MAKE A NOTE!! - MID-OCTOBER, 1997

CIRCULATION 53

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VOTING RESULT (READER REQUESTED)

Well, the votes are in, 11 to 7 to have the Make a Notes, twice monthly. So here is your mid month installment.

CLERGY APPRECIATION REMINDER

You still have half a month to make that pastor/chaplain feel appreciated. POST IT...on your fridge.

CHRISTMAS LIST REMINDER

Have you finished your Christmas photos, ordering/buying your gifts? Don't forget to get your Christmas stamps when they come in later this month. And if you decided to do the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox, those will need to be done NLT mid-November (end Oct if you are turning them in to me). POST IT...on your calendar.

APPLIANCES-When to Repair and When to Buy New

Appliance Magazine recently did a survey among manufacturers of appliances to ask them how consumers should decide whether to have an appliance repaired and when it should just be replaced. Now you should take into account the source of this suggestions, the manufacturers probably would like you to buy more, but I felt they had some good guidelines. Basically, the closer you are to the average life of an appliance, the more you should consider replacing rather than repairing. Here are the average life-spans of appliances:

Gas Range - Greater than 10-20 yrs

Electric Range/Refrigerator - 10-20 yrs

Clothes Washer or Dryer - 13 yrs

Dishwasher (ours just went on the fritz) - 9 yrs

Microwave - 6-12 yrs

TV/VCR - 12 yrs

CD Player - 4-10 yrs

Cordless Phones - 5 yrs

Answering Machines - 2-5 yrs

Mixers, coffee makers, toasters, blenders - 5-10 yrs

Now please don't write me with your exceptions, we have them too, our answering machine is over 17 yrs old, & our microwave about 16 yrs old. If these things go OUT, then look at the cost of repairing vs. replacing & make your decision. Many of us would actually pay less for new items than we did for the original item. Sometimes it also would cost more to repair than replace. POST IT...inside your kitchen cupboard near an appliance.

VIRTUAL CARD/GIFT SITES (Courtesy of Gail Cotugna)

These are web sites where you can actually "send" people, usually free of charge, "virtual" (which means in picture only) cards and gifts. Some are more elaborate than others, with music, flowers, meals, cards, etc. My only objection with these kinds of things is that they don't come directly to your email (unless I've missed one like that), but the person is sent an email directing them to the site where they can view their card or gift. But on some systems you can just click on the address and it will take you there.

http://www.bluemountain.com/

http://cards.infi.net/cards.html

http://www.virtualpresents.com/

http://www.audiocard.com/

http://www.icecreamusa.com

http://www.mailameal.com/

http://www.toonagram.com/

http://www.martybell.com/cardimages/select.html

http://www.kodak.com/digitalImaging/pictureThis/picThisHome.shtml

http://www.virtualflowers.com

http://www.virtualflorist.com/

http://www.cardcentral.net/

http://www.dujour.com/cejour/greeting.shtml

POST IT...on or in your computer.

ANOTHER GREAT RECIPE SITE

Someone sent this to me, but I can't remember who. So whoever you are, thank you. http://www.deter.com/flora/kicthen.html. POST IT....on or in your computer.

CREDIT HISTORY

Did you know you should check your credit history at least once a year? They used to recommend every other year, but with the explosion in credit history "theft" and fraud, they now recommend the annual checks. We have been victims ourselves and it took us 6 months to get things straightened out. Basically someone gets hold of your SS# or other info, where they can access your credit history, get an ID made with their photo, but your name, & get credit cards to use that ruins YOUR credit history. This has happened quite a bit in Fayetteville in the last year, although they did catch one ring that was doing it. We were hit when we lived at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Ways to protect yourself. Don't have your SS# or Date of Birth PRINTED on your checks. If you need to write them on, then do that, but no need in displaying the numbers if they are not needed. Check your (spouse's too) credit history with the "Big 3" credit bureaus once a year. They make it relatively easy these days, depending on who you call. Some you can request by phone, others need to be done in writing, some charge, some do not. It is important to check ALL THREE even though the info is shared among them, because one may have an error that the others do not. Also be sure to confirm all of YOUR information is correct. Often

they will put the wrong info on your acct by mistake. Here are the phone numbers of the "Big 3": Equifax (800)685-1111, Experian(formerly TRW)(800)682-7654, and Transunion (800)916-8800. If you find out you have been a fraud victim, contact me by email and I can give you the lowdown on the

best way to fix things. POST IT...by your telephone and on your calendar.

BIBLE BLESSINGS

A survey commissioned by Tyndale House Publishers found that 90% of FREQUENT Bible readers say they feel at peace most of the time, compared with 58% of people who read less than once a month. Dust them off folks. :-) POST IT...on your Bible.

CHEAPER EGG SUBSTITUTE

Throwing out the yolk of eggs, for those cutting down on cholesterol, is often cheaper than buying expensive egg substitutes. However, in baking, I read an article which said you could substitute 1 heaping tablespoon of soy flour (or powder) and one tablespoon of water for an egg. They tested this method with muffins, pancakes, cornbread, cake and even meatloaf and couldn't tell any difference. A heaping tablespoon of soy flour costs about 2 cents(soy flour runs about $1/lb) compared with an egg that runs 10 cents or more. This would also be a great way to bring things that normally would require eggs on camping trips. POST IT...near your recipes.

REQUESTS

Let me know if you have anything you would like to see covered in future issues. Make-A-Note@worldnet.att.net

JOKE(COURTESY Computing Today Magazine, although it has made the rounds in other publications)

A true story told by a Novell Net Wire technical representative, as reported in The Wall Street Journal, March 1, 1994.

CALLER: "Hello, is this tech support?"

REP: "Yes, it is. How may I help you?"

CALLER: "The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting it fixed?"

REP: "I'm sorry. Did you say 'cup holder'?"

CALLER: "Yes, it's attached to the front of my computer."

REP: "Excuse me if I seem a bit stumped, it's because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark on it?"

CALLER: "It came with my computer. I don't know anything about a promotional. It just has 4x on it." The caller, it seems, had been using the drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a

cup holder, and had snapped it off the drive. :-)

QUOTE

"A little thought will show you how vastly your own happiness depends on the way other people bear themselves toward you. The looks and tones at your breakfast-table, the conduct of your fellow-workers or employers, the faithful or unreliable men you deal with, what people say to you on the street, the way your cook and housemaid do their work, the letters you get, the friends or foes you meet, --these things make up very much of the pleasure or misery of your day. Turn the idea around, and remember that just so much are you adding to the pleasure or the misery of other people's days. And this is the half of the matter which YOU can control. Whether any particular day shall bring to you more of happiness or of suffering is largely beyond your power to determine. Whether each day of your life shall GIVE happiness or suffering rests with yourself." ---George S. Merriam (born 1843)

God Bless, Sharon

^i^

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