respublica

Cars. You never know what will happen

Last week, Dale was to preach the evening Good Friday worship service at Holy Cross. Because of this he wanted to get there earlier than I would. He got into his car and it wouldn't start. This was weird because there was nothing wrong with the battery. He was a bit panic-ed because his car was behind mine and the only way to use mine would be to back out using our neighbor's lawn.

So he first called our St. Louis daughter Elizabeth who was headed to Holy Cross with her family to see if they were close. And they had just gotten into Collinsville so would come by and pick us up. Well, as often happens, Dale's car finally started and he was able to get going.

But. This had to be looked into, this strange behavior by the car. Yesterday he was able to get the car started and took it into St. Louis to be examined. He went to St. Louis because that is where the warranty fixers were located. It took a few hours of the mechanics checking things and in the end they discovered the problem.

The battery in his key fob was dead. I mean seriously. This key fob not only opens the doors but it also starts the engine remotely. All you need to do is have the key somewhere on your person or in the cup holder, push a button on the dash and the car starts.

This is something we never ever think about. Changing a key fob battery. I'm kind of glad my key fob just opens the door locks.

But this is not an easy battery to get in and out. The mechanics showed Dale how it's done and he tried practicing last night and couldn't do it. So hopefully this new one will last quite a while. At least we have a spare should this happen again.

Now I'm worried that my key fob has a battery inside that will die and I'll be standing next to the locked car door with a cart full of groceries and no way to get them in. Mine only locks and unlocks the doors, but still. It does look like it may open and have a battery in it. It's never died as many years as we've have the car so, my paranoia is: When will this battery die and where will I be?

Noticy Time

Maybe it's Dale having retired or the Covid closures, but it seems to us that the days are long, but the weeks are short. Why this is I don't understand, but one minute it's Monday and the next minute it's the weekend again. In between are days that take forever to end. Crazy.

Our weekday conversations often go like this: "Is it only 10?"  "Feels like it should be at least 2." Then, "Can you believe it's Friday! It's already Friday. What the heck did we actually do this week?"

Cucumbers fact or myth?

Came across this article on the many benefits of cucumbers. I have no idea if any of these are true or just old wives tales made up in order to justify growing them in the garden. When you grow them you'll get hundreds and since squirrels don't like them as they do other vine vegetables such as squash and melons, you have to start giving them away. Here are the touted facts about cucumbers.

Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber will react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemicals will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your taps, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the

shine, but is won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

 

 

Some ads make me want to buy

An ad for this T-shirt showed up on my Facebook page the other day and I really really want to get this for Dale. It's perfect for what he's doing these days. However, I'm wary of those kind of ads and the company involved. Are they on the up and up or a scam. So maybe I'll do this or maybe I won't.

Tasty rust remover

Here's one of those, "Did you know" pieces of advice.

If you have rust on your outdoor furniture or bike or whatever, you can get it off by using catsup. At least that is what some believe.

Get the items into the yard and paint brush on the surface where there is rust. Wait an hour or so and then hose it off. The claim is the rust will be gone. We don't have this type of lawn furniture although we did at one time. But I'd try this on other things should rust show up.

Local Election Results

Here are the winning candidates from the Collinsville ballot.

For city council- Donna Green

For Collinsville Township Supervisor:

Derrick Keith Cox

Highway Commissioner:

Kathy Trucano Hoelscher

Trustees:

Clint Ball

Matthew Guenther

Brad Sewell

Ashley Stewart

A different grocery experience today

I headed over to Aldi's this morning, a store I've rarely gone to, but I wanted some of their Red Bag frozen chicken breasts to try in the air fryer. These are really good and the legend is they are as good as Chik-Filet-A. This product has something of a cult following. So supper tonight since they had them in stock.

But, I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the inside of the store was. It seems much better than the last time I went there even with the expansion construction going on. The aisles were filled, the lighting was good, it was neat and clean. Lots of variety. Glad I went.

Local Election Day

Local offices will be up for election tomorrow with most of us voting in the same precinct as always. In Collinsville the city council has only one race and with incumbent Donna Green running against David Jerome.

The Township has received the most attention with several seats up for grabs. For Supervisor- Derrick Keith Cox versus Daniel Hopkins.  Township Trustees have 8 people running for 4 seats and the ballot allows you to vote for 4 of the 8.

