#WhatToDoWednesday: Get Inspired Wherever You Are @KimHeadlee

Garden City Beach, South Carolina
©2016 by Kim Headlee

A couple of months ago, when we in the US finally began realizing that the world was in the process of flipping upside down, the emails about the importance of public safety began flooding our inboxes.

At first, I appreciated hearing from restaurants, retail stores, and other businesses I patronize about the steps they were taking to ensure the well being of their customers and employees, but after awhile, those emails started looking like they were all pretty much developed from the same boilerplate text.

All except one.

On March 19, stock-image provider Dreamstime shared with their customers:

“We know great ideas don't need a special place, they can come at your place. Work online, no matter where you get creative from…” (emphasis mine)

Dreamstime.com offers free images now and then in addition to their paid subscriptions, and I plan to attach their offerings to future posts. However, since some of my best inspiration comes when I am near water, I today I chose to share one of my photos of Garden City Beach, SC.

In looking at the photo’s date stamp, I had quite forgotten that I had taken the photo barely a week before Hurricane Matthew devastated the area.

For the past several years, I had been utilizing the Myrtle Beach timeshare weeks my husband had inherited from his dad—one in late March and the other in late September—and those trips have done wonders for recharging my creative batteries. I cancelled my March trip this year because of the pandemic, and my September visit is looking less likely by the day, so I must find other ways to become inspired.

One of those ways is to simply gaze at images containing water. An ocean beach is my favorite type of scene, but any water will do… lake, river, waterfall, even a lone drop of water contains the potential to calm my mind and open it to infinite possibilities.

I hope this photo helps to calm and inspire you too. And if you have another source of inspiration that works better for you, please consider sharing it in the comments below.

My novel Dawnflight is currently free on Smashwords, and its sequels, Morning’s Journey and Raging Sea, are discounted 60%. The related novella The Color of Vengeance is permafree for Kindle, Nook, and all other e-readers. Please scroll the sidebar to view my titles. I invite you to message me on Facebook if you are interested in ordering a signed copy of any of my paperback or hardcover editions. Please rest assured that although I seem to be symptom-free as of this writing, I will be masked and gloved when I package your book for mailing.

#WhatToDoWednesday Clean with Household Acid @KimHeadlee

Vinegar bottles
©2020 by Kim Headlee

Household… acid? What??

Yep, I’m talking about good old-fashioned distilled white vinegar. Not to be confused with apple cider vinegar (with or without the “mother”), balsamic vinegar, or other types, which are best reserved for cooking and pickling, and for medicinal purposes in some cultures.

White vinegar (called “spirit vinegar” in the UK) is a solution of acetic acid typically diluted down to 4–6% acid by volume. “Distilled” is a misnomer because all types of vinegar are created through the process of fermentation, not distillation. In the US, the term “distilled white vinegar” is applied to vinegar that is produced via the fermentation of distilled alcohol—and hence the “spirit vinegar” UK appellation.

Although 4% is the least expensive commercially produced white vinegar concentration, it is not safe to use in pickling recipes, which require a minimum concentration of 5%. If I happen to acquire one of the 4% bottles, it goes straight into the laundry room, not the pantry.

If you have a skin condition that leaves you sensitive to all cleaning products, you should wear your rubber gloves when handling vinegar. The same goes for folks with respiratory sensitivities; use a mask or other type of face and nose covering to guard against inhaling the fumes, and make sure the work area is well ventillated. Though mild, vinegar is still an acid, after all.

And as with all acids and most other cleaning chemicals with which you come into accidental contact, flush the area with lots of cool water as soon as possible, and seek professional medical help immediately if excessive burning or other symptoms occur.

I like to clean with white vinegar because it’s

1. inexpensive, 
2. versatile, and 
3. organic and therefore safer for the user and the environment than other chemical concoctions. 

Normally, I would have added “easy to find except during pickling season” as a fourth advantage, but in today’s economic conditions, that particular bet is off. If all I can find are bottles labeled as “cleaning vinegar” (the bottle on the right in the photo, for example), those contain the higher concentrations, usually 6% in US markets.

