Daily Thrifty Tips - November 20, 2006

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Jerry and Shana are 10 and 9 years young. They are Westies. They are both rescues.

Jerry likes soft toys. Shana like squeaky toys. Both like chasing squirrels.

By Kandy from Oceanside, New York

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Alvie is a 3 year old black Lab, Tommy is a long haired domestic cat 4 1/2 years old and Coco is a 1 1/2 year old Chocolate lab.

All my dogs and the cat get along great. I have 2 other dogs besides Alvie and Coco.

By Penny from Ipava, IL

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Sandee Claws is 6 years old. He's a yellow tabby. We lost our yellow tiger kitty we'd had for 15 years. His name was Friendly. He was mauled by a neighbor's dog. Our cat had never been out of the house so it was declawed and didn't stand a chance.

We went to our local shelter to see if they had a yellow tiger kitty. My husband was just devastated losing his cat. There was a little kitten he just went to immediately and loved. We adopted him and Larry called him Sandee Claws.

He likes to play with yarn. Also he likes to play with little catnip pillows I make.

Sandee is such a snoopy cat. He looks in the shopping bags when we bring them home. He'll even climb in them. We don't let him unless we are there. Don't want him suffocating. In one photo we show what happened when we brought home baskets!

By Judy from Iowa

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Just in time for Thanksgiving, a delightful turkey stick puppet, that doubles as a fan. It's quick, easy, and you probably have all the materials right at home.

Crafting Time: approximately 30 minutes

What You Need:

• Construction paper in orange, yellow, and brown
• A tiny bit of red crepe paper streamer or tissue paper
• Hole punch
• A paint stir stick, or something similar
• Craft Glue

Directions:

1. Trace half a dinner plate on orange paper and half a salad plate on yellow paper. Cut these shapes out. Glue the yellow half circle to the orange one.

2. Draw and cut a turkey head and body shape, it's a simple bowling pin shape, from brown paper. Punch two holes in the head section for eyes. You can also draw on two eyes with marker. Glue the body to the center of the yellow and orange half circles.

3. Cut a diamond shape from yellow paper and fold it in half to make the beak. Glue the back half of the beak to the turkey's head just below the eyes. The beak will open. Cut a small strip of red crepe paper streamer or tissue paper for the turkey's wattle. Glue the end of this just above the beak, so the will hang down over the beak.

4. Draw and cut two turkey feet from orange paper. Glue these to the bottom of the turkey's body, facing upward, so it appears as though the turkey is sitting down.

5. Glue a paint stir stick to the back of the turkey to make a puppet.

By Marie E. Cecchini from West Dundee, IL

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Each morning when I wake up, I enjoy seeing the sun coming up in the eastern sky. Any season, sky watching can be fun. Especially early in the morning at sunrise or in the evening at sunset.

By Evelyn Heinz from McHenry, IL.

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Many recipes for chicken work just as well with holiday turkey leftovers. I used a chicken curry recipe for dinner and substituted turkey. The flavor is better if the pieces of turkey are stir fried just enough to brown them.

By Lynn

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Reuse cleaning wipes for windows on tile counters and in the bathroom. Just wet them after you think they are done. The texture of the wipe and the little bit of solution left on them give a bright shine to the tile and make removing anything stuck on them easy. I have tile counter top in my kitchen and this gives a great finishing touch.

I also keep the used wipes handy to wipe at the baseboards. I've also found a little water on the duster wipes will extend their life too.

By Octoberbabye from Bradenton, Florida

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Place a whole onion (skin and all) along with few large pieces of celery inside the cavity of your turkey before baking for a very moist and flavorful bird. I also baste the turkey with apple juice instead of butter or fat which results in a beautifully golden crisp skin and moist meat without any added fat. As a bonus your house will smell fabulous. The turkey will not have the taste of apples.

