Kitchen Replacement

We are getting at least half of new kitchen cabinets and a sink. Today it is being torn up.

This is what I hope it will look like when it is put back together. I will not have the handles and knobs, though, as these things tend to catch on my clothing and rip out my pockets when I'm working. The new doors and drawers have grooves that make it possible to pull them open without handles.

The deterioration of this kitchen must have begun a number of years ago when a small leak behind the wall of the lower cabinets began. In recent years I smelled stale water and suspected the wood was becoming damp, but there was no visible leak. My son in law opened the wall behind it all and discovered that there had been a small drip due to some kind of loose bolt in the plumbing. It had dripped for years and soaked up the wood in the cabinets, until one day years later, puddles of water began appearing on the floor. I would get up in the morning and remove the old towels I had laid out the night before. It always dripped in the night, and never in the daytime. This has gone on for quite awhile and finally the cabinets were totally rotted and smelled terrible, so it is being dismantled today.
This is what it looked like recently, with trash bags taped over the open areas where there were no doors. The top is some kind of linoleum from the 1960's which I kept painting year after year and covering with with a clear waterproof sealer. The upper cabinets will not be replaced yet, but I have seen that it is some kind of "trend" to make the upper and lower cabinets unmatched. Somehow, that makes me feel better.

Sinus Solutions

This is just a short post with a couple of sinus infection solutions. Over the years I have tried just about everything. I cannot keep medications down, but can drink herbal teas which are somewhat effective. Hot steam baths, keeping feet warm and going back to bed with head elevated, seem to help. There are other dramatic and sometimes more stressful and invasive treatments that work for awhile .However, when a sinus headache has gone too far, most things do not help. Sinuses infections respond for awhile to one thing, and then tend to outgrow it and then you are off trying something else. I believe that the plugged up passages to ear,nose, throat, eyes, etc. seem to get smaller as you get older, and it gets harder to get rid of the headache, but I have just found two natural things that have worked for the longest time, so far.

One is black pepper. Just shake some into a little plate and try to breathe it in. Then go somewhere to sneeze. Keep a plate of it beside your bed and sneeze away. The more you sneeze, the more the sinus seems to clear up. Don't ever stifle a sneeze. If black pepper (regular table pepper from the shaker) does not make you sneeze, just try anything that will make you weep or sneeze: cutting strong onions, hot salsa, even flowers, if you are allergic to them. Sneezing and runny eyes and nose are much better than a plugged up sinus.

The other is posture. Keep standing and sitting straight and keep the neck in alignment with the spine. It seems to help a lot.

Sometimes when a sinus headache comes on, it will not dissipate until it has run its full course, but these two solutions have been able to nip out a sinus infection quite quickly.

I hope to put a longer post on a more significant issue, later today, but this little hint had helped me so much, I wanted to share it.

Handmade Book Made Easily

This will show how to make a very easy book using ordinary materials and tools. I save the best papers for the covers and use construction paper for the pages. It rolls back easily when the pages are turned, and it accepts paste much better. I like the way it tears easily, and it seems that even a lot of pages make only a very lightweight book. When the book is put together and tied, bend the stiff cover paper back and make a crease, which forms a little binding area.

This is a close up of the sticker placed on two pieces of glittered paper from the glitter pack I got at WalMart. The cover is easy: just cut it the same size as the pages.

To make the holes evenly apart, fold the paper in half and punch one hole.

Then lay it on your stack of pages and use it as a guide to punch the holes. Do the same with the covers.

Inside, I have placed on plain white paper, some stickers that I've been saving for quite awhile, because they were so pretty. To make words, phrases, or poetry, write on the construction paper with a pen and tear around the word, or cut it to look like a banner or ribbon. I've torn around all the words in this book.

On these pages I have pieces of old scrap book paper that I liked and could not throw out, and a picture from a catalog. You can cover up mistakes with strips of paper cut with decorative edged scissors or just cut plainly. Here, I put the holes in the wrong end of the picture, so I covered them up with the strip of glitter paper.

Another catalog clipping, and an antique postcard reproduction from a gift bag, bordered by glitter paper. To cover up the initials in catalog pictures, place stickers or words or pieces of decorative paper over it.