Tidbits of Rockwall County Issue #005

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FEETby Janet Spencer

Come along with Tidbits as we consider the marvel of engineering called the human foot!

• With 26 bones, 114 ligaments and 20 muscles, a foot is an amazing invention. A quarter of the bones in the human body are located in the feet. (Add in the bones in the hand, and that accounts for fully half of our bones.) Feet need to be structural marvels.

• Consider that the average adult travels around 1,000 miles a year on foot, taking about 10,000 steps per day. A typical 70-year-old human will have walked a distance equivalent to going around the circumference of the earth four times. The feet strike the ground 17,000 times in a 20 mile marathon run, but even a mile of gentle walking subjects the feet to about 80 tons of weight. Feet must be sturdy.

• Although 98% of us are born with healthy feet, 80 out of 100 Americans develop foot problems during their lifetime. At any given moment, about 30 million Americans suffer from foot problems, ranging from corns and ingrown nails to club feet and fallen arches.

• Four times as many women as men deal with foot problems, mostly due to high heels. Podiatrists trace 95% of the 500 known foot ailments to ill-designed shoes or improper foot care.

CONTINUED....

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Page 2 Tidbits® of Rockwall County

1. ANIMAL KINGDOM: By what other name are a cat’s whiskers known?2. ANCIENT WORLD: Where is the Acropolis?3. HISTORY: Who was the commanding Union general at the Battle of Gettysburg?4. MEDICINE: What is scoliosis?5. GEOGRAPHY: What two countries share Niagara Falls?6. MOVIES: What was the name of Gary Cooper’s character in “High Noon”?7. ENTERTAINMENT: What kind of horse was Trigger, Roy Roger’s trusty steed?8. SCIENCE: What metal is liquid at room temperature?9. ANATOMY: Where is the medulla oblongata located?10. LITERATURE: Who created the “Tom Swift” series of novels?

• On May 30, 1431, in Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy. Her most serious crime, according to the tribunal, was her rejection of church authority in favor of direct inspiration from God. She was 19 years old.

• On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam in Johnstown, Pa., collapses, causing a flood that kills more than 2,200 people. It was the largest earthen dam (made of dirt and rock, rather than steel and concrete) in the United States. Reportedly, a baby survived on the floor of a house as it floated 75 miles from Johnstown.

• On May 29, 1914, heavy fog on the St. Lawrence River in Canada causes a collision of boats -- the Empress of Ireland and the Storstad -- that kills 1,073 people. Caused by a horrible series of blunders, it was one of the worst maritime disasters in history.

• On June 2, 1924, with Congress’ passage of the Indian Citizenship Act, the government of the United States confers citizenship on all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the country. Before the Civil War, citizenship often was limited to Native Americans of one-half or less Indian blood.

• On May 27, 1937, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge opens to the public after five years of construction. On opening day -- “Pedestrian Day” -- some 200,000 walkers crossed the bridge, which spans the Golden Gate Strait at the entrance to San Francisco Bay and connects San Francisco and Marin County.

• On May 28, 1957, National League owners vote unanimously to allow the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to move to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, at the mid-season owner’s meeting in Chicago.

(c) 2013 King Features Synd., Inc.

DEAR PAW’S CORNER: I read an online interview that you did with a veterinarian who advocated that all pet owners buy pet insurance. Why are you recommending pet-insurance companies? Aren’t they just a scam? -- Patty in Mobile, Ala.

DEAR PATTY: For better or worse, pet insurance is for real. It’s a fast-growing industry, too. Why? Because pet owners are opting for more complex, expensive treatments for their dogs, cats and other

pets. In addition, veterinary costs are rising, just as costs for human medical treatment have risen in the past two decades. Vaccinations alone can cost more than $100 per year in some areas. Pet insurance gives owners who are committed to caring for their pets additional options in paying for their care. However, there are so many different choices in care that it can be difficult to figure out which insurance option is best. Some owners just want their pets covered for serious illnesses; others want routine checkups and vaccinations covered, as well. To figure out if pet insurance is right for you, talk to pet owners who have insurance. Ask about their experience with their insurance company, the type of insurance they purchased and what they think of the quality of coverage. You also can also search online. For example, DugDug.com, a comparison-shopping website focused on pet owners, launched a new tool in April that compares different insurance companies, plans and rates. Hunt around, find the best plan and rate for you and your pet, and be sure to read the fine print before signing up for pet insurance.

