What is the Main Ingredient of WD-40?

(The following is from an email from Dale, who got it from my dad, I think.  Nothing like a little hearsay, eh?  Still, I found it interesting!)

I had a neighbor who bought a new pickup. I got up very early one Sunday morning and saw that someone had spray painted red all around the sides of this beige truck(for some unknown reason).  I went over, woke him up, and told him the bad news.

He was very upset and was trying to figure out what to do. 
Probably nothing until Monday morning, since nothing was open. Another neighbor came out and told him to get his WD-40 and clean it off. 

It removed the unwanted paint beautifully and did not harm his 
paint job that was on the truck.  I'm impressed! WD-40 who knew? 'Water Displacement #40'.  The product began from a search for a rust preventative solvent and degreaser to protect missile parts.

WD-40 was created in 1953 by three technicians at the San Diego Rocket Chemical Company. Its name comes from the project that was to find a 'water displacement' compound. 
They were successful with the fortieth formulation, thus WD-40. 

The Convair Company bought it in bulk to protect their atlas 
missile parts. Ken East (one of the original founders) says there is nothing in WD-40 that would hurt you.  When you read the 'shower door' part, try it.  It's the first thing that has ever cleaned that spotty shower door.  If yours is plastic, it works just as well as glass.  It's a miracle! Then try it on your stove top ... Viola!  It's now shinier than it's ever been. 

You'll be amazed. WD-40 uses: 

1. Protects silver from tarnishing. 

2. Removes road tar and grime from cars. 

3. Cleans and lubricates guitar strings. 

4. Gives floors that 'just-waxed' sheen without making them slippery. 

5. Keeps flies off cows. 

6. Restores and cleans chalkboards. 

7. Removes lipstick stains. 

8. Loosens stubborn zippers. 

9. Untangles jewelry chains. 

10. Removes stains from stainless steel sinks. 

11. Removes dirt and grime from the barbecue grill. 

12. Keeps ceramic/terra cotta garden pots from oxidizing. 

13. Removes tomato stains from clothing. 

14. Keeps glass shower doors free of water spots. 

15. Camouflages scratches in ceramic and marble floors. 

16. Keeps scissors working smoothly. 

17. Lubricates noisy door hinges on vehicles and doors in homes. 

18. It removes black scuff marks from the kitchen floor! 
Use WD-40 for those nasty tar and scuff marks on flooring. It 
doesn't seem to harm the finish and you won't have to scrub nearly 
as hard to get them off. Just remember to open some windows 
if you have a lot of marks. 

19. Bug guts will eat away the finish on your car if not removed quickly! Use WD-40!

20. Gives a child's playground gym slide a shine for a super fast slide. 

21. Lubricates gear shift and mower deck lever for ease of handling on riding mowers.

22. Rids kids rocking chairs and swings of squeaky noises. 

23. Lubricates tracks in sticking home windows and makes them easier to open. 

24. Spraying an umbrella stem makes it easier to open and close. 

25. Restores and cleans padded leather dashboards in vehicles, as well as vinyl bumpers.

26. Restores and cleans roof racks on vehicles. 

27. Lubricates and stops squeaks in electric fans. 

28. Lubricates wheel sprockets on tricycles, wagons, and bicycles for easy handling.

29. Lubricates fan belts on washers and dryers and keeps them running smoothly. 

30. Keeps rust from forming on saws and saw blades, and other tools. 

31. Removes splattered grease on stove. 

32. Keeps bathroom mirror from fogging. 

33. Lubricates prosthetic limbs. 

34. Keeps pigeons off the balcony (they hate the smell.) 

35. Removes all traces of duct tape. 

36. Folks even spray it on their arms, hands, and knees to relieve arthritis pain.

37. Florida’s favorite use is: 'cleans and removes love bugs from grills and bumpers.'

38. The favorite use in the state of New York, WD-40 protects the Statue of Liberty from the elements.

39. WD-40 attracts fish.  Spray a little on live bait or lures and you will be catching the big one in no time.  Also, it's a lot cheaper than the chemicalattractants that are made for just that purpose.  Keep in mind though, using some chemical laced baits or lures for fishing are not allowed in some states.

