Cleaning Tips

I share this with you because this is my primary way to clean and has been for many years and low and behold, someone wrote it all down for me. Enjoy!

From RVing Tip of the Day (http://rvtravel.com/rvdt867/ )

Clean thoroughly for peanuts!

By Bob Difley
Before buying those high-priced, fancy-packaged, specialized cleaning supplies, try these two items you probably already have in your rig. Even if you don’t have them already, they’re readily available in any grocery store – and you may be pleasantly surprised at their versatility.

What are these magic ingredients? White vinegar and baking soda! Don’t believe it? Try this on your oven – one of the toughest cleaning jobs – to convince yourself. Prepare a solution of 1/2 cup each of vinegar and baking soda with 3 cups of water. Wear rubber gloves to protect your skin and apply with a kitchen towel or sponge. Allow the solution to stand for a few minutes, then wipe off. You will only need to scrub the very toughest burned-on food.

How about windows? Wipe solution on with a sponge then wash off with a hose (outside, of course!) and enjoy your new sparkling, streak-free windows. Use vinegar mixed with 3 parts water (you can vary this mixture based on the difficulty of the cleaning job) for less difficult jobs. Here are some more cleaning tips:

Vinegar
Remove stick-on hooks from painted surfaces by squeezing a few drops of vinegar behind the hook.
Price labels will come off by coating the label with several coats of white vinegar and let soak. After several minutes the label will rub off.
Lime deposits around faucets can be softened for easy removal by covering the deposits with vinegar-soaked paper towels. Leave the paper towels on for about one hour before cleaning. Leaves chrome clean and shiny.
Vinegar removes deposits which clog your metal shower heads and sink aerators. Combine 1/2 cup white vinegar and one-quart water and submerge the shower head or aerators and boil 15 minutes. Or put the mixture in a plastic bag, secure to the shower head with a rubber band, leave on for about an hour, then remove the bag and turn on the water to rinse.
For a homemade anti-fogging glass cleaner try 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water.
Remove rust stains and hard water deposits by applying vinegar full-strength until spot disappears, then rinse.
Mix vinegar with salt to create a paste for a good surface cleaner.
Remove stubborn hard water sprinkler spots and streaks on glass with undiluted vinegar.
Clean teapots by boiling equal parts of vinegar and water for several minutes and let stand an hour. Then rinse with plain water before using the tea kettle.
Baking Soda
You can cut the amount of chlorine bleach used in your wash by half when you add 1/4 cup to front-loading washers and 1/2 cup to top-loading machines.
The baking soda will also make your clothes smell clean and fresh.
Dissolve 4 tablespoons baking soda in 1-quart warm water for a general cleaner.
Use baking soda on a damp sponge to clean and deodorize all kitchen and bathroom surfaces.
A paste of baking soda and salt will clean baking dishes – enamel, ceramic and glass – and coffee stains from cups or countertops.
It is a great soap scum remover.
For sluggish or clogged drains pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain. Add 1/2 cup white vinegar and cover the drain. Let sit for a few minutes, then pour a kettle of 6 or more cups of boiling water down the drain to flush it. The combination of baking soda and vinegar breaks down fatty acids into soap and glycerin, allowing the clog to wash down the drain.

Winding down

Things are winding down in the park. Easter seems to dictate when folks are headed home. We know from experience that it is still too cold up there! We will be headed out after the first week in April. Plan to be in Peculiar so we can enjoy Elise's performance in Oliver and share a few laughs with little Leo.
Butch is playing in the Park Pool Tournament today. Wish him luck!!

I hope to have some spare time to take pictures of birds. It is extremely noisy with all the romance and pursuit of romance that the birds are engaged in these days. The parrots are most active when the light is subdued, however, I did get a few pics the other day.

                                                           Thrashers on Cactus

Parrots on a wire

 

Different Parrots on a wire

Parrots!

