Flute Exam

Well today was FE day - not Further Education day but Flute Exam day and I flunked it! Didn't do well at all in the exam BUT I have learned that if one is to succeed, one is to put in self discipline, constant and consistent practice and maybe a timetable of what to practice!

My scales and arpeggios were a disaster - my mind closed down at that point. Then the aural wasn't good either! BE PREPARED is a fantastic motto to have in any walk of life - especially when preparing for an exam!

All is not lost :) Onward to my next lesson (in October) :)

Uses for Avon SSS Bath Oil and Dry Oil Body Spray

Disclaimer from source and for myself: Avon makes no claims to these uses. They have been gathered over the years from customers and reps and Avon or myself cannot be held reponsible for the results.

After many years working as an Avon rep I have come to learn which products are the tried and tested customer favourites. The ones that people buy time after time, recommend to their friends, and are genuine best sellers.One of my best ever sellers is the Skin So Soft range, and in particular, the dry oil body spray. The dry oil body spray comes in two fragrances- Soft and Sensual, or Soft and Fresh. It is in a 150ml pump spray bottle. To use, it is best applied after a bath or shower, while the skin is warm and just slightly damp. The non greasy oil helps to lock in moisture and is quickly absorbed into the skin. It leaves a lovely gleaming shimmer on the skin and smells gorgeous. But - over the years customers and Avon reps have discovered more uses for the dry oil body spray, and also the Skin So Soft bath oil, than just a moisturising treat for the skin.

Uses for Health and Beauty

Obviously, the dry oil body spray and the bath oil are brilliant at moisturising and giving your skin a lovely sheen

1. It can be used as a make up remover, including eye make up, but of course don't get it in your eyes.
2. It will soothe sunburn.
3. It makes a lovely massage oil as it slides easily and sensually over the skin.
4. It relieves itchy, dry skin and if you rub it into dry, cracked skin it helps to soothe and heal.
5. Mix about a capful into some liquid soap/ shower gel when you shave your legs, and the oil helps the razor to glide over the skin.
6. A small amount can be used instead of hair serum on dry hair to give added shine.
7. The oil will help to remove chewing gum from hair and skin

Uses around the home

1. Skin So Soft bath oil and dry oil body sprays are also useful around the home.
2. It removes crayon from most painted household surfaces. Very useful if you have small children!
3. Its a handy wood cleaner and conditioner
4. It removes the gum left from price stickers and labels on glass and plastic
5. It helps keep leather soft and supple, and can be used to remove scuff marks from patent leather shoes.
6. It cleans ink from hands and most painted surfaces
7. The oil is an excellent household lubricant and is handy for keeping the running rails of sliding doors smooth, for separating glasses and bowls that are stuck together, and for fitting pipe joints that are not sliding easily together
8. If you run out of fabric softener add a capful of bath oil into the wash
9. If there is a bed wetting accident, spraying the bedclothes with dry oil before washing will help bring back a clean fresh smell

Insect repellent

The Soft and Fresh Dry Oil Body Spray is well known as an insect repellent, although has never officially made this claim.

1. Add a capful of Skin So Soft bath oil when bathing rather than just applying directly to the skin, so the entire body is 'treated'.
2. As a bug repellent it can be sponged around doors and windows to help deter 'creepy crawlies'.
3. Mix one part Skin So Soft oil with two parts water and spray onto tomato plants to repel tomato worms. Repeat every few days.
4. If you have door and window screens a light spray of Skin So Soft will deter the tiny gnats and flies that are small enough to slip through.
5. The insect repelling properties and oily formula also work really well on head lice. Rub lots and lots and lots of it into the hair. Leave it for at least fifteen minutes, and then comb through the hair with a fine toothed nit comb. The oil may help to loosen the nits (the tiny white eggs), but it should be especially helpful in removing the lice as it makes the hair too slippery for the pesky things to cling too. Obviously wash the hair thoroughly afterwards, and repeat the process regularly. It might mean that you dont have to use a harsh, chemical based nit shampoo.