40. Use it for fire ant bites. It takes the sting away immediately and stops the itch.

41. WD-40 is great for removing crayon from walls. Spray on the mark and wipe with a clean rag.

42. Also, if you've discovered that your teenage daughter 
has washed and dried a tube of lipstick with a load of laundry, saturate the lipstick spots with WD-40 and rewash. Presto! The lipstick is gone! 

43. If you sprayed WD-40 on the distributor cap, it would displace the moisture and allow the car to start.


P.S. The basic ingredient is FISH OIL.

Approaching Crunch Time!

In the last four weeks we have been casually packing.  However, it is getting to be time to ramp up the intensity.

Sounds like a work out, doesn't it?

We haven't been fooling around the last few weeks either!  Well, unless you count Dale and I going away for a couple of days and visiting Sonnenburg Garden and Mansion, and the Curtiss Aviation Museum, and swimming in the creek, having marshmellow roasts, and taking the kids to Watkin's Glen.....

But really, some work has been getting done!  Dale has been home from work taking some vacation time.  So far he has been catching up on paperwork, gotten some more contacts made, replaced the brake lines in the Tracker, and cleared a block in the septic lines.

Sounds like a fun vacation doesn't it?

Around everything we have been finishing up the school year, and I've been catching up on the BOM class I signed up for in January.  

This is a Modern Log Cabin Block:

This is an Octagon Block:

This is a Wonky 5-Sided Log Cabin Block ( it didn't really come out right for some reason):

This is a Greek Cross Block:

We all have been working very hard finishing up the school year, and sorting, decluttering, getting  more packing done.

Well, "everyone" that is except one individual.

 We are going to VBS at a "sister" church this week.  Today was basically take the kids to VBS, then home.  Then turn around and go do the errands and shopping, then home.  Then turn around and go to the gym.  Then home again.

You get the idea.  I'm pooped!

Before I end this hodge-podge of a post, I just wanted to say that we are going to a church in PA to candidate early in July! We'll see what we'll see......

Have a great evening everyone! Blessings!

Busy Days!

 Okay, I'm playing around with the new format for the blog here, and I have to say that the new features for arranging pictures is fun!  It just goes to show how long it has been since I've really been on here much.

We are still packing up, little by little.  Dale and I are going away for a couple of days for our anniversary this weekend, then after that, some very earnest packing is going to be happening.

Meanwhile I've been poking, prodding, pushing, shoving, and nagging the kids to finish up with their school work for this term.  When someone asks if we are "done" for the year, I never really know what to say.  The short answer is "Yes... and No."  We have filled the required 180 days, but a couple of kids still have some work to do, so according to the state of NY, Yes we are done.  According to this mean Mama, no we aren't, but very, very close.  There are a few loose ends to tie up for sundry children, but we are almost "done", whatever that is.

Over the summer all the children will be studying one thing of interest, just to keep their brains alert.  Elizabeth is working through an Algebra book.  Yes, her choice.  She WANTS to be working in it over the summer.  Oh, and she wants to start chemistry.  This girl must have been dropped when she was a baby.

 Esther is still finishing up a couple of subjects.  She will be doing some math over the summer.  It isn't her favorite subject, but she has recognized that doing a little over the summer to keep it fresh in her mind helps in the upcoming term.  She will also be enjoying baking and knitting, and she has a quilt she started a while back that she wants to work on.

Jerusha and Caleb both have workbooks for their grades to use.  They are made for "in between" such and such grades.  I got them to review what they learned this year.

The other kids haven't really decided what they want to persue.  Benjamin is into mechanics, and Josiah likes art, so we'll see.  Caleb loves to build things, whether it be with Legos, or blocks, or constructing something from the stuff in our recycle bin.  His imagination is wonderful!  Of course, no matter where we are living this summer, we plan on continuing in our music as well.

