KIlling the Hard Drive

I fell in love with computers as soon as they became a household word. I wanted to learn all I could about them. I'd stay on my computer as long as I now stay on Facebook. ☹️

Since then I've owned more than one computer.  The first was a Gateway desk top.

paysimple.com 

Mine had two speakers. 

Shout out to CHM for accompanying me when I made the purchase and helping me choose the right thing.
There was no real threat of ID theft during that time so when I finally ridded myself of it I didn't remove the hard drive. I just dumped it somewhere. I don't remember where. (That was environmentally unfriendly and I now know better)

I needed to get rid of some electronics as well as a laptop that longer  performed well.
 I viewed several YouTube videos on how to destroy a hard drive and it's easy. 

• First I swept the hard drive of all information. Then I removed the hard drive, took it out into the garage and proceeded to drill holes in it. That didn't work well because I didn't have the correct drill bit. SO I beat it with a mallet. 
  

*If you really want to do a good job think of all the things you're angry about or have been; 

*the time you couldn't find your size in the cute shoe that was on sale

*the person that rear ended you and had no insurance

*sitting in a waiting room at 2:00 when your appointment was at 1:00. 

The list is endless.

After the beating I shook it and there was a rattling sound similar to broken glass inside. According to the videos that's a good thing. I'd even broken off some other "thingie" on the front of it.

I learned from YouTube that Best Buy will recycle your discards for free. I called them ahead of time to get a current read on this and yes, they will recycle your electronics.

My new friend. 😘😘

Haven't had a brand spanking new one in a long time.

❤️💙💚🧡💔💜💛

That's It***

Next week- Birmingham Oddities

That's a Lye...

based product.

Here is my soap still in the mold turned upside down. It takes about three days for it to cure. I used lavender oil and lavender botanicals.  The unmolded product isn't glamorous. You'll see it at the end.

 Making soap the true old-fashioned way using lye is nothing to be sneezed at or toyed with.  Inhaling the fumes can be dangerous and spilling it on your skin can burn.  This isn’t that melt and pour soap you find at Hobby Lobby and Michael’s. This is the real deal.

Directions(left) Soap kit consisted of a plastic mold with lid, tooth picks

for stirring in oils and botanicals and a cloth towel to keep the heat in

once it's ready to cure. 

The owner of Left Hand Soap company   located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama   has a wealth of knowledge about soap making. She’s been in business for over 20 years. The business name comes from her being a southpaw and being the only one in her family who is. 

She watched her grandmother make soap and decided that was what she wanted to do. Most soaps in the past were made using some type of animal tallow. Most often pork or beef.  Unfortunately, Hitler had soap made from humans in the concentration  camps.  

The owner of Left Hand Soap Company uses natural ingredients purchased from local businesses.

ONE-oils, TWO-pitcher used to pour the emulsified soap

into molds, THREE-glass measuring cup containing lye and distilled

water mixture,  4-prepared molds for any remaining soap liquid

The most important thing I learned was ; Do not to pour a substance into lye. Pour the lye slowly into the substance in an open air place. In this case the substance (fat)  was a mixture of coconut oil, castor oil and olive oil. The lye had been mixed with distilled water and prepped before the class. Hence no need to be outside to do this.

The assistant is emulsifying the mixture of oils and lye mixture until it 

has traced.

I found it funny that purchasing the lye in large quantities requires her to have a permit or certification. Why? Lye is used in making an illegal drug (meth).

Essential oils 

Botanicals to stir into soap mixture

We were given a box to put our towel wrapped soap into. It takes 3 days

for the soap to cure. On the right is a sample of the soap Left Hand Soap

Company makes. I tried it and it is an exfoliating soap. 

Soap without all of the preservatives, colorings and fakeness is not that attractive. 

Looks like insects stuck in wax. They're lavender buds. That indentation

comes from taking the lid off of the mold.

Click the links for more information on making soap and what words such as trace and saponification mean.

This was an interesting experience but I'll continue  to buy ready made soap.

That's it ***

Mock Apple Pie 2019

slappedham.com

Ever had a burger in a can, beef fudge, mock apple pie, clear potato chip, or bologna cake?

There are many adventurous foodies out there. Two that come to mind are Andrew Zimmern and Mark Wiens . 


Recently I came across a Youtuber known as emmymadeinjapan.  To say she’s adventurous is an understatement.  She will cook and eat just about anything under the sun. She has done the recipes I mentioned above AND MORE.  Over a million people follow her on YouTube. I happened up on the channel and found myself hooked.  It was fascinating  to see what her next edible concoction  would be. She always gives her honest opinion and a review about the food. She includes  her successes and disasters.


When I saw the video about mock apple pie, it rung a bell because I made this same recipe in 2009 long before I’d seen her station.


