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Don’t Wait til Spring! Plant that New Tree Now!

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You’ve just bought a new sapling at the nursery and can’t wait til Spring to plant it in your yard, right? Well, Spring may not be the best time to plant that new tree. At the time of this writing, it is Winter. And that can be the best time to plant a new sapling into the ground.

I once was employed distributing fliers for a landscaping company. In hearing discussions at the office, I found that some people had new plants and trees placed in the ground during the winter. Curious, I asked about this, thinking winter was the worst time to put a new tree into the ground, due to the cold and elements.

The answer was that most trees go dormant in the winter months, especially if they are deciduous trees, the ones that lose their leaves in the fall and grow them back in the spring, such as Maple, Elm, and Aspen trees.

When a sapling is planted into the ground, there is actually a sort of “Shock” as the tree must “get used to” the new soil of the yard. This would go for shrubs, too, or any plant that is “transplanted” to a new location. The tree’s dormancy in winter lessens this shock greatly and helps insure that the tree will take to its new location. Not only that, but the lessening of the shock will also keep the tree’s natural defenses against insect pests from being overtaxed and weakened.

So that’s why, unless the ground is truly covered with ice, it’s often better to plant a new sapling or shrub in the winter months.

If you liked what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post and blog! Also, check out this site’s other pages!

Thanks for reading!  🙂

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Miss that Old TV Series or Movie? See it on You Tube!

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Don’t you wish that you could watch that old TV series or movie that is rarely or no longer shown on tv? Well, if you have a cable or satellite tv subscription, you may have a channel or two where they feature some old series’ and movies. Then there’s Hulu. 

But the place where I’ve seen some old series’ and movies is You Tube. I haven’t tried Hulu.com yet, so I don’t know how it would really compare with You Tube, but I do know that, on You Tube, I’ve been able to see a number of shows, tv series’, and movies, at my discretion. Among the shows I’ve seen are, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, The Big Valley, Charlie’s Angels, Wagon Train, The 6 Million Dollar Man, and an Australian series, Prisoner, Cellblock H. 

Now, there are some disadvantages to using You Tube:

  1. Not all shows are available, as it depends what has been uploaded.
  2. Some series’ and movies are only available as truncated versions, having left out less important parts of the stories.
  3. If you are following a series on You Tube from the first to the last episode, you may find that some video posters don’t have all of the episodes and the whole series may be spread out among several video posters.
  4. Some videos may just be slow to load.
  5. Not all episodes of a series may be available.

Of course, there are some good advantages to using You Tube:

  1. No need to sign up for anything, create usernames, or passwords, etc., in order to view videos on You Tube. You just go to http://www.youtube.com, type in the series or movie you’re looking for in the search box, and, if it’s available, you can watch it!
  2. You can pause a video at anytime, and also go back if there was a part you didn’t quite see or hear!
  3. No fees!
  4. Videos are usually on You Tube for some time, even years, so, if you have to stop watching a series for a time, it will probably still be there when you resume.
  5. You can sometimes find videos of rare movies or series’ that you may not be able to find on cable channels.
  6. You can watch videos in full screen mode and, if you have your computer connected to your big flat screen tv using an HDMI cable, it can be like watching the show on broadcast tv!

So, if you’re really wanting to see that old series or movie that is just not shown anywhere, You Tube may be the answer!

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and website! Thanks!

Happy watching and thanks for reading! 🙂

Unknown's avatar

How to Organize Your E-Mail Folders Without Getting Scatterbrained!

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The easiest way to organize your e-mail is to simply read your e-mails then delete them. Of course, for many, if not most of us, this is just not practical, so we organize our e-mail by creating folders, and this is a good idea.

But, how you organize and name the folders can have an impact as to how easily you can find any particular old e-mail.

