Handy tips for cell phone users.

If you have a cell phone...

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112.

If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish an emergency number for you, and important to note... 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.

Did you lock your keys in the car?

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

To read more tips, please visit this site.

How to unlock a cell phone.

Is your cell phone locked or unlocked? Do you even know? I didn't.
Apparently, some phone providers lock their phones, meaning that those phones will only work with their carrier's SIM cards.
So if you have an AT&T phone, you can be fairly certain that it will not work if you change your cell provider to T-Mobile or Sprint.
Since many of the wireless carriers provide a free phone or a highly discounted phone they did not want to be out the cost of the phone to find that later that same phone is being used with another carrier, so they got the cell phone manufacturers to design the phone that could be locked to just their service.

To find out if your phone is locked, borrow a SIM card from someone who has a different provider, install it in your phone and see if it works. If it works and you can dial the borrowed party's number and your phone rings, then your phone is not locked.

If it doesn't work, how do you unlock a cell phone? First, don't purchase any of the unlock codes that are on various sites. You can get them for free. To find out how to unlock a cell phone, go to Google or Yahoo and type in your cell phone brand, like Nokia or Samsung or whatever it is, plus free calculator. Nokia Free Calculator.

You may have to do a small download to use the calculator, but you can always uninstall it right after you use it. Once you have downloaded the software, it will instruct you how to find the unlock code.

You'll have to enter in your phone brand (like Samsung), the model (like 1234), and usually the company that provided you service (such as AT&T). You will also need the IMEI code, which you can find on the back of your phone underneath the battery, or by pressing *#06# into your phone. The code will appear on your screen, so be sure to write it down. Do be careful because you only have 5 chances to enter the code correctly before the phone locks down.

If this all seems like too much of a hassle, you can either choose to go with a phone provided or purchased through your new carrier or purchase a cell phone, independent of any carrier, that is already unlocked.

Easy to Grow Flowers - Petunias

If you want to attract hummingbirds to your garden, I've always had good luck whenever I plant several containers of petunias.
Petunias have a wide 'trumpet' shaped flower and just a couple of plants will spread and bloom like crazy.
I do not start my petunias from seeds, preferring instead to plant young plants that have one or two unopened blossoms, in a variety of different colors.
Petunias do best in full sun, but can handle partial shade, which might be preferrable in hotter climates.
Make sure the soil is well drained as, petunia roots do not like too much water settling around them, this will cause the plants to produce more stem and fewer flowers.
To keep your petunias blooming all summer long, you will want to pinch off the dried blooms once or twice a week.
My favorite petunia varieties include;
The Grandifloras. This particular 'variety' of petunias have been around for some time. They grow eight to twelve inches high and have four to five inch wavy-edged blossoms.
The Multiflora petunia flowers are smaller, only about two inches, but they are more prolific and hold up better against rain.
I have planted petunias in a flower bed as well as in containers. I do prefer the containers as the petunias just seem to hold up better and longer, plus I can arrange the containers in various heights, with all kinds of color variations that look great on the patio. I like to keep my petunias in an area that I can look out and see the hummingbirds.
For the best in planters and containers check out these "Popular Wall & Hanging Planters" On Sale Now! SimplyPlanters.com

Easy to Grow Flowers - Marigolds

One of the easiest flowers to grow, from seed or starter plants, is the Marigold.
I have planted marigolds for years...often, when I had limited room, I always managed to find enough room to grow a few marigolds.


Once all danger of frost has passed, you can find a sunny spot of rich, well drained soil and work a little worm compost into the tilled soil. When the area has been prepared, spread seeds and cover them with no more than 1/4 inch of soil. Carefully water the soil and seeds daily.
When the seedlings begin to spout, thin to about 8 inches apart.
After the plants have grown and sprouted several leaves, you can place a little mulch around each plant to keep the soil from getting too dried out.
I like to space out my marigold planting, so that I can have flowers blooming well into the fall.
As the blossoms begin to dry up, I pluck the dried blooms and place them into a paper bag (to finish drying). The dried blooms are filled with seeds that I then use for the next year's plantings. Roll the dried bloom between your thumb and fingers, to separate the seeds when planting.

Add a decorative touch to your garden with fountains, garden gnomes, garden stones and much more from OnlineDiscountMart.com!

If you decide you would prefer to plant a small space marigold container garden,Simply Planters have over 250 Styles Of Garden Planters! Most Items Ship Free!

Primitive decor

Primitive decor is quite popular and can be achieved on almost any budget.
Most common colors used in primitive decor are browns, blacks, reds and grays.
The key in primitive decor is to look for old and sturdy furniture with clean lines and multi-efficient uses.


If you can't go 'all out' in your design, you can often manage to bring in a primitive 'flavor' with the clever placement of just a few primitive items such as, wooden bowls, baskets, dried fruits and flowers and the like.

Organize Your Kitchen

A short video on the basics of organizing your kitchen. As old as I am, I picked up a pointer or two.

Container Garden Demonstration

Here is a link to my post about earthworm castings in seed planting.
I am a BIG supporter of using earthworm castings as natural fertilizer in all container garden planting.