Send your questions or comments to [email protected]. Did you know mosquitos can transmit heartworm larvae to dogs, but fleas don’t? Find out more in my new book, “Fighting Fleas,” available now on Amazon.

YOUR BUSINESS HEREfor more information call 972-632-9833

Pet Insurance for Real?

FEET FACTS (continued):

• High heels prevent the ankles from absorbing their normal share of the force of walking, shunting it instead to the toes. A three-inch heel puts more than seven times the pressure on the forefoot than a flat shoe. This promotes many foot ailments such as bunions, hammer toes, and neuroma, which is a painful thickening of the nerve that connects the toes. A study of 3,000 surgeries performed on the forefoot found that 87% of the bunion surgeries, 81% of hammer toe surgeries, and 89% of the neuroma surgeries were done on women’s feet.

• High heels also affect the knees. A study published in the British medical journal The Lancet showed that high heels cause strain and pressure on the joint that joins the kneecap and the underlying thigh bone. The rotational forces on the inner part of the knee joint were 23 percent higher when women participating in the study walked in heels than when they walked barefoot.

• Surprisingly, the big toe has only two bones, while the rest of the toes have three. Although nearly every bone in the body has an official name, one exception is the toe bones. They are known only as “metatarsal digits #1-5.” A fourth-year medical student at Yale decided to undo the injustice by bestowing names on the toes. He called them porcellus fori, porcellus domi, porcellus carnivorus, porcellus nonvoratus, and porcellus plorans domun. In Latin, these names translate as little pig at market, baby pig at home, meat-eating piglet, small pig that has not eaten, and piggy crying all the way home. Some orthopedic surgeons have picked up his names, but doctors have not yet gone hog wild over the idea.

• The measuring device in shoe shops is called a Brannock Device, after the inventor who designed it in the 1920s. The firm is still going strong.

CONTINUED....

FEET FACTS (continued):

• Not surprisingly, the place on the body where the skin is thickest is the heel of the foot, where it’s about 1/16th of an inch thick. Compare that to the thinnest skin on the body— the eyelids— at 2/1000 of an inch. Although the heel is the area on the body that is least sensitive to pain, it’s also the sweatiest area. The 125,000 sweat glands in a single foot can excrete as much as half a pint of sweat per day. Research done at the University of Miami centered on foot odor. How does a research team study foot odor? First you get a bunch of volunteers to sit with their feet in plastic bags. Then you have the laboratory staff sniff the feet. They discovered that people with foot odor had large numbers of a certain bacteria on their bodies— the same type of bacteria found in Limburger cheese. They also discovered that antibiotics can reduce the number of bacteria, and thus improve the smell of feet. Why some people carry large amounts of this bacteria and others don’t is still unknown, but is under investigation. It could be differences in a person’s sweat or pH balance. Since it’s not a good idea to take antibiotics to reduce odor, this valiant research team is now trying to find ways to keep bacteria from sticking to the skin, to prevent bacteria from getting a “foothold.” Around 80 million Americans suffer from smelly feet.

• One company called Sweet Feet combated foot odor with scented socks. Impregnated with various scents such as powder, citrus, strawberry, and peach, the footsie socks threw off a long-lasting fragrance. The odor remained even through many launderings and the socks cost about $20 per pair.

• Many people do not wear the correct shoe size for their feet. Often this is because people stick to the size they were measured for when young and fail to realize that their feet change shape.

CONTINUED....

Tidbits® of Rockwall County Page 3

DVDs reviewed in this column will be avail-able in stores the week of May 27, 2013.

forces. There’s a mom and dad (Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton) and two young boys who just can’t get the message when super-spooky stuff happens to them -- mysterious marks and wounds appearing on their bod-ies, moments of amnesia, temporarily losing control of their bodies. You know, the usual. This movie doesn’t really break from the “Para-normal Activity” pack, except that it looks more at the family than the (rather lame) mythos behind the haunting. Mom wants to sell the house, but the market isn’t favorable. Dad isn’t happy being unemployed. The boys are going through kid stuff -- on top of be-ing haunted.