Like most people, when I had my first e-mail account, I would have folders created for family members, topics, subscriptions, etc. Examples of folder names that I used would be for various relatives such as, “Uncle John & Aunt Kate”, cousin “Brad”, etc. Then there would be folders for friends like “Terry”, “Bob”, “Cheryl”, then other folders for different things like, “ABC Magazine”, “BRX Co.”, “My Employer”, “CMS Insurance”, “IFLY Airways”, “Annual Car Show”, and “Park Fair 2013”.

Nothing wrong with these folder names, but, it can get complicated with the more folders you add. Let’s look at how they would be arranged in most e-mail systems below:

FOLDERS:

ABC Magazine

Annual Car Show

BRX

Brad

Bob

CMS Insurance

Cheryl

IFLY Airways

My Employer

Park Fair 2013

Uncle John & Aunt Kate

You’ll notice that friends, family, and business and events folders are split among each other. Now, this is a small number of folders, so it wouldn’t be much of a problem. But if you have lot’s of family members, friends, and businesses and events that you communicate with or receive e-mails from, this can get complicated.

In this type of organizing, your cousin Brad’s folder will be far from your folder for Uncle John & Aunt Kate, and if you’re looking for an old e-mail that involved you and both of them, those two folders won’t be together. If you have to look in several family members’ folders, this could become a real chore if they’re scattered among your other folders.

Now, some e-mail systems allow you to create sub-folders, that is, a folder within a folder. If your system is like this, you can create a “Family” folder instead, then within this “Family” folder, you create folders for your family members. See the example below:

Family

Brad

Uncle John & Aunt Kate

As you can see, this groups all folders with a similar relationship to you, together. Believe me, this really helps if you have lots of folders.

But what if your e-mail system doesn’t allow creation of sub-folders?

Yes, I do have this problem and I solved it. The best way is to use a category word, such as “Family”, or “Friends” in front of the folder name. I abbreviate these category names to make the full folder names shorter. Of course, these are abbreviations that are mostly made up, but they are easier for me to understand. You may have your own abbreviations that only you can understand, and that’s fine, as you would be the only one who would need to know in most cases. I use “B” for business, “Fm” for family members, “Fr” for friends, “Ent” for entertainment or events, “Tr” for travel or travel businesses, “”Fx” for various information sources, and “Ins” for insurance companies. You can always use different groupings, like placing insurance under business, or separating cousins from other family members as you wish. See the example below:

FOLDERS:

B ABC Magazine

B BRX

B My Employer

Ent Annual Car Show

Ent Park Fair 2013

Fm Brad

Fm Uncle John & Aunt Kate

Fr Bob

Fr Cheryl

Ins CMS Insurance

Tr IFLY Airways

As you can see, this will still keep related folders together. Notice that by using the abbreviations “Fm” and “Fr” this keeps the family and friends folders next to each other. By the manipulation of the abbreviations you use, you can keep groups of folders in close proximity to one another.

If you get to have 40, 50, 100, or more folders, this can be a really big help!

Hope this makes your e-mail life easier!

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and website, so they, too, can make their e-mail life, and other things, easier too!

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Unknown's avatar

Holiday Get-Together? No Place for Issues!

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Now that it’s the thick of the holiday season, a family or office get together is probably on the horizon. And that may mean seeing that relative, friend, or colleague that you have some big issue with. And, you may be thinking “When I see (whoever), I’m really going to let them have it!”

Before you do, try to see that scene as an independent observer, like a friend who’s been invited by one of the other people who will be there. This person would be coming for the first time. If you were that person, and you saw “John” go up to “Bill” and yell at him in front of everyone, what would you think? How would you feel about John? Or his family, or company if it is an office gathering?

And of course, you may feel uncomfortable as a result of John’s actions, but what about the host? Or the other people at the gathering? John’s actions could mar the whole thing for just about everyone there.

Do you really want to be John?