Even useful for pets and horses

1. Its an excellent insect repellent for pets. Mix five parts water and one part Skin So Soft and lightly spray a mist over your pet, obviously avoiding the eyes. Brush it in for a gleaming coat.
2. After giving a flea bath with tick or flea shampoo, a final rinse with two gallons of water, a little flea shampoo and a cupful of Skin So Soft oil will replace the oils lost during bathing.
3. Rub Skin So Soft on your hands before and after working with pets or animals. It will help protect your skin and eliminate strong smells
4. Skin So Soft can even be used as a hoof polish!
5. if your horse suffers with dry skin, then after washing make up a final rinse of one capful of oil to five gallons of water and sponge over the hair to achieve a silky soft finish.

But most of all its a skin treat for you...

Ultimately, Skin So Soft is a best selling range because it treats the skin so well, leaving it soft and cared for.

Skin So Soft bath oil and dry oil body spray are approved by the FDA/ CDA only as bath and body oils. Remember to use these tips with care and common sense. Avon makes no claims to these uses. They have been gathered over the years from customers and reps and Avon or myself cannot be held reponsible for the results.

source: http://hubpages.com/hub/AVON-Skin-So-Soft-Dry-Oil-Body-Spray-more-than-just-a-mouisturiser">

Sixty Uses for Baking Soda

SIXTY USES OF BAKING SODA

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Bicarbonate of soda or baking soda has many different uses in
the household.

Although much more expensive products have been developed over
the years to do the same jobs, baking soda can work for you just
as well, if not better. Use it in the following ways:

1. To make your own baking powder, stir and sift together 2
parts of Cream of Tartar to 1 part baking soda and 1 part
cornstarch.

2. Be sure to keep an extra box of baking soda by your stove in
case of grease or electrical fire. Scatter the powder by the
handful to safely put it out.

3. Keep a container of baking soda in your garage as well as in
your car to put out a fire. It won't damage anything it touches.

4. Baking soda will also put out fires in clothing, fuel, wood,
upholstery and rugs.

5. Clean vegetables and fruit with baking soda. Sprinkle in
water, soak and rise the produce.

6. Wash garbage cans with baking soda.

7. Soak and wash diapers with baking soda.

8. Oil and grease - stained clothing washes out better with
soda added to the washing water.

9. Clean your fridge and freezer with dry soda sprinkled on a
damp cloth. rinse with clear water.

10. Deodorize your fridge and freezer by putting in an open
container of baking soda to absorb odors. Stir and turn over
the soda from time to time. Replace every 2 months.

11. Soda absorbs kitty litter odors. Cover the bottom of the
kitty box with 1 part soda; then add a layer of 3 parts kitty
litter on top.

12. Always add 1/2 cup soda to your washing machine load.

13. Clean combs and brushes in a soda solution.

14. Wash food and drink containers with soda and water.

15. Wash marble-topped furniture with a solution of 3
tablespoons of soda in 1 quart of warm water. Let stand awhile,
then rinse.

16. Clean formica counter tops with baking soda on a damp
sponge.

17. Wash out thermos bottles and cooling containers with soda
and water to get rid of stale smells.

18. To remove stubborn stains from marble, formica or plastic
surfaces, scour with a paste of soda and water.

19. Wash glass or stainless steel coffee pots (but not
aluminum) in a soda solution ( 3 tbsp. soda to 1 quart water).

20. Run you coffee maker through its cycle with a soda
solution. Rinse.

21. Give baby bottles a good cleaning with soda and hot water.

22. Sprinkle soda on barbecue grills, let soak, then rinse off.

23. Sprinkle soda on greasy garage floor. Let stand, scrub and
rinse.

24. Polish silverware with dry soda on a damp cloth. Rub,
rinse and dry.

25. For silver pieces without raised patterns or cemented-on
handles: place the silver on aluminum foil in an enamel pot.
Add boiling water and 4 tbsp. baking soda. Let stand, rinse and
dry.

26. Reduce odor build-up in your dishwasher by sprinkling some
soda on the bottom.

27. Run your dishwasher through its cycle with soda in it
instead of soap to give it a good cleaning.

28. To remove burned-on food from a pan: let the pan soak in
soda and water for 10 minutes before washing. Or scrub the pot
with dry soda and a moist scouring pad.

29. For a badly-burned pan with a thick layer of burned-on
food: pour a thick layer of soda directly onto the bottom of
the pan, then sprinkle on just enough water so as to moisten the
soda. Leave the pot overnight, then scrub it clean next day.

30. Rub stainless steel and chrome with a moist cloth and dry
baking soda to shine it up. Rinse and dry. On stainless steel,
scrub in the direction of the grain.

