Upon Which I Show You How to Fix Small Holes in Your Vinyl Siding - CHEAP

Hale damage to vinyl siding

A couple years ago we had a few heavy-duty hail storms go through town.  A lot of folks got new roofs out of that thanks to hefty insurance checks.  But our roof, barely one year old, had only a couple nicks and no real damage.  (Still, even though we paid for it ourselves the prior year, we're happy to have been able to do so.)



The hail DID put a few small holes in our 40-year-old vinyl siding. The stuff gets brittle with time.  We decided to do a simple repair job that cost us all of $5.00 for materials.



Here's my supply list. Sample siding, Scotch tape to hold it temporarily in place, DAP auto/marine silicone sealant in a tube, and scissors to cut the tip of the sealant.

Supplies necessary to the fixit job!

We found free samples of siding of the same color at Lowe's.  I asked for a half dozen pieces and told them we weren't planning to buy siding...just needed some patch material.  They sent us away with their blessing. (We buy plenty of other supplies there!)



The repair was easy as could be. First I washed the dust off the siding, drying it carefully. Then I dabbed some of the silicone sealant on the back of the sample, put it into position, and taped it to hold it securely till the silicone set up.  The tape was probably not necessary but it took only a minute. The next day I removed the tape and the repair was solidly secured.

Georgia Pacific sample of vinyl siding

Perfect color match

A year later, the repair is still holding and is almost not noticeable unless one is looking for it.   Of course, if your damage is extensive, especially if it is covered by insurance, this is not your remedy.  But in our case it was perfect.

You can tell 'em you got the idea from WhiteStone!  *smile*
P.S. Disclaimer! We are not affiliated in any way with any of the products named herein...just happy customers.  (We had no leftover pieces of the original siding...if you do, simply cut to an appropriate size and apply a patch, sealing the edges well with the silicone.)
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I Am the Thinker of Bright Ideas! Read Herein!

I am the dreamer of dreams. I am the inventor of things. Just click here if you don't believe so! (You will need to scroll downward for this post itself will be the first on the page...just scroll downward to see all the rest of my inventions...none of which are patented...you are free to do so and make zillions of $$$).

This week I dreamed up a movie scenario for Hollywood! Some Hollywood writer needs to take this idea and run with it!

Scenario...an apocalyptic movie (as if we need more of those!) in which the entire human race except for a handful of people is destroyed...and in their frantic desire to keep humanity from becoming extinct they realize that there are 396,526 frozen embryos still safe within facilities (whose power has not shut down).

Think about it.

And remember that I said it first.

Oh! And another! Why don't they design wood decks with floor boards that can be flipped over like a venetian blind? After 6 inches of snow has accumulated, a self-monitor just flips the boards and dumps the snow underneath! If another 6 inches arrives, they flip again! Go ahead, patent it! But I want 10 percent on this one!

This is a Purr-fect Solution

My mind looks for solutions. Not always with success, and certainly not always with brilliance.

But once in awhile a bright idea pops into my head.

For instance...many of my friends have kitties living in residence. Wonderful, warm, loving kitty friends. Special felines. Happy additions to the household.

But kitties shed.

And so, my suggestion? (My invention!!) An electric brush with a very slight vacuum effect that could be used to groom said Kitty. You may ask, What's new about that? Aha! What's new is that MY brush would have a soothing purring sound. Kitty would think he/she was being groomed by his/her Mama of days of old.

If someone has already invented this wonderful little grooming device, please let me know. And if they have not, you have my permission to put one together and put it on the market. I'll take a paltry 2 percent.

You can read about my previous inventive ideas here! I especially like the self-cleaning deck that removes winter snow all by itself with no help from me or you.

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Someone Invent This For Me. Please!

Someone needs to invent a keyboard that one can take to bed. I'm thinking something "remote" such as special mitts that allow the fingers to "strike" the keys in mid-air.

Having spent my working years typing zillions and gazillions of documents my fingers sometimes "type" along as I am thinking. I think I could type my dreams if I had an invention that would translate my "typing" into a word document.

My sleep cycle has changed. Six months ago while I was off chemo, my nights were restful and quiet. Now my mind just chatters on and on and I awaken, look at the clock, roll over, do some more tossing with more chattering inside my head. My dreams have become verbose and I cannot stop them.

These chatterings are usually topical. Last night I can't tell you all the kinds and types of cake plates I thought of ... milk glass ... with handles ... removeable plates of different sizes that could be simply placed over the handle. Surprisingly, there was no cake. My dreams have not progressed to "high calorie" but maybe that will happen.

I hope one of you will invent this "typing" invention so that you can make a zillion bucks and I can at least come up with a useful blogpost after a night of tossing and turning.

At least I seem to awaken refreshed and ready for the day, so perhaps all is not lost.

Today's word: Verbose - containing more words than necessary...such as in most of my posts!
*wry smile*

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Of "Pins and Needles" and How They Are Useful

Be advised that the following hint will not work if you live in an older home with those hard-plaster walls.

Here's a handy-dandy hint for those of you who live in homes with sheet-rock walls and who like to hang things such as small wall quilts and who don't want the hassle of putting yet-more nail holes in the walls. (This will work for other items that are very light in weight...don't use for heavy pictures.)


Some years ago I purchased a small container of short applique pins at a yard sale. (Most everything in my house is from some yard sale so perhaps I should stop adding that to every post...you can just insert the words yourself next time you read!)

