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Hello,
Tomorrow's TF News will be a Valentine's Day issue. If you have any Valentine's Day tips to share, feel free to submit them. Pictures of Valentine's Day crafts would be welcomed as well.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Today's Photo Contest Entries
Wall Decor - Dancing Life of a Cow
I used the quote from I book I have and added my own graphics. I printed it out and put it in a frame over my kitchen sink. It looks so cute, I couldn't resist. Hope you like it.
Jenny in KY
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This is my 5 year old Borzoi, Hunter. Hunter is a retired champion and was at the Westminster Kennel Club Show two years ago. Now he is just my baby and enjoys playing with his 3 sisters and 1 brother each day. His favorite spot is either on the bed or couch, as you can see.
Roberta in Maine
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Submit a tip with a photo or a pet description with a photo and you could win a prize. You can enter the photo contest here:
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Today's Tips
Tips for saving money on dryer sheets. Post your ideas below!
Cutting Dryer Sheets
I have to amend one of the tips I sent in. I sent in a tip about tearing or cutting your dryer sheets in half. That works well if you use one of the name brand, better brands of dryer sheets, but I tried it with a store brand and it did not work well at all. So I only recommend doing that if you use one of the more expensive, name brand dryer sheets.
By Robin
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Nice Simple Gift For Any Occasion
Each holiday (Christmas, birthdays, just because, get well), for gals on my list, I buy reasonable priced candles and fingertip towels (all on sale) and save them for gifts. I wrap the candle in the towel, attach a tag/card and give. They're always thrilled!
By Cathy
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Uses For Red And Green Candy From Christmas
If you buy candy in red and green wrappers (like Hershey's kisses) after Christmas on clearance; you can use the red for Valentine's and the green for St Pat's. Also, buy the chocolate and use if for baking for Valentine's Day, etc.
By Kathy
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Put a coloring page, clip art, etc in a large ziploc bag and let the children trace these with wipe-off markers. The same page can be used over and over.
Also, have children stand on either side of sliding glass door and trace each other's features with wipe-off marker - also add features like glasses, earrings, etc.
By Kathy
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A friend gave me a bottle of lemon juice that was outdated. I used it for a cleaner the same way I use vinegar, but it smells better. It makes a good rinsing agent in the washing machine to get out excess soap (put it in the softener cup) and it also can be used in the dishwasher instead of dish soap for one of the cycles. I didn't try it on windows, but it should work as well as vinegar.
By Lynn
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If you get just a light, fluffy snow, before you break out the shovel, try sweeping it with a broom -- you may save yourself some work! A shop-type push broom makes the job especially easy!
By Becki in Indiana
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Car Or Truck Stuck In The Snow
Tips for helping a car or truck that has become stuck in the snow. Post your ideas.
Using Floor Mats for Snow Problems
If your car gets stuck in snow or ice, remove the floormats from the car and place them under the tires. This will usually give you just enough traction to get free. (Don't forget to pick the floormats back up!)
By Becki in Indiana
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I have tried just about everything to get the water spots off of my glass shower doors. Does anyone have any ideas of what I can do for this problem? Thanks!
JLeo from MA
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Have an icy windshield but no ice scraper? Here are some other things you can use in a pinch. Post your ideas.
If your windshield is icy and you have no scraper, you can use the edge of a credit card or a store shopper card to scrape in a pinch.
By Becki in Indiana
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If you have a shed or outbuilding with a padlock, keep it from freezing in cold weather by putting a piece of duct tape over the keyhole, then covering the padlock with a plastic bag. This is especially important if you store the snowblower, shovels, etc in the shed! We found this out the hard way this winter.
By Becki in Indiana
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Washing Silverware in the Dishwasher
It's okay to wash your silverplate items in the dishwasher ... just not with any of your stainless steel items. It doesn't hurt the silverplate, but it will pit the stainless steel.
By Brenda Cole
Editor's Note: Here's a note about washing silverware from the Silver Superstore website.
"Dishwasher Tips: Before you use the dishwasher, wash your silverware by hand the first four or five times of use. This will prevent the miniscule amount of copper from forming brown spots on your sterling. Rinse all excess food off of the silverware, and do not let sterling and stainless pieces touch. Avoid lemon-scented detergents, those containing chlorides, and use slightly less than recommended. Remove the silverware before before the dry cycle, and hand-dry with the soft cloth."