If I want to conserve a few pennies, I can fill an empty vinegar gallon bottle with three quarts of 6% vinegar and one quart water to yield a 4.5% vinegar solution. That concentration is still not safe for use in pickling recipes, but it’s an easy proportion to remember and plenty strong enough for most household cleaning needs.

The ways I use vinegar for cleaning include:

• Almost every load of laundry gets about a cup of vinegar dumped into the wash water before I add the clothes. Since my house’s well is sunk through limestone, this means our tap water is just about hard enough to chew, so the vinegar also acts as a water softener.
  Bonus: With vinegar in the wash water, I never need to use commercial liquid fabric softeners or dryer sheets, which in our household carries the added bonus of eliminating an allergen, as well as saving money and helping to save the environment. Vinegar combats static cling too.
• Tougher laundry stains, such as underarm sweat and collar rings, may be treated with full-strength vinegar prior to putting the item into the washing machine. Let those items soak for at least 10 minutes first.
• Neutralizing pet urine. We have had as many as thirteen cats living inside our house, so having vinegar on hand is a must for us. Although our current feline population is down to six, vinegar still plays a vital part in keeping the house from smelling like a litter box.
  Note: If you use a commercial urine neutralizer that contains pheromones for discouraging “repeat business,” use that product first. Otherwise, the vinegar will prevent the pheromones from activating, thus defeating the purpose. I typically treat the affected area with the commercial product, and then use vinegar as the first rinse, followed by plain water.
• Surface cleaning. Bathroom and kitchen counter tops, door knobs, drawer and cabinet pulls, appliance handles, floors, ceramic or glass dishware—especially canning jars with a film of lime-scale buildup courtesy of the canner… just about any hard surface will benefit from being cleaned with vinegar. I do not recommend using vinegar on porous surfaces such as hardwood floors and furniture, or on soft plastic items. That said, the plastic spray bottle in the photo has held vinegar for years with no issues, so far. I keep one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
• Vinegar is the least harmful way I know to dissolve lime-scale buildup, such as on shower stall and tub surfaces. Just don’t do what I did and use your marble pestle to weigh down the tiny, gunked-up parts from an electric razor as they soak in a vinegar-filled dish overnight. When I checked it the next morning, the vinegar had eaten through the gunk like a champ... and had started dissolving the marble! (The Pyrex™ glass dish was fine, though I imagine it would have been next, given enough time.)

If you have favorite household uses for vinegar that I haven't mentioned here, please feel free to share them in the comment section below. And don't forget to reuse or recycle the empty bottles!

You can also clean with salt… but that's another story. :D

Looking for a clean read? My novel Dawnflight is currently free on Smashwords, and its sequels, Morning’s Journey and Raging Sea, are discounted 60%. The related novella The Color of Vengeance is permafree for Kindle, Nook, and all other e-readers. Please scroll the sidebar to view my titles. I invite you to message me on Facebook if you are interested in ordering a signed copy of any of my paperback or hardcover editions. Please rest assured that although I seem to be symptom-free as of this writing, I will be masked and gloved when I package your book for mailing.

Introducing #WhatToDoWednesday: Don't Panic @KimHeadlee

A worker assembling fortune cookies at the
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, San Francisco, CA
(c)2013 by King of Hearts, used with permission:
King of Hearts / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0

Many years ago, I heard what was attributed as a Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.”

Heh. Well, these times—global emergency, financial markets in a tizzy, people stockpiling guns and toilet paper and engaging in various other forms of hair pulling and jumping about—certainly can be called “interesting.” I’m not pointing fingers or anything, but the “curse” does indeed fit.

Last Wednesday being Earth Day, which also coincided with the launch of my daughter’s new blog, Siren’s Call, I resolved to resume regular blogging again. My dad’s passing in 2017 caused a radical shift in my priorities, but I feel it’s time to climb back into certain saddles, beginning with this one. I’m still not yet ready to get back into writing new fiction, but I hope this will prove a worthwhile exercise for me and provide helpful information for you.

What sort of information? The hashtag #WhatToDoWednesday leaves room for all sorts of tips: recipes, cleaning, keeping fit and healthy, being courteous to our fellow human beings, saving money, saving our planet... the list is quite literally endless.

Why the picture of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie factory? Because that ties in with the title of this post, which happens to be my favorite fortune-cookie wisdom that I have ever personally received:

Don't panic.

