Works for Me Wednesday- Banana Boats

Making banana boats are great fun when you're camping, or even in your own oven at home. You carefully peel the innerside strip of the banana down, leaving one end attached to the banana. Hollow out a little bit of the banana and add back in whatever you like, such as:

Chocolate bar pieces
Marshmallows
Peanut butter

Then wrap it back up, wrap the whole thing in foil, and put in the campfire or hot oven for five minutes or so. Take out, let cool a bit and enjoy! Here is a great website that has instructions and photos. It's called "Instructables." Check it out!


Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Works for me Wednesday-a/c help

This tip comes accidentally from something that happened to me. I had an old window air conditioner in one of the windows and it hasn't blown really cold air for 2 years. I have been using the one in the window as a fan only. My daughter gave me her a/c, as where she was moving she wouldn't need to use it.

Well before we pulled it out of the window, I told her to go outside and bang on it just to make sure there were no bees in it or anything. So she goes outside and bangs around on it and then just out of curiousity, I turned the a/c on. It started blowing icy cold air! lol It works great now. We left it in the window and never changed it. I'm not sure why it started working-what the banging did- but it worked! I figure if it worked on mine, it may work on yours and it's worth a try.

Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Works for me Wednesday - Keeping Cool Cheaply

This was a picture of my Grandmother and I in 1980, shortly before she died. She was my favorite person in the world!







This WFMW tip comes from something I saw when I was young and traveled to Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and France with my Grandmother to see Peter, a foreign exchange student she hosted and kept in touch with over the years. Many years ago we went there-1973! I was 12. Now I'm a grandmother! lol


The house we were at, the people had a bathtub outside in their garden and they used it to cool off with. On a hot day, they would fill it with water and climb in and cool off. Then, they would drain the water into the flower garden around it. I thought it was a great idea, especially if you don't have a pool or want the expense of one. You are recycling the tub into a good use, and using the water for the garden. And, of course, staying cool!


Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Works for Me Wednesday

The NYS DEC is one of my favorite websites. They have a lot of good information. Here are some free printable award-winning posters from the NYS DEC. They are in .pdf files and the Department of Environmental Conservation encourages you to download them. It's fun for kids and there are some of animal tracks. You can use this and go out looking for animal tracks with your kids. Here is a poster of Bears! Check out butterflies and moths, backyard bugs, common spiders, (some good educational information too) deer, and more.

The education page has links for kids to learn all about the environment and has a lot of great links too. Learn about endangered species, mining, watersheds, ozone, pollution. This page is filled with all kinds of environmental learning!

They also have free fishing clinics, one of which was last Sunday at the Falcon's Club in Auburn. It was a free kids fishing derby and all the kids went home with something. (The fish were thrown back!) My granddaughter and nephews had loads of fun! There are more coming up, so check out the schedule for one near you. Here are some pictures from that day. They had water balloon tosses, candy throws, tug of wars, and prizes for all the kids. They (Falcon's Club) were looking for a couple more kids to sponsor to go to DEC camps for a week this summer in the Adirondacks. Your child must be at least 12 to go. Contact them for more information if you're in the area. It's sooo hard for me to believe that they are having a hard time getting kids to go! I didn't know it, but I guess these Sportman's Clubs sponsor kids to go there. How nice is that?!! A free learning experience for your kids in the natural environment, very cool! If you don't live near to this area, or you live in another state, check out the clubs in your area!

Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Mom I'm bored WFMW

This week's Works for me Wednesday is a "Mom I'm bored!" theme. Regal Entertainment is showing free movies at their theaters as part of the Free Family Film Festival.

"It's a fun-filled nine weeks of movies for kids and parents. Since 1991, Regal has provided this service to the community, and best of all it's FREE! Selected G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. First-come, first-served seating is limited to theatre capacity. The Free Family Film Festival is safe, lots of fun and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer."