31. Clean plastic, porcelain and glass with dry soda on a damp
cloth. Rinse and dry.

32. Remove that bad smell from ashtrays with soda and water.

33. Sprinkle a bit of dry soda in your ashtrays to prevent
smoldering and reduce odor.

34. Clean your bathroom with dry soda on a moist sponge - sink,
tub, tiles, shower stall, etc.

35. Keep your drains clean and free-flowing by putting 4
tablespoons of soda in them each week. Flush the soda down with
hot water.

36. Soak your shower curtains in water and soda to clean them.

37. To remove strong odors from your hands, wet your hands and
rub them hard with soda, then rinse.

38. Sprinkle baking soda on your wet toothbrush and brush your
teeth and dentures with it.

39. Sprinkle soda in tennis shoes, socks, boots and slippers to
eliminate odor.

40. Add 1/2 cups or more of baking soda to your bath water to
soften your skin.

41. Putting 2 tbsp. of baking soda in your baby's bath water
will help relieve diaper rash irritations.

42. Apply soda directly to insect bites, rashes and poison ivy
to relieve discomfort. Make a paste with water.

43. Take a soda bath to relieve general skin irritations such
as measles and chicken pox.

44. Take 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 1/2 glass of water to
relieve acid indigestion or heartburn.

45. Gargle with 1/2 tsp. baking soda in 1/2 glass of water.
Freshens and cleans your mouth.

46. Used as a mouthwash, baking soda will also relieve canker
sore pain.

47. To relieve sunburn: use a paste of baking soda and water.

48. Bug bites: use a poultice of baking soda and vinegar.

49. Bee sting: use a poultice of baking soda and water.

50. Windburns: moisten some baking soda and apply directly.

51. Making Play Clay with baking soda: combine 1 1/4 cups
water, 2 cups soda, 1 cup cornstarch.

52. Use soda as an underarm deodorant.

53. If your baby spits up on his shirt after feeding, moisten a
cloth, dip it in baking soda and dab at the dribbled shirt. Tho
odor will go away.

54. When scalding a chicken, add 1 tsp. of soda to the boiling
water. The feathers will come off easier and flesh will be
clean and white.

55. Repel rain from windshield. Put gobs of baking soda on a
dampened cloth and wipe windows inside and out.

56. Add to water to soak dried beans to make them more
digestible.

57. Add to water to remove the "gamey" taste from wild game.

58. Use to sweeten sour dishcloths.

59. Use dry with a small brush to rub canvas handbags clean.

60. Use to remove melted plastic bread wrapper from toaster.
Dampen cloth and make a mild abrasive with baking soda.

Source: http://www.thelosthaven.co.uk/BSoda.htm

NB - I haven't tried any of these out and take no responsibility for any damage done if used.

Quick and easy peasy dessert

2 tbsps low fat yogurt
2 tsps low sugar jam
1 meringue nest
I also used 1/3 (third) Rosemary Conley Low Gi Nutrition Bar (I used the peach and raspberry one as I had used raspberry jam)

Mix the yogurt and jam together - break the meringue nest into the mixture then break the Gi bar into little pieces and put on top - there you have it, a simple dessert - yummy :)

Low Gi bars can be purchased from here:

Selection of the three flavours: http://www.rosemaryconley.com/shop/rosemary-conley-foods/selection-of-peach-and-raspberry--apple-and-cinnamon-and-ginger.htm

Apple and Cinnamon: http://www.rosemaryconley.com/shop/rosemary-conley-foods/low-gi-nutrition-bars-apple-and-cinnamon.htm

Ginger: http://www.rosemaryconley.com/shop/rosemary-conley-foods/low-gi-nutrition-bars-ginger.htm

Peach and Raspberry:http://www.rosemaryconley.com/shop/rosemary-conley-foods/low-gi-nutrition-bars-peach-and-raspberry.htm

Is anything British anymore?

Couldn't think where else to post this - saw this on Yahoo

Tate & Lyle was bought this week by American Sugar Refining. Donna Werbner takes a look at other iconic British brands that no longer have the right to call themselves 'British'.

If you are reading this while enjoying a Kitkat and a cup of Tetley’s tea with a teaspoon of Tate & Lyle sugar in a Wedgwood teacup that you bought from Harrods, you might think you are doing something quintessentially British.

You’d be wrong.

