It Makes Cents: 2008

Monday, July 14, 2008

polishing silver jewelry

Thursday, July 10, 2008

It Makes Cents - polishing silver
Oh Boy! Did I ever uncover a good "It Makes Cents" (and sense) hint this week! Thanks to Debbie Callison of the Indian Jewelry Store on Main Street in Panguitch. I had some Sterling Silver-strand necklaces that were nearly black and I could hardly stand thinking of the rubbing I would need to do to clean them. I took them to Debbie who has lots of beautiful silver pieces that she keeps looking wonderful and asked her what she would do. She said, in that great matter-of-fact way that makes us on the street love her, "Here, give them to me and I'll wash them with my dark load." "Whoa!" I said. "What do you mean 'wash them with your dark load'". "I'll put them in a sock, safty pin them in so they don't tangle and wash them with the dark load I've got ready to go in the washer." said Debbie.I could hardly imagine how this would work, but let her have the long strings of silver and went home. In a little while here she came with my bright, shinny silver.Naturally, I was interested in the whole process. It seemed too easy to believe.Here's what she did: As said above, she put the silver in a sock and fastened them in with safty pins. These silver pieces were on string, so they wouldn't have bent, but some necklaces are on wire and if they were whipped around in a washing machine, you can imagine how bent looking they would come out. I suppose if you were washing any silver piece you should use your imagination and think how rough treatment by the washer's agitator will affect them. If they were thin silver pieces, like a silver pitcher or something, you might not want to use this method. (But I could imagine my silverware, one in each sock and maybe only a few socks in each washer load being okay.) Then she simple washed with the normal recommended amount of oxyclean, detergent and bleach.While we are thanking Debbie for sharing this secret of her business, I feel to thank her for always making herself available to be on the ambulance and rush to the aid of any of us who find ourselves in a life or death situation. Thanks, Debbie. Go in and see her adorable bulldog puppies. Maybe one will take your heart.Send suggestions to Veda Hale Box 956 Panguitch Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

Monday, July 7, 2008

7,06,08 -- Good enough

Perfectionism may seem like a desirable trait, but to boost your health, aim for "just enough." "Trying to do everything right promotes an all-or-nothing attitude," says Martin Binks, PhD, a psychologist at the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, NC. So if you can't do something perfectly (i.e., work out an hour a day), you don't do anything at all (i.e., watch TV instead). A better mindset: Believe that every little bit counts. "It's small changes that are most effective," Binks says.So forget perfect!Here, the "good enough" guidelines for nine common get-fit recommendations that will ensure you're on your way to a longer, healthier life.FRUITS & VEGETABLESGold StandardUp to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a dayGood Enough -- 5 a dayThat's all it took for men and women to lower their stroke risk by 31%, according to a Harvard University study. "Five servings provide significant antioxidants and fiber to reduce heart disease and cancer risk and keep your weight in check," says Rosa Mo, RD, a nutrition professor at the University of New Haven. (One serving is equivalent to one medium piece of fresh fruit, ½ cup of cut fruit, a cup of raw leafy greens, or ½ cup of other cooked vegetables, such as broccoli.)Boost the BenefitKeep 'em cool and eat a rainbow of colors. Refrigerating berries, citrus, and fruit with edible skin (think apples), as well as veggies, preserves antioxidants. And aiming to eat from at least three different color groups (such as green, orange/yellow, red, white, and blue/purple) a day will ensure you get a wide variety of nutrients.EXERCISEGold Standard30 minutes of cardio 5 or more days a weekGood Enough -- 17 minutes a dayA new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that women who exercised just 2 hours a week (or 17 minutes daily) reduced their risk of heart disease and stroke by 27%. "You don't even have to do it all at once. No fewer than 10 studies since 1995 show that breaking up physical activity into small segments of about 10 minutes is just as effective," says Barry Franklin, PhD, director of cardiac rehabilitation and exercise laboratories at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, and spokesperson for the American Heart Association's national "Start!" program.Boost the BenefitPick up your pace for 30 to 60 seconds several times during your workout. A study from McMaster University in Canada found that people who did a total of 2 to 3 minutes of high-intensity exercise in the form of 30-second all-out sprints improved their cardiovascular fitness and muscle endurance as much as those who did 40 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise.Well, this makes sense. I think I can handle these goals. Let's give it a try! Send suggestions to Veda Hale Box 956, Panguitch, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