By Callie - Tampa, FL

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With the big holidays coming, I find when I cook a big meal, I'm too tired to eat. So I make everything possible the day before. Potatoes are peeled, boiled and mashed, dressing is made and baked (when it's done, pour over some chicken broth, cover with foil and it stays moist), turkey is cleaned and placed in the roaster then back in the fridge. Then on the holiday, all I have to do is cook the turkey and "reheat" the rest. Much easier, no one can tell the difference and I can sit and enjoy the meal with my family!

By The Duck

Answers:

I Agree

By patsAZ

Cooking The Night Before

By Valerie

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I have worked as an optician for many years. I am asked daily about the best way to clean glasses.

I am most concerned about keeping the lenses scratch free, so I suggest all lenses are to be first rinsed with water, then wiped with a soft cloth. At my workplace, we use a soft liquid soap (anything mild) over the lenses, frame AND nosepads, then we spray with a mixture of 2/3 water and 1/3 alcohol. We use old cloth diapers for wiping.

You can make your own spray at a fraction of the cost of the prefilled type. Those lens "papers" are a bane to plastic lenses and will just grind the dust into the lens, creating scratches.

Silicone nosepads are very popular today. They work well ONLY if they are kept clean. Over time the pads will develop a green residue, this is not your fault, this is just the combo of chemicals and metal. Have your nosepads changed regularly. My office does this free of charge for anyone.

Take advantage of the free service an optician offers, such as

• free inspection of glasses
• free adjustments
• free repairs and replacements of nosepads (or for a minimal fee)
• free cleaning of eyeglasses (some of us have ultrasonic cleaners which remove the deep grime in the eyewire rim)

I have more tricks and ideas. If you have a question, post feedback.

(below 0 today in Alaska)

By Kelly Ross from Anchorage, AK

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I am the mom of a 9 year old son, who seems to forever have shoe laces that need to be retied. I have even been known to triple knot his laces at times, and they still seem to come untied. Sometimes untied laces can be dangerous when kids are playing sports, so I knew I needed to come up with a quick and cheap (free) way to keep the laces tied.

I decided to use a twist-tie that I had in a kitchen drawer. After tying his shoes with no double or triple knots, just regular bow-tie, I insert the end of a twist-tie under the laces to the immediate right or left of the knot. I then twist it a couple of times and smooth the ends flat so they sort of blend in with his laces, horizontally. It works great!

His shoes almost never come untied, through P.E. at school and even basketball and soccer games. The plastic coated twist-ties don't work nearly as well as the paper covered ones that are sometimes included with trash bags. The twist-ties at the grocery store that accompany the plastic bags in the produce section (green in my area) work really fantastic too.

By Kelley from Albuquerque, NM

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To save yourself some money and also save some trees. Check online to see if you can receive your local newspaper online. We don't pay for a subscription to the local paper, which saves us over $100.00 per year, plus we don't have the hassle of throwing away nor having to recycle a newspaper either. If we want to save something from the paper, we can just print it out, or choose to purchase only that one issue. Although I find that plenty of people who do receive the daily paper will gladly give you their issues free after they are finished reading it. The easiest way to find your local paper online is to type the name of the paper, city and state in the search bar.

By Tonya from Martinsville, OH

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This is a really cute wallpaper and you are recycling too. You need to decide on a color scheme for your kitchen. Paint walls your desired color.

Then you need to save all the labels from cans of food that go with your kitchen colors. Get your family and friends involved they mostly likely won't mind saving them for you. Trim the labels down so that all the nutritional information is gone. I personally like Campbells labels.

Now to enable easy removal apply sizing to your walls. This is very easy just brush it on the walls and let it dry completely. Next apply unpasted wallpaper paste to each label and start applying them to your wall in a random pattern. When you are through you can cover this with varnish to make cleaning of your walls easier.

If you have not covered the walls completely and have only applied the labels in certain areas make sure you cover these with varnish.

