When Less is More

     It's true.  Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.  Here's just a few:

Hand Lotion:  Unless your skin is as dry as the Mojave Dessert, it's best to start with a small amount.  If too much is used it leaves the category of "hand" lotion and becomes arm, shoulder and any convenient bystander lotion.

Oil:  Cooking oil.  With the arrival of the turkey fryer, there are more home fires on Thanksgiving Day than any other day of the year because of too much oil.  It's a really good idea to put the bird in the pan and cover it with water first.  Take the bird out and mark the pan were the water level is.  That shows how much oil is needed.  

Cornstarch:  Mother was the master of gravy making.  She would stir flour into the hot grease drippings, add some milk and patiently stand at the stove, stirring, until the gravy was of perfect graviness consistency.  I was never too good at this art form until I discovered cornstarch.  For me it works best and eliminates the time spent standing and stirring.  Unless you enjoy gravy being the same shape of whatever utensil it is spooned out with, a little bit of cornstarch goes a long way.

Bean Dip:  Self explanatory. 

Toys:  aka dog toys.  I was standing in the center of the kitchen. Within a ten foot radius, there were 14 dog toys scattered around the floor.  Runtly tends to have attention deficit, maybe two toys would be better.  This may also apply to the human species.

Dog Runs:  Whilst on the subject of dogs......I made Runtly a run in the backyard.  It consisted of a long (long being the key word) plastic coated steel cable with about a six foot lead that travels up and down the cable.  It ended up being about fifty feet long.  I only have 14 zillion yard art things in the backyard......taking him for a walk would have been a better idea.

Words:  If whom ever you are speaking with gets that glassy eyed look, that is a pretty good indication it's time to shut up.  I learned this valuable lesson, yet again, while having a conversation with Ms. Sassafrass.  She was telling me how warm her back was getting when she stood in the sunshine.  She showed me how, when she bent over, that her entire back got really warm.  I launched into a detailed account of how the different angle of her back towards the sun made a difference in the warmth she could feel.  When I finished, I asked her if that made sense to her.  With the true wisdom of a four year old, she answered, "Not much."

Frowning:  It takes twice as many muscles to frown as it does to smile.  Use less, smile more.