6,23,08--rhubarb

Rhubarb is the only eatable plant I have growing around my house. If it comes to starving someday, it makes sense that I learn how to use it. Actually, it makes sense and cents to learn to use it now. I know it has a good reputation for being good for the body. Some think it prepares the stomach to taste the coming food. When it reaches the stomach its digestive effects come into full play, causing an increase of the flow of gastric juice and inducing their movement, thus favoring the processing of the contents of the stomach. Besides stimulating the secretions from the liver which convey the bile salts, it assists the intestine in regulating the absorption of fats. That is good to know. But my research leads me to believe that the really good medicine kind only grows in the Himalayas, Tibet and Mongolia, where it has been prized for centuries. And it is the roots that are medicinal. Whatever the case, our common kind seems a good thing to eat, especially in the spring. Anything eatable that is early must be a special nature gift, as a body usually craves certain vitamins after the long winter. Putting rhubarb with strawberries in a pie seems to be the most popular way to use it. Stewing it with frozen raspberries is also good. Without lots of sugar, though, it is a hard sell. I think that is why the pie recipes usually have another fruit with it so the sugar can be cut down. Using itt makes cents because it can extend the quantity of other fruits. Some would even go so far as to say "quality", too. If a neighbor has a few plants, they are very likely to share, if you express a desire to have some. A good conversation about rhubarb never hurt a relationship. That is if you don't try to force everyone to like it. One unusual use I found for rhubarb is for an effective organic insecticide for any of the leaf eating insects (cabbage caterpillars, aphids, peach and cherry slug etc). • Basically you boil up a few pounds of rhubarb leaves in a few pints of water for about 15 or 20 minutes,• allow to cool,• then strain the liquid into a suitable container.• Dissolve some soap flakes in this liquid and use it to spray against aphids.So, next time you pick some rhubarb stems to eat, you can put the leaves to good use rather than just composting them (which isn't in itself such a bad use, I guess). Send suggestions to Veda Hale Box 956 Panguitch, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

6,09,08 -- 6 best cleaning aids

Ericka Reed ask me to reprint a formula for carpet cleaning. I makes me wish I had an easy way to look through back columns. There is one with computers, but I just need to set it up. So Ericka, until I find just what you ask for here are reminders of the six biggies in the cleaning catagory. Sure, it’s great to find that one magical product that solves a very specific household problem. But the truth is, you need little more than the following six ingredients—baking soda, borax, lemon juice, salt, olive oil and white vinegar—to clean just about anything in your home (pet hair excluded). Here are just a few of the many uses for these, well, magical multi-taskers: (remember that used fabric softener sheets pick up pet hair) 1. Baking soda: Acts as a scrub to remove hard water stains; polishes metal; deodorizes pretty much anything it touches (try stashing some in the fridge). 2. Borax: Mixed with three parts water, it makes a paste for cleaning carpet stains; mixed with ¼ part lemon juice, it cleans stainless steel and porcelain. (Note: although borax is a natural substance, you still shouldn’t eat it—and neither should your kids or pets.) 3. Lemon: Deodorizes and cuts grease on counter tops; rubbed on cutting boards, it bleaches stains and disinfects; combined with baking soda, it removes stains from plastic food storage containers. 4. Salt: Another natural scrubber—sprinkle it on cookware or oven surfaces, then rub; add citrus juice to turn it into an effective rust remover. 5. White vinegar: Deodorizes and disinfects; combine with water (and a little liquid soap—I know, it feels like cheating) to clean windows, mirrors, and floors; use at full strength in a spray bottle to fight mold and mildew. 6. Olive Oil: Mix two parts oil with one part lemon juice and use as a natural wood polish. (Save the really good stuff for dinner.) Then there are those troublesome smells from pet urine or from sour milk. Use dry 20 Mule Team Borax found in laundry aisles. vacuum it up after working in.

