Alarm Clock Replacement

 If you are fed up with being woken horrifically by an alarm clock shrieking at you and making you jump out of your subconscious skin, try this.

Try tapping instead. When you go to bed, before you fall asleep [obviously] tap yourself on the forehead firmly the number of times for the hour you want to wake up and say the number to yourself or aloud. e.g say the word 'seven' and tap your forehead seven times. I do it twice to be certain, and have not used an alarm clock to wake up for years now as it always works. I fact, like the alarm clock I usually wake up two minutes before the set time. I have not yet discovered an effective method for half or quarter hour timings. Also it takes a little while before you trust it and truly believe it works, but it does.

Stitches

 This one was told me by an old friend of mine who grew up with country remedies, and when you think about it, it makes total sense.

If you are out in the garden or at your allotment gardening and you cut yourself, but don't have access to a medicine cabinet and steri strip stitches; just find a spider's web and wrap the web fibres around the cut.

It will 'stitch' up the wound and stop the bleeding, as well, if not better than anything from the Drs or chemist can. Spider's webs are crazy strong after all.

Soap for Leg Cramps

 

So I’m doing this now: keeping a bar of soap under my bottom sheet and leaning a calf or foot against it as I fall asleep. Have I gone completely insane you might ask. Well d’uh, would be my reply. But have I gone more insane than usual? Possibly not.

I had been suffering from a lot of middle of the night leg cramps, mainly appearing in one or other calf, but occasionally in a foot, sometimes a weird part of the foot like the arch or the heel. This would have me leaping out of bed and pacing around until it went away.

Anyway a friend told me about the soap thing, and I laughed, thinking it some weird country old wive’s tale or some such. But I gave it a try anyway and lo and behold, the leg cramps stopped. I have had one since I started doing this, and probably driven by laziness, I rubbed my calf against the soap instead of jumping out of bed, and the cramp stopped instantly. Never had a night cramp since.

I looked up online what might be in soap to effect this minor miracle, and soap contains magnesium. So that’s what stops the cramps, it’s a thing. But who’d have thunk it.

Homemade Chocolates

I recently bought a tub of cooking grade cocoa butter online, which is perfect for making my own chocolates. Just melt some, add cocoa powder, sugar or stevia, and a little cream or cream substitute, then whatever flavours you like really. A silicon ice cube tray is perfect for setting the little delights in, and you can add centres like a glace cherry in each pod first, or a sprinkle of coconut on after the pour. Just be careful adding alcohol, it reacts with the hot cocoa butter.

Avocado Squoosh

If you have a lot of avocados and they seem to be getting over-ripe and very soft, maybe nearly runny [you can actually buy bags full in this state in Cyprus] do not throw them out. In my opinion, this is when avocados are at their best.

They are easy to prepare. Cut in half carefully, the stone often just falls out; and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Mix in a bowl with a variety of flavourings. I prefer salt and a little tahini, or tomato and onion for guacamole,

or cream cheese and olive oil is nice too. Mix well and place in an airtight tub. This can be used as a sandwich spread,

and it can be frozen if you are lucky enough to have a lot. Ignore any small areas of black, it's just oxidation, it still tastes just as good. If you are keeping a large tub in the fridge, flatten and smooth the top surface after use and seal with a thin layer of olive oil that you can mix in next use.

Cream blocks

Got more cream than you can use before it goes out of date? Freeze it in an ice cube tray, then you can just pop out one cube direct onto a pudding and leave it to defrost while you do other things. It's a good way to freeze excess milk too.

Also you can put the whole frozen tray in a powerful food processor/blender and add some flavourings- caramel syrup is good, to make instant ice cream.

Eco Bricks

You might already know about this or it might be news to you, but there is something you can do with all those soft plastics that are seemingly not recyclable. Collect your old plastic bottles, any size, but I find two litre drinks bottles the best. Then stuff all your soft plastics into the bottle. Ram it in there with a stick or stair rod or something. You will be amazed how much you can get in one bottle.

Once you have filled a bottle there are various places that will accept them from you. Most places like you to write the weight of the stuffed bottle and give you a reference number to write on the bottle. Here is a link to a good site. Eco Bricks
Or you can use them yourself in a variety of building projects. They can be made into a wall with support sticks/poles and chicken wire, then plastered with something like wattle and daub, which can be painted later. Personally I am saving mine up for my allotment to make a compost bin and flower beds.