Here are some of NYS's participating theaters:

Great Northern Mall 10 Rte. 481 & 31 Clay ,NY 13041 315-622-8928
07/01/2008-07/02/2008	Wallace And Gromit (G)
	Evan Almighty (PG)
07/08/2008-07/09/2008	Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
	Surf's Up (PG)
07/15/2008-07/16/2008	Arctic Tale (G)
	RV (PG)
07/22/2008-07/23/2008	Curious George (G)
	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PG)
07/29/2008-07/30/2008	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
	Happy Feet (PG)
08/05/2008-08/06/2008	Clifford's Really Big Movie (G)
	Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
08/12/2008-08/13/2008	Polar Express (G)
	Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG)
08/19/2008-08/20/2008	Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
	The Ant Bully (PG)
08/26/2008-08/27/2008	Charlotte's Web (G)
	Open Season (PG)
Check Movies and Showtimes

Shoppingtown Mall 10 3649 ERIE BLVD E DeWitt ,NY 13214 315-449-2001
07/01/2008-07/02/2008	March Of The Penguins (G)
	Bee Movie (PG)
07/08/2008-07/09/2008	Curious George (G)
	Nancy Drew (PG)
07/15/2008-07/16/2008	Wallace And Gromit (G)
	Happy Feet (PG)
07/22/2008-07/23/2008	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
	Surf's Up (PG)
07/29/2008-07/30/2008	Arctic Tale (G)
	Evan Almighty (PG)
08/05/2008-08/06/2008	Polar Express (G)
	The Ant Bully (PG)
08/12/2008-08/13/2008	Charlotte's Web (G)
	Open Season (PG)
08/19/2008-08/20/2008	Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
	Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
08/26/2008-08/27/2008	Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
	Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG)
Check Movies and Showtimes

Henrietta Stadium 18 525 Marketplace Drive Rochester ,NY 14623 585-424-5461
07/01/2008-07/03/2008	Clifford's Really Big Movie (G)
	Surf's Up (PG)
07/08/2008-07/10/2008	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PG)
07/15/2008-07/17/2008	Charlotte's Web (G)
	Evan Almighty (PG)
07/22/2008-07/24/2008	Arctic Tale (G)
	Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG)
07/29/2008-07/31/2008	Curious George (G)
	Nancy Drew (PG)
08/05/2008-08/07/2008	Wallace And Gromit (G)
	Nanny McPhee (PG)
08/12/2008-08/14/2008	Everyone's Hero (G)
	RV (PG)
08/19/2008-08/21/2008	Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
	Happy Feet (PG)
08/26/2008-08/28/2008	Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
	Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
Check for regular Movies and Showtimes
Greece Ridge Stadium 12 176 Greece Ridge Center Drive Rochester ,NY 14626 585-225-8837
07/01/2008-07/02/2008	Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
	RV (PG)
07/08/2008-07/09/2008	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
	Evan Almighty (PG)
07/15/2008-07/16/2008	Polar Express (G)
	Happy Feet (PG)
07/22/2008-07/23/2008	Wallace And Gromit (G)
	Surf's Up (PG)
07/29/2008-07/30/2008	Arctic Tale (G)
	Nanny McPhee (PG)
08/05/2008-08/06/2008	Curious George (G)
	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PG)
08/12/2008-08/13/2008	Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
	Open Season (PG)
08/19/2008-08/20/2008	Clifford's Really Big Movie (G)
	Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG)
08/26/2008-08/27/2008	Charlotte's Web (G)
	Bee Movie (PG)
Check Movies and Showtimes

Carousel Mall Stadium 17 9586 CAROUSEL CTR Syracuse ,NY 13290 315-466-5680
07/01/2008-07/03/2008	Curious George (G)
	Surf's Up (PG)
07/08/2008-07/10/2008	March Of The Penguins (G)
	Bee Movie (PG)
07/15/2008-07/17/2008	Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
	Nancy Drew (PG)
07/22/2008-07/24/2008	Wallace And Gromit (G)
	Happy Feet (PG)
07/29/2008-07/31/2008	Polar Express (G)
	The Ant Bully (PG)
08/05/2008-08/07/2008	Arctic Tale (G)
	Evan Almighty (PG)
08/12/2008-08/14/2008	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
	RV (PG)
08/19/2008-08/21/2008	Charlotte's Web (G)
	Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG)
08/26/2008-08/28/2008	Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
	Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
Check Movies and Showtimes