Applique pins are shorter than standard pins. I don't do much applique. Instead I use these short pins to hang small things on the wall...in particular, small wall quilts. If I decide later to move the item, the only thing left on the wall are tiny holes which can easily be disguised with a smidgen of white toothpaste. (Or, if you're a purist about your walls, spackling compound.)


Simply grasp the pin with a pair of pliers (needle nose work well) and stick it through the quilt into the wall. Sometimes I just attach at the top corners. Other times I will add a couple pins at the bottom as well. Place them far enough into the wall that you won't snag them as you walk by but leave them sticking out just enough that you can grasp them with pliers when you want to remove them. Be care, if you drop them in carpeting they are a bear to find. No! Wait! A bear would be easy to find. Believe me, the pins are Not!

My advice if you live in an older home with hard plaster walls? Move! No, that's not a good idea...sorry about that. I jest. If you have hard plaster walls you already know they are hard as a rock. Even pounding a nail to hang a picture is a task and you'll end up with bent nails on the floor at your feet! Instead, pre-drill a hole using a bit that is slightly smaller than the diameter of the nail. Then you can pound the nail into the wall.


P.S. You can use regular pins as well. Grasp them close to the tip, push them in the wall a bit, grasp them again further up the pin, push some more, until you have them firmly in the wall. It is possible to use old sewing machine needles for heavier items...remember again to grasp close to the tip as you push them into the wall.)




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It's So Irritating...So I'm Wondering...

I try to be sensible with my cell phone...turn it off or to vibrate mode in public meetings, church, doctor's office, etc. However, I constantly forget to return it to the regular ring setting. This causes me to miss important calls.

So I'm wondering...are there cell phones that can be pre-set to turn back on after a prescribed amount of time? In other words, if you turn it off, why can't it be set to automatically turn back on after an hour and a half...and alert you to that fact with a small beep?

If no cell phone maker has done this...I hope they will...and I hereby ask that they give me a percentage of their profits for my bright idea. If this feature is already available, I hope someone will let me know what kind of phone has the feature.

And if none of the above happens, perhaps I can hire a secretary.
(She said with a smile.)

Snow, Inventions, Betty Crocker, and KAMUT

It snowed last night. A quiet 3 to 5 inches of snow. The air was still enough that the storm left a smooth surface. Very few drifts.

Our small snowblower did a nice job of clearing our drive...then the two of us lifted it into the back of the pickup to go do two more on the other side of town. We made several observations this morning...

1) The lady who drove straight through the intersection in front of us without looking to the left or right, must have been thinking "if I don't look, I won't feel the pain when some car slams into me crosswise". Driver denial.

2) When I call a side street a "main street" I mean that it is a "direct route" to some main area of town. Being a native I know, for instance, that even though Diamond Street is a "side street", it is nevertheless the main thoroughfare from the southeast end of town to the center of town. Spouse, being a relative newcomer (having lived here a mere fourteen years), still arrives at intersections expecting the person to the right to have the right-of-way. It doesn't compute with him that drivers on Diamond have the right-of-way regardless of whether they are on the right or the left of the other car. It's local custom. It has nothing to do with legality. You just know that they see themselves as being on the main drag and you, on the other hand, are on a "side street" so to speak. So you'd best pay attention and keep out of their way.

3) Someone could make a fortune with my new "invention". Today I dreamed of a mechanism that would make sweeping/scooping snow from a deck obsolete. Think venetian blinds...the deck boards could be rotated sideways to dump the snow underneath the deck. Or they could rotate a full 180 degrees to place the snow/icy surface underneath and the dry surface atop. All this of course would require a sturdy mechanism to do the rotating and to properly support and lock the boards in place. (This is MY invention and if someone develops it and sells it to rich folk -- of which there aren't too many right now -- I expect a ten percent cut of the profit. I can dream, can't I?)

4) Pancakes for breakfast are a good followup to shoveling snow. Especially Kamut Pancakes. And here's the recipe!

KAMUT PANCAKES (adapted from my almost antique Betty Crocker cookbook)
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk (use 1 cup milk and 1 T lemon juice or vinegar)
1 T oil
1 cup Kamut flour (or use regular white or whole wheat flour)
1 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a medium bowl, Slightly beat egg, milk, oil.
In a separate bowl stir together the dry ingredients. Then add to the liquid. Stir only until mixed together. A few lumps is good. Over-stirring is not good.

Pour an appropriate amount of batter into a heated skillet that has been sprayed with veggie spray. Or swipe with a bit of butter. Turn when pancakes are puffed and full of bubbles but before the bubbles break. Flip and cook other side. If you're an old hand at pancakes, you can skip this last paragraph. If you're new, you'll soon get the hang of having the skillet at just the right temp.. Too cool and the pancakes will be pale. Too hot, and they'll burn.

This recipe makes a very small batch...enough for the two of us with no leftovers. If we have a hungry grandson in the house, I always double the recipe.

Serve with butter, syrup, applesauce or other fruit.

I Know How to Write "SNORE" ! And now you, too, can write a new language!

I confess. I snore. Up until now only Hubby knows that. (Now you ALL know!!!) Snoring does not seem like something a lady should confess to, but there it is.

Recently, in the middle of the night, Hubby tapped me on the shoulder which is his signal to me to "Roll over, you're snoring." In that small moment between the tap and "awake", my mind had a mental picture of how "snore" would look if it were written in snore language (not to be confused with plain English).

Here's a pic of that written sound. Just in case you ever need to write it out yourself. (You never know when this bit of info will come in handy!)

I'm an inventor of a new written language. But so far it only has one word.
She said with a giggle.