ROBERT MILAM
PAUL RYDGIG
BRAD SEWELL
ASHLEY CHRISTINE STEWART
AARON WRIGHT
MATTHEW GUENTHER
CLINT BALL
JASON REHG

The other 3 Township offices have only one person running. Assessor-Pete Poletti   Clerk-Jim Achenbach and Highway Commissioner-Kathy Trucano Hoelscher

Too often most local elections see really really low turnouts. It's your opportunity to vote for people who most affect you where you live. Go Vote. It's a good thing to do. And, it gives those election judges something to do during a really really long day.

Keeping bugs out of your yard

It's that time again. Plants beginning to rise, grass is growing, leaves are popping out on trees, birds are singing like crazy and, of course, bugs are back. We've seen certain insects flying around, but so far not mosquitoes. Thankfully.

Just in time comes some advice on what to plant in the yard to help keep those darn biting mosquitoes at bay. Since we've begun planting lots of edible things I found this interesting and we still have room to add some of these.

A number of these seem to deter mosquitoes because they don't like the scent. Citronella is the first on the list. Dale and I were talking about this and we both wondered just what a Citronella plant is and turns out it is most commonly known as Lemon Grass. This should be fairly easy to find. Also on the list are Lavender, Marigolds, Rosemary, Mint and Sage. Most if these are probably found in the herbs area. All have scents that appear to discourage mosquitoes.

I'd like to go out today and find a couple of these and hope garden centers are now getting some of them in. Then we'll learn if they actually work.

One of the worst biting insects is that May/June tiny gnat. They swarm you when outside and their bites are awful and itch for days. A couple of years ago a Springfield carillonneur was visiting the seminary campus and we got to talking about those biting gnats. He had the same issue in his area and learned that Vanilla Body Spray really helps keep them from biting. We tried it and it did help tremendously. Lots of places have this. It has to be Vanilla.

WGN America revisited

Some time back I posted about the new prime time news news network WGN America which promoted itself as news as news and not news with bias. When we remember, we tune in and have found it to be a relief. It's almost relaxing to watch a news network that has no arguing or obvious, vehement bias.

It may take awhile for this to catch on since we've been accustomed for so long to hear mostly one sided programming. Or, news with follow-up editorializing by the hosts.

The one thing I wish was different and that is the time they are on the air. The begin at 5 pm and go until 10 each night. We do a lot of our news watching during the day and tend to forget about it during prime time.

This was unexpected and sad

According to a Collinsville high school announcement: " The Illinois House passed House bill 4783 that forces schools to remove names and logos associated with Native American Tribes. Starting with the new school year in August, this will be the new name and logo for CHS....

No more historic Kahoks. I guess Kayhawks is as close as it can get and pronounced the same, but just ridiculous to have to do this.

And, before anyone spreads this around: April Fool

Hard boiled eggs

Ready to make hard boiled eggs to color for Easter? This is one of those jobs which often don't work out so well. Either the eggs aren't quite done, or, more commonly they are a mess to peel.

Some years ago I found a method for cooking hard boiled eggs which ended up well done and easy peasy to peel. This came from The Pioneer Woman who got it from someone else. This has worked so well for me that even Dale comments on how easy the eggs are to peel every time he goes to eat one.

Bring water to a boil. When boiling ease the eggs into the pan and lower the heat to a low simmer. Leave them in for 13 minutes and then drop them into a bowl/pan of ice water for about 5 minutes or so. I normally leave them in the ice bath a bit longer. This ice bath is essential. Now you're ready to color or eat.

Which reminds me. I have to get eggs and dye today. Our kids are grown and we won't have the grandsons, but Dale really likes Easter eggs so I do them every year.

Thus far the vegetable garden

Our raised beds now have a number of plantings growing. All are currently the type which deals well with cooler temperatures. It will be some time before we put in tomatoes and peppers etc. You may notice Dale is big, really big, on using big stones.

Lettuces and cilantro in the back corner.

Brussel sprouts in one corner, we have a few more in another spot.

The ground looks awful here, but the rain and sudden cold did this, the soil is actually excellent. Radishes in front, then onions, and finally garlic in back.

These are strawberries with asparagus in those weird wood frames Dale insisted they needed. Behind all this are potatoes and red onions.

