Preventative Maintenance

There are a few things I know. Problems will not fix themselves. Small problems will get worse. And, it is far better to prevent problems from developing. The answer, Preventative Maintenance.

How do you do that? Simple. First, periodically, say once a month or so, look around your property. If you are an apartment dweller, just take a glance around. Do you see any frayed wiring? Is your refrigerator making strange noises? Is the air conditioner acting erratically, or,  more importantly, does it have a lot of built up moisture. While you're at it, change or clean that AC filter. If it's cold out, check your heat source. Make sure you are seeing no drips around your washer and dish washer and, if either is rattling or clunky, get them checked out.

Do you see any little water spots on your ceiling? Apartment dwellers, call your maintenance staff  and bug them until they look at it. Home owners, if you are able, and feel comfortable doing it, check out your roof. If not, call a roofer. Small repairs are quick and cheap. Large ones are not.

Keep your roof's gutters unclogged. If you live where there are serious storms, keep trees properly pruned. If you have a nice garden, check your sprinklers every week or so; it is easier, and, again, cheaper than having to replant parts of your garden or lawn. If you have a swimming pool check the chemicals daily and the flow rate weekly. Once a pool is out of balance, it can be nightmarish to rebalance it.

If your toilet is not flushing correctly, go ahead and fix it and, if you are a home owner, periodically have your drain lines cleaned, either by machine or with one of the many chemical drain cleaners available. I am sure you will not enjoy having your toilets back up.

Take care of your car. Check fluids once a week and do not skip scheduled maintenance, such as oil changes, belt replacement and tune ups. Do not ignore any little drips you see. They may indicate a serious problem.

Most of all, keep your property and belongings clean and neat. People will be surprised just how much this will improve the functioning of autos, appliances and your home in general. Preventative Maintenance does not have to be a huge chore. Just, on a routine basis, give your place a few minutes attention and you will save yourself a world of time, expense and aggravation.

Using Ladders

I have seen many, many folks suffer injuries, ranging from minor scrapes to permanent back problems, because they did not use their head when using ladders, If I dwell on accident prevention it is because, as a practically minded individual, I know that accidents cost people a whole lot of money and aggravation. Hurting yourself is going to mean lost work, which means lost pay and it is also going to cost you time spent enjoying your life. I have hurt my back so badly that I could not even sleep without taking a substantial quantity of drugs.

First, make sure your ladders are stable. If the have loose rungs or wobble, fix them or replace them Second, make sure they are long enough. If you have to climb to the very top rung, you know, the one marked 'do not stand here,' then do not use that ladder for that job. This even applies to those little step stools we use around the house.

Whenever possible, if you are using anything more than say a ten foot ladder, have someone steady the ladder, especially if you are carrying tools or supplies. I know, at work, your boss may say no to that and if that happens, do your job, and start scouting around for another. Yes, we all need that paycheck, but in the long run, an accident is going to cost you a lot. If you are on good terms with your boss, and he is generally reasonable, you may want to gently remind him that if you are injured, his workman's  comp insurance is going through the roof.

If you are working on scaffolding,, you will be given a harness. If you do not wear it, you are an idiot. Make sure, when working on ladders or scaffolding, that you are wearing appropriate shoes. I have seen guys painting their houses on weekends, wearing flip flops. This is amazingly dangerous, not to mention hard on the feet.

If you are setting up a long extension ladder, insist on help. I saw a guy doing that alone on a windy day. A gust turned it in his hands and he spent several months recovering from his back injury.

Used carefully, ladders are perfectly safe. Well, reasonably safe, anyway; odd things happen occasionally no matter how many precautions you take. However, you must take all of those precautions. Do not hurt yourself.

Emergency Preparedness

Hurricane season is here, California is having earth tremors and before you know it, snow and blizzards will set in. It is simple to be ready for any emergency. I, having grown up in S. Florida, hurricane zone, have a bit of practice at this, so let me give a few pointers.

Loss of electricity is likely. It may be a few hours, or days.  After Hurricane Andrew, power was out in some areas for a couple of weeks. Generators are great but, if things are bad, you may have trouble getting gasoline. If you use a generator, use it sparingly. Propane grills are excellent, but, you better have extra tanks. A plain old charcoal grill is a great idea and charcoal is cheap and easy to store.
Make sure you only use grills outdoors, away from buildings. I have heard of people setting them up inside and dying of carbon monoxide poisoning. I have known people who set them up on their porch and burned their house down.