During the last couple of weeks we had the May Birthday bash on the 26th.  We had quite a group here, and it was a hot day, so we enjoyed splashing and swimming in the creek, then in the evening we had a campfire and toasted marshmellows and ate leftovers from the BBQ earlier that afternoon.


Since the packing schedule hasn't been too bad, I've been trying to finish up the sewing projects mentioned somewhere on here before.  As you can see I finished our church dresses.  :)

My dress is supposed to have a lacy shrug to go with it, but it isn't done yet.  I just blocked the lacy section this morning, and hope to get the ribbing on while we are away.  That is some nice, simple knitting that I can do and relax, and doesn't take much brain work.

I've also completed a quilt that was in my "To Finish" pile before we move.  This is a special quilt for special friend.  The Lord really spoke to me while I was piecing it as to where it should go.  I'm glad to do it, of course!

As if things weren't exciting enough around here, yesterday was quite an "interesting" day here.  During breakfast Esther had commented that it was another boring Monday.  After breakfast I was sitting at the computer doing some home office work, and the kids were behind me doing some music practice.  Suddenly Isaac started crying.  I mean really crying.  I whirled around and he was holding his hand.

He had the antennae from a remote controlled car sticking out of his finger.  I took a look at it, and tried to very gently see if I could ease it out, but the more I so much as touched it the more he screamed.  Then one of  the kids told me the end was curved.  Oh great.

I had Benjamin call Dale, who came home from work.  I got the bleeding stopped, and wrapped his finger (after cutting the car off the anttennae).  We were all just piled into the van when he pulled in.  Off we went to the Urgent Care Center.  Thankfully Isaac must not have been in too much pain as he stopped crying and chattered on the way.

Normally this is the sort of thing I would just take care of myself, but the way this antennae went in was like a fish hook.  I had no idea of what angle it was in.  I didn't know if the wire was curved around a bone or tendon or nothing.  So, I figured and X-ray and tetanus shot wouldn't be out of order.

We were there a long time, but the kids did great.  To make a long story short, they took an X-ray, and were able to get the wire out without having to slice into his finger to dig it out.  No stitches, just wicked cool shiney bandaid.

This coming Sunday and the following the church here has candidates coming in so we will be at another church.  Dale still has some resumes out.  He just got a Q&A packet from one chruch in West Virginia, and another church asked him to send in his doctrinal statement, which is like the next step after the initial contact with the resume.  Things are slowly moving forward, but we are content in God's will and just trying to do whatever is next for us, which basically is preparing to move at this point.

That is the latest update from the Beehive.  I hope you are all well!

As if!

While signing into my mail account, there was an add for refinancing your home.  It said, and I quote:

"MILLIONS IGNORE THE PRESIDENT'S REFINANCING ADVICE! "  Then it goes onto the usual misinformation about getting out a loan, etc.

Like I'm going to take financial advice from the man who has put a whole country in trillions of dollars in debt, and continues to engage in the act of misappropriation of funds without any check or balance.

Yeah, As If.

Pluggin' Away

There isn't much more to say. Dale has sent out several resumes, and heard back from a couple. One said "We are really slow to get this sort of thing done, I suggest you look elsewhere" and thus we took that as a "No." They even provided a couple of contacts in their email, which was nice. Another one the guy who called Dale after the initial contact said that they have a very long list of resumes to go through. In other words... another "No". But that is fine... we'd rather them let us know before we travel to Ohio, or PA, or wherever to let us know we aren't what they are looking for.

 He has several contacts who haven't gotten back to him yet, and a whole list of more contacts to make. We are just dipping out toes into the water, in the big scheme of things. Meanwhile, life is going on here pretty much as usual for the most part. I am casually packing and decluttering. We had Benjamin's 16th birthday party last weekend. Next weekend is the Birthday Bash for the twins and Caleb. A couple weeks after that Dale and I are going away for our Anniversary... Yay! We are trying to finish up the school year at least before we move, if not before. Almost everyone will be done long before that. In fact, now that I think about it, it seems everyone will be able to meet that goal.