Photo was taken yesterday in our park by my friend Deon Spangler. We both have the same camera. I purchased mine at Deon's suggestion. I am loving this photo.

Best for travel-Chromebook

I agree with all that is said in the article below. In addition, I use it for trivia night. It is easier to tote up to the hall and has any and all info I need. I do use my large computer at home (motorhome) to make up the questions and since I do most everything in Google Drive it is synced to the chromebook automatically. Still a fan of Chromebook.

http://rvtravel.com/a-chromebook-may-be-your-best-travel-laptop/

Caught my eye

When digging goes on in this park you will find seashells. After all, not that long ago it was the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Moonshine

Jerusalem artichoke? or Compass plant? Hard for me to tell the difference.

 A pair of Kiskadee are nesting in a cactus located in the middle of the park.

This is the Week

This is the week when it all happens at once. It is a load of fun but it is also very easy for me to get behind. I mention this because I mistakenly posted a park entry here instead of on the Magnolia blog. I am going to leave it because at this particular minute I am tired. Maybe later...

Annual Show and Tell

We busy people of Magnolia Village spend our days doing a wide variety arts and crafts to keep busy in between the numerous events. And we bring our efforts to Allen Hall each March to show what we have achieved. The women who quilt have made 42 of them this year. They will be finding a new home at the veterans home, the colonias and nursing homes. Each one is injected with love, caring, and warmth.

Larry Ergan

Barb Kent is a big time crafter always working on her projects.

Paint Class has been painting up a storm.

Creative Idea- Chris Pearce

Cheif Engineer- Don Knorr

Dave Bruun can frequently be found on his patio working on some project with wood.

Writers Block...sorta

I am sitting here trying to think of something interesting to relate to you. My day kinda goes like this; I wake up around 6, sometimes earlier and sometimes later but always before 7:00. I get my vitamins taken, coffee made and sometimes dressed before sitting down at the computer. As I age all this seems to take longer. Along about 8:00 Butch gets up and starts into his day. At 10:00 we go for our first walk of 1.2 miles and this takes 20 minutes on an uninterrupted walk. But there are dogs to pet and people to talk to so rarely is it a flat 20 minutes. Lunchtime comes around very quickly it seems. Today is Thursday so I will be going to Costco with the "girls". We get back in early afternoon and we walk at 4:00, another 1.2 miles. Butch will be playing cribbage this afternoon and pool at 6:00. Thursdays are a day for me to do as I please. Well, maybe they all are...

Didn't know we were "Ploggers"

Way back when Colleen and I started walking the bike trail we would pick up small trash, usually on our return trip. One time a county employee saw me and thanked me for it. I didn't know it had become a craze...in Sweden. This article in the Washington Post has spurred me to be more conscious of it wherever I might be.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2018/02/23/plogging-is-the-swedish-fitness-craze-for-people-who-want-to-save-the-planet-its-making-its-way-to-the-u-s/?utm_term=.b3c689ded3d0

You can be a plogger too!! Maybe I am more of a palker?

Motorhome washed

Today we had the motorhome washed by Jorge Martinez of Martinez Car Wash. Call 956-563-5154 We had noticed the excellent work he did on one of our walks. He was busy washing several RV's in the RV section of the park. Butch has been wanting to get the roof washed for quite some time and I said he should have it hired out as he is getting of an age when a fall from the roof could be the end. Also, it takes quite a bit out of him these days to do that much hard labor. It was more money to include the roof in the wash but well worth it. $80 with the roof. We plan to call him in the fall to have it done again.

The motorhome is 14 years old this year but still gets mistaken for a new one now and then.

Our South Padre Excursion.

We had planned a week ago to go to South Padre and the day dawned cloudy with extreme fog. But then about 11:00 AM it started to clear so we took the plunge and headed for the coast. It is about 50-60 miles from the park. We were going to eat at Dirty Al's first but we could not find a place to park so we went down to beach access number 9 and went for a walk with the plan to go back to Dirty Al's later and hope it was less busy. We walked about a mile and a half and then returned. It was slightly less busy. Butch had his usual burger and I had the shrimp basket with salad that I have been waiting two years to eat. It was worth the wait and I enjoyed every bite.
Here are the best of the pictures taken.