Eastview 13 70 Eastview Mall Drive Victor ,NY 14564 585-425-0423
07/01/2008-07/02/2008	Everyone's Hero (G)
	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PG)
07/08/2008-07/09/2008	Clifford's Really Big Movie (G)
	Nanny McPhee (PG)
07/15/2008-07/16/2008	Arctic Tale (G)
	RV (PG)
07/22/2008-07/23/2008	Curious George (G)
	Evan Almighty (PG)
07/29/2008-07/30/2008	Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)
	Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)
08/05/2008-08/06/2008	Charlotte's Web (G)
	Nancy Drew (PG)
08/12/2008-08/13/2008	Wallace And Gromit (G)
	Surf's Up (PG)
08/19/2008-08/20/2008	Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
	Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (PG)
08/26/2008-08/27/2008	Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - Veggie Tales (G)
	Happy Feet (PG)
Check for regular Movies and Showtimes

Another good place to go is the library. It's free, and there is something for everyone. Plus it gets everyone reading!



Oh, and one more really neat tip that came from my mother! Did you know that aluminum foil and plastic wrap have tabs in the ends of the box that you push in to hold the roll in place while you pull and tear?? I didn't know that! Take a look at the ends of your box of foil or plastic wrap and even if it's generic, you'll see a push in tab at each end to hold the roll in place! No more having to worry about that roll pulling out of the box with the wrap.

Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Finger Lakes National Forest - WFMW

This is where we camped on Memorial Day weekend. It was free! It seems like a very underused area. If you want to get away and go camping try going on Federal or State Forest land for free. Be sure to check out the regulations for your particular area.

We went to Finger Lakes National Forest in Schuyler County and camped. It is NY state's only national forest. There are 16,118 acres on a high ridge in between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. There is even a place for horses and their owners to camp here. There are miles and miles of dirt roads and trails. The Finger Lakes Trail goes through it. It was great. There are a few minor inconveniences, like no bathroom or showers, but we solved that by going to nearby Taughannock Falls State Park and grabbing a shower. If the air and water were warmer, we would have jumped in the pond like a few other brave souls did.

The only money we spent was for gas and the food we brought with us. It was a great feeling returning home and not feeling broke!













There are forest tent caterpillars active right now.






This was the parking lot for where we camped. We walked in a half mile. The first 2 days we were the only ones camping overnight in this area. By Sunday, the lot was full. It was still nowhere near the amount of campers we saw at Taughannock Falls State Park, which resembled a huge parking lot rather than a camping area.














This was our "bathroom."




She got lucky and found a friend fishing who let her throw the fish back in the water!



Brrr.











The birds were amazing. Birds I have never heard before and so loud and so many, wow it was indescribable. A birder's paradise at dawn! Do you know what kind of bird this is?



Heading towards Seneca Lake.











Some horseback trailriders.



Taughannock Falls.



Horseshoe tracks.




Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Tips on dyeing your hair

My sister, who is a hairdresser, gave me this one. When you go to dye your hair yourself, buy 2 boxes of dye that are somewhat similar in color. Be sure to use the same brand and similar color. Use the same manufacturer! You don't want green hair. Prepare and mix both bottles according to the directions, pour half of each into one bottle, mixing the two colors together. (Yeah you'll be wasting half of it-unless you could find a friend who wants to also color hers, or you have really long hair.) The end result will be a more natural looking haircolor! Speaking of which, mine badly needs it right now lol.

Disclaimer: You may want to consult your hairdresser for her advice. In any case, don't blame me if your color is not what you would like. lol (You can always do the strand test first to double check the end results!)

