Hints from Rhoda

Warning!
If you are leaving town for a while, be sure to turn off  the ice maker to your refrigerator.  We recently had a flood in the freezer, where an ice cube got wedged in such a way that the water was continually pumping into the ice maker.  Luckily, we were at home, so there was only a minor flood  to clean up.  Wouldn't have been pretty if we had been gone for weeks!

Also, don't  do like we did several years ago and go off to Germany for three weeks, leaving a side of venison in the freezer.  The power was off for over a week, and we came home to a horrible mess to clean up.  

Another Good Hint for when you will be gone for a while:
If you want to see if the power has been off for a long time when you are traveling, fill a cup with water and put it in the freezer until it is frozen.  Before you leave home, put a coin on top of the frozen ice in the cup.  If the power has gone off and the water has melted, you can easily tell, because the coin will have sunk to the bottom of the cup.

Book Recommendation:
Wonderful novel I just read:

All the Light we Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, available as an e-book from the Kingsport Library
See NY Times book review for more info:

Book review: All the Light we Cannot See

Favorite quote from the book:  “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.”  

Recommended home improvement project:

The most recent Family Handyman had directions for turning a kitchen drawer into a two level spice drawer. (Actually a drawer inside of a drawer.)  Because we have so little space in our kitchen, I asked Alan if he would make it, which he happily did.  Our house also has no workshop, so he has to use the washer and dryer for workspace in the winter time.  In warmer weather, he sets up a workbench on the carport.  The project turned out great!

Alan in his "workshop"

I didn't take a very good picture, but you can see how it looks.