One of my friends turned to saxophone playing to relieve stress. His stress level got his eyes worse that driving was too difficult. He is fine now after some stressful work load was lifted off of him.

One time hubby and him jammed. He played whatever music pieces he had while hubby seconded on the guitar (amplified). It was a nice combination. After several pieces, we got him to talk about his sax life. He said it was an old set, showing us the year it was made (which I forgot but it was a lot older than I am). He said that the older it gets, the better it is. To make it look nice on the outside the sax is just plated anew. As far as sax and recycling is concerned, that is the best way to go and make use of the sax as a sax. It is lengthening the life of the instrument. You just can’t throw it away.

I am not sure whether what he has is an alto or a tenor saxophone but since the pitch is somewhat low, I’d guess it is the former. I think I like to have one myself. Although I’m not one who gets stressed, it would surely exercise my respiratory system to alleviate my asthma.

Certain houses have particular designs for each room. Each room is designed depending on the personality of the owner of the room. While adults would like plain and elegant, usually plain cream ones, for kids, for sure they will love the kids switch plate covers which will make them be aware to switch on and off (just to get hold of it).

Alternatively, you can make your own if you think it is impossible to buy. You can actually use favorite character stickers and cut off the portion where the switch protrudes. Or, you can recycle old clothes with cartoon characters, cut out the size of the switch plate and use rugby for sticking to make it permanent. Make sure to apply rugby on both the switch plate and the cloth back and let it dry completely before sticking them together. Of course you have to unscrew the switch plate first.

As many of you may already know, DIY stands for Do It Yourself. When my daughter asks me to do something for her, I say, “Do it yourself.” When hubby wants me to reach for something, I say, “Do it yourself.”

The hubby part was a joke. As for the kids, if they can do it, I really tell them to do what they can do themselves. I try to teach them to be independent so that when I’m gone, they can live on their own without much adjustment.

Seriously, I’m a DIY person. Even when it comes to medication, simple symptoms and common ailments, I do what I had to do without consulting a doctor since I already know what to do anyway. Why pay the doc for something I already know? When my washing machine and dryer bogged down, I fixed them myself. When the water pipe was accidentally bored by a drill in the bathroom, I fixed it myself. I make my own bags, wallets and toys for the children. I teach them how to use their imagination to create stuff instead of buying. I show them that used items can be recycled to turn into something new and even fashionable.

When my eldest was asking me for a pen, I told her to get it in my pencil box. When she opened it, she said, “Ma, this is not a pencil box. It’s a tool box!” It had more screwdrivers and cutter knives than it had pens. There was no pencil at all. Last Saturday while in church, he was setting up the projector and he had to do some minor fixing. He asked me for a pen. His was in his polo shirt pocket. I asked what for. He just needed something pointed but did not want to ruin his pen. I took out my pencil box and gave him one of the pointed screwdrivers. It is one thing to be resourceful but it is also another to be ready with basic helpful tools.

I may be a DIY person but of course I have my limits. I wanted to know how to fix cars too when I was younger so just in case I have one then I won’t have to pay for others to fix it. Right now, I don’t know how to so even if I had my own RV (my dream vehicle), I’d still call for a breakdown service when I’d need one.

I grew up watching 

I have had so many items that I have kept for later use. That’s just one aspect of recycling. Since I have made bags, purses/wallets out of juice foil and snack wrappers and packets, I always keep them aside when I open one. I end up full of raw materials and an irate hubby since I use all the space available for my “trash.”

Finally, I have decided to start all over again. I will dispose of all the “trash” I have and let others make use of them. I have actually started with sackful already and disposed also of some clothes I will not wear anymore. I have been an advocate of simple living and having only the necessities of life at hand. 

Disposing of those treasured trash is not easy but I figured I only have to set my mind to it to successfully do it. It will also help me as I battle asthma. In no time I will be able to have another bulk for a new project. Meanwhile I did not throw away the old keyboards as I have something in mind to use the parts for. Meanwhile I’m looking into wii games. They don’t grab the little space we only have.