Below is the recipe I used for mock apple pie.10 servings

My finished pie

Ingredients

2 cups	water
¾ cup	granulated sugar
2 teaspoons	cream of tartar
30	Ritz Crackers
1	ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 425-g pkg)
1 tablespoon	lemon juice
1 teaspoon	ground cinnamon
25	Ritz Crackers (crushed, about 1 cup)
½ cup	brown sugar (packed)
½ teaspoon	ground cinnamon
⅓ cup Directions Heat oven to 400ºF. Filling: Mix water, granulated sugar and cream of tartar in large saucepan. Bring to boil on medium-high heat.  Add crackers; simmer on medium-low heat 5 min., stirring occasionally. Line 9-inch pie plate with crust as directed on package; fill with cracker mixture. Sprinkle with lemon juice and cinnamon. Topping: Combine all remaining ingredients and sprinkle over Filling. Bake 15 min. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 20 min. or until golden brown. Cool.	non-hydrogenated margarine (melted)

(optional)  Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired

The Outcome
The pie turned out great. I would not have known that the apples were crackers. The texture was more of an applesauce consistency. It was the right amount of sweetness and spices.   

It is not diet friendly or carb friendly or any other kind of friendly that involves eating
 healthy. Recently I learned that there are 400 calories a slice.



This post is an update from an earlier post on August 12, 2009. To read the original post click the dated link. 

That's it ***

The Other White House

 It was stately, still standing and living life

NORWOOD  was the wealthy side of town during the late 19^th century and well into the 20^th century. 

copied from Flickr

 The economic boom at the turn of the century afforded the newly rich to build grand mansions and stately homes.  Many of the homes from that era are still standing. They range from well-maintained to neglected and demolished.

Recently I read of Lenell’s Beverage Boutique opening in historic Norwood. 

Street view of J.R. Copeland home on right with Lenell's Beverage Boutique on the left 

2019

Up close entrance to Lenell's Beverage Boutique (left). Back

of J.R. Copeland home (right) 2019 Yes, I suppose I did trespass to take these pictures.

No one was there. It was on a Sunday.

(Left) Outside going up the drive to Lenell's Beverage Boutique.

(right) According to the article, Lenell and her daughter live nearby

and plans are underway to restore the home. Perhaps the café & bar

are part of the restoration. 2019

My interest was raised when I saw the address.  It was The White House. That’s what my coworker T.P. and I called it.

At that time, it was occupied by either a mortgage company or an insurance company.  I don't remember which. We passed it daily going to and from work. T.P. and I wondered what it looked like on the inside. 


I said to her, “I wonder if they’d let us look inside?”


One day we stopped by after work and asked if we could look around.  The ladies who worked there allowed us to look around on our own.  I guess we didn’t look threatening. They couldn’t have been nicer. 


You could see remnants of its grandness. One of the odd things I noticed was a staircase that ended at the ceiling. As I was researching this piece, I found out why those stairs went to the ceiling. In the 1920’s after the family moved out the home was divided into six apartments.


Over the years the property was home to Banks Armored Car Company, and Changes Salon Spa and Wellness Center. In 2011 there were plans to turn it into a Musicians Cooperative, but those plans fell through. In 2012 the house was sold out of  foreclosure to Lenell Camacho Santa Ana.


The home was built in 1905 for J.R. Copeland, president of Copeland Brick Company later named Copeland-Inglis Shale Brick Company. 


There are people who collect bricks. One person was searching for a Copeland-Inglis brick. Many companies would have their name engraved on the bricks.

copied from: worthpoint antiques

An ebay site offered an envelope and stamp with the Copeland-Inglis letterhead for $7.64 or the best offer.

Copeland-Inglis letterhead on ebay

The Norwood community has efforted to revitalize itself and has had success with home sales to those who love old houses and are willing to put in the sweat equity to restore them.

copied from: http://www.bhamwiki.com/w/J._R._Copeland_residence
1910

That's it***
Next week: 

Bottle Heads

As I've told you before I'm a recycler. I couldn't resist making one of these 

Credits : https://www.intimamex.com/paginas/blog;
https://mentootlet.blogspot.com/2018/04/flakonviragtartok.html; 

Aprenda com Edu ; unknown (seen on Pinterest)

when I saw them on Pinterest.
Plastic bottles/jugs are plentiful.

I found the vinegar bottle not to be very strong. The detergent bottle will be done later although it would make a great face.

I decided on an empty bleach bottle.

I cut off the bottom of the bottle as seen in the above vinegar bottle.

I painted it black then brown. There was some resistance in covering a white bottle with the acrylic paint when I tried to paint it brown on the first coat. In hindsight I should have roughed up the bottle with sandpaper or some other gritty substance before trying to paint it. However I still feel I would need to add more than one coat which I did.

After it dried I painted a face with eyes, orange eyeshadow, painted eyelashes and two commas(😉) as a nose.

I always have a stash of ribbons, pom poms and etc. because I'm a person who enjoys crafting.

This orange, embossed  wire ribbon  and orange pom poms fit the look I was  going for. I plan to hang it outside on my back porch indirectly from weather elements although it will incur some of it. 

I  didn't want to use E-6000 so I hot glued and stapled on the wire ribbon and pom poms. 

I KNOW this may not hold up but when I make the green one I'll know what NOT to do.

Besides, I brought the old throat killer out again,

that I warned about in a previous post. This time I wore a mask and gloves. It was better but the fumes were permeating the mask.  It's going in the trash 🗑️for sure.

Inside with makeshift wire loops and yarn cord. 

side view after being spray varnished showing earrings.

The finished product tied to a fence post. Later I will adjust the cording so that it will hang from a hook on my porch like other normal hanging plants.

I'm pleased with the results but the next bottle head will be more decorative/ gaudy. 


That's it***
Next week: The other White House.