They also have more silverware cleaning information at: http://www.silversuperstore.com/silver_care.html
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Tips and advice for organizing recipes. Post your ideas!
Organizing Recipes On Your Computer
To organize recipes, I keep a folder marked recipes, which contains recipes that look interesting that I haven't tried. Once I try the recipe, I either delete it because it wasn't that good or save it to a folder marked Recipes Tried. I subdivide that folder into dressing and sauces, main dishes, vegetables, and so on.
To find a recipe when I can't make up my mind what to fix, I do a find file with the word chicken, or cake, or the name of the vegetable, etc. I print the recipe on recycled paper each time I use it and don't have all the clutter of recipe cards.
I use a magnet to hold the recipe on the kitchen vent and it is just the right height for me to read it as I go. Do not do this unless you are in the kitchen and use a very strong magnet or the recipe could fall onto the stove and cause a fire.
By Lynn
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Adding Weight To Your Truck For Winter Driving
When snow and ice are on the ground, you see a lot of people loading the bed of their pickup truck with heavy stuff to help with traction on the slippery roads. PLEASE REMEMBER that whatever you have in the back of the truck can go flying if you are involved in a crash. Using firewood or cement blocks may lead to serious injury!
By Becki in Indiana
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To keep your recipe handy while cooking, put a fork, handle-side down, into a water glass. Then prop the recipe card in the tines of the fork. It will be held safe and sound, and easy to see!
By Becki in Indiana
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Decorating With Happy Memories
To decorate a room. Pick something that makes you "happy" when you think about it. ie; a pleasant time in your life, a vacation even a song. Then shop around at thrift stores/discount stores, and find anything that has to do with that idea.
I decorated a bathroom in 50's style. I made a poodle skirt out of pink felt and used it for a curtain and then bought old records and hung them all over the wall. I took black check fabric and trimmed black towels with them. Since I lived so far away from my home town, I had my sister pick up my favorite things from there. A donut bag from the shop I got donuts at as a kid, and other things that reminded me of my home town. It's adorable and everything reminds me of my childhood.
It's fun, try it.
By Nancy Mihalek
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Keep a list of what you usually buy at the store and print it on the computer. You can make several copies at a time. When you get ready to go to the grocery store just glance through and check off what you need. You could laminate this or put it in a page protector and check off needed items before each trip to the store.
By Ellen Plitt
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Slice apples in 9 inch pie crust. Beat eggs in small bowl. Add vanilla, butter, honey, and salt; blend well. Add nuts. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then 325 degrees for 25- 30 minutes.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in ice cream in spoonfuls and crushed pineapple. Chill until partially thickened. Stir and pour into baked pie crust. Chill until firm. Do not freeze.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Dissolve Jello and sugar in water; add raspberries and lemon juice and stir until thawed. Chill until partially thickened. Cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth and blended. Add about 1/4 of the whipped cream and mix thoroughly. Fold in the remaining cream. Spread half of cheese mixture into pie shell. Top with half of raspberry mixture and repeat. Chill several hours or overnight. This recipe serves 8.
By Robin
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Can be made a day before.
Cookie Crust:
Filling:
Topping:
Directions:
For cookie crust: Butter 9 inch plate. Stir crumbled cookies and butter together and press into pie plate. Reserve some crumbs for topping. Chill. For filling: Cream butter and sugar. Melt and add the unsweetened chocolate. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat for 5 minutes. Fold in whipped topping, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips. Pour into cookie crust. Chill 2 hours.
For topping: Whip together the powdered sugar and whipping cream until firm.. Pour over dessert and garnish with peanuts and cookie crumbs.
By Robin
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Ingredients:
Directions:
Mix sugar and cornstarch together. Add water and cook until thick over medium heat. Add desired food coloring and Jello. Stir until dissolved; cool.. Slice peaches or strawberries into mixture. Use amount of fruit necessary for size of pie. Refrigerate until set. If using canned peaches, be sure to drain them.
By Robin
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New Requests:
I have tried just about everything to get the water spots off of my glass shower doors. Does anyone have any ideas of what I can do for this problem? Thanks!