Hunger appeaser

For the past several months I've taken to eating popcorn around 10:30 in the morning. We get up really early and get a lot of work around the house and yard done. And I'm starving. Popcorn satisfies me in a big way. But, not popcorn covered with oil or butter, just a bag of air popped corn with some salt.

This has driven Dale a bit nuts and recently he can't help but comment on this habit every day. But, haha, more and more he asks for the bag when I've had enough.

So this health story from this morning was right up my alley. Eating popcorn may reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease!

I ran right in to Dale with this story.

One of the poorer ideas

Ah the 1980's. Remember water beds? Not such a good idea as it turned out for many owners who woke up soaking wet.

News we probably don't need

From the Guardian: The Average Westerner's eating habits leads to the loss of four trees every year.

"Chocolate consumption in the UK and Germany is an important driver of deforestation in Ivory Coast and Ghana, the scientists found, while beef and soy demand in the US, European Union and China results in forest destruction in Brazil."

Now I have to take issue with one thing. Chocolate consumption in the US certainly has to be as high or higher than in the UK and Germany. Otherwise this is one weird conclusion on tree loss.

Stop eating trees!

 

They're the real thing

I took Frank's advice and went over to Fairmont City this morning to look for Mexican Coke. I stopped in at one Mexican grocery store which is next to what used to be Bako's Hardware. It is a small place with several aisles of interesting food items among the more traditional foods. They had Mexican Coke, but as almost always, they're sold in individual bottles. However, my heart leaped up as I realized these were bigger than the usual 12 ounces bottles. They're 16 ounces!

Part of the label reads: Medio Litro which means medium liter. More specifically it means half of a liter. These bottles have 500 milimeters and there are 1000 mm's in a liter.  The more common 12 ounce Mexican Coke has 355 MM's.

So I'm happy for now. I asked the woman working the cash register if she'd mind if I bought 6 and she said, sure. I don't slug this down like water every day, but I do drink a sip or two every now and then during the day.

Dale's Sunday School Video

Last week Dale went out to a farm field near Glen Carbon to do a selfie video for this week's Holy Cross Sunday School lesson. I wrote about this effort and our work to get it actually uploaded to where it was supposed to go. We did it. Ha. With help from our church's vicar.

If you are interested in what he did, here it is.

It's the berries

A story headline caught my attention this morning. "Why Dick Van Dyke Eats This Fruit Every Single Day."

Part of my interest was the fact that Dick Van Dyke was the subject. It's been so long since he has been a major public figure and anyone growing up during the time his TV program was a hit, will remember him. He is almost 95 and still going strong and his wife is 46 years younger.

He has had a number of health issues over the years and credits the discovery of the health benefits of Blueberries to his current vigor.

"There is substantial evidence that supports the notion that blueberries are a highly nutritious food. Blueberries are loaded with phytochemicals, including anthocyanin pigments, which give blueberries and other red, blue, and purple plants and foods their color. These anthocyanins might be the healthiest phytochemical element of blueberries."

According health experts in the article, "This phytochemical has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that positively impact "vascular and glucoregulatory function. Regular, moderate consumption of blueberries or anthocyanins from other sources is linked to a reduced risk of death, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Moreover, blueberries seem to encourage healthy gastrointestinal microflora. All of these help to protect against the body's aging process."

I may pick up some blueberries today....along with Mexican Coke. :)

 

 

This will be awful

Once again the way to get to St. Louis from Illinois will be messed up with road work. And this project by IDOT is going to really mess things up. The three right lanes of eastbound Interstate 55/64, the ramp to southbound Illinois Route 3 and the ramp to southbound Tudor Avenue in East St. Louis, will all close as early as April 1. 

Can you imagine the semi trucks during this time? They dominate that route as it is.

That's 3 lanes and ramps! There will be no way to get over there without sitting in a long traffic jam at any time of day. For us in Illinois, it will probably mean taking the Musial bridge and then meandering all over the north side of downtown St. Louis to get back over to 64/40 or points south. Thankfully we now live in Collinsville and don't have to make daily trips over there, but unfortunately Dale still teaches a class and is on some seminary committees. He'll be stuck with this trip a couple days a week.

Every year it seems like IDOT or MoDOT is messing with the Poplar Street Bridge or points east and west of it. Will there ever be a time when they don't? I doubt it.