Works for me Wednesday.

Abbey from Abbey Road posted a while ago about WD 40.

This would have to be one of the best inventions. Here is a list of things that WD 40 can do:

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 t he 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 children'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 sprocket s 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 chemical attractants 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.


Go and buy a tin of this and use it to clean. I don't think I have come across something that cleans and does so many things.

Some photos from Christopher.

I finally got my camera to upload to the computer tonight and found a heap of photos that Christopher has taken. I thought they were worth sharing.

Sometimes the lens cover doesn't open completely and this is what happens:

This is a picture of Tom's diary that I keep his bsl in.

I am not sure who took this next photo. It must have been Tom or Amelia since it is a photo of Christopher.


The corner of our table by Christopher:


Great abstract photo by Christopher:

A simple Womens Daybook.

Outside my window... it looks like the day will be nice today. The sky is clear and blue but I think it will be another cold one.

I am thinking... that it is good to know that we need to watch Christopher's sugar levels.

From the learning rooms... we will make our Anzac biscuits today.

I am thankful for... our heater that we will soon need to put on.

From the kitchen... we are drinking lots of soup.

I am wearing... grey track pants and my favourite red jumper.

I am reading... Just finished Gangland to Promised land.

I am hoping... Christopher will cope with the changes he is about to go through.

I am creating... a new mothers rule after re reading the book.

I am praying... for Christopher especially.

Around the house... Tom woke early and has the TV on. Steve and Daniel are talking in the kitchen and I can hear the water running.

One of my favorite things... Nights at home with all the family.

A few plans for the rest of the week... finish off the shopping bags, reading the book the Weight of a Mass, paying the bills on payday, cooking some snack foods to freeze.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Christpher playing the wii.

Test results.

Tonight I spoke with Tom's endocrinologist and the blood test results for Christopher are positive.

At the moment he still produces some insulin. Probably in the next couple of years he will stop all production though.

The positives are that we know it is coming and his sugars will be relatively easier to manage while he is still producing his own insulin. He also won't get ketoacidosis since we are aware and watching his blood sugar level.

We will be doing bsl in the morning and at night for the moment. He won't need any insulin shots yet.

Please pray for Christopher. He was very unhappy tonight when we had to check his sugar level.

Therese.

Back into school.

We start our second term today. Some of the things we are doing this week in home school are:

Making some Anzac biscuits and learning about Anzac day.

Reading The Weight of a Mass to start Tom's preparation to receive his First Eucharist.

We will do a science experiment with growing mold.

I will take our car up to be fixed this morning. We are hoping it won't take too long.

Have a good week.

Therese

Praise God.

Visit Jennifer for other praises.

1. Praise God for the wonderful holiday we have just had.

2. Praise God for the return to routine tomorrow with school starting.

3. Praise God for the chance to prepare Tom for his First Eucharist this year.

4. Praise God for my children.

5. Praise God for all my friends that encourage me in my faith.

Sunday Silence.

H/T Australia Incognita

The Priests are coming to Australia.

Bathroom progress photo.

Tom

Tom chops up the tiles. He did a great job helping Steve.

I have a heap more photos but my camera is being temperamental so I cannot upload them at the moment.

I will upload them as soon as I work out what is wrong with the camera.

Quick 7.

1

Car service.

On Wednesday we had our car serviced. While it was in the workshop, the door got badly damaged. The service took about a hour longer because when they first damaged the car, they couldn't get the door shut. We drove home with a door that whistled.

2.

Car Door repair.

The service place that damaged our car is paying for the damage (obviously since they are responsible for it) and we will have to take it in on Monday. I have no idea how long we will be without a car but it will be painful. I am taking it down to the crash repairer on Monday morning.

3.

Home school.

On Monday it is back to the grind here in South Australia. We start term 2. Tom will be receiving his First Holy Communion in June so we will be preparing him for that and reading lots of books about the Eucharist.

4.

Sleeping bag.

I started sewing a new sleeping bag for my niece who was born on New Years Eve. I wasn't able to finish it off because I didn't have a open ended zip which it needed. I was going to get the zip in Adelaide and finish it off and send it to my sister. I realized in Adelaide that I had cut the front and back out the wrong way. All the animals on it are upside down. I think I will have to cut another front and back out and replace them.

5.

Plastic bags.

Starting on the 4th of May, shops in South Australia are not allowed to use any plastic bags. For years all shops have supplied us with bags for all our shopping. This is suppose to be in the interests of looking after our environment. I have bought a couple of the recycle bags from the shops but so many of them have broken that I am not happy to keep on paying for them. I have decided I will make a couple up myself.

6.

Christopher.

A couple of weeks ago, Tom tested Christopher's sugar level when he was doing his own. He told me that Christopher was 11.0. (198). I thought well maybe his hands had a bit of sugar or something on them. I decided to do another fasting test for him and it came out at 7.9 (144) which is a bit high for a fasting bsl.