Do you remember the concept of a story where two people, a man and a woman, were washed away to a remote island due to a sinking boat? They are the only ones who survived. So they tried to live a life in that island while waiting for a rescue. As days and weeks and months passed they came to realize that they wanted to be together for the rest of their lives and so the man recycled a palm leaf and turn it into an engagement ring. A few weeks later they discovered that they are not alone in the island. A certain tribe lives at the other side. They became friends with the chief and later decided to get married. The chief wed them and the couple exchanged wedding rings out of palm leaves again. Of course these are not lasting but they give the confirmation that they, indeed, exchanged vows to be together for the rest of their lives.

I was actually engaged without any of those classy engagement rings at all. When we got married, we did not even had the rings. We had to borrow the wedding rings of my parents just to go on with the wedding rites. We bought a pair later but then out of emergency we had to pawn them to be able to buy food. The pair was never gotten back. We are 18 years married now. Problems are part of the growing married life but they are what makes a marriage stronger. Maybe later, when feasible, we will get another set of wedding rings just so we can tell the world that yes, we’re married.

Not many may be into horse riding like equestrians and equestriennes but they, too, have they horse equipment come into a point of trashing. They will have to buy another set to be more effective in what they do best.

Instead of merely throwing them away, why not recycle them instead? Their outfit can actually be saved to be as costumes for certain skits that will need a horse-riding character. Usually, annual town events with programs for entertainment is the target. Boots that are no longer usable as is can be recycled by putting some garden soil and planting a flower variety. A pair of those will be interesting by the entrance gate. The next time you need to change the pair once again, add the boots lined up with the previous ones until you have a decent collection.

Recently I have been quite busy trying to alleviate my asthma attacks. It has become frequent even after I have discovered one of the many strong allergens that I have which is chicken. So, when I’m not having attacks, part of my time is spent in front of the computer, typing.

I have been ghost writing (writing for others) for the past 3 months. I have started several months ago but it was during these past 3 months that I got more busy with it. Whether it is for a blog post or for articles meant for websites, I have learned to write faster than I normally do. Two days ago I also accepted and tried for the first time to do video transcribing. Another project is editing a website which is not yet done. All these I am doing to be able to pay for the debt we owe. Basically bills. At least it lightens the load of hubby.

Come to think of it, many of the topics that are given to me as tasks to write are similar so I get to recycle the articles that I write. Some by context (same story, written differently) and some by spinning (same story, different words or terms).

I have been having asthma attacks frequently for the last 2 months. I have many allergens. Chicken is a strong one which I discovered recently. I have improved since then but only for a month when I have eaten a canned food with chicken. I suspect, though, that the preservatives also gave way to make me worse. Now, when my feet gets cold I get attacks. When it’s hot and humid, I get attacks.

I have figured that it is the exercise that I really lack. My knees hurt when I walk up the stairs and I’m only 44! I feel I needed a step stool handrail every time I have to reach out for something high because the stool without handrail makes me prone to fall without warning.

The prime reason I’ve slacked a bit from my craft projects: asthma. I know I have to do something about it. I got to move more often.

Ever since I learned that I love crafting with paper, board, plastic, as putting them together to build something new, I have fallen in love with cutters. Whenever I go to my favorite bookstore I always go to the cutters section and see what I can buy for myself. The thing is, I still have some and yet I’m always on a lookout for what I can still have. I am just limited by what money I have left, though, so it’s not much. I could not even buy a box cutter. When I see that money is limited I will just think that I can open a box with an ordinary cutter. It may not be as nice but it will open the box just the same.

I also love knives and scissors. Same story with cutters. I can never get enough of them. If you are thinking of gifting me such, they will always be cherished and will probably be in my bag always. Yes, I bring a cutter or two, a pair or two of scissors and sometimes a small knife, in my bag whenever I go out. No, not to protect myself from harmful people but for emergencies where they are normally used. Yes, I also have a set of screwdrivers in my bag.

There is always a reason why you give a gift. The most common is birthday. There are others like weddings, anniversaries, graduations and other things you might think of. It is always nice to have a gift that you have made yourself. Use recycled items and turn it into something useful or functional and you have not only given a special gift but you also sent a message that you support recycling.

Not everyone is able to craft, though. If you are one of them, you can look for items sold that are made of recyclable materials. Or, you can at least take advantage of the sales that are happening now since everyone is looking for gift ideas for Christmas. Make sure to buy items that will last longer so they will not soon be thrown away.