The G.O. Book: Grandma’S Observations

By Barbara Leitner Essig

My book is about helping people to be more informed about their everyday lives doing every day things. It's mostly common sense and advice. I've written about the many things that I have encountered in my life of eighty plus years. We all have good times and bad times, and we must accept them, adjust to them, and go on. There's always hope.
Remember, the sun is always shining somewhere. I hope this book will help you to improve your life. Please enjoy reading it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469191706

Barbara Leitner Essig

Autobiography Most of my life has been blessed and healthy. I have a good family, I've always had nice neighbors, and I enjoy my friends. I've spent a good portion of my life as a housewife, raising our three kids. I also have put in many hours of volunteer work and church work. My idea of writing this book sparked about fifteen years ago. I've been gathering information ever since, and I've worked hard at writing it over the last few years.

Book preview

THE G.O. BOOK

Grandma’s Observations

Barbara Leitner Essig

Copyright © 2012 by Barbara Leitner Essig.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2012905722

ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4691-9169-0

   Softcover   978-1-4691-9168-3

   Ebook   978-1-4691-9170-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

113057.

Contents

Preface and Dedication

Bathroom

Bedroom

Den (Office/Business)

Dining Room

Kitchen

Outside

Car and Driving

Diet

Etiquette and Body Language

Exercise

First Aid and Home Remedies

FYI

Geography

Household

Kids

Language

Medical

Music

Older Years Or Golden Years

USA and Patriotism

Preface and Dedication

This book is a collection of many things that I have seen, heard, read, and experienced in my eighty-plus years. They may or may not be useful to you, and you may have a much better and newer way to do things. (If you are young, and your parents tell you to do something; by all means, do what they tell you and not what I say.) Be patient with me, because I have never written a book before. Please excuse my innocence. There are no guarantees on anything in this book. Nothing has been researched. Remember, it’s just my observations. My ideas are more common sense than scientific. So do not hold me liable for any inconsistencies, omissions, or errors. I have tried to be as accurate as possible. I write as I think. It may not be too organized, but it’s just like I am talking with you. I’m sure that I have missed a lot of things—my apologies! I can’t write every detail about everything. I just covered what came to mind.

I was inspired to do this by the encouragement from my family, my friends, and my neighbors; who told me that I was always coming up with common sense answers for everyday happenings, and alternative ways to do things. They said that I should put these tips, hints, and thoughts in writing. So I did. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to my book.

I have tried to live my life by the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments. I feel that we are here to take care of ourselves and to help others as much as we can in any way that we can. Caring and sharing. My pet peeve is people who do not go by the rules. To me, rules are made to be followed, not to be broken.

I believe the world would be a much better place if everyone followed the three R’s. My three R’s are: Respect for yourself, Respect for others, and Respect for property. Plus, you have to accept responsibility for your actions and be accountable for them. The other three R’s are very important, too. ’Readin, ’Ritin, and ’Rithmetic. That’s education.

There have been many mentors in my life, and they have taught me to always look nice, to enjoy nature, especially trees and flowers, to look at the clouds and imagine different shapes, to watch for rainbows after the rain, to enjoy the little things in life, and to try to not worry so much. My friends tell me Pace Yourself.

This book, in the beginning is arranged in a room to room fashion, rather than in chapters. There may be some repeats, because what you do in one room, I may not, and vice versa. When I ran out of rooms, I arranged it by subjects. I tried, from time to time, to include a joke, a riddle, an FYI, or trivia. This may not be the type of book that you sit down and read for hours on end. Take a little at a time and digest it mentally.

Dedication of this book is to my children, my grandchildren, and my great-grandchildren. May they all live a long, happy, and healthy life.

Bathroom

Before your guests arrive, place a new, full roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. Also, put out a new bar of soap or liquid hand wash. Spray cologne in waste basket for aroma. Or you can place fabric softener (or perfume samples from magazines) out of sight, also for aroma. In cupboard, place new bars of soap, wrapped or unwrapped, on top of kleenex boxes or toilet paper rolls, which makes them smell nicer when you use them.

SINK

Remember chrome has to be constantly polished to shine. To clean chrome, you can use club soda, window cleaner, baking soda, vinegar, dampened coffee filter, or a cloth soaked in nail polish remover—whatever works best for you.

To clean mirrors, use a dryer sheet or a coffee filter. (This also works on pictures, and TV and computer screens.)

Brushing teeth. Use small amount of tooth paste (about the size of a pea). Excessive amounts just wash down the drain. Sing the Happy Birthday song twice while you brush your teeth. And turn the water off while you brush.

Washing hands. Don’t turn the water on full force. When finished washing, tap you hands on the sink to remove excess water before you reach for the towel. Always wipe out the sink with toilet paper or a kleenex after you’re finished, so there’s no tooth paste or hair there to greet the next person.

Hand washing clothes or stockings. When draining the water, swish it around the sink so you don’t leave a scum.

Towels and washcloths. Replace with clean ones as often as needed.

Rotate your towels—put clean ones on the bottom of the pile after laundering.

Shower. Freshen doors and walls with a wet dryer sheet. Use an old towel for a bathmat. It’s not as thick as a regular bathmat, and it washes much easier. Cut off the seam on the bottom of plastic shower curtain, so it won’t get dirty or moldy. (You can use an old shower curtain as a drop cloth when painting.)

Toilet. Never put your hand or arm (with jewelry and rings) over the toilet when it’s flushing. If anything drops in, it’s gone. Same applies to keys. To clean the toilet, other than commercial products, you can use a pumice stick, denture cleaning tablets, two alka seltzers, antacid pills, bleach, white vinegar, flat coca cola, or tang drink mixes; whatever does the best job. If the toilet is plugged, DO NOT flush it again—it