My belief is that, If I have an issue with someone, it’s much better to deal with that person privately and settle things, peacefully, preferably before said gathering. If that can’t be done, then I do not try to hash things out at the gathering, but instead, act only to keep the peace where that person is concerned. Even if that means saying ‘hello’ to that person and even making small talk with that person. If I feel beforehand that I can’t keep my emotions in check, I just won’t attend the gathering. Luckily, I have no such issues with anyone, nor have I really had any in a very long time. But if I did, I certainly don’t want to be remembered as the one who ruined what could have been a great holiday celebration. Because that’s what would happen.

Wishing everyone one who reads this a merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!  🙂

If you liked what you read on this post, please let others know of this post, blog, and website.

And thanks for reading! 🙂

Unknown's avatar

An Egg Recipe for You

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I’m sure this is not a new idea, as it was originally introduced to me by my grandmother. When I was a kid, she would make scrambled eggs with pieces of salami thrown in. The pieces were embedded in the eggs and boy, did it taste great!

More recently, my mother made a similar dish for me at times, using bacon bits and pimentos, and it was equally good!

So, I decided to try making it myself, so I can have it whenever I wish. First time I tried, it didn’t go all that well, but not a disaster. I bought some pre sliced salami, which was sliced too thin. Then, I threw in the salami after the eggs were already mostly scrambled, and so the salami wasn’t embedded in the eggs.

Well, after contacting my mother, I followed her advice. I bought the bacon bits she used, made by Hormel. These bacon bits are not the small crunchy ones you throw on salads, though I suppose you can throw these on salads, too.

These are softer and definitely tastier, in different size chunks.

First, I threw these and some pimentos into a skillet first, with the heat on medium. Then, I cracked two eggs into a bowl and beat them first. If you’re concerned about cholesterol, throw out one of the egg yolks before beating them. 

Then, once the eggs were beaten, which didn’t take more than a minute, I poured them into the skillet, over the bacon bits and pimentos, and moved them around with a spatula, mixing the eggs with the bacon bits and pimentos. The eggs cooked in minutes.

I turned off the heat and put the eggs on a plate ready to eat. And boy, were they good! Just like my mother and grandmother made!

And best of all, there can be many variants to this recipe! One can throw in seasonings, different meats or veggies like chives or scallions, or sauces, too!

If you liked what you read here, please let others know about this post and blog.

And thanks for reading!  🙂

Unknown's avatar

Want to SEE who you’re talking to? Try Skype!

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Sure, you have access to phones everywhere now, but sometimes you just want to see who you’re talking to!  But if they’re far away or you just cannot get to see them right now, what do you do?

Now, with better computers, laptops and tablets and, I believe, even smartphones, you can download programs that allow you to see who you’re talking to. I have used another messenger service in the past, but it was sometimes unreliable and not so easy to use. This was a few years ago, so improvements may have been made since then.

The one I use and like now, is Skype.

Why Skype?

1. Skype is easy to find and install. All I had to do was google Skype and found the website. It was very easy to set up my account, install the software, and add my contacts. And also easy to use, which may be why it is so popular.

2. Skype is reliable. So far, in my experience, Skype has been very reliable. I don’t believe it has ever crashed on me and the settings are easy to use. I like the fact that you can check you connection, webcam, speakers, and microphone performance as well.

3. Skype updates automatically and with little hassle. Skype updates automatically and these updates have never caused any problems on my computer.

4. Quality of Skype calls is usually quite good. The few problems I’ve had have been due to equipment problems rather than Skype itself.

5. Perhaps best of all, as of this writing, a basic Skype account is free to set up and use!

So, how is a Skype call different? The fact that you can see who you’re talking to, which is really great, when you stop to think about it! Of course, Skype and similar programs have been around for a while now, but I’m still not complacent about Skype. If you skype with someone who is far away, such as family members or friends, seeing them, and they seeing you, is the next best thing to actually visiting them!

A program like Skype also allows you to show things to those you’re speaking with, and vice versa. You just got the latest smartphone and want to show your friend across the country what it looks like. With Skype, you can! If you’re “skyping” using a portable device with WiFi or an extra long Ethernet (Cat-5E) cable, you can show the person you’re skyping with, your new home or that great sunset from your balcony!

Now, like other messenger programs of this type, Skype does require both parties to have Skype accounts, but as I mentioned above, setting up a basic Skype account is easy and free. So getting those family and friends with internet access to sign up can be easy to do.

So, even if you now live far away from friends and family, there’s no excuse for not keeping in touch! Get a Skype account and get your friends and loved ones to do the same! The “virtual visiting” effect is well worth it!

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and website! Thanks for reading! 🙂

Unknown's avatar

Don’t Look at the Big Picture! or How to Get that Big Cleaning Job Done

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We’ve all been there. You see that big pile of paper that keeps growing next to your computer, or all that dust accumulating on the furniture, or the floors looking ever more dingy in your home, or some other big household job that just seems to be getting ever bigger and more nagging!

You take it all in and just thinking about doing that big household job makes you too tired to do it!

Well, there is a better way and it’s more likely to get that job done. The first thing to do is to stop looking at the big picture!

Actually, this is most of the plan. Once, on a trip to the Grand Canyon, I was listening to a ranger speak at Phantom ranch, about hiking back up to the rim. Phantom Ranch lies at the bottom of the canyon and visitors there must hike down to it. Of course, this means they must hike up back to the rim in order to leave. This is a 9-mile hike with a 4,000 foot elevation gain.

The ranger told us that the best way to approach the hike back up was not to look at the full height of the rim, but instead look at the layers of colored rock individually.

Once you pass one layer in elevation, look only at the next layer. And this was excellent advice! Topping a layer was a far easier goal to achieve at a time than thinking about the entire rim’s height. Before I knew it, I was topping that last layer of rock and found myself at the top of the rim! Sure, I still hiked the same distance, but psychologically, it was a lot easier to do it piecemeal in my mind, and this made the hike easier to do!

Household chores that are big can be tackled the same way! That big pile of papers to go through? Just do a little at a time. If the papers are in a big mess, straighten them out and put them into several neat stacks on day one. Day two, go through a stack. If you’re busy with other things as well, take a few minutes between other tasks and go through 10-15 papers. Before you know it, that pile will look significantly smaller, then it will be gone!

Dusting? Just dust one or two pieces of furniture a day, instead of tackling all of the furniture that day. Two pieces of furniture would be a snap.  And the floors? Just do one room a day!

Yes, you’ll be doing that same big job, but in pieces. And thinking of just one “piece” of these jobs makes them look much smaller and easier to do. And you won’t be so tired just thinking about them!

If you like this plan, or anything else on this site, please let others know!

Thanks for reading and good luck cleaning!  🙂

Unknown's avatar

Don’t be a Hoarder! or Do You Really Need All That Stuff?

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We’ve probably all know someone like this, or it may even be some of us! You know who they, or you, are. People who cannot seem to throw anything away, get rid of old unused items, or clear space.

There’s even a show on TV about them. I believe it’s called “Hoarders“.

I think we all have a tendency to hoard things. I have been guilty to some extent, but I am more careful now, and I’ve never come anywhere close to the extremes I’ve seen others go to. I do have a limit. I see a pile of paper growing, consisting of coupons and advertisements that I think I may be interested in, only to find I’m not using them. So, after the pile gets to a certain height, about 1-2 inches, I go through it and discard most, if not all, of it.

I’ve also become more careful about buying things, or rather, not buying things that I really don’t need. And when I do replace something, I either give the old item away or sell it at a local flea market.

But some people, including some I know or have known, go to much further extremes than a 2 inch high pile of papers. One person I knew kept his place very neat and organized, but kept every paper that he ever received from any source. As a result, his place was greatly crowded with tall stacks of paper and boxes, to the point where you could only get through his place single file!

Another person I know had tons of old magazines and articles and his place was a real mess. The stuff was piled on top of a table and he slept under it!

Another person I know had a garage full of items and absolutely no room for even a Smart car!

Then there are other people I have known who had apartments crowded with things they didn’t use and also were renting storage spaces for even more things that they didn’t use!

All of this hoarding makes their places cramped and much less enjoyable, and, for those who are renting storage spaces, it is costing them money. All for a vast majority of items that they no longer need. And if they move, all those extra items mean a lot of extra work to move them to the new home or apartment!

Plus, this can be a safety hazard. I have heard of people dying in their homes when piles of stuff fell and buried them. Really!

One of the hoarders I knew kept every receipt for every purchase they ever made!

Now, of course it is a good idea to keep a receipt for a major purchase for a time, at least until the warranty runs out, but keeping a receipt for a burger and fries you ate 10 years ago is just plain crazy!

Now, some hoarders do change. The people with the garage finally decided to clean it out, to everyone’s immense surprise. And, it was only the garage that they had filled with items. The house was always in good order and clutter free.

My advice, if you don’t have clutter, don’t start! Think about what you’re buying and keep the emotion at bay. Yes, this can be hard at times, and yes, I’ve let emotion make me buy things I didn’t need, but try to keep emotion at bay. It will save you time and money.

If you do have clutter, go through it, a little at a time. Try not to look at the whole “pile”, as it may look too daunting and make you give up. Just take a little at a time, and go through it, and really ask yourself if you really need that item, and does it really mean that much to you?.

Yes, it may be your favorite aunt’s hat. But, if you have a picture of her, isn’t that much more meaningful? And if the hat is not being used, and especially if it is in storage, why are you keeping it?

That little at a time may not seem like much, but if you work at it consistently, maybe once a day or once every other day, you’ll see a significant clutter reduction by the end of the week. And maybe you won’t need to rent that storage space! And the space you’ll free up will give you that bigger place you’ve been yearning for, without the rent increase!

If you like this post and what you see here, please let others know of this blog and site!

Good luck, and thanks for reading!  🙂

Unknown's avatar

Don’t Fall!

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Well, fall is here and with it, in my area, the rain. And an increased awareness of slippery surfaces, which ice may add to in the coming winter months.

And an increased risk of slipping and falling. Of course, there is always a risk of falling, but, I’ve become aware of surfaces when the weather turns wet.

Now, the reason I am more aware of this is, I distribute flyers door to door and I come across all kinds of surfaces once I leave the common sidewalk. Many people have wooden steps, or brickwork, or painted surfaces.

During the drier summer months, there are fewer slippery surfaces, and my shoes will grip the vast majority of these different surfaces just fine. But in wet weather, this can change. And, while most of you may not do as much walking on the job as I do, you will still be walking sometime, and in wet or inclement weather eventually.

So here’s what I found to watch for.

Wood. As I now tell myself, “Watch out for that wood!”. I’ve found that wet wooden surfaces can be as good as ice when it comes to slipperiness! Now, a lot depends on the type of wood used and how, and with what, it was treated. Sometimes there’s no problem, and other times, I really have to watch my step. So, when I see a wooden surface on someone’s walkway, I step over it, or, if I can’t avoid stepping on it, I test it out with one foot first and walk gingerly and slowly.

Painted surfaces. Again, it depends on the kind of paint. Even stepping on a painted curb where the paint has not yet begun to fade, can be very slippery. So can the painted stairs of older houses. And, you don’t have to be entering a person’s residential property to encounter this. Some malls and shopping centers and other entertainment venues can sometimes sport decorated sidewalks that are smoothed out with paint. A shopping mall I know of had to change its sidewalk design because it was very slippery when wet!

Brickwork. This can vary, too. If the bricks are smooth and new, they can also become a very slippery walk when wet.

Extra smooth concrete surfaces. Sometimes people’s driveways are like this, or they may have a walkway that is made to be like cobblestones, with the stones rounded and very smooth. This too can be very slippery.

Moss or leaf covered surfaces. I’m in an area where the leaves fall in the fall, and where moss is prevalent. And, these, too, can create slip and fall hazards. Also, so can sidewalks under fruit bearing trees.

