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I peel a lot of potatoes.

I use russets for mashed potatoes and I always peel them.
I use red or yellow creamy potatoes for garlic mashers, and I half peel them - I cut out the knotty spots and peel anything that looks yucky.

I peel for most potato casserols.

I go through a LOT of potatoes! I make regular mashed potatoes 2 or 3 times a week, or more in the winter.

For baked potatoes, I use russets and a wash them and dry them, then oil lightly and put a sprinkle of salt on them and bake right on the oven rack.

You can download the Silhouette Studio software for free and use it on your own computer. You can design and save your files and take them on a drive to the Library. You have to have a computer. It will not work on iPad, phones, etc. It needs either Windows or Mac OS.

•With the free basic software - you can only save in the Silhouette proprietary format of .studio. But since you will be using it with Silhouette Studio at the Library, that will work perfectly fine! You can use your own fonts that are installed on your computer with the Studio software. You can import .studio files - some bloggers have them for free. The Silhouette Design Store offers a few freebies, and you can get the Freebie of the Week also. You can purchase files in the .studio format from the Design Store, and they are usually around .99. More for more complex 3D type and sticker files.

•To use SVG files, you need to upgrade the free software to Designer Edition - which the Library must have done, since they say SVG files are compatible. It's around $50, and I think it might be on sale for a little less at Swing Design - but the free one will be sufficient for you now.

• You can trace JPG files. The higher the resolution, the better the trace. You can open PNG files - and they will auto-trace with the current software (even the free one). But double check the cut lines. It only traces areas that have the transparent background around it. If the PNG has internal parts that are different colors, and there isn't a transparent boundary around them, the auto-trace doesn't pick that up.

You can do everything with the software on your computer, except cut, if you don't have a machine at home. But you can make AMAZING printables. It is actually a pretty easy to use software that can do impressive things -even the free version. You can PRINT from it at home on your own printer! I find myself doing more "just print" projects from it than actually sending things to my cutter to cut it. If doing printables at home - just make sure you set your page size to match what you are printing on. The software defaults to 12x12 page size, so if you print on 8.5x11 - switch it to that.

It can be a little daunting at first, but once you grasp the software - it is really simple!

I use it to design and print all my cards now.

Here is a link to the software (free) download
.
www.silhouetteamerica.com/software

I bought Tencel sheets from Amazon. Oh wow - we love them. My DH hated some microfiber ones I bought once, and it seems like a lot of other sheets just wear out fast (yes, they were cheap! LOL).

I bought these and my DH said " I love these sheets!" They feel cool in the summer and nice in the winter. They don't stick to you. The jersey sheets just felt to clingy to me.

I also have some Brooklinen sheets on a different bed and those are very nice too.

Amazon Tencel sheets

They need to find something substantial, or this will backfire in the biggest way possible.

I had deep cracks and very dry hard skin on my heels, and I did the Baby Foot Peel.

Lordy. It was beyond comprehension. I try to do that at least once or twice a year now, and my heels stay soft and no longer have the heavy hard edges that crack.

Mine were NOT bleeding or open. I did have some discomfort from them, but is was minimal. But the cracks looked deep, and since I wear sandals all summer and work outside - ugh. It was disgusting looking.

I followed the Baby Foot Peel instructions to a letter. I soaked my feet for quite a long time, then put the peel bags on my feet and left them for an hour (maybe a bit longer). You can't really walk well then - so plan on watching TV or reading a book. I put big socks on over them. It seems to make them hug my feet better and if I did have to walk - it made it a little easier.

Then, after about a week, the dead skin started to peel off. Oh Lord that first time was just WOW. The gunk that came off my heels was astonishing! Just crazy. Don't force it off, let it come of naturally. I did start to peel off a bit after a while, but I didn't try to go to far. I did use a good heel pedicure file after I had soaked to get the heavy stuff off.

Now that I do the peels on a regular basis - no more dried cracked skin on my feet!

Amazon has the Baby Foot Peel. I think they are around $25. You get a bag that goes on each foot. Worth it!

I suffered from PF for quite sometime. It would feel like a knife stabbing up my heel. It hurt when I stood up after sitting. It would reduce in pain after I moved a bit, but still painful enough to limit my activity.

I first experienced it when I was pregnant. I did the heel stretches recommend by my doctor religiously and took anti-inflammatory. It eventually went away. I was much younger, and stuff seems to heal better when you have less years!

It came back a few years ago. Oh man. It just made me miserable. I tried different shoes, and NEVER went barefoot.
I was at Walmart and saw these and thought, it's cheap - what could hurt.