5,18.08---Happy people

It makes sense and cents (and dollars) to have as much happiness in your life as possible. Happy people usually have more good things (including enough money) in their lives than unhappy people and they usually just go along expecting it to be that way. And life just flows good things to them. Funny, isn't it. We usually think of someone who expects to be handed what they want as being "spoiled". Like when we see a happy child who asks for something and the caregiver quickly gives it to them, we say "Oh, you'll spoil him." Maybe we "spoil" people by wanting to teach them that life is hard, that we live in an unfriendly universe. Yes, they have to be careful around strangers. Yes, they have to use caution crossing a street, etc. etc. etc. But what is wrong with hoping and dreaming and imagining yourself getting what you need? In other words "acting as if". I live with a man who sends his "genie" out to find a good parking place, when we go where parking could be a problem. More often than not it works and the parking place is there. Another close friend who wants to find a particular thing for her home, asks "the universe" to help her find the right thing. It happens and she skips around happy and positive and making all around her think she is magic or something.The ones who make this kind of thing work usually have enough practicality in them to know they have to do something to help matters. They have done some kind of preparing, like getting an education, taking care of their health and hygiene, following through on commitments, making themselves fun to be around and involved in activities where it is possible for their wishes to come true.The book writers that make sense to me talk about gratitude, forgiveness and compassion. The Church folks talk about "forgetting self" and serving others.It is sure a lot easier to be happy when you feel connected to a greater whole. So meditation, prayer, walking in nature, listening to good music and dancing helps. Yes, dancing, moving the body. You don't need a partner to move around the house in time to some music. Probably some of the good that comes from exercise is just that the body is moving.
Of course, if one feels physically "yucky", along with game-playing, you better do all you can to improve your physical health.. A good goal to help keep good health is to follow as much as possible the suggestions put out by a group called "Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension". . . . (called DASH) Handful of nuts, one hour walk, soy products (tofu and soy milk), cornola or Olive oil, little meat, (even fish), Potatoes and artichokes for magnesium, potassium and calcium and lots of fruits and vegetables. Send suggestions to Veda Hale, P.O. Box 956 Panguitch, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.comIt makes sense to be involved in a meaningful work or activity. _________________________________________________________________

5.26,08 -- easy omelets

Bernice Henrie Miller sent me the following. It seems someone else sent it to me last year. Whatever, now many of us are having a lot of company that means feeding them breakfast, so this idea could come in handy. Have a pot of boiling water going and when anyone is ready to eat let them fix their own omelet Crack 2 eggs (large or extra-large) into a bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them. (This means into a plastic freezer bad that closes tight.)Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc. If there are a number of people wanting to eat at the same time, have them write their names on bag with a magic marker.Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more, make another pot of boiling water.Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Or slit and eat from bag. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake; everyone gets involved in the process and it makes for a great conversation piece.I'm thinking that, if you are out camping and everyone is wanting to go fishing or something, you could eliminate most of the clean-up with this trick. No dishes if you make each person eat their omelet out of the bag. Then you simply put away what is left of the "makings" and off you all go together to do your adventure.I sympathize with anyone trying to quit smoking. I doubt any of us who have not had to struggle with this challenge can have any idea how hard it is. Whatever help they can get is usually appreciated. It is said by some that short-term relief from nicotine withdrawal symptoms can come by simply using the old friend Alka-Zeltzer . As long as they are not on a low-sodium diet or have peptic ulcers, suggest the smoker drink two Alka- Seltzer tablets dissolved in a glass of water at every meal. The insects that bite will soon be out. Remember you can soothe insect bites by dissolving two Alka-Seltzer tablets in a glass of ater, dip a cloth into the solution, and place the cloth on the bite for twenty minutes.Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956, Panguitch, Ut 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

