Prepare a mixture of water and baking soda, approximately one cup of baking soda per gallon of water. Apply around the perimeter and where the dog has urinated. Repeat at least twice per week. Baking soda will also protect plants from the damage caused by dog urine. Baking soda will neutralize the smell of dog urine, which should both make your nose happy and halt the territorial behavior that draws dogs to one another's urine. Spraying undiluted vinegar around the perimeter of the lawn creates a sort of invisible fence that drives off both dogs and cats. A roaming dog will take one sniff of your lawn and turn away, but you should keep reapplying the vinegar on a daily basis. Also try to apply vinegar where the dog has urinated. Vinegar can also work as a natural herbicide to kill various weeds. For this reason, though, you should avoid spraying it over your entire lawn, since it has the potential to damage vegetation. Vinegar neutralizes the smell of dog urine, which should both make your nose happy and halt the territorial behavior that draws dogs to one another's urine. Many dogs have a strong reaction to the smell of organic material. Try a new fertilizer if dogs seem to be drawn to yours. Dogs are especially drawn to blood, fish, and bone meal. Try a plant-based fertilizer. Dogs are generally bothered by the smell of lavender, even though it is rather pleasant plant for humans. Similarly, prickly or thorny plants can be planted around the perimeter of your lawn to install a natural barrier against dog invaders. There are a number of popular home solutions, especially cayenne pepper, which have actually been known to harm dogs. Similarly, refrain from using coffee grounds, mouth balls, garlic power, Tobacco, ammonia, and detergents to drive off dogs.

Summary: Spread baking soda around the perimeter. Spray vinegar around the perimeter. Change fertilizer. Plant lavender or spiky shