Have been using my washer for over 1 year

I bought the Whirlpool washer because it was advertised as a large capacity washer.  It does have a large tub.  The problem is that about a month after it came out of warranty, it developed a loud squeal from a belt.  Had to pay to fix that.  And it does not clean.  Put a comforter in there and wash, it still has clumps of pet hair on it.  It takes at least two washings to get a comforter clean.  And that tub will not fill adequately to do the job.  Not happy with it, but I will keep it because it is paid for and I am not in the mood to buy another one.  It does have a removable agitator, but I have found that top loaders with no agitator allows the clothes to twist and tie in knots.  So I keep the agitator in at all times.  It is just not good for me.  

Mulch and garden soil

 /when it comes to mulch, I use hardwood mulch that has been composted.  And my garden soil is Kellog's Potting and raised bed soil.  Never use the colored mulch.  They use chemicals to color it.  And make sure that the hardwood mulch is organic so you get no chemicals in your yard.  

I have bees and I have a bed of lemon mint for them blooming.  I also have bee balm, but it has not started blooming yet.  Planting Zinnias and Marigolds.  I am using plants from Lowe's and also starting my own so I will have them coming along all summer.  Gotta feed those bees.  

Quick Dams

Quick Dam Flood Bags and Barriers.  Not great.  They help but they do not stop the water from coming in.  I used them on my back patio which slopes to the sunroom.  I still had to be out there sweeping water off the patio.  The may have helped a little but not much.  Not really worth the money.  

Colgate toothbrushes

I just purchased new Colgate 360 Whole Mouth Clean.  So far I like this toothbrush.  It does work in between the teeth well, does clean well.  It is made in Switzerland.  The handle contains 25% recycled material.  I would like better use of recycling, but some is better than none.  All in all, I am happy with this toothbrush.  

update on keds/rifle paper company

 It is a definite NO on the Keds slipons/Rifle paper company.  That memory foam is useless and only causes my feet to hurt.  I wore them for 5 hours yesterday and my feet were killing me.  I came home, put on my traditional Keds and felt great.  No more problems.  So no more experimenting.  I'll stick with the traditional ones.  Absolutely no memory foam.  

Keds.

Having old feet that stood and worked on concrete for 40 years, my feet give me a lot of trouble.  I am now wearing Keds.  My first two pair, one slip on and one lace up, are just basic shoes made from organic cotton.  I love them.  My feet feel so good in them.  

Just ordered and received two new pair.  First up, print made in partner with Rifle Paper Company.  It has a memory foam foot bed and I am not sure I will like that.  In my experience, that memory foam does not hold up lone.  We will see.  The next is a lace up touted as vegan leather.  I just assumed it was plant-based.  Nope.  It is polyester which is plastic.  So probably returning that one.  I do not do plastic.  One, it does not let your feet breathe.  And 2, it is very bad for the environment.  I will post pictures as soon as I figure out how to download from my phone.  Old school here.   

Update on new washer

 I am not a fan of it.  The only real feature to like is the huge tub.  Do not like that I cannot manually stop it to add something.  Do not like that it does not balance easily.  And one of the belts is slipping and am going to have to have a repairman out.  So not a fan.  When I replace it, it will be with one with manual controls.  

New washer

 I had to buy a new washer last month.  My old one, yeah, the intake valve stuck and it flooded my house.  Note to self.  Never ever leave your washer running especially filling.  So after clean up, I started shopping.  I knew I could not afford my first choice at this time.  I would dearly love to have a Speed Queen set, but it is over $2,000.  And I do not have my dryer vent hooked up yet.  So only a washer needed at this time.  I searched Lowes, Home Depot, and Conns. Conns website sucks so I left it pretty quick.  Not a lot of selection at Home Depot.  So Lowes it was.  And I agonized over the one I finally bought.  I needed one with a really big capacity because after last winter's fiasco here in Texas, I stocked up on comforters at the thrift store.  So I needed one that would wash up to a king size comforter.  And Whirlpool fully computerized was the only one I could get.  I do not like it.  But it is what it is.  I'll stick with it.  It does not clean as well as I would like.  

Consumer Cellular phone DORO 7050

I signed a friend with Consumer Cellular a few weeks ago.  They sent her a DORO 7050 flip phone.  It worked great until it didn't. Two days ago, she stopped being able to dial out.  She could receive incoming calls, but could not call out.  So I googled it and found that supposedly she had deactivated outgoing calls.  It gave me a proceedure to get in and reset. So, armed with that knowledge, I go over to her apartment.  I try the phone.  The phone is completely frozen.  I cannot get into menu.  I cannot do anything.  None of the icons work.  So I did some more searching on google and found that this is not uncommon with this phone.  One person said that he had just put it down to a lemon of a phone.  So next step is to send it back.  And I am getting her an Alcatel flip phone.So now we will see if it works.  I do not recommend the DORO 7050/ 

French doors.

 I do not recommend them.  I had them put in in my sun room.  I have spent the morning covering the glass in them with quilts I made for that purpose.  They don't keep out the heat and they don't keep out the cold.  They may look good, but they are not practical from a standpoint of energy efficiency.  I will be replacing them with a single fiberglass door or a single door with glass with built in shade.  

Electric heaters

 Ok, I need work done on my heating system.  I had it shut off back in March, 2020 because I thought I detected gas.  Fast forward to now.  I have not had it fixed because of Covid.  So we are in the middle of a winter storm.  I had already purchased two DurFlame quartz heaters.  They work so-so.  Yesterday I bought 2 DeLongi oil filled heaters.  I have used these in the past.  They work so much better than the quartz heaters.  I have one in my living room and it has kept the room at 70 with no problem.  The other one I put in the bedroom my granddaughter uses.  That room is 20x15.  It is warm.  And the two quartz heaters, on in the back and one in another bedroom, are really straining to keep a temp of 64.  So The quartz heaters will go and I will keep the DeLongi.  Oh, and I am calling for repair on my heating system tomorrow.  I'm feeling brave because I am scheduled to get my first Covid shot next week.  So if you are looking for a heater to just keep a room cozy, I do recommend the DeLongi oil filled heater.  I paid around $75 each for mine.  I found them at Lowe's.  

Saline solution

Because of the allergies and sinus problems, I use this saline solution every day, twice a day and I use Listerine mouth wash as well.  So, what can it hurt to try this?  Maybe it will help keep you well.  We need to do our best to stay safe in this pandemic.  I have been making masks for my family since this started even before it was recommended.  If they can help during flu season, it stood to reason that they would help with this virus.  I am all for anything that will help us stay safe.  My county is taking it seriously and our case numbers are beginning to drop.  People, we have to do our part. Dr.  Fauci said that if everyone wore masks, we could get this under control within 4-8 weeks.  I am all for anything that will help stop the spread of this virus.  It may not have a death rate of the original SARS, but whether you die from it or not, from what I am reading, it is a nasty illness with long term damage.  So stay safe.

Saw this today on a report

I read a news article today that recommended we use saline spray in our nostrils to help flush out the Covid-19 virus load.  Then I am good because I do this twice a day because of allergies and chronic sinusitis.  And here are three of the ones I use. 

Sewing supplies

As a person who came up in the 1950's and 60's, I remember when fabric and supplies were top quality.  So were sewing machines.  Fast forward to now.  Nothing and I do mean nothing is first quality.  I am making masks. Elastic is inferior I can only get fabric in 8 yard bolts.  And the Coats and Clark thread, oh my God.  It is like sewing with maybe craft thread.  It kinks. It curls.  It breaks.  It is so inferior to the old Coats and Clark thread.  I am so angry right now.  And getting decent fabric is beyond annoying. 

So instead of coming up in the things that are manufactured, we have truly sunk to third world status on all of this.  Before we sold all our manufacturing plants, this country made fabulous cotton, wool, corduroy.  The wool fabrics used to make the women's dress coats in the 1950's was so superior to what is being passed off today as fabric.  I bought my daughter a 1950's beige 100% Cashmere coat with a silk lining at a thrift shop.  That coat was top quality still.  The fit was superb.  The fabric makes today's fabric look like dish rags.  And the Dan River ginghams we produced!  They were quality cottons.  Searsuckers, linens.  And now we get--dishrags.  Pendelton wool is still in operation thought.  I will be trying them soon.  Hopefully, they are still quality.  But I will have to use inferior threads on it.  I miss the old days when we made quality merchandise instead of garbage.  And most of the appearal fabric today is polyester.  Do you know what that is?  It is spun plastic.  Spun plastic.  Hotter than hell in the summer time, cold in the winter and can cause rashes on your skin.  Oh yes, I miss the old days when it was pride in quality instead of chasing the almighty dollar.  Well, I am now on a search to find made in the USA thread.  Wish me luck.  And if you can find vintage clothing, get it.  It is far superior to anything you can buy today. 

Electric mower pics.

The top picture is of the batter and key compartment.  The second picture is headlights and the third picture is the battery.  Check it out when you are in need of a new mower.  As I said, I will never go back to a gasoline mower nor a gasoline weed whacker. 

More lawn mower pictures

Notice the nice batter compartment in the first picture.  And those lights are awesome. 

Electric lawn mower.

I have been using a Ryobi electric lawn mower for about a year.  I will never go back to a gas mower.  It uses a 40volt Lithium batter and starts right off every time.  I only have one battery so sometime if I have let the grass get a little high, I have to stop and recharge the battery, but I have a really big yard.  I am so sold on this and will be replacing my weed whacker with a battery operated one from Ryobi when my corded one finally quits.  This mower has a 20" cutting diameter, rear discharge and it comes with a rear bag if you want to catch your grass clippings.  I don't.  It also has a space for an extra battery so you can just switch it out.  You insert the battery, a red key, hold down the lever on the handle and push the start button.  It has 6 cutting heights and are easy to set.  It also has high density led lights.  I am sold. 

The tape is on there because I broke the clear cover and am waiting on a hew on.  That cover protects the electrical components for the key and battery from debris. 

Last post for window film

You use the solution to clean the window first and dry it with a lint free cloth and they furnish you with one lint free cloth.  Then cut the film to fit.  Cut it a little larger so you can trim it precisely with a box cutter.  It will tell you to put two pieces of scotch tape sticky side facing on one corner.  You do this in order to be able to pull the protective layer away from the film itself.  Don't do like I did and try to put the film up backwards.  Sticky side goes on the window.  Spray the window liberally with the solution, apply the film and use the squeege to smooth out any bubbles.  Then spray the outside and squeege it as well.  Let set and you are done and you will be so glad you did this.  Their website is www.gilafilms.com.  I am sold on this. 

Finishing with window film

These will be needed to apply the film. 

Back to what this was set up for.

With the heat in Texas spiraling as it usually does in the summer, I have been applying heat film over my french doors and windows.  From the outside in daylight, no one can see in, but you can see out.  At night you will still need shades or drapes.  And it makes a tremendous difference in the amount of heat that come in through the windows and doors.  I found it at Home Depot online as that is the only way I shop now. 

It blocks 72% of sun's heat and it blocks 99% UV rays to help prevent fading.  I am sold and am going to do all my windows.  Do  not remember what I paid for this roll but it was economical.  Next I will show you what accessories you need to put this up.