Water is vital and you do not want to be one of those people standing in line for hours to get a case of bottled water. I do not approve of using bottled  water for every day use, the disposal of all that plastic is a n awful problem. However, having 2 or 3 cases around for emergencies only, is a fine idea. Or, you can buy hard plastic or glass jugs, like you would use for tea or juice, and just fill them with water from the tap. You cannot have enough water on hand and you must drink water.

Toilets can be a problem if the water is shut off (this sometimes happens during severe hurricanes). If you have room, fill a few 5 gallon buckets and keep them handy. Just pour water into your tank, from the top, and you will be able to flush. Note: when the danger is past, empty those buckets, unless you want to breed mosquitoes.

Food may not be available as grocery stores may be damaged. Keep some canned food around. Tuna, salmon, chicken, and ham are good as are beans. You do not want to have to heat up the grill every time you're hungry so stay away from canned chili, spaghetti and soups unless you like to eat them cold. Crackers keep better than bread (if it's hot and humid, it will mold). Dry foods, such as nuts and fruits are a great idea. Remember, you are not eating for pleasure. These are emergencies and you are in survival mode. You see advertised, dry meals; just add boiling water and eat. That is great, but again, if you have no power and no grill, they are useless.

If you are on any medications, try to have some in stock. Keep a well stocked, reasonably extensive first aid kit. Make sure you have a good fire extinguisher; the fire department may have trouble getting to you. If you live in hurricane zones, the winds will stir up rotting vegetation and you will want something on hand to deal with allergies and sinus issues. Also, at certain times of year, you will be advised to keep something like Off away. There will be no air conditioning and with the windows open, mosquitoes will be ready to feast on you.

Make sure you have a basic, minimal tool kit handy, just because you never know what you might need

If you have advanced warning, fill your car's gas tank, and, if possible, fill a couple of 5 gallon cans with gas( store them safely, in a fairly well ventilated area). You do not want to be sitting in 2 mile long lines at the gas station. Also, keep some cash on hand as ATMs and banks may be shut down for awhile.

One last thing. You will do yourself know good if you sit and brood. Keep some non electronic pastimes on hand. A few books and a deck of cards will do.

I sincerely hope you never go through an extreme emergency, but they do happen. A little planning, and you'll come through just fine.

Get a Grip on Your Weight

Many of us are fat and, many of the rest are too darn thin. This causes a world of health problems and health problems create a loss in quality (and often quantity) of life. They are also expensive. So, the practical thing to do is get a grip on your weight.

We all do not have to look like super models or Olympic swimmers, but we all should strive to have a reasonable weight. If you are too fat, you are going to feel sluggish, stress your circulatory system and, especially as you age, have a bunch of aches and pains. I can certainly testify to the latter. I am, now a bit heavy. In the past, I have lapsed into obese and spent many years wavering between fat and chunky. I have arthritis and I am sure that my weight has contributed and, in recent years has caused unnecessary pain. I am now, slowly, getting rid of excess baggage. I stress slowly because losing weigh too fast is not a good idea and, even if it works, the results will be temporary. You cannot stay on a diet  your whole life, nor should you. You also, should stay away from any fad diet, all quick loss weight loss pills (they're usually mostly caffeine) and there is no need to send away for pre-packaged meals (they are expensive).

The answer is simple; eat less and exercise more. You lose weight when you burn more calories than you eat. It is that simple. You do not need to count calories; if you eat less and are still not losing weight, you need to eat even less or exercise more or both. You do not have to hire a personal trainer or head to the gym; walk more, ride a bike, do some old fashioned calisthenics, work in the garden, chase the family dog around the back yard, anything that gets you moving.

You will lose weight. It will be slow. You need to eat a balanced diet, with small amounts of each food group. Do not eliminate fats, carbs, or proteins. You need some of each, just cut the amounts. If you get a little hungry between meals, a small snack, very small, of nuts, crackers, cheese, fruit, yogurt are good ideas; just a bite or two. Note: if, during these hunger spell, you feel faint, shaky and mentally weird, you may be a bit hypoglycemic. Eat a high protein snack and get to a doctor as this may cause serious problems and may have underlying causes. If you go out to  dinner are a party and overdo things, do not beat yourself up. Just start back the next day and move on.