5,04,08 - breath sweetners

I remember living in a dorm one winter and eating at a caffeteria. It was at a time when I was particularly concious of things that would make my breath sweet. I started eating the parsley that was inevitibly put on each plate and usually thrown away. Someone had mentioned that it was good for you in many ways, one being keeping breath fresh. It is rich in clorophile, so it makes sense. Here are two other ways I could have used, had I wanted to go to the trouble. Boil some cinnamon bark in a cup of water. Store it in a clean bottle in your bathroom. Use it as a mouthwash frequently. That hint would have been hard to do under the circumstance, but I could have bought some cardamom seeds and chewed a few from time to time. Probably less expensive than the over-the-counter remidies. And at that time that was an issue. Now I have this idea that lots of garlic is good for me and for some reason it is something I like eating. I even roast a small handfull of the cloves that I buy peeled and frozen from Costco and can eat them straight with a little toast. This is what got me thingking about breath remidies. Well, it doesn't take much looking to find that garlic is indeed good for you in many ways. I did find out that eating roasted garlic is a good food, but likely most of the medicinal benefits have been lost in the roasting. So if you are thinking medicine, better stick to the raw. But if you are eating more than one fresh glove a day for a medicine, that is enough. Who knows that too much might be harmful, just as too much of a medicine could be. So don't go overboard. When a loved one or friend is sick with a cold or flu, we might feel the Chicken Soup remidie is not very special anymore. (Yes, it has been proven to be helpful and has entered our thinking as what to do for a cold.) Here is another receipe for colds and flu that might make your concern seem more original. Sauté 6 crushed cloves of garlic in 1 tsp. vegetable oil until golden. Pour in a quart of beef or chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and whisk in 2 egg whites. Beat together 2 egg yolks and 2 Tbls. distilled white vinegar; pour this mixture into the soup. Season with salt and pepper and top with croutons, if desired. Sounds good to me, what with my fixation on garlic right now. Send suggestions to Veda Hale Box 956, Panguitch, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com__________________

4,25,08--exercise without knowing it

How to Exercise Without Even Knowing It I often think of all that wasted energy when I see someone on a exercise bike or other piece of equipment. Work, work, work also can keep one fit and there is something besides a handsome body to show for it. Now days there are too many work-saving ways. Having Money to spare makes it easy to hire someone to do work for us. A group of scientists recently suggested, in a review that appeared inthe International Journal of Obesity, that Americans are simplyspending too much time talking about how our toxic food environment andour couch potato ways are making us obese. Perhaps there are otherreasons that we’re plumping up, they proposed. Among their alternateobesity theories: we’re not sleeping enough, air pollution messes upour metabolism, we’ve adapted to air conditioning—and so we don’t needto regulate our internal temperatures by ramping up our metabolic rates(thus, burning more calories). At EatingWell, they still believe thateating right and exercising are the ways to manage your weight. To thatend, they present with some excellent ways to exercise without evenknowing it—and feel better on turning on the A/C on those sultry days. 1. Wash a car. Embrace the summer heat—with a hose: Burn calories and make your car look beautiful as you wash, dry and get it (and you) buff. 2. Do your won yardwork 3. Take a break that includes walking around, like walking to the water cooler, walk to get the mail, etc.. 4. Start a home improvement project that takes trips to one of those home-improvement warehouses where you have to walk a lot to see things.Then do your own work. 5. Dog sit for someone, or get a dog yourself and take it for a walk each day. 6. Go on a picnic someplace where you have to haul an ice cooler some distance. Take a ball or Frisbee and use it. Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956, Panguitch, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

4,21,08 -- old storage food

Boy was I happy to see the "ask an expert" in the recent BYU Magazine this month!Actually happy and sort-of sad, because I had thrown away my storage from 1976. I wonder but what no one really knows how long food storage in those air-tight cans last, because not enough years have lapsed since they started storing food that way.Anyway this "expert" says:"There is a wide range in the shelf life of dried foods, depending on the specific commodity and its originl quality, storage terperature, and so on. Some commodities should be used withion a couple of years, like salad oil and dried eggs. But many dried foods--packaged to remove oxygen and kept at room temperature or below--will store well for 20-30 years or more. . . . Wheat and rice were very acceptable after 30-plus years of storage; beans, dried apples, macaroni, potato flakes, and oats up to 30 years; nonfat dry milk up to about 20 years."This expert, Oscar A. Pike, also said that "there is sufficient nutritional value to justify storing dry foods long term. In a survival situation, you need caleries to stay alive, and stored foods provide calories. Vitamine C is another important nutrient and, fortunately vitamin C tablets retain a high percentage of their potency for more than 20 years. ....store food to Minimize the exposure to moisture, air, light, and warm or hot temperatures. Of these, temperature is the most crucial. If you ever have to eat your food storage, you'll wish you had stored the food in the house and the furniture in the garage."He then advised that the wise thing to do is to store "a three-month supply of foods we are accustomed to eating, drinking water, a financial reserve, and a longer-term food supply. Our research indicates that dry foods are ideal for longer-term storage since they do not need to be rotated as frequently as we once thought."Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 596, Panguitch, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