JLeo from MA
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Why is it no matter how careful you try to be you get stuff down you - esp on something new! I never realised that I had bright orange oil paint on my hand till I got in our car- I had been touching my tee-shirt, making sure it was pulled down right till I noticed bright orange finger marks all over it! How can I get the stains off as my mums gonna go mental for a £45 t-shirt! Any Advice is much appreciated
P.S. - my paints were not out of cans but out of tubes - the box also never came with any instructions on how to remove stains, oh! and also, would a teeny bit of white spirit help to get rid of the stain?
Thanks x Sambo
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Name Tags for 40th High School Reunion
I am getting ready for my 40th year high school class reunion. Does anyone have any ideas for different or unique name tags?
Irene from Alabama
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Hi, I am looking for a used HP 6553 tower to make complete a pc for me, I have everything else but that. I am not able to pay a lot of money right now. If anyone has any ideas or parts they said it needed a motherboard. thanks a lot. Dylan in Kentucky
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Kitchen Decorating - Chili Peppers
I'm building a new home and I want my kitchen theme to be Chili Peppers. My counter top is black and gray with specks of red. My kitchen curtains have red chili peppers on them. Some of my kitchen gadgets are red and I have red pots. My major kitchen appliances are stainless steel. What color can I paint my walls and what other decorating ideas and tips can anyone give me. Thanks so much for your input. Charmaine
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My husband recently started work at a Hop Extract plant and the smell is unbearable. I was wondering if there are any tricks to getting that smell out of clothing? I haven't tried vinegar yet, but have heard that may help. I am afraid that my clothes are going to smell like hops if I wash mine after his. Any solutions?
Thanks - Jo from Washington State
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Removing Sharpie From Vinyl Seats
How can you get sharpie marks off plastic or vinyl seats. I have tried several things and nothing seems to be removing them.
bls23 in KY
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I am trying how to get "natural" peanut butter stains out of white clothes. I keep reading how to use peanut butter to remove other stains, but I assume this is hydrogenated peanut butter. The natural peanut butter is not removed by anything I have tried. R. Lasher
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What can I do to get mold off the gaskets on the refrigerator doors?
-Evelyn
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Removing Dog Pee and Poo from Cream Carpet
I'm in DIRE need of help we have a 12 week old Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy and it pees and poos everywere and I can't remove the stains. Some one please help it's URGENT. - fay
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Does anyone know how to get an orchid to rebloom? I buy a new one every year, and now I have 6 or 7 plants that are living but don't bloom for me again.
By Brenda Cole
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Removing Shoe Polish Stain from Rose Coloured Carpet
My daughter is in Sea Cadets and even after telling her umpteen times not to polish her boots in the living room, she did. Now, I have a huge black shoe polish stain on my carpet. I hadn't noticed it until today and am not sure how long it has been there. Any ideas on how to get it out? The carpet is new and I'd really hate to have to have it replaced.
Thanks for your ideas.
Darlene in Mississauga
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I have been given a wooden zebra and giraffe for my birthday and would like to change the look of my lounge room to incorporate a jungle - African look. Any ideas on how I can do this without too much expense would be greatly appreciated.
SF from Queensland OZ
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I have a white board that was accidently cleaned with TNT cleaning spray and it wont erase well anymore. Is there anyway to correct this besides buying an entire new board?
Thank You.
Sara
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More Reading:
Pumpkin and Chestnut Soup
By The Maitre D
This is perhaps the best tasting soup I have ever had. The mix of chestnuts and pumpkin, along with the cinnamon is just wow!!! There's a little more to it than our quick and easy soup but it's well worth the effort.
View Article: Click Here
The Monogram Theme Wedding
By Blake Kritzberg
Monograms are a huge trend in weddings, to the point where they feature strongly in some, and in others, provide the actual theme. And what's not to like about monograms? They're elegant, understated, versatile, and a dramatic visual reminder of your new life together.
View Article: Click Here
What Exactly Is Good Nutrition?
By Beverley Brooke
Secretly we all want just a few things in life, none the least of which is to live a life that is healthy and energetic. One way to accomplish this is to eat a well balanced diet that fuels the body to take on life's challenges.
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