PICKS OF THE WEEK “Dark Skies” (PG-13) -- A nice young family moves into a pleasant suburban home, only to be harassed by the creepy whims of supernatural

The Lovings

“The Loving Story” (NR) -- In the case of Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled that interracial mar-riages could not be restricted by law. Richard Loving married Mildred Jeter in Washington D.C. in 1958, but their marriage was not recognized in their home state of Virginia -- interracial marriage was illegal there and in more than 20 other states. Richard was a white man, and Mildred was half-black, half-Native American. This award-winning HBO documentary features old home footage of the family, as well as photographs and interviews.

TV RELEASES“Doctor Who: Series Seven -- Part Two”“Covert Affairs: Season Three”“Longmire: The Complete First Season”“Suits: Season Two”“George Gently, Series 5”“Red Widow: The Complete First Season”


Answers on Page 7


1. Who was the first second baseman to win back-to-back National League MVP Awards?2. Name the catcher who holds the modern major-league record for most passed balls in a season.

3. In 2012, Steve Weatherford of the New York Giants became the third punter in NFL history to receive a franchise-player tag. Name the other two.4. Who was the first player in NCAA men’s basketball history to have a quadruple-double in a game? 5. In 2013, Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos became the fourth-youngest player to score 200 career goals (age 23). Who did it at a younger age?6. Who was the last U.S. man before David Boudia in 2012 to win a gold medal in Olympic diving?7. In 2013, Tiger Woods tied the mark for most career victories at one PGA event (eight). Who else holds the record?

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FOOT BINDING• The only thing worse for feet than high

heels was the Chinese practice of foot-binding. A young girl’s feet were wrapped with a bandage ten feet long, strapped in a figure eight around the foot and ankle. It was tightened daily and pulled so taut that the four smallest toes were forced under the foot, breaking the bones. The bones in the arch of the foot would also break, forcing the arch into a sharp inverted “V” shape. Every two weeks the girl was given a pair of shoes two tenths of an inch smaller than the previous pair. Infection often resulted, sometimes followed by gangrene, amputation of toes, and even death. After two years, the ideally deformed foot fit a shoe only four inches long, and would proudly be called “lotus feet” or “lily feet.” Because women with lily feet could only put weight on their heels and couldn’t walk without pain, they hobbled with a mincing step which men considered charming. No one knows why the custom became habit, though it’s conjectured that the practice was popular because it prevented unhappy wives from running away.

Last week’s spots where Teddy Tidbits was hiding:

(May 17, 2013.)

1. Kwik Kar P. 12. Good Housekeeping P. 5

Page 5For Advertising Call (972) 632-9833

• It was ancient Roman dramatist, philosopher and statesman Seneca the Younger who made the following sage observation: “While we are postponing, life speeds by.”

• You might be surprised at some of the seemingly innocuous things that arouse passions in a group of people. Take the venerable 1960s television show “Mr. Ed,” for example. Evidently, an evangelist named Jim Brown took issue with the show’s theme song, claiming that when played backward, the tune contains the message “the source is Satan” and “someone sang this song for Satan.” His preaching on the subject was so persuasive that members of a church in Ironton, Ohio, made a bonfire of recordings of the song.

• If you’re planning to visit the Hawaiian island of Kauai, you might want to trek up to Mount Waialeale.

If you do, though, be sure to take an umbrella, as that mountain holds the distinction of receiving more rainfall than any other place on Earth, with an average of about 40 feet -- yes, feet -- of rain annually.

• A recent national survey of adult children with living parents found that a whopping 70 percent of respondents are against the idea of a parent moving in with them. If it became necessary for one parent to move in, though, two-thirds would choose Mom over Dad.

• It was noted wit Ambrose Bierce who, in his “Devil’s Dictionary,” defined faith as “Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.”

• Those who study such things say that an ordinary human being can live four weeks without food, four days without water and four minutes without air.***Thought for the Day: “Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.” -- Bertrand Russell


Spicy grilled sausages topped with an array of grilled veggies, sauerkraut or relishes are a cookout staple and an easy way to satisfy a crowd.

