1byone Amplified Indoor HDTV Antenna

We don't get any local channels. Dan watches his television either through our Amazon Prime account or Youtube videos. Other than that its DVD's to the rescue. We have been wanting local channels to at least get the news. So I read about an indoor antenna  that is supposed to pick up channels within 50 miles. 

It received excellent reviews on Amazon.........so I decided to try it.

Sitting next to the TV it picked up nothing.

Pulled as far as the cable would let me and holding it so it pointed out a window - it picked up three channels.........they were either fuzzy or extremely weak. So I think it is our metal building? I did go on Amazon and start to type a question under the product to see if anyone had any better ideas on making this work. Another person had the exact same problem with only three channels and spent the day on the phone with 1byone customer support only to return it in the end. Well, I am not waisting my day so......... this is going back too. 

I think we will have to drill a hole in the wall, run a cable up and out the middle of the loft floor to the outside of the building and put up a regular antenna. No quick fix. Another project, but we have other priorities so TV gets put on the back burner.

Lily's Home LED Taper Candles

The bathroom gets extremely dark as there is no window........really we should add one. However that is behind a long list of "to do's" around here. So in the mean time we use a solor outdoor light. We have two. While one is inside the bathroom being used, another is outside being charged. One drains of power, we swap it out with the charged one. The only issue is trying to find it in the dark to flip the switch to turn it on. Plus it lays on the small sink countertop, taking up valueable space. I ran into this cute candle wall sconce at a thrift store and thought about using it with an LED candle so there would be enough light to visit the bathroom without fumbling around. Sadly, they don't provide much light at all. I bought the pack of 4 off Amazon, and processed the return today. If you are looking for "ambiance" maybe.........but definately not a light source by any means.

The LED 11" "candle" opperates with two AA batteries.

My thrift store sconce.

The sconce with LED sitting ontop of the toilet.........so disappointed that we can't see the seat.

Zeiss Optics

I can't say enough great things about Zeiss products and their customer service. We have two pairs of 10x40 Zeiss Binoculars. One is over 20  years old. It got to the point where we could barely use them, then it came down to just leaving them at home because I couldn't stand using them. Couldn't get them to focus at all so looking through them gave me a headache.  I google searched "Zeiss Repairs" and almost at the top of the search was the Zeiss repair page..........https://www.zeiss.com/sports-optics/en_us/hunting/service---support/customer-service.html   - so very simple........fill out a form and submit it. Within the hour an email with your information confirms your inquiry and you print the email and mail it with your binos. I was so afraid I would get this call "what are you thinking lady? buy a new pair!" but I decided to spend the shipping to send them in (they didn't even require a serial number on the form).

Nothing for three weeks. Hadn't heard from them.........but then I just picked up my mail and I have no clue how long the box was sitting there, but there was my binos  -  returned to me. They hadn't called for a credit card number for repair or return shipping. Oh jeeze, I started thinking, they didn't even want to tell my over the phone that my optics were too old and worn out to repair. I opened the box, expecting the "Dear Mrs. King, we regret to inform you......" but instead I found, carefully packaged, my binoculars - all polished up. Of course a few small scratches in the lenses were still there but they actually worked on them and cleaned them and shipped them back at NO CHARGE!

 A letter included stated the work completed:

REPLACED WORN DRIVER

CLEANED OPTICS

LUBRICATED SEALS

RESET FOCUS AND SEALS

My binos work fantastic! I can't wait to go out shed hunting with them. Although.........now Dan wants his sent in as they won't focus within 150 yards and so I have a feeling he will be stealing (borrowing) mine until his return.

We highly recommend Zeiss. Spend the extra money - they are worth every penny.

Product Review: VP Racing Gas Cans

We have used these VP Racing gas cans for almost a year now and still absolutely love them. We will never go back to the red cans. The quality and ease of use is far superior. Highly recommended.

We purchased the four pack you see below:

Review: Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy

Light weight - the big plus on freeze dried food. Great for backpacking, hiking, camping, and bugging out............but in the Sonoran Desert, with the lack of water around every turn, you have to carry or store enough water to hydrate the food. Carrying a pre-made meal pack such as an MRE may be just as good in this situation. Plus, you don't have to boil water and wait for it to hydrate. Anyhoo, I like to have a variety to choose from and with my picky eater (yes Dan!) I try to do taste tests around the house prior to finding out he doesn't like it in the field. 

As always any "meal" packet is chock full of salt and carbs. Meant for someone on the move and using lots of energy, sweating it out and having a full body strain. Not for couch potatoes.

The ingredients.....

Great shelf life.

BLAH to look at - but it passed the "King" test, Dan liked it. 

The biscuits stayed slightly crunchy and the flavor was passable. 

As for me, well I eat (almost) anything.........so it's easier for me to give it a thumbs up.