4,14,08 -- Old Socks

No I haven't found a way to keep a sock from losing its mate. Some say safety pin them together before washing, but I know me better than to believe I will take the time to do that. However, I keep all the lonely ones and sometimes their mate shows up. But here are a few things that can be done with those who never make it back to their one and only..Cut off the toe and use the top for baby knee pads. I have seen active crawlers with callused knees who could use them. This keeps knees clean, too. (Hummm....automatic floor polishers, too? I've seen crawlers who put on a lot of miles.) Put a sock on a stick and clean under the refrigerator or other out-of the way places. Use as shoe polishing clothes. etc. Store your loose change in the lone sock. When it gets full a few inches, it would make a good "clobber-er" in case you needed to clobber someone. (Well, that's sort-of silly. But in this world, maybe some sort of defense plan is wise. I saw in a catalog where you could buy a look-real gun. That would make me feel more comfortable than thinking I could use a "clobber-er" or even learning how to use a real gun and having to worry about kids finding it. I'll remember the car-horn idea, too. (Keeping my car keys handy so I could push the peeper, in case someone threatened me. With that noise going on and me waving a look-real gun and a sock full of coin, I will likely have a good chance of scaring off a bad guy.)
Wear odds for work days around the house, trying to pair up the two nearest alike.
Once upon a time, mothers and grandmothers made sock dolls. I haven't seen many of those around for some time. And to darn a sock?? Does anyone even know how anymore? Forget it. Times do change and those of us from the old days might as will put this ought-to-do thing away and not feel guilty. Of course, I know someone who buys the most expensive and best socks available and takes care of them by pinning them together for washing and then darns any holes. They last for years, look good and make me admire the owners. Personally, I live with the idea of buying all socks alike and the dollar-a-pair kind and a lot of them. Then when one gets lost or chucked when it gets a hole, the mate can match up with another lonely one and go on with its life. But there is still in me some of the feeling that there is something wrong with this throw-away society. Especially I get annoyed with how often we have to "throw-away" some piece of electrical equipment, like a computer, just because something better has come along. At least nothing has come along to replace socks. Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956, Panguitch, Utah, 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

A recent column dealt with good snacks of by-gone days. Romona Morreale from Cannonville sent me her ideas. She said she remembered the cinnamon toast her mother used to make on the top of the woodburning stove. No matter what the improvements, "what mother made" is often remembered as the best food ever. No sense telling much how she did it, because few wood stoves are used, so she, herself, does it the following way now days:
One slice part whole wheat bread. (She uses part whole wheat because she doesn't tolerate very well all whole wheat. Many children would be happier with part whole wheat, too.)Instead of butter, she uses Flax seed oil, which has omega oil 3 and 6.Instead of sugar, she uses real maple Syrup.Then comes the cinnamon over that. She says her family will remember this treat as really "yummy". I expect they well. They will likely feel that their mother really, really loves them, because she used special ingredients. Romona also told about another of her childhood favorites--rice pudding.She makes it simply with one cup raw rice, about a third cup of raisons and two cups milk, which for her is soy milk. With soy milk sugar is needed because of the sweetness in the soy and the raisons. Then in reference to something else we have talked about here, she told of a great recipe to balance electrolytes. It is as follows:1/8 lemon squeezed in a mug1/4 teaspoon Maple Syrup (The real kind straight from the tree)pinch of real salt. (I suppose she means sea salt or maybe that salt that is from Redmond, Utah, near Richfield.)6 oz. water.Many of us don't understand what it means to "balance your electrolites". One doesn't have to understand. Just use this whenever you or a loved one feels poorly. It is doing something positive and it does taste good. By the way Romona reminded me of the health benefits of cinnamon, mentioning specificially how it is beneficial for diabetics. Still, moderation in all things....
Neucile Yardley reminded me of how many people used to make milk toast for a snack or even a meal. It is a good way to use hardened bread. In the days when people had plenty of butter, there was always a good hunk floating on the heated milk. It is surprisingly tasty this way. Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956 Panguitch, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