The fact is, Kitkat is owned by the Swiss company Nestle, Tetley’s tea is owned by India’s Tata Group, Wedgwood was sold to an American private equity firm last year, Harrods was bought by the State of Qatar for £1.5bn in May, and Tate & Lyle was sold this week to American Sugar Refining for £211m.

Here, we take a look at some of the other great British brands who can no longer call the Queen their own:

1) Boots

Established in Nottingham in 1849 by John Boot, Boots was first sold to a foreign company in 1920 when Jesse Boot flogged it to the American United Drug Company. Part of Alliance Boots since 2006, it is now owned the Italian tycoon Stefano Pessina and the American private equity firm KKR.

2) Rolls Royce cars

Charles Rolls and Henry Royce started manufacturing cars in Derby in 1906, selling cars that are worth £71,100 today for just £890. In 1973, Rolls Royce Motors was bought by Sheffield engineering firm Vickers and 1998, it was sold to German company BMW.

3) Cadbury

John Cadbury began producing and selling tea, coffee and drinking chocolate in Birmingham in 1824, and in 1854 he and his brother received the Royal Warrant as manufacturers of chocolate and cocoa to Queen Victoria. Cadbury merged with drinks company Schweppes in 1960 and was bought by America firm Kraft this year for £11.5bn.

4) Bentley cars

In 1919, Walter Owen Bentley, a World War One captain in the Royal Naval Air Service, started manufacturing Bentley automobiles in Cricklewood, North West London. It was sold to Rolls Royce during the Great Depression in 1931 in a deal so secretive not even Bentley himself knew the true identity of the purchaser until the transaction was completed. Since 1998, the firm has been owned by German carmakers Volkswagen.

5) Jaguar

Motorcycle enthusiasts Sir William Lyons and William Walmsley manufactured the first Jaguar 2.5 litre saloon in 1935 in Coventry. In the early 1950s, Lyons invested heavily in motor racing in a bid to increase Jaguar’s appeal to ordinary motorists, resulting in historic victories for Jaguar at Le Mans in 1951 and 1953. In 1999, American conglomerate Ford Motors bought the company and then sold it during the recession to Indian firm Tata motors for £1.7bn in 2008.

6) Walkers crisps

Henry Walker started off as a pork butcher in Leicester – but after World War Two rationing of meat forced him to turn to another, additional form of revenue: the un-rationed potato. The company was so successful at making Walkers crisps that it kept its focus on potato chips when meat was de-rationed in 1954. Walkers was bought by Fortune 500 American firm PepsiCo in 1989 and is now worth around £436million. It still sells 10 million packets a day in the UK.

7) Smarties/Aero/Rolo/Fruit Pastilles

In York in 1863, Henry Rowntree and his brother Joseph founded Rowntree’s and began manufacturing chocolates. Rowntree's was responsible for iconic British Empire favourites like Smarties, Aero, Fruit Pastilles, Yorkie and Black Magic. In 1988, Swiss confectionary giant Nestle bought the company for $4.55bn and has dropped the Rowntree name from all packaging except Rowntree’s Cocoa and its famous Fruit Pastilles.

8) Mini

In the wake of the fuel shortage caused by the 1958 Suez crisis, the British Motor Corporation decided to design a new car to meet growing demand for small ‘German bubble’ cars. The Mini launched in 1959 and featured heavily in the iconic British film The Italian Job in 1969. It was sold along with Rover to German carmaker BMW in 1994.

9) Harry Ramsden

Harry Ramsden set up his first fish and chip shop in a wooden hut in West Yorkshire in 1928 and was so successful that, three years later, he was able to move into a ‘fish and chip palace’, complete with oak panelled walls and chandeliers. In 1999, the firm began expanding into motorway locations and in 2006 was sold to Swedish firm EQT Partners as part of a deal worth £1,822 million.

10) HP Sauce

Nottingham grocer Frederick Gibson Garton invented HP sauce in 1895. He called it HP because he’d heard a rumour that a restaurant in the Houses of Parliament was serving it to MPs - hence the label on the bottle (which shows a picture of the Houses of Parliament). Despite this continued emphasis on the British origins on the brand, HP sauce has actually been owned by the American food giant Heinz since 2005.

What worries me about this kind of thing is - if there was another war which affected the UK and imports - we'd be well and truly stuffed. As a nation we can be brought down on our knees!

Sorry this isn't a home educating article but it could affect the future of this once great nation!