The Yucca is blooming

From the causeway

Fish Tales

American Kestrel

American Kestrel

One-legged Gull

Butterfly Kite

Mr. Whitefeet

Lots of fishing going on

These two are trying to increase the size of their tide pool

Surf's up

Her Grandma buried her at her request.

Sweet Clara is one!

Clara is the only granddaughter of Leo and Keri. Her great-aunt Marlene should give her broom lessons so she can control all those boys.

Grandpa Leo and Beckett

I love this picture of these two. It is just too cute!!

I think winter is over...

...in Sunny South Texas. For the first time in a very long while we have temperatures more like we are used to here. Daytime temps in high 70's and 80's and nighttime temps in the 60's. It would be nice if this happened gradually but that is rarely the case.
Nice change either way. When we go for our walk we have to allow more time because we become engaged in far more conversations.

Butch and I are thinking about going to the beach one of these days soon. I have been finding a bit more camera time and I hope to find even more in the days ahead.

Universal Problem

Full Fun Day

Yesterday Butch and I did something we rarely do together in South Texas-went shopping! First, we stopped at the hairdressers in Donna. Butch has not had a pro cut his hair for, let us say, YEARS. So Mary cut his hair and Daisy trimmed mine. It was a cold day and when we walked in the two of them were watching Mexican soap operas on TV. They said it was too cold for people to get out and that is why they were not busy. They quickly took care of us and we were on our way to McAllen and Costco. Butch likes to shop at Costco but down here I go with the girls. Each method has its value.
After shopping, we decided to see what  Raising Cane, a chicken fast food restaurant, has to offer. We liked it and will be going there again. We ordered a combo- 4 chicken strips, fries, coleslaw, toast and a drink for $7 something and it was plenty for the two of us. They are used to people sharing because they asked if we wanted a second plate.  After lunch, we made our way back to the park the slow way and thus stopped at the Dairy Queen for dessert in Alamo. Butch said our dessert cost about the same as our meal! We had not had a day like that for a long time and it was fun.

The Day of the Bee's

Almost a week ago I was cooking roasted vegetables in my NuWave oven. It was warm enough to have the windows open, a very pleasant day. I started noticing bee's gathering around the windows. 3 or 4 of them around every open window and the door. I closed the windows and then there were ever more gathering at the door with some of them finding their way inside. Soon it became alarming because of the number of them. Finally, we managed to get the door shut, turned off the oven and they went away.
My roasted vegetable recipe
 5 or 6 medium Yukon gold potatoes, cut into chunks
2 large sweet onions, chunked
3 large carrots peeled and chunked
2 T. olive oil
splash of balsamic vinegar
seasoned salt to taste

Place in medium to large bowl and stir until well coated. Place in shallow pan and roast at 350 to 400 degrees until browned and tender. In Nuwave 30 minutes in conventional oven may take longer

The bee's think this recipe is yummy.

One of the Coldest

This season so far has been one of the coldest in memory. We have been getting a roller coaster of a ride with the temperatures. Right now it looks like it might give us a break after Monday and then we will have temps in the 70's. I am hoping we can then say winter as we know it is over.

Beckett and Mila

Leo and Keri's youngest grandson Beckett with new puppy Mila.

This Morning's photos

The geranium with nine lives. I have nearly killed it and then saved it many times. 

A form of Plant Munchausen syndrome by proxy?

 A view from my window...

I had to venture outside to get these last two photos. The leaves are off most of the trees these days. Buds will soon be appearing and by months end will be fully leafed out.

2/4/2018 Sunday morning at 7:00 am Moon. I have been on a moon kick since getting the knack of it. This too shall pass.