two or three foot dangling peel that way.
It was fascinating, but it seemed tedious. I discovered that it's
much easier to peel, core, and slice an apple if you section it
first. I use a sharp chefs knife to cut the apple into sixths.
Then I peel, core, and slice each section. It really is faster
and the pieces are easier to handle.
Here is one more tip on apple pie. Most people use sugar, cinnamon
and nutmeg. Some also use raisins. What I have found is that an
ounce of either cognac or brandy really enhances the apple flavor.
For the birds:
Here is a tip from my brother. If you have bird feeders, you probably
have a problem with squirrels. I have tried many things, which
sometimes work, including feeding the squirrels corn to keep them
away from the feeders. What finally worked for good is to put
the feeders on top of a section of 4" plastic drain pipe.
It's too smooth to grip with claws and to fat to hug. This also
works to keep opossums out of bird houses. I realized this two
years ago when our resident opossum created a tragedy for our
resident bluebirds. The bugger ate their eggs.
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