2,28,08 --car theives

We recently lost a set of car keys and took a second key to a locksmith. He wouldn't make a duplicate until we went to the dealership and picked up a certain kind of blank key. This saved us about $50, but still it cost $150. That would have been $200 had the dealership made the key. So it appears the car manufactorers were thinking of trying to cut down the thief problem in that they make it harder for just any locksmith to make a duplicate key. But the following information sent to me by Harriet Priska of Escalante seems to be another way the bad guys have found to steal your car: "The car thieves peer through the windshield of your car or truck, write down the VIN # from the label on the dash, go to the local car dealership and request a duplicate key based on the VIN #.
I didn't believe this e-mail, so I called Chrysler-Dodge and pretended I had lost my keys They told me to just bring in the VIN #, and they would cut me one on the spot, and I could order the keyless device if I wanted."The Car Dealer's Parts Department will make a duplicate key from the VIN #, and collect payment from the thief who will return to your car. He doesn't haveto break in, do any damage to the vehicle, or draw attention to himself. All he has to do is walk up to your car, insert the key and off he goes to a local Chop Shop with your vehicle. You don't believe it? It IS that easy.To avoid this from happening to you, simply put some tape (electrical tape, duct tape or medical tape) across the VIN Metal Label located on the dash board. By law, you cannot remove the VIN, but you CAN cover it so it can't be viewed through the windshield by a car thief. I urge you to forward this to your friends before some other car thief steals another car or truck. I slipped a 3 x 5 card over my VIN NUMBER."

By the ways, I wrote last year about how to open a car door where you have an extra set of keys at home. (You have someone at home, or where the second set of keys might be, use the clicker that opens the door through a telephone held up to the car door.) Someone worte and said it didn't work. I thought it did as I had tried it. But now I wonder if I was far enough away. I was only in the house and the car was in the garage, about 30 feet away. Maybe the clicker would have worked without the sound going through the phone. Anyone else have any idea about this?

Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956, Pangutich, Utah 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

3,18 08 - watermarks on furniture

Karen May from Panguitch recently called me to ask if I remembered what Vi Blake had once recommended to remove a water mark from furnature. She said she had used it on a sewing machine case top once and it worked beautifully. I looked through the past columns, but couldn't find just what it was. Then Karen said she remembered, that it was one part vegetable oil and one part salt.
I had found some other suggestions that I add here--just in case you want to try them. Certainly, before you waste time and money stripping your furniture and restaining it to remove water marks it is worth trying these suggestions
Take tooth paste (not the gel) and place it directly on the water mark and using your clean cloth rub it in a circular motion until the spot is gone. This process should take only a few moments. Once the spot is gone dip your cloth in your bucket of water and clean the toothpaste from your table.
A suggestion, if the marks are from heat marks (like setting a hot pizza pan or box on the table) is to use a medium hot iron on a clean white linen tea towel in circular motions this will take out the white heat marks. I was hesitant to try it on my oak table but figured it looked bad with the marks, so what do I have to lose. It took the marks out beautifully and now my table looks like new!

You might try first to simply gently heat the area with a hair dryer to see if that drives out the moisture.

Denatured alcohol
Gently pad a denatured alcohol dampened cloth over the spot in a sweeping motion. The alcohol is miscible in the water and they should evaporate away together. This is very effective on shellac finishes, but the alcohol is a solvent for shellac, so go gently. Aged lacquer is also susceptible to alcohol.

Another person I talked to said: "I mixed mayonaisse and cigarette ash, and left it on about an hour. When I wiped it away the white heat ring was gone too.
A similar approach is baby oil and cigarette ashes, gently rubbed in.

Still another suggestion:

1. Spread about 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise on a paper towel.
2. Place the paper towel on the white water mark. Press lightly.
3. Leave the mayonnaise on the stain about 15 minutes.
4. Lift the paper towel and check the stain. If the mark remains, rub more mayo into it again and check it later.
Some people report similar results with peanut butter or Vaseline.
Paint stores carry a yellow felt cloth that contains oils and a light abrasive. With rubbing, the oil displaces the moisture. Clean off the oil when finished. This may raise the sheen on flatter finishes.
Send suggestions to Veda Hale, Box 956, Pangutich, Utah, 84759 or email vedahale@hotmail.com

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It Makes Cents