 I have been reading Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxereider. I got it as a free Ebook on the Kindle last fall, and started it, then got sidetracked with life. Now I am reading it earnestly. What better time to declutter, than when you are moving? We are busy, to be sure. But I am making an honest effort to still enjoy the little things right now. It is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything going on here.

 Some things I enjoyed today, for example, was going out with Elizabeth to finish up the birthday shopping. I have her gift already, so she helped me brainstorm for Esther. We had lunch together, and then we went for a walk together. We have a lot of Flox right now along the sides of the roads, and we picked a bunch for our table. Yeah, yeah... weeds, but so pretty! Then we sat out on the swing, Josiah joining us, and read for a while before supper was ready. The family enjoyed homemade pizza, made by Chez Benjamin.

 I've been trying to finish up a couple of quilts and our church dresses. Also, I'm working on a lace shrug that is supposed to go with my church dress. I'm hoping to have all dresses and my shrug finished before Dale and I go away for our anniversary.

So, that is our life in a nutshell right now.  Just wanted to touch base with everyone and let you know I haven't been swallowed whole by any boxes and accidentally taped shut.

The Long and the Short of It

There has been WAY too much drama around here this winter! Miscarriage, tummy bug, and just when we are getting our footing again, or so I thought, Dale was voted out as Pastor.

We aren't really surprised that it happened, but just surprised at the way it happened. To make a very long story short, after one Sunday without us they rescinded the vote. Come to find out one man was bullying and threatening some of the older ladies to vote as he wanted them to. So not cool. Anyway, they basically said "Oh, never mind." So, between Saturday and a Wednesday meeting, they changed their minds, and we were left not know which way was up.

However, no matter how fickle people are, God is NOT. Dale and I have been praying for a couple years about whether or not it was time to move on, and God has shown us that it is time. After much prayer, Dale publicly resigned.

The good news is that we have 90 days or more, if everyone is agreeable. Dale has agreed to fill the pulpit as needed, with the understanding that we may be gone candidating. Also, except for the one person that wants us out as of "yesterday", everyone is willing to make this a friendly parting, which will is much preferable.

Dale and I are at peace with this, and are excited about whatever is next for our family. He is updating his resume, and I will continue packing, at a much more leisurely pace, than the frantic "We Have To Be Out of Here in 30 Days" panic mode packing. For the record, I think I would have made it in the 30 days. Once I got moving on it (no pun intended), I dug in and was in the zone. I also have been doing some much needed sorting, decluttering, and giving away of all our stuff.

The members voted to go ahead and hold the missions conference if we were still willing to house the missionary. Just so happens it all worked out so that we could, so the missionary will be here this evening. We have been spending the day cleaning like crazy.

For yet more drama, yesterday we woke up at 4 a.m. to the transformer on the street shorting out, blowing up, whatever it did to cause a boom and fireworks. That was nerve wracking. It was good thing we had had heavy rain on Sunday or I think the trees would have caught fire because it has been so dry! We also got 3 to 4 inches of very heavy snow. Hard to believe that just last week it was in the 80's and I was joyfully hanging laundry outside! We lost power until around noon. By then we had laundry and dishes and the like to catch up on, and didn't get much prep work done for the missions conference.

We had some music planned to do as a family, but we are all in sundry stages of a nasty cold, and though some are getting their voices back, many haven't yet, or are still coughing up a lung. We have a couple of instrumentals to do, so we'll see if we can get those together and start with that. The vocals will have to wait.

Whew. I'm so DONE with the drama here and am longing for those "dull, mundane, boring" days again. What a crazy ride this has been since last December!

Anyway, if the blog seems quite for a while, you know why. We haven't fallen off the face of the earth, just seeking God's will as to where our place is to be. We are excited about it, and looking forward to landing wherever Dale's next ministry will be, and digging into the work there.

BOM March

This is a little behind, but done! The technique for March was foundation piecing, and we did two string blocks.

The first was a plain String Block:



The second was a Broken Spider Web Block:



This was very fun and easy to do! I'm looking forward to tackling April's blocks which are about Hexagons and paper piecing. I've never used this technique before, but am excited to learn it!

Blessings!