Thursday Tips - Pollen Season

The male pine trees are pollinating the females right now. The air with thick with lots of "tree love". When cars drive by the house I can see a cloud of yellow following in their wake.

This is my back deck 30 min after I cleaned it off. I took a friend's advice and used the water hose. The air is hot, sunny, dry, and dusty with this stuff.



It's so super fine. You can see it floating in the air. This picture doesn't do justice to the color. It's a Crayola yellowish-green.


My tip for this fine Thursday is to STAY INSIDE. If you can't stay inside, DON'T BREATHE. If you must breathe, wear what my friend Stephanie lovingly calls the "tree sperm condom". Finally, pray for rain.


Your lungs and throat will thank you.

Want to read more helpful tips, or do you have a tip you would like to share? Click over to Melissa's blog, Coffee With Me.

Thursday Tips - Bunny Care

Do you have a house bunny? Does clipping her nails terrify you?



I used to be afraid of clipping my bunny's nails. But it was a necessary evil. Pepper is about as placid as a bunny can be as long as she doesn't think you want to eat her. If you get clippers near her toes...she assumes you want to use them to eat her. I learned a new trick and I'm not afraid anymore.

First you wrap your bunny up in a towel like a burrito. It's a good idea to get someone else to help you in case you need a second pair of hands.



Then you lay her gently on her back. It's very important to be gentle and move slowly. Your bunny's spine is extremely fragile. One wrong jerk of the leg to break free and your rabbit can snap her spine. When my bunny is in a burrito wrap she doesn't fight. Her arms and legs are completely held against her body. It's also good to have your helper hold her down firmly during the process. I've gotten quite good at it, and she stays pretty still now.

I gently pull one leg out of the wrap at a time and gently clip the nail with giant toenail clippers (the fingernail clippers don't open wide enough). Be extremely careful not to cut bunny's nail to the quick. This could cause bleeding and your bunny doesn't have a lot of blood. It can also be difficult to stop the bleeding once it starts.



Once you get into a routine with your bunny she will no longer be frightened. I still burrito wrap my bunny so that I don't take any chances with her spine.

If your bunny gets away from you, you can catch her by throwing the towel over her. This will cause her to pause. Then quick as you can scoop up your bunny, towel and all.

After it's all over, be sure to spend some time rubbing your bunny down. She will associate the burrito wrapping with good lovin' and will look forward to her next mani/pedi.

Thursday Tips - Table Care

Do you use a table cloth? You should. It protects the surface of your table and keeps it looking new.



This table cloth is *ahem* on it's way to the wash (please ignore syrup from breakfast). It's made from oilcloth and extremely durable. I have a few that I rotate out as the other is washing. The kids also use wipeable place mats to extend the washing time of the tablecloths.

It may seem like a bit of a nuisance. But with such a durable no frills kind of cloth, it's really no fuss at all.



See? Nice and new. I've had this table for a few years now. Not a scratch or a ding on it.

Visit Melissa at Coffee with Me for more fun household tips.

Thursday Tips --- an IT box.

This is my tip for all the other techies out there just like me. I was inspired to share it with you when I needed to put the software and user manual for my Workforce away.

This is my IT box. I keep everything I'll ever need to network, repair, or just tune up my equipment. As you can see it needs to be organized a bit.


I cleaned out all of the stuff I no longer need, (like my old printer software/manual and old tax software), before I put it all back in the box. In that plastic bag are my small telephone cords, extra chargers for ipods (we don't plug them all in at once) and other smallish cords.


At the bottom of my box are all of my big cables, miscellaneous cords, and a spare surge protector. I've learned that sometimes a cable will just go bad. It's good to have backup.

Thursday Tip--Dusting

Hey there. Do you enjoy the soft warm lights you get from strategically placed lamps?


Then you are probably like me and have a lamp shade that needs dusting. Have I got a tip for you!


Apply your vacuum brush attachment and vacuum your stress and worry away!


My assistant would like to know more.


Vacuuming your lamp shades every week keeps them from getting all dingy and yellow looking.


But wait! That's not all! While you already have your servant vacuum cleaner working hard for you, go ahead and reach up way high and get the ceiling fan!


Your weekly vacuuming adventure will also keep your ceiling fan from getting that sticky dust that you have to scrub away with soap and water. "What a mess!"

I am not at liberty to reveal the source of my ancient secret wisdom. Lets just say...I've seen it happen.

When you are all done your brush might look like this...or worse. "Ewwwwww"


No more gnashing of teeth trying to pull all that dust and hair out of the bristles, only to have to vacuum all over again! Allow your vacuum cleaner to, once again, make your life easier.


That's all for this week. Remember, be kind to your vacuum cleaners. Dump the canister every time you use it.

Want to learn more friendly household tips? Join Melissa over at Marine's Wife and share a tip of your own!