YakTrax Would Have Saved My Behind... If I'd Kept Wearing Them!

A few weeks ago, I received a small package in the mail; a brand new pair of YakTrax walkers to review for the blog. (YakTrax had sent me a pair.) I had been waiting for them to arrive, as I take lots of night dog walks regardless of snow or ice. Sadly (or gladly, depending), we've had unseasonably warm weather this winter, with very few snowstorms and even less below zero snaps.

Well, the day arrived.



I woke up to a winter wonderland of wet sticky snow that had melted and refrozen. I pulled the YakTrax out of the box, and was rather disappointed to see how flimsy they appeared. The construction is a thin rubber outsole in a spiderweb formation, and is wrapped in a steel wire corkscrew. Honestly, I wasn't sure it would work at all.



I pulled them over my hiking boots to give them a go, though... and was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were so easy to take on and off that I could remove them on my walk if needed even with my gloves on. (You aren't supposed to wear them on cement). They fit snugly, didn't seem to move out of place, and the thin rubber didn't seem flimsy at all when it was on my boot.

I took a step outside with a 60 lb dog who LOVES the snow and gets so excited when he sees it that he temporarilly forgets that I am attached to the other end of the leash... and didn't fall. Or slip. At all. The walk went beautifully... no slipping or sliding. In fact, it went SO well that I assumed that it wasn't actually that slippery out, and decided NOT to wear them on my way out to the car to go to work. Big mistake! I was still wearing the same hiking boots, but when I stepped around the back of my car I fell right down... in the very place that I had confidently walked without slipping 10 minutes earlier. OUCH!



I took a look at the YakTrax after taking them off my boots to inspect the metal screws... they weren't bent at all. It seems they will hold up well; I'll add to this review after a season of wearing with an update of their long term use and wear.

They aren't very expensive... I've seen them on sale for $15, but for those who need to save even more money family member has created her OWN version of ice walking shoes with 1/4" hex screws screwed into the bottom of old running shoes. She says they work well; and this would be a good alternative to save a little money and keep something like an old pair of shoes out of the landfill. I've been meaning to make my own pair, but didn't have an old pair of shoes to sacrifice. The YakTrax do have the advantage of being small, easily used and removed, and able to be kept in a pocket or purse until needed; a pair of old running shoes just doesn't fit in my purse! My husband wants a pair now; perhaps there will be an end-of-season sale on them!

Mowed the Lawn Today...

With my brand new Brill Luxus pushmower!



I really like it... it is quiet, easy to push, and doesn't jar my shoulders like holding onto our gas powered mower. I think it is even easier to push and control than our self-propelled mower is! I love how it leaves the clippings right on the lawn for mulch. The only downside I found is that it is somewhat uneven on our VERY bumpy and uneven lawn. I am hoping that as we fill in the bare spots, this will go away... however, I'm not in the manicured lawn club, so I will use it even if it doesn't give a perfect clip!

I went around the hole yard with my hand weeder pulling dandilions. 56 dandilion carcasses later, I was ready to aerate the lawn with a hand aerator...



The tool (I used a Turf Hound Aerator) looks like a small pitchfork with really hefty tines. You walk across your yard, stepping down every 6 inches on the aerator. We saw marked improvement in our lawn quality and in the germination of the grass seed last fall after we did this; it seems like a great and easy way to make your lawn healthier (and thus more drought resistant).

We threw down another 3 lbs of drought resistant grass seed into the few bare areas that didn't germinate last fall... (one is in the picture above).

One lawn, prepped for summer!

Update on Danby Washer and Dryer

It's been 3 days and 5 loads of laundry (I've been washing EVERYTHING to see how it works) since we got our new Danby washer and dryer. To review, it is Energy Star rated, front loading, and small; the old set was top loading and huge.

Here's why I am in LOVE with my new washer and dryer:

Our washer drains into the same pipe as the sink; for some reason (faulty plumbing, I would assume), the water drained out of the old washer had always backed up into the sink as it drained, as there is too much water to go down at once. It would fill the sink up most of the way in overflow drainage... and it would do this 3 times during a cycle.

The NEW washer does NOT fill up the sink at all! It does not drain enough water at once to overload the drain... and it still drains those three times. I ran over to the sink to check during the first 3 loads.

That is a LOT of water saved each time we run the washer!

Plus, the spin cycle on the washer (we have it set to 1000 rpm) pulls a LOT of water out of the clothes, so the drying time isn't as long. I was used to drying clothes for more than an hour in the old dryer. Now, it takes about 30 minutes.

That is a LOT of electricity saved each time we run the dryer!

Finally, I use 1/2 TBSP of laundry detergent for every load in the new machine. I used to put in 3/4 cup of detergent to get my clothes clean in the old top loader.

That is a LOT of detergent saved each time we wash our clothes!

Mouse Update and Pest-a-Cator 2000 Review

Update: We STILL have mice.

We didn't catch any mice in our live traps in the 4 days we left them down before leaving for the holidays. Each night we were woken up by the tiny sound of tiny jaws grinding. I'm not sure that they can get into the actual living space yet; they may be trapped in the walls.

We left for 2 weeks of holiday traveling and visiting. We left the Pest-a-Cator 2000 plugged in but picked up the live traps. The packaging says that it may take 4 weeks to cause an effect in the mouse population, and recommends the use of traps in tandem with the device.

Last night, after leaving the house alone with no inhabitants for two weeks, there was NO sound of small grinding teeth! I'm thinking the Pest-a-Cator 2000 might have actually done some good. I have set the live traps again, just to be sure, but there are no signs of mice in our house. I am surprised, as I expected total infestation upon our return!

The Pest-a-Cator 2000 works by gently pulsing the electricity stream, which apparently drives mice batty. There seems to be no ill effects; the computer is working fine, as are the other appliances. The dogs are sleeping and unstressed, and us humans have noticed no effect on our mood. I believe I will leave it plugged in indefinitely.

UPDATE: We STILL have mice (and just caught one)