Hope you enjoy,

By Debra from Colorado Springs, Colorado

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The most time consuming part of baking pies is doing the crust. So to save time in the future, instead of making 1 recipe of crust, make 2 or 3. It is easier to make them each in a separate bowl, so that you can cut the shortening in more easily. My recipe makes a crust for a double crust pie. So I make 3 recipes, and divide each one in half. Form each half into a round disc, and wrap in plastic wrap or foil and freeze. Take them out as needed, and let them thaw and roll just as for fresh. Or next time you have a little stew leftover from a meal, grab a crust from the freezer and make a potpie with it.

By Harlean from Arkansas

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With Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner (It really will come fast!) I want to share a tip for cleaning the turkey pan. I don't use aluminum unless I have to; and I do have a stainless steel pan. Either one will benefit from this tip. After the turkey, etc. are removed from the pan, put hot water and about 1 cup baking soda and a small amount of dish detergent in the pan and fill it to the top. Let it soak while you are eating and it will be a breeze to clean. I have done this for years and it has always worked. (I have been married 42 years)

By Sshep

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Let us know what you do to get ready for Thanksgiving. This can include how you prepare food for transporting, cooking the dinner, travel plans, traditions. Post your tips below...

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I have a good friend who is graduating from SW Baptist Theological Seminary and I was looking for gift ideas.

Shannon from Ft. Worth, TX

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Which retail stores carry Space Bags?

Sandy from Lenoxville PA

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I'm looking for a way to make my own sand art boards, using clear self-adhesive paper(?). Has anyone done this?

Marilyn from Front Royal, VA

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I can't get my bags to stop sliding when sewing. I line them up and the machine pulls them. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks,
giftsandbags.com

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We have many fruit trees in our yard, but do not receive much, if any, fruit from them. We are in a constant battle with "leaf curl" that attacks our plum, peach, apricot and that family of tree. Before we had the problem with leaf curl, we had wonderful harvests with those trees. Sadly, nothing for the past 7 years or so.

The book at the hardware store suggested we spray something on the trees, which we did last fall, and then again this spring. It was to no avail, the leaf curl returned and we still received no harvest. Short of hiring a professional to come to our house and get our trees back on their feet, we don't know what to do.

Can someone please advise us as to what and when and how to take care of this problem?

Hardiness Zone: 9a

Karri from Santa Maria, CA

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What is a Knifty Knitter?

Randi from Vacaville

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My mother used to make a soup that she called Depression Soup. It started with a ham bone. Some of the ingredients were cabbage, onions and canned pork and beans. If anyone know this recipe, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Susan from Portage, IN

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How can I get mold out of paper money?

DB from Michigan

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Ok, I'm a kid. I have a problem. I'm 14. i can't drive so i have to get my mom to take me places to buy her stuff. Hello! Problem! My dad is in Iraq so basically i am screwed. i get $40 a week if I do my chores. For every time I miss a chore, my mom takes off 5 bucks! I need that money to buy stuff for her and for her stocking and Domi (foriegn exchange student, 17, can't drive) and Max and the dogs and grandma. What I got my mom so far is: a beauty basket, a snowglobe, cookboooks and rich chocolate for her stocking but that's it! I need help please, how can i get cash for gifts?

By chelsi

Answer

By Reece71

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How do you grow Calamondin?

Hardiness Zone: 11

Mo from Hawaii

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What are the best gloves for -20 weather. I need them to be warm, breathable, allow dexterity and waterproof.

Pope from Oroville, WA

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Recently watching Sensible Chic on HGTV, I saw where they "painted" a beige area rug with red paint to form a checkerboard pattern. They didn't say how it was done, but the rug looked great on the TV. Is this really doable and if so, what kind of paint would be used? Their rug was at least 5 x 8 and they indicated they used spray paint. Has anyone ever tried this --if so, I would like to know how it was done.

Thanks,
Monica from Scranton, PA

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I came home to find that my cat had urinated on my Jennifer Convertibles microfiber couch. I wasn't there to soak up the stain immediately, so I'm afraid the urine soaked and dried all the way into the couch. Any tested and successful remedies to ensure the smell is completely eliminated without ruining the couch? I have used Nature's Miracle Pet Odor Remover in the past, but I don't want to soak the spot if there is a better way to take care of the problem.