Here are some other websites that talk about it.


Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

TerraCycle

TerraCycle is a business that recycles waste and uses it to package Worm tea, deer repellent, worm castings, potting mix, all kinds of stuff that is packaged in bottles, drink pouches, jugs, yogurt containers, cookie wrappers, clif bar wrappers that are bought from YOU. Yup, that's right, you sign up with them and they will mail you a free shipping box and you collect all the stuff you have and mail it back to them. Your favorite charity will get the money thanks to you. They will get two cents a drink pouch or five cents a bottle, and you are helping the environment and helping a great company. Also, it's good for groups to do, like the Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts, school groups, etc. Why not sign up today? It looks like for some of them you have to go on a waiting list at the moment. The cookie one and the drink pouch still have openings though. You can still support this company and buy their products!


They also have a lot of educational videos and good information on gardening help too. Check out these bags made out of recycled plastic bags and drink pouches. It's a really interesting story about 2 kids who were students at Princeton. One decided to grow worms to improve his "plants in the basement." This product they developed worked so well that they dropped out of school and they further developed it into the business that it is today. The story is a great one! "The company's flagship product, TerraCycle Plant Food™, is an all-natural, all-organic, 'goof-proof' liquid plant food made from waste (worm poop) and packaged in waste (reused soda bottles)!" Go watch the video here. Their products are available in stores all over. Best of all these products have great reviews and they really work!


Go see what works for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Works for me Wednesday

No, I mean what DOESN'T work for me Wednesday-that is the theme this week. So I have been wracking my brain trying to think what doesn't work...

and I thought to this morning when I woke up...several times during the night! A couple months ago, I switched to drinking decaf coffee. The only place in the world that uses the "swiss water method" is in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Click on the link for more information.

I didn't really notice much difference, it tasted just as good! Well, the past two days I ran out and I still had some regular coffee left, so I thought, well I'll just have some regular coffee and use this up instead of wasting it. This morning I realized that the coffee is the most likely reason why I had horrible sleep the past two days!

No more regular coffee for me! :)

















Go see what doesn't work for others: click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Works for Me Wednesday

My granddaughter loves macaroni and cheese. A couple years ago, I wanted to make it healthier and hide some vegetables in it, so I experimented and found that broccoli really makes it taste SO good. I usually buy Annie's if I don't make it from scratch. Annie's has better and less ingredients in theirs. (Since eating Annie's, I can't stand Kraft.)

When I put the water in to boil, I also drop in about a half a bunch of broccoli (per box of macaroni), cut up. When the water starts to boil, I add the macaroni. When the macaroni is done, the broccoli is also nice and tender and done too.

I drain them, add the cheese packet, and also add some extra cheese-whatever I have in the fridge. Adding extra cheese makes it taste better too, because the broccoli kind of dilutes the cheese packet if you just use that. My granddaughter loves this so much, she will eat like three bowls of it! And she's little and only four. And, the best thing, she eats every speck of broccoli too!



Be sure to click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Works for me Wednesday Immune system boosters

This worked for me:

A week and a half ago, my daughter had the flu. She was REALLY sick. Neither my 4yr old granddaughter nor I caught it, thank God. I believe that using these 2 products helped us not to catch it. None of us had had a flu shot either.


The children's echinacea has no alcohol in it and is made in Oregon by Herb Pharm, a great company. It matters where you buy it! Check them out! You just add some drops of it to your child's drink, depending on their weight. I bought this at Wegmans.


This raw honey tastes GREAT. You have to try it, I highly recommend it, it's excellent. It tastes 100 times better than normal processed honey you buy at the store. This is raw, with bits and pieces of honeycomb, propolis, and pollen in it. It's made locally in NYS. You can click on either picture for more information about them. People have also said that eating a spoonful of raw honey every day has helped their allergies. It's thick, like a cream.



Note: don't give honey to children under 12 months old!




Be sure to click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!