Tom's endo did a hba1c which came back at 5.8. Even though this is in the normal range, she thought it was a bit high for a 4 year old so we have had a blood test done. We will know in a week if Christopher is a type one diabetic too. Please pray for him.

7.

Marilena.

My blogging friend Marilena's mother is very ill. You can read about her here. Please pray for Marilena and her mother.

Therese.

Pop over to Jens for other quick 7

John Pridmore.

Last year at WYD Steve listened to a guy called John Pridmore talk and bought his book Gangland to Promised land.

I found it while I was cleaning out the storeroom and have started reading it.

John Pridmore is an ex London gangster turn Christian. (His own words). I have found his story very gripping and a wonderful testimony to the faithfulness of God. When I read stories like this, I know that nothing is impossible for God.

John also keeps a blog which can be found Here

Therese

NFP.

Have you seen these videos before? There are 4 made by a group of seminarians and they are all great. I watched them when they first came out nearly two years ago. I thought it was time to revisit them again.



Steve and I learnt the sympto thermal method when we were engaged. At that stage though, I didn't really realize how bad for a marriage contraception was. It was in our first year that Steve started to look into joining the church and I had a reversion to the faith. At that stage I thought to follow everything the church taught was being legalistic and very impractical for most people.

I was pregnant with Daniel within the first 3 months of us getting married so I didn't really think about nfp or contraception when we first came back to the church. For the first 11 years of our marriage, it wasn't a great concern to me to get pregnant many times so I was happy to use nfp when we thought we needed too but I did this because another pregnancy wasn't a huge issue for me and the level of abstinence was pretty low.

the first time I thought we really needed to think seriously about avoiding pregnancy for some time was just after Amelia was born. That year was full of challenges for us. First we moved away from family and friends for Steve's work. Then Tom was diagnosed with diabetes. A new baby, 5 other children under 10 and learning how to cope with a chronic illness away from family and friends made me feel like I was in over my head. I knew by now though that when the church said something was bad, it really was bad. I knew without a doubt that I couldn't use contraception with a clear conscience and that I had to trust that the church taught this for our own good, not because she wanted to spoil all our fun.

While I was breast feeding Amelia, Steve and I were both so committed to avoiding a pregnancy that we agreed that total abstinence was the only way we could be certain. It was because of that total abstinence that my understanding of marriage and the sacrament was changed. I saw our marriage grow a lot. Steve and I prayed a lot together that year and we also told each other things we hadn't really been prepared to tell each other before. Steve really became my best friend that year and our marriage changed. It is hard to put into words what changed that year but I know that our love for each other and for our children was different. I didn't feel as vulnerable with Steve and felt more certainty about his love for me as I really am.

Because of the experience we had we knew that the church really did teach this for a reason. Without the wisdom of the church to guide us, we may have used contraception and our marriage would not have grown the way it did then.

I am so grateful to the church that she guides us and tells us what is right and wrong. It helps us in our journey to heaven.

Cheeseburger soup recipe.

Here is the recipe I use for Cheeseburger soup.

500 gms (half a pound) mince meat. (ground beef)

500 gms potatoes diced.

3 carrots.

3 celery sticks.

1 medium size onion.

1 red capsicum.

4 cups chicken broth.

1 carton sour cream.

250 gms grated cheese.

cook the onion until transperent and add the mince meat. When the meat is browned add in the remaining vegetables and broth. Bring to the boil and simmer for a half hour. Just before serving add the cream and cheese.

Simple Women's daybook.

Outside my window... it is late and dark. I am waiting to see if Tom's bsl will come down. It has been high most of the day.

I am thinking... about all the things I need to do tomorrow. We are getting the car serviced so I need to be up early.

From the learning rooms... another week off.

I am thankful for... my friends and family.

From the kitchen...not much after my oamc.

I am wearing... white capri's and a striped T Shirt.

I am reading... A mothers rule of life.

I am hoping... Tom will have a good check up this Thursday.

I am creating... a new sleeping bag for my niece.

I am praying... for our new Bishop.

Around the house... It is very quiet since it is so late.

One of my favorite things...Soaking in a bath.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Car service, Tom's check up, shopping for the bathroom renovation.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...


No picture to share since I am not on my computer.

Visit Peggy for other simple womens daybooks.

Have a great day everyone.
Therese

5mart Martha Monday.

My 5 from last week.


I did pretty well.

1. Sleeping bag is 95% done. I would have finished it but I didn't have a zip for the hood. I will get a zip this week and finish it of.

2. Curriculum plan is half done. I will finish it of this week. The oamc is just about complete. Here are the meals I did today.



Here is the mess I made.


The store room is getting cleaner. I will probably finish it off this week.

We didn't have a family outing this week.