Seriously. Even if you’re facing unemployment, dwindling benefits, escalating interpersonal conflicts, and a looming rent check that won’t quit when everything and everyone else around you seems to be disappearing, take a breath, step back, and reflect upon what you do have. That’s Job One in any survival situation, and that’s what we're all faced with: surviving these uncertain and unprecedented times. Assess what you do have, assess what you need, and then form a plan for obtaining those needs.

Please note that I said “need” rather than “want.” There is a difference.

A person needs shelter; a palace may be something that person wants, but it’s overkill. Take an honest look at what you are labeling your needs, and then think about how those “needs” might be scaled down or perhaps eliminated in order to save you money and conserve other resources.

Think about how the acquisition of your “needs” might affect other people, perhaps depriving them of something they truly need, such as that last bottle of hand sanitizer, when you already have a case collecting dust at home.

Don’t panic... but do stop and think.

~Kim Iverson Headlee
The Story tells us.

P.S. My second favorite fortune cookie of all time told me: “The fortune you’re looking for is in another cookie.”

If you’re looking for something just as entertaining in its own way, my novel Dawnflight is currently free on Smashwords, and its sequels, Morning’s Journey and Raging Sea, are discounted 60%. The related novella The Color of Vengeance is permafree for Kindle, Nook, and all other e-readers. Please scroll the sidebar to view my titles. I invite you to message me on Facebook if you are interested in ordering a signed copy of any of my paperback or hardcover editions. Please rest assured that although I seem to be symptom-free as of this writing, I will be masked and gloved when I package your book for mailing.

Welcome to the 50th Earth Day with author @KimHeadlee

Young woman reading (c) 2015 by khunaspix
Depositphotos.com ID 69719181

Fifty years… wow. I had not realized that Earth Day had begun so long ago, and on a Wednesday too, just like this year.

I wouldn't have even thought about it if not for the fact that my daughter brought it to my attention when she asked me to edit some posts for her new blog, Siren's Call to the Sea.

Fifty years ago, I was in elementary school, and my family had moved to Southern California a few months after the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill that catalyzed the modern environmental movement. Previously, we had lived in coastal areas of Washington, Louisiana, and Florida, where clean air was a given. I don't remember that first Earth Day per se, but I do remember hearing about the oil spill cleanup efforts and being sad for the huge losses of wildlife, and I possess vivid recollections of Smog Alert days, when the air quality was so bad, students were forbidden from running on the school playgrounds during recess.

The last time I visited the LA area was in July 2014, during a medically extended layover on the way back from Australia and Hawaii. I was too busy worrying about my husband's condition to pay close attention to the environment around LAX, but I do recall noting that there didn't seem to be as much smog as I had remembered from my childhood. I hope that my impression was a valid one, and that the air quality has indeed improved.

The perpetual traffic jams were another staple of our 1970s stint in LA, when my parents had to whisk me to swim meets across the length and breadth of Southern California. During this current virus-induced state of global emergency, of course, I expect there to be a whole lot less traffic on the roads of LA and everywhere else, for that matter. I know I don't plan to drive anywhere today.

Some good news amid all the fear and uncertainty: the stay-at-home orders seem to be sparking a resurgence in local wildlife, such as the endangered leatherneck sea turtles of Thailand. If you would like to learn more about our oceans and their inhabitants in a fun, conversational format, I encourage you to follow Siren's Call.

To commemorate this 50th Earth Day, I urge you to take the advice shown us by the woman in this post's photo: grab a book, go on a stroll… and smile. Even if circumstances hinder you from reading or walking, please try to recall the blessings you have been given, however small they might be, and smile.

If you need a book recommendation, well. I can help with that too.

My novel Dawnflight is currently free on Smashwords, and its sequels, Morning's Journey and Raging Sea, are discounted 60%. The related novella The Color of Vengeance is permafree for Kindle, Nook, and all other e-readers. Please scroll the sidebar to view my titles. I invite you to message me on Facebook if you are interested in ordering a signed copy of any of my paperback or hardcover editions. Please rest assured that although I seem to be symptom-free as of this writing, I will be masked and gloved when I package your book for mailing.

Take care out there—of yourself, as well as of our Earth!