Cushioned Arch Supports
I got relief almost overnight. Seriously! And I am not one to think things like this actually work. I wore the bands 24/7 for about a week, then just started wearing the band on the foot that still had a little pain during the day. I have zero issues now, and have not for a couple years. It was life changing! I don't know if it works for everyone - but I still recommend them to try.
I bought some extra on Amazon, and they are super thin and do nothing - but the thicker ones really made a difference for me.

Good shoes are still a great idea though!

When I was about 16, someone very wise told me Men go into a relationship/marriage thinking the Woman will never change. Women go into the relationship/marriage thinking they can change the Man. Neither one will happen.

That really made an impact on me.

I wasn't keen on marriage as a young person, so I wasn't looking for a husband. But when my DH proposed, I accepted, because I knew he was someone I could live with the rest of my life and not want to change.

Ha! Underpowered is an understatement! Ours was a 5 speed, and I had to shift to 4th to pass a car! I went to a track meet once, and it was SO windy that day - I honestly had to shift to 4th to keep up highway speed going into that headwind.

One of our friends also had a PT Cruiser (bought it before we did). Their daughter rolled it with 5 girls in there. Seriously rolled it - one girl came out with a sprained wrist, that was it. Also knew someone else who's kid flipped one end over end - decimated the car. Kid walked away. I couldn't believe that piece of crap tin can could be that safe, but they were!

The podcast is called You're Wrong About. It is not related to the NYT editorials. It's an interesting podcast, but I have a hard time staying with it, solely because I don't care for the hosts vocal fry... that's just me. It is a well researched podcast.


Oh boy! We had so much fun with our PT Cruiser, but what a piece of garbage. It had a hell of a run for us. Had to do a few major repairs to it, but it made it through me and then two kids... I think every kid in their school learned how to drive a stick in that thing. It survived two 14 year old drivers! HA! I told my daughter I swore she hit 4 gears up and 4 gears down coming up our lane, which isn't that long!
It was such a dog in the snow/ice. I mean a DOG! We finally put studded snow tires on it. I still hear stories from my kids and their friends. Oh lord. I'm glad I didn't know at the time! Sold it with over 100K on it.

I live out in the country, so I usually hear someone drive up.

I did get a driveway alarm, so I get a ding-dong when someone comes up my lane. I like that. I don't open the door to JW or salesmen.

I get hunters, and they are always non-local. I politely tell them no, that our ground is not open for public hunting. Most are polite and leave. If they give me a hard time, I just shut the door and tell them the laws coming if they don't leave.

I purchased a new Keurig Supreme this summer. It has 3 heat settings, and 3 strength settings. That really makes a difference. Quieter and it pokes multiple holes in the top of the Kcup and brews differently than the older models.

We farm & ranch. I could blow through that pretty fast! lol

Just kidding, sort of. It's amazing when I finish up the books at the end of the year how much money was spent. Eeeks. Definitely in the mid 6 figures most years.

But just purchasing a brand new combine with corn and bean heads would be close to 1 million. We generally never buy brand new machinery.

Blue Corn is a flint corn, and it is used mostly for making tortillas. I have heard it is sweeter. But it is not a sweet corn that you would eat off the cob. It is something you would grind into masa.

I am a commercial dent corn farmer, so I might not have all my facts on blue corn straight! lol I do grow some sweet corn, for our personal use - but we pretty much gave that up.

Nursing home care just scares me now. We have a local nursing home, and for years it was the gold standard. Absolute fantastic staff. It was clean and kept modern in decor.

So many awesome activities for the residents. Outings for those who could go, interesting entertainment brought in. My kids would play piano once a month there with their piano teacher.

The food was excellent, and they had a happy hour before supper, so if the resident was cleared to have alcohol, they could have a favorite drink or wine.

Now - oh lord. The staff has quit in droves. Many of the showers and plumbing doesn't work. Our friend said his wife was on the toilet for 37 minutes after calling for help to get back to her bed (she is in for rehab).

For my friends wife, who is there rehabbing a broken leg, it is $9000/month. And she isn't there for specialized care, like a Memory Unit type care, which is more.

Oh my lord.

It is a corporately owned home, and all the money leaves our town. Employees are treated terribly and pay is poor.

I have talked to a few that quit. They worked there from age 16. Earning CNA, then RN and BSN degrees while working there. One told me her hair was falling out, the stress of the working conditions and knowledge of how bad it was getting was more than she could take. She quit and was awarded unemployment.