As for being underweight, I have no experience with that, but, everyday, I see people, usually young women, who are so thin they look sickly. Obviously, they should eat more but, I am told that they have body image difficulties and see themselves as fat. In those cases, there needs to be some sort of counselling available. If there is none, or, as is often the case, it is not affordable, I suppose the best thing is for family and friends to be supportive and loving and try to reason, gently, with the individual. I mention girls here because I see this extreme thinness most often in them and hear it mentioned more often as a female problem. I imagine there are males with the same problem and I would think they should be treated the same. In any case, the individual should see a doctor and make sure there are no underlying conditions.

We are a culture bombarded with images, in advertising and entertainment, of slender, athletic young men and women. You do not have to look like that but, for your own health and well being, neither should you look like Homer Simpson.      

Health Tip - Be Careful with Farm Raised Seafood

I think the idea of farm raised seafood is wonderful. The oceans are fished out and must be allowed to rest awhile and regenerate, yet many of us love seafood. Farm raising seafood is a great idea.

But, fish, shrimp etc. are easily contaminated, especially some that are often farmed. For example, catfish and shrimp both are scavengers and will eat anything.

Now, American and European aquatic farms are fairly well regulated and their products safe, reasonably. The same cannot be said of other countries. I have seen films of fish farms from various parts of the world and they are nightmarish. They are raising their fish and shellfish in a nasty mess of near sewage, they are far too overcrowded and, really, the only way they stay productive is by adding enormous amounts of hormones, pesticides and antibiotics.

I once got sick by eating tainted shrimp, imported from Thailand. I felt like the character in Alien who had the monster bursting out of his stomach and was sick for a week.

Retailers are required to mark where farm raised seafood was grown. Please, do yourself a favor and buy American. It is far safer, and besides, it is a good way to support American businesses and workers.

Planning

We can all save a lot of time and energy with just a little planning. I do not mean writing out long, elaborate lists full of details. Just give your day a bit of thought.

Say you need to go shopping for groceries. Before you run off, stop and make a mental list of the basic things you need. Also, think about what other shops are in the area. Maybe you can make a stop at the bank or post office while you're in the area. If you need a new shirt, maybe there's a department store nearby. Anything in the area that you need? Stop in before you get those groceries. You will be surprised how much time you save. It beats getting home and realizing that you have to go right back out. You also save wear and tear on your vehicle and, if traffic is heavy, you save wear and tear on your nerves.

At work, stop a minute before you leap into a job. Do you have all of your materials and data on hand. Is there any thing related to the specific job that you can take care of at the same time. I have often started doing a repair and found that while doing that, I could do a bit of preventative maintenance  at the same time.

Now, the thing about plans is you must be flexible. It is a good idea to do a bit of planning but, you have to accept the fact that situations change, sometimes in a matter of seconds. I have known folks who planned so thoroughly that when things changed, they were lost.

Still, I urge you to do a bit of planning before you start anything. You will save time, money and energy and who doesn't like that.

A Cheap Refreshing Drink for Hot Summer Days

I learned this trick when I was working in a school kitchen. Take a large container. 2 gallons is good, but it should be at least 1 gallon. You are going to add a small amount of finely cut fruit or chopped herbs (or berries or cucumber). Fill with water and refrigerate for a couple of hours. You will have a nicely flavored, healthy, almost calorie free drink.

For example: thinly slice one orange, peel and all, or 2 lemons and/or limes.
                      a thin sliced cucumber with peel aand a quarter cup or so of chopped mint or
                      10 thin sliced strawberries with a quarter cup chopped mint 

You get the idea. Just a small amount of flavoring, you're not making juice, just adding some taste to your water. Of course, the better the water the better the flavor but, really, just tap water works fine.

This is called spa water and I think you may be surprised at how tasty and refreshing it is. We served it to kids used to soda and sweet drinks (ie lemonade and energy drinks) and they loved it. Refreshing, great taste, and not enough calories to count. You can't beat it.