KG from New York, NY

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We have a mobile home with pre-papered wallboard. Can we paint over it and how?

Elzadia from Beach Park, IL

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How do you remove nicotine stains from cloth dolls?

Renn from Saugus, MA

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How is Epsom Salt different from other salts? (Road Salt, Pickling Salt, Table Salt)

Hardiness Zone: 5b

Sunshine from Hamilton

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I am in need of help for Christmas but do not know where to go. Can you please tell me where to get help for Christmas.

Tina from Bunker Hill, West Virginia

Please post charities that offer help during the holiday season in West Virginia.

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Does anyone have a pattern for making a cube out of paper?

Marianne from Richmond, CA

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I have water marks from rain water on curtains. They are cotton fabric with cream colour. Any ideas on how to remove the marks?

Maid from Gauteng, South Africa

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How do I keep spiders away from inside my house? I keep cleaning and cleaning and their webs just keep coming back. I kill them and more appear. Is there a special herb they do not like that will keep them away? The sticky insect traps have not caught 1 spider yet.

Chuck R. from Kentwood, MI

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I am looking for a soda can tab belt pattern.

Teresa from Bensalem, PA

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Does anyone know how to refresh dried potpourri? I had a vase given to me with some in it from a friend of mine, but there is no smell left in it. Was wondering if maybe adding some water with scented oil would work and drying in oven? Or is there some other way to freshen this and bring scent back into it? Thanks for your help!

jmz2005 from Illinois

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What can I use to dye seashells?

Mijou from Cape Town

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We just purchased a new leather chair and I put a quilt over it when I wasn't home and the cat seemed to stay away. Today my husband was home so I just threw a newspaper over the chair and everything was fine all day. When I got home the cat jumped on the chair and peed on the newspaper and it went down between the seat and back cushion of the chair. I cleaned it right away and used LYsol on the leather upper and also on the cloth section under the chair. How should I keep the cat away from the chair and will he go back if he can still smell it. I am also calling the vet first thing tomorrow. Help.

Julie from New Hampshire

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How do you remove red crayon from sand blasted knotty pine wood wall?

Nan from Barry, TX

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How do you make homemade sausage?

Lanet from Brainerd, MN

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Does anyone have any ideas for using discarded wallpaper books?

Snipper

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I am making a message in a bottle for an anniversary gift, how can I decorate it?

Hailes from Christchurch, New Zealand

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I recently had my wooden floors sanded, stained and polyeurethaned. They did a great job. The problem? I was using Old English Scratch Remover (which is essentially stain) on a couch. I didn't realize at the time that I had unfortunately spilled a few drops (at least 10 to 15) on my newly done wooden floors! Any tips on how I could remove the stains?

Yanet from San Antonio, TX

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Just mentioning the word "Thanksgiving" often conjures up memories for many. Traditions are relived and new ones are born on this joyous family holiday. Why not start a new one with your children with this fun and simple activity.

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Don't Stress over Holiday Meals, Plan ahead. Stress is really about the unknown, do I have enough of; will I get this done in time? So some intelligent planning ahead of time, will help to take a lot of stress out of holiday meals.

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The turkey is stuffed, the pies are baked, and the places are set. Now all that's left is filling the time between when the guests arrive and the bird is carved. Try some of these fun and free activities for the entire family to do before (or even after) the meal.

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Aurea. Purpurea. Triangularis. Variegata. For some gardeners, the thought of trying to understand (let alone pronounce) complex botanical terms can seem intimidating. And while you certainly don't need to understand botany or Latin to grow a successful garden, a basic understanding of the language of horticulture can deepen your appreciation for the plants you grow and be downright handy when your shopping for plants. Here's a brief and very simple explanation of the how's and why's behind 5 common botanical terms.

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