I did pray each morning and sit in silence.

This week my plans are:

Sewing:

Cut out some shopping bags.

Homeschool and household:

Finish of the curriculum plan and continue with our storeroom.

Health:

Drink lots of water and no soft drinks.

Family:

I am hoping Steve and I will be able to get out for tea one night before school starts next week.

Spiritual:

Start writing in my prayer journal again. I have neglected it a lot.

Do you have anything you want to get done? Let me know in the comments section and I will add a link to your blog.

Therese

Praise God.

Time to thank God for all the good things he gives us.

This week I

Praise God for the beautiful weather we have had and will have today.

Praise God for Tom's diabetes team that help me look after his needs.

Praise God for the holidays and the chance to refresh oursleves.

Praise God for my darling husband that is doing our new bathroom.

Praise God for my older boys that are so willing to help out.

Do you have something to Praise God for?

Pop over to Jennifer's and add your list.

Therese

Are you Dawn or Dusk?

You Are Dusk

You are a naturally idealistic and creative person. You look forward to nights where everything is possible. You spend most of your energy on play. Work is okay, but the true you emerges after the work day is done. You're an offbeat type that doesn't like rules or schedules. Life's too short to waste at a desk in a cube. Whether you spend your night socializing or working on side projects, you like that your time is yours.

Are You Dusk or Dawn?

H/T Elena

Divine Mercy Sunday.

Today is the Feast of Divine Mercy.

You can read more about it here

Have a great Sunday.

Therese

Day two of my oamc.

Today I started the cooking and preparing food for freezing.

The first thing I do is cook the meat. Last night I cooked the chickens and made the stock. Usually I would cook the mince too but since the Kangaroo meat shop was shut when I got there, I had to wait till the morning to buy it.



I cook 4 kg at a time and that is enough meat for about 3 lots of 2 different meals. This lot of meat is doing my spaghetti sauce and the cheeseburger soup.

Once the meat is cooked, I make the spaghetti sauce.



This sauce will do three meals.



Here it is in the containers ready for the freezer.

While the sauce was cooking, I cut up all the vegetables for the pumpkin soup. I forgot to photograph the soup prep.

After the pumpkin soup I did the cheeseburger soup.



Here is Christopher helping me cut up vegetables for the cheeseburger soup. After the soup I did the chicken schnitzels.



Here is the cheeseburger soup we had for tea tonight.



To make the chicken schnitzels, I put the fillets in flour, egg and milk and breadcrumbs.



I then wrap them in alfoil lined with baking paper.



Here are all the meals ready for the freezer. I have three spaghetti sauces, three serves of chicken schnitzels, three serves of pumpkin soup and two serves of cheeseburger soup (it would have been three but we ate one for tea.

Tomorrow I will have a break since it is Sunday, On Monday I will make:

Hamburgers, chicken and corn soup, mushroom pasta, stew and meat loaf.

Day one of my oamc.

Today I started my oamc for our main meals.

I was going to write out a post about all the things I do, but I think it will be easier if I write it day by day.

I usually take 4 days to cook all our meals but since we are on holidays, I am doing it over three this month.

Day one I do the following:

1- choose the meals.
2- Write a shopping list.
3- Go shopping.
4- cook any meat the needs to be cooked ahead.
5- cut up vegetables.

1. Choose the meals:

I choose 10 main meals and we have them three times each month.

My 10 to cook this month are:

poppy seed chicken.

hamburgers.

stew.

chicken schnitzels.

pumpkin soup.

Spaghetti Boglanaise.

Mushroom spaghetti.

meatloaf.

cheeseburger soup.

Each month, one meal will not be prepared ahead but will be a meal I can do fairly quickly on the day we have it.

My main meal that isn't being prepared ahead this month is Easy Oven Cooked Fried Rice. We have it without the meat usually since this is one of my meatless dishes.

2- shopping list and 3- go shopping:

I write down all the ingredients we need for all the meals and then go through the pantry before I shop to see what we have from the list. Anything we have, I cross off. I then do the shopping.

When I come home from shopping, I sought all the ingredients for each meal into a bag except for the things that need to be refrigerated.

4- cook meat ahead and 5- cut up vegetables:

I put all the chickens into a big saucepan to make chicken stock and cook the chickens.

I usually also cook the mince. I buy the mince from a kangaroo meat factory. Tonight I didn't get there before they closed so I hope they will be open tomorrow morning. Otherwise I will have to buy the mince from the supermarket.

tonight I will cut up the vegetables for the meals I am doing tomorrow. I usually keep these in the fridge in containers that we freeze the meals in in.

Tomorrow I will write about day two and post some photos.

Bless The Child.

Tonight Steve and I watched Bless the Child I was a bit wary about getting this movie from the description but I am so glad we did.

I give the movie 5/5.

Some parts are a bit scary but overall it is a great movie.