8 sweet or hot Italian sausage links, or if you prefer, 8 hot dogs, 2 large kielbasa sausage links, or 8 fully cooked bratwurst sausages8 Italian bread rolls, split, or hot dog buns, if you prefer

1. Prepare outdoor grill for direct grilling on medium. 2. Grill Italian sausages 15 minutes or until browned and cooked through, turning occasionally. (Grill hot dogs 5 minutes, kielbasa 15 minutes or bratwurst 10 minutes, or until browned and heated through, turning occasionally.) 3. Grill rolls or buns 1 to 2 minutes or until toasted. Serve sausages (kielbasa cut into 8 pieces) in toasted bread with choice of topping.For thousands of triple-tested recipes, visit our website at www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/.

(c) 2013 Hearst Communications, Inc.All rights reserved

Grilled Sausages

FAMOUS WOMEN OF THE WORLD:JEANA YEAGER

• Jeana Yeager was born in 1952 in Texas. She studied drafting in high school, a skill that would later serve her well. At the age of 26 she earned her pilot’s license. She was most interested in becoming a helicopter pilot, but then became interested in high performance aircraft. She moved to California and got a job designing experimental planes.

• In 1980, she met Dick Rutan at an air show in California, where he was a featured aerobatic flyer. Rutan and his brother ran their own aircraft company, designing new planes. Rutan hired Yeager to work with him, and they later fell in love. Over the next several years, she set several speed records as a test pilot for the planes Rutan was designing.

• In 1981, Yeager and Rutan began working to design a plane that could circle the globe without landing or refueling. Yeager named the plane Voyager. Because it was a private endeavor, the plane was built using volunteer labor and donations. As it was being designed and constructed, Yeager underwent extensive training in ocean navigation and communications, expanded her flying credentials, and became one of the first civilians ever to complete an Air Force water survival training course.

• On December 14, 1986, the Voyager took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, with Yeager and Rutan stationed in a cockpit about the size of a telephone booth. The wings, which were heavily loaded with fuel, scraped the pavement upon take-off and were damaged, but not badly enough to abort the mission. Traveling across the Pacific and Indian Oceans, over Africa, and then across the Atlantic before crossing the U.S., the flight was full of peril. They used much fuel avoiding a hurricane.

CONTINUED....

The Tidbits® Paper is a Division of Tidbits Media, Inc. • Montgomery, AL 36106(800) 523-3096 • E-mail: [email protected] • All Rights Reserved ©2008

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When you find tasty ways to combine kids’ favorite foods, “kids” of all ages will lick their plates clean! Best of all, this is ready to serve in less than 10 minutes from the moment you start to when you can call, “Come and get it!”

1 (10 3/4-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup1/4 cup fat-free milk1 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese2 cups cooked elbow macaroni, rinsed and drained8 ounces reduced-fat frankfurters, diced

Hot Dog Casse-role

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. In a microwave-safe 8-cup mixing bowl, combine mushroom soup, milk and Cheddar cheese. Microwave on HIGH (100 percent power) for 4 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Add macaroni, frankfurters, parsley flakes and black pepper. Mix well to combine. 2. Continue microwaving on HIGH for 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture is heated through. Mix well before serving. Makes 4 (1 cup) servings.

• Each serving equals: 263 calories, 7g fat, 18g protein, 32g carb, 957mg sodium, 1g fiber; Diabetic Exchanges: 2 Meat, 1 1/2 Starch.


JEANA YAEGER (continued):• Libya refused to allow access to

air space, requiring an unexpected detour. A fuel pump failed mid-flight causing an engine to shut down. Moreover, the craft was extremely difficult to fly. Unstable in the air, it required constant attention to keep it aloft. Constant engine noise left both pilots with hearing damage by the end of the flight, and chronic fatigue dogged their every moment.

• Nine days after it had taken off, Voyager landed at Edwards Air Force, having traveled 26,366 miles at an average elevation of 11,000 feet. Whereas 3,500 people had been on hand to see them take off, about 55,000 people showed up to see them land, along with 23 news cameras. Yeager and Rutan had traveled 28,000 miles at an average speed of 116 mph. When they landed, they had eight gallons of fuel to spare, enough to have taken them only another 100 miles.

• From a record standpoint, Rutan and Yeager became the first aviators to circumnavigate the globe nonstop, without landing or refueling in mid-flight. They also endured the longest flight up to that time, doubling the previous flight record for distance. President Ronald Regan awarded them with Presidential Citizen Medals of Honor, which had been bestowed only 16 times previously. They also received the Collier Trophy, aviation’s highest honor, and many other prestigious awards.