And just so you know, I usually wear trail runner type shoes when I walk on the job. And I have nearly slipped and fallen a few times.

So, if you’re out for a walk, on a short shopping jaunt, or visiting a friend’s house, just be aware of what you’re walking on. After all, it’s your feet that belong on the ground, not your backside!

If you like what you’ve read, please let others know of this post and site. Thanks for reading!  🙂

Unknown's avatar

The Best Cell Phone Plan?

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Like just about everyone these days, I do have a cell phone. I started out with one of those large Motorola phones that came out in the mid 1990’s. You remember those? They were state of the art and, by today’s standards, they were big and bulky.

The plan I was on, I stuck with, through changes of phones and also my provider being changed and bought out. My plan was grandfathered, and was pretty good if I didn’t use my phone much. But, as I became busier and ventured into new things, I found that I was using my phone much more often and, those minutes’ charges were making my once great cell phone plan not so great or cheap.

I’d seen those “pay-as-you-go” phones, as well as the minute and money cards for them, but thought that they would be too limiting for me. All of this was assumption on my part. But finally, when going over the bill I had last December, and really going over it with a fine toothed comb, I found that, on some days, my calls and minutes added up to $18 in charges! For one day alone!

I thought about the pay as you go plans and decided to investigate. There are several plans out there, depending on what company you choose. I was with Verizon Wireless and they’d always treated me right, so I went to a Verizon Store and asked about the Pay as you go plans. The one that suited me was the $1.99 per day plan.

This plan charges you only when you use the phone or receive a phone call on a particular day, and, only charges you $1.99 for that day. It doesn’t matter if you are “roaming”, or make or receive one call or 100 calls, or if you are calling next door or across the country, you only pay $1.99 for that day. Texting is 2 cents per text. Other than that, unless you do other things like going online, those are the only charges. Of course, there may be an activation fee, but this is the case with all plans, and it’s also no more, and often less, that with regular plans. And, you do prepay, usually with a credit card or phone card that you can buy in any store. Most require putting at least $15 on the phone, and usually have a $100 upper limit. This gives you a balance that you use, and also a time amount. The time that any amount of money you put in is pretty generous. $100 for me gets me a whole year before I have to use up any remaining balance. I often use up the balance well before the time is up. If your time expires or your balance is exhausted, you may lose your number if you forget to add money to your phone, but your phone will tell you when you’re getting close to having to add money. Your phone will let you know your remaining balance and time left. And, when you add money to your phone, any remaining time and balance is added, so you lose nothing and you don’t have to wait till your balance or time reaches zero before you can add more money and time to your phone.

There are no contracts or monthly bills and in most cases you can keep your cell phone number. And you can get off the plan by simply not adding money to your phone, however, in order to not lose your phone number, you would need to go to some other plan.

The most you would spend is $63 a month and for that you would have to use your phone every day that month! And, if you were to come down to say, $4 left on your balance, you would still be fine and not have to worry about inadvertently running out of money that day, as you only get charged when you use the phone!

To be sure, I went home and looked over my bills for the past year and made note of how many days I used my phone and what the total charges for each month as well as for the entire year were. then I made a hypothetical list, showing what I would have paid if I’d been on the $1.99 per day plan. I was astounded! My bills would have totaled about $300 for the year under the $1.99 plan, while my actual bills totaled over $700 under my grandfathered plan!

I was convinced and switched plans in January. And I’ve been satisfied ever since. My first month, I only spent a little over $17, and I’ve been averaging $25 -$30 a month since, even when I went out of what would have been my service area under the old plan!

Under my old plan, I often had bills from $40-$70, and occasionally, over $100!

To find out more, go to a cell phone provider or ask someone in the phone department or at a kiosk inside a big store or mall, and don’t let them sell you on some “grand plan” that could cost you considerably more!

If you like what you’ve read, please let others know about this site and blog. Thanks!

And thanks for reading!  🙂