Johnny:
Johnny went to cancer doc yesterday and was told the MRIs just taken showed his brain tumor is no larger and may, in fact, be getting smaller. He said the doc was non-specific about the liver and lungs.
He goes to his GP doctor at VA today. I doubt she will know anything more about the cancer, but if she does, I’ll post it if it is good news.
My observation is, he is much better than he was a month ago. He can walk well and cook and think; I say think because it’s difficult to think when you have a bad headache and that seems to be better. He is re-doing his house, throwing away what he doesn’t like and buying new stuff and that includes a new twin bed which he loves. He is on a mission to make his house the way he wants it.
I know he hasn’t been posting on FR, and I think he is concentrating on his health and his house. When you have just so much strength/stamina, you use it dealing with your present surroundings. He is sitting in the middle of his world right now.
HOUSEHOLD TIPS:
This was sent to me today, with pictures. I put it in a Word document, without pictures, and thought all of you might be able to use some of these tips - I can.
1. Keep brown sugar soft by storing with a couple of marshmallows.
2. Install a regular coat rack low down the wall to store shoes safely off the floor.
3. Create a thrifty watering can by puncturing holes in the top of a used milk bottle.
4. Remove pet hair from furniture and carpets with a squeegee.
5. Flip a toaster on its side to make grill cheese.
6. Water straight from the tap becomes cloudy when frozen. To make ice cubes crystal clear, allow a kettle of boiled water to cool slightly and use this to fill your ice cube trays.
7. Use a large muffin tin to cook stuffed peppers in the oven - it will help keep them upright.
8. To prevent potatoes budding, add an apple in the bag.
9. Add half a teaspoon of baking soda to the water when hard-boiling eggs to make the shells incredibly easy to peel off.
10. WD40 can be used to remove crayon marks from any surface.
11. To tell if eggs are fresh, immerse them in a bowl of water. Fresh eggs will lie on the bottom, while stale eggs will float to the surface.
12. To clean a wooden chopping board, sprinkle on a handful of Kosher salt
and rub with half a lemon. Rinse with clean water and dry to ensure it is clean and germ-free.
13. Use ice-cubes to lift out indentations made by furniture on your carpets.
14. Prevent soil from escaping through the holes in the base of flowerpots by lining with large coffee filters.
15. To sharpen scissors, simply cut through sandpaper.
16. Use rubber bands to help open a jar easily: place one around the jar lid and another around the middle of the glass. The rubber provides friction to prevent your hands from slipping.
17. To prevent your eyes watering while chopping onions, wipe the chopping board with white vinegar (which won’t affect the taste of the onions).
18. Store bed sheets inside their pillowcases for easy storage and access.
19. Drop a couple of denture cleaning tablets into the toilet bowl at night to clean off stubborn stains.
20. Use cupcake cases to cover drinks glasses in the summer and prevent flies from dropping in.
21. Use egg boxes to store delicate Christmas tree decorations.
22. Use a hand can opener to open those endlessly annoying blister packs and avoid cutting yourself.
23. Use a cut potato to easily remove a broken light bulb.
24. Use chalk to remove grease stains from clothes. Simply rub white chalk on the affected area and wash as normal - the chalk will absorb the grease and be washed away in the cycle.
25. Freeze grapes to chill white wine without watering it down.
26. Use a rubber band to rescue a stripped screw.
27. Wrap rubber bands around the ends of a coat hanger to prevent dresses from slipping off.
Thank you so much for the continuing updates. We will continue to pray for his recovery. Wanting to do stuff is a really GOOD sign!
Thanks for the update and tips. Useful info for sure, and glad to know Johnny is apparently somewhat better.
I understand what you mean about priorities. We all get to that point sooner or later. I miss his posts, but totally get that he can only do so much.
Thank you so much for that update on Johnny.
Thanks for the good news about Johnny and the helpful tips which I’ve copied and saved under “Marcella’s Hacks.” I thought hacking was a bad thing, but for some reason people call time- or effort-saving hints “hacks.” Go figger.
“8. To prevent potatoes budding, add an apple in the bag.”
Good to know!
My basement is a huge disappointment- it is not as cool as I expected, so my onions and potatoes are sprouting. I will be trying this method, since my apple trees are running amok and I have plenty to experiment with!
*19. Drop a couple of denture cleaning tablets into the toilet bowl at night to clean off stubborn stains*
Our Lab wouldn't like that! LOL
I'm going to try the marshmallows in the brown sugar; my mother used to put a slice of a fresh apple in her brown sugar....I've been doing that too, successfully for years.....but the apple can get kind of mushy.
Thanks for the helpful hints!
Thanks Marcella. Happy to hear johnny had some good news.
Instead of chips & dip while watching ball games, nibble on frozen grapes they go good with wine.