New Coffee

So, I've decided that the best coffee for home brewing is either Dunkin' Donuts Hazelnut or Yuban Regular Roast. And, if I've brewed my Yuban a little too strong International Delight Hazelnut creamer is just right for sweetening the deal.

And, I may be mixing my metaphors a little, but most any coffee is a very good thing.
Oh...and Yuban makes me look green, but I really didn't choose it for its greeny qualitities.

Adventures in Homemade metal polish

Several months ago, I bought a set of stainless metal canisters at a garage sale. I really liked the look and the price was great. However, they had nasty masking tape labels on them. I tried everything I could think of to get the labels off, but of course being masking tape they wouldn't come off easily. I finally got frustrated with them and used Kaboom on them. Not a good idea. Now they have hideous black tarnish on them. So began my adventures in finding a homemade polish that will take the tarnish off so that I can actually use the canisters.

The first attempt was just plain white vinegar on a soft cloth. Yes, it did take some of the tarnish off, but it would take a ton of elbow grease and soaking to get all of it off. I don't know about other mom's out there, but I don't have time for lots of elbow grease and soaking. So, I had to find something else.

Second try was this recipe
1 TBSP Flour
1 TBSP Salt
1 TBSP White Vinegar

Mix the flour and salt and then slowly add vinegar to make a paste
Spread the paste on the item to be cleaned and let dry
Rinse with warm water and buff.

This definitely lightened the tarnish, but it certainly didn't get them clean enough for my counter. I read that this method works really well for copper, but obviously not for unknown stainless looking metal.

I don't have silica or pumice and don't really want to try those methods.
I'm going to make an attempt with lemon juice, but I doubt it will do much better. So, I'm looking for a good homemade aluminum/chrome polish...to get my canisters clean.

The Dark Hills Divide

I'm trying to update myself on current young adult and children's fiction. So, while flipping through the library collection I came across this book.

The cover art is amazing and immediately attracted my attention. I was hoping for something good because I'd just been disappointed by A Certian Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb. And, as the story began I found that I could really get into this one.

I'm one of those people who is constantly doing literary analysis in my head and looking for deeper meaning in everything. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the serious to figure out who the mysterious deity Elyon is. And like any good literary critic, I'll be doing some digging into Patrick Carman to find out what makes him tick.

This series is definitely one that I can offer to young readers without reservation.