Page 7For Advertising Call (972) 632-9833

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: While having dinner with my father, he suddenly had a blank look and stopped eating. He couldn’t speak clearly. My brothers and I got him onto a couch, and he stayed there for about 15 minutes. Finally, someone suggested he might be having a stroke, and we called 911. In the emergency room, the doctor had a CT scan done and then gave him a clot-busting drug. It worked unbelievably. He regained his speech and could move. Is this common? I thought strokes came from bleeding in the brain. What’s going on? -- T.M.

ANSWER: Strokes come in two varieties. The less-common kind is bleeding from a broken brain artery, often one that has an innate weakness in its wall. That’s an aneurysm. It has an explosive onset and produces a “worst headache ever.” This is a hemorrhagic stroke, accounting for 15 percent of strokes. The more-common kind of stroke is an ischemic (is-KEY-mick) stroke, one that results from a blockage of blood flow through an artery serving the brain. It’s similar to what happens in a heart attack when a heart artery is plugged up. Your dad had this kind of stroke. The CT scan your dad had is one way of differentiating a hemorrhagic stroke from an ischemic one. Signs of both kinds of stroke are a sudden inability to speak, an inability to understand the spoken word, loss of sensations from parts of the body, weakness of a leg or arm and vision changes. Deprived of blood, brain cells and tissues die fairly quickly. As in your father’s case, clot-dissolving drugs

Rapid Stroke Treatment Saves Brain Cells

can establish circulation to the brain area deprived of blood. If such treatment is given within three to four hours from the onset of symptoms, people can make a complete or near-complete recovery of function. The booklet on strokes provides information on this common and often tragic malady. Readers can obtain a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue -- No. 902W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

***

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My son is 33. During his last visit, he happened to mention that he had floaters in his eyes, and they drove him crazy. He didn’t go into detail about this, but I would like to know about floaters and their implications. I never had them. -- L.H.

ANSWER: Floaters are dark, small spots that dart across a person’s field of vision when the person moves his eyes. They’re deposits of debris in the vitreous, a gellike substance that fills the entire back two-thirds of the eye. Nearsighted people are prone to developing them. I bet your son is nearsighted. There is no treatment for floaters. People learn to deal with them. A sudden onset of a large number of floaters indicates that the retina is tearing away from its attachment to the back of the eye. Detachment of the vitreous can do the same. If such an event takes place, an immediate examination by an ophthalmologist is mandatory.

*** Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

(c) 2013 North America Synd., Inc.All Rights Reserved

Neighborhoods hum and bustle with an extra dose of activity this time of year, and some households, like the Gustafson’s, seem to be especially on the go -- make that “on the run,” but in a good kind of way. Watching the action from the sidelines, I can’t help but be inspired by this fit family. All four kids play hockey, baseball/softball and tennis, and two play soccer. Toss in the parents, and biking trumps driving the car whenever possible. No wonder mom Angie always has her favorite chewy power bar recipe handy for easy reference. She and the kids enjoy making the tasty snack that is chock full of healthy ingredients, including flaxseed, wheat germ and raisins. Reese’s Pieces are added to the mix, but she controls the amount. “The original online ‘Ultimate Power Bar’ recipe, which has been passed from friend to friend, comes from Lunds, our neighborhood market where you can easily find all the ingredients,” she says. “But, like most recipes I prepare, I tweak the ingredients to suit our tastes. The bars are ideal for school lunches, picnics and rest stops when we bike around town with our cycling club, the Mill City Cyclomaniacs. I don’t know a kid who doesn’t like them -- even the picky eaters ask for the energy snack.”

ANGIE’S ULTIMATE POWER BAR

3 1/2 cups oats1/2 cup raisins1/2 cup shredded coconut2/3 cup sunflower seeds1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds1/2 cup wheat germ1/2 cup oat bran3 tablespoons flax seeds1 tablespoon cinnamon1 teaspoon salt1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter1 cup honey4 tablespoons butter, melted3/4 cup Reese’s Pieces

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. In a large bowl, let one child combine the first 10 ingredients with a big spoon. Continue stirring while another child adds the peanut butter, honey and melted butter. When mixed, stir in Reese’s Pieces. 3. Spoon mixture into an ungreased 9-inch-by-13-inch glass pan. Use a spatula to pack and press it down firmly. Bake 15-17 minutes. Let cool, then chill completely before slicing. Store bars in stacks separated by waxed paper in a covered container in the refrigerator. Makes 36 bars.

***Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

Bake Power Bars for Energy Snack

“When it comes to charitable giving, some people stop at nothing.”

--Anonymous

Of Rockwall County

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Page 8 Tidbits® of Rockwall County

1. Vibrissae, or “tactile hairs”2. Athens3. George Meade4. Curvature of the spine5. U.S. and Canada6. Will Kane7. Palomino8. Mercury9. Lower part of the brain stem10. Edward Stratemeyer


1. Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds, 1975-76.2. Texas’ Geno Petralli, with 35 in 1987.3. Todd Sauerbrun (2003 with Carolina) and Michael Koenen (2009, Atlanta).4. Tennessee-Martin’s Lester Hudson, in 2007 (25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals).5. Wayne Gretzky (age 21), Mario Lemieux (22) and Dale Hawer-chuk (22).6. Mark Lenzi, in 1992.7. Sam Snead.


Women Vets Get Their Own Hotline The Department of Veterans Affairs recently opened a hotline for women veterans, their families and caregiv-ers. The hotline is a welcome addition, if only for one reason: Women veterans aren’t as knowledgeable about the benefits, resources and services that are available to them. According to a news release, women make up 15 per-cent of active duty and 18 percent of National Guard and Reserve personnel. However, in VA health care, only 6 percent of the patients are women. Since 2000, the number of women using VA health care has doubled, but they can’t use services and benefits they don’t know about. Here are just a few areas where the hotline can help:

--Referrals to homeless and mental-health services--Disability compensation--Vet Center information--Information on VA cemeteries and memorial ben-

efits, claims, education and health-care appoint-ments, including pharmacy--Home loans--Employment assistance

The Women Veterans Hotline can be reached at 1-855-829-6636. To reach the Veteran Crisis Line, for urgent needs, call 1-800-273-TALK and Dial 1 for Veterans. Female veterans also can go online to www.eBenefits.va.gov. Search the College Navigator, read the Compen-sation and Benefits Handbook, access the Form 10-EZ Application for Medical Benefits, see the benefits fact sheet, access the veterans job bank and read about fed-eral benefits for veterans, dependents and survivors. Once you’re signed up, manage your health care online at TRICARE Online or My HealtheVet. Consider this column a Clip ‘n’ Save: Hand it off to a female veteran who can use it, perhaps just before this summer’s Stand Down in your area. Stand Downs are a great place for all veterans to connect with benefits and services in a one-stop event.

Freddy Groves regrets that he cannot personally answer reader questions, but will incorporate them into his col-umn whenever possible. Send email to [email protected].


• “For a small splinter that is buried, try this trick before you go digging around with tweezers or a sterilized needle. Lay a piece of banana peel pulp-side down over the splinter and cover it with a bandage. Leave it on overnight if possible. It has something to do with the enzymes in the peel as it ripens, but it will help draw out the splinter. The peel needs to be nice and ripe, and it might take a couple of tries.” -- D.M.

• Need a substitution for buttermilk? Use an equal amount of plain, unflavored yogurt, or for each cup, add a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of milk.

• “On chore days, I write each chore or step of a chore on a sticky note and attach them to the kitchen counter. Then we all get together and decide who will do what. We end up with our stack of sticky notes and can complete the chores in an organized fashion.” -- R.E. in Alabama

• Keep a lint roller by the sewing machine to quickly swipe up those tiny bits of thread. It’ll keep your sewing area from getting messy.

• Sharpen scissors by cutting through a piece of aluminum foil that has been folded over several times. It really does work!

• Parents of twins (or other multiples): It makes a big difference when you join a multiples club or keep in touch with an organization for that purpose. Most do clothing swaps or sales fairly often, and the money you’ll save on clothing the first year is well worth it.Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-

6475 or e-mail JoAnn at [email protected].

Documents

Tidbits of Rockwall County Issue #005