Down-Home Country Lore

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Issue # 76 - July/August 1982

"Our toddler is cutting teeth, and she can be quite a terror when one's coming in," writes Jim McCloud of Cottage Grove, Oregon. "It seems the freezable teething rings are never in the freezer when she needs one . . . that child leaves them in the darndest places! Fortunately, my wife and I have discovered that frozen vegetables work as well as does any commercial device. The cold numbs her gums, and—while chewing on a piece of carrot or whatever—our little girl picks up some extra nutrition as well!"

Cynthia Burns of Puyallup, Washington ofers this bit of country (or city!) lore: "One of the most frustrating lessons for a child to learn when helping around the house or homestead is, 'Which way do I turn it?' Well, your youngsters will always remember once they learn the phrase 'Right to tight and left to loose.' "

Twins are a double blessing, but they can also mean double trouble. In fact, Janet Ponder's "matched pair" of three-year-olds were ruining her living room carpet until the Penrose, North Carolinian began spreading old plastic tablecloths on the floor under their little play table. The "tarp" catches spills, is easily washed, and can be used over and over again.

 When shopping for a secondhand car, Velma Sanders of Nelson, British Columbia takes a magnet along and rubs it over the surface of any prospective purchase. If there are spots to which the magnet won't stick, she notes, chances are the vehicle has at some time been patched with body putty.

 Juliette Guth and her husband own a small vacation camper on two acres of land in the north woods of Wisconsin. The couple occasionally lease the retreat out to friends and acquaintances, but they don't do so for the money. Instead the Guths ask that each guest make some sort of improvement as their rental payment. The Plymouth, Wisconsin folks say that their system has worked well, too . . . in fact, so far they've "swapped" weekends for one new outhouse hole, a stack of split firewood, washed walls, a vegetable garden, and several bird feeders. Other temporary tenants have left such gifts as a kerosene lantern, a clothesline, a mattress, and even some back issues of MOTHER!

 If you're raising a puppy, try using straight club soda on carpets, clothes, or anywhere else that the excited pup makes a "mistake". Fran Casey—of Sherman Oaks, California—says the clear bubbly liquid will remove the urine stain and odor without bleaching out the material's color.

 "We make our chicken and rabbit houses from old wire reels that we obtain from the local phone company," writes Gerald Osborne of Kelso, Washington. "We set each spool flat . . . knock out a hen/bunny-sized entryway in the spindle . . . fasten chicken wire around the perimeter, incorporating a closable door as we do so . . . and place a loose board over the spool's center hole (the plank can be lifted to allow us access to the 'inner sanctum' for housecleaning or egg collection)."