Future of keeping warm

I was thinking about buying an electric blanket to warm up the bed on really cold nights, and upon searching the internet, I came across a new technology that I simply must share. They are little rubbery discs, the size of a Frisbee made by Snuggle Safe. You heat them up in the microwave for 5 minutes, and they hold 100 degree heat for 12 hours! After that, they slowly cool down to room temperature. They are currently made for pet beds, but I am very excited about this. I am sure they will develop the technology more to be used in a larger scale in the future. I have heard of several people using them in their chicken coops to keep the hens warm, and with other outdoor livestock. It can even be used in the car.

There are no cords, so the uses are limitless.

Guaranteed life

One of my least pleasant memories is the first time I applied for life insurance. They sent a nurse over to my house to do the medical exam. As if the long list of questions weren't bad enough, then it was time for the blood test. Now, I don't have a problem with needles, but occasionally nurses have problems finding my veins. Apparently, they are "deep" and "roll around" when poked. One time, when I donated blood I had to be poked three times by a couple of different nurses before they found a good vein.

This life insurance examiner was the worst, though. He made three different holes in each of my inner elbows, before finally getting enough blood to fill the vial. Afterwards, one of my arms had a 6-inch bruise for weeks and was very painful. All this for insurance in the unlikely event of my death. I've heard about guaranteed issue life insurance, where no medical exam is necessary and everyone is accepted, regardless of health history. This sounds great, but how much does it cost?

I would think that if they suspect you are on the way out, your monthly payment would be much higher than the people who passed the rigorous medical exam and questionnaire. However, it is great that even terminally ill patients can get life insurance, in the interest of their loved ones. It only takes a few minutes to get a quote online, so it's probably worth the time to check it out and compare rates.

End-of-year deals

Many stores are clearing out electronics to make room for the next year's models. I've seen discount tables at several stores, and the online stores have many items on clearance too. I've seen Canon, Samsung, Pentax, and Panasonic digital cameras, laptop and desktop computers, printers, and televisions, among more.

So if you got any gift cards for Christmas, check out these deals to get the most bang for your gift buck. Hope everyone had happy holidays! We spent most of this week outdoors since it was so warm - 68 degrees today!

Baby Jesus missing again

Since there are newly installed security cameras in several downtown locations, you would think the baby Jesus in the Nativity Scene would be safe this year, right? Wrong! Even though it was chained to a cinder block, someone stole the entire thing! Were they caught on camera? Yes. Could the perpetrator be identified? No.

This is a yearly tradition of sorts in Eureka, and the Jesus is usually found and returned, with the wrongdoer paying a fine and getting a slap on the wrist. I think maybe it is time to give this one a rest and just let the baby Jesus be.

Better late than never

When my children were babies, I did the research and I knew that cloth diapers were healthier and better for the environment. But when there is a newborn baby in the house, disposable diapers are just so much more convenient. I wanted to spend all my extra time catching up on sleep, not doing laundry. I did have a set of cloth diapers, but they were only used as burp rags.

Fast forward four years from when my youngest was born, and I have found a use for those old cloth diapers! My son has been potty trained for a year now, but he still has occasional night time accidents. As such, we have kept him in the pull-up style diapers at night, every night. They can be reused a couple of times if there was no accident, but they get a bit fuzzy after that. Pull-ups cost much more than diapers, even if you buy the generic brands, so I was anxious to find an alternative.

So I came up with a homemade pull-up. I take a cloth diaper and fold it over to make a thick strip. Then I have him hold it on himself, covering from under the belly button on down between the legs, while I help pull up his regular underwear on top. Then he wears a pair of plastic over-pants, topped of with the pajama pants. So far, this has worked quite well, and the clean up isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

If he wakes with wetness, we soak the items in a bucket filled with water and a splash of bleach. I swirl it around for a minute, then dump the water. Then I rinse everything with plain water, wring out, and hang it to dry. When they are dry, I put them in the hamper to be washed at the end of the week with the rest of the laundry.

Keep it simple

I have found that for the most part, simple equals less expensive, which is great because our tastes are simple. Simple designs are more efficient and easier to clean, and easier to build yourself. We are planning our future house to be very simple at the beginning, and we will embellish it as we go, as we see fit. This way, the house will be an ongoing project, which appeals to our need for change, and it will keep us busy finding ways to improve things.

In the beginning, don't expect to find Grohe faucets or other fancy fixtures. We are hoping to find deals on used house parts, or if we must purchase something new, it must be on sale. We have already been keeping an eye on the classified ads and have picked up a couple of exterior doors for dirt cheap. When people remodel, they just want the old stuff gone, so there are great bargains to be found locally. We prefer to reuse things if they are still in good shape or can be repaired. It just feels like the right thing to do.

Bearing fruit

We were walking around on our piece of land the other day and were pleasantly surprised to find a wild tree bearing fruit - lots of fruit for such a small tree. I vaguely recognized them, and decided we better research on the internet before attempting a taste. I found out they are persimmons, which are common in the Ozarks. Although I have seen them in the grocery store, I've never bought any due to their high price. According to the site I found, persimmons are known to be very sweet when they are very ripe, but quite bitter before fully ripened.

We were planning to start a little orchard right around there with some apple and Fig trees, and I am thrilled that we already have an established fruit tree growing wild in that same area of the land. Now if we could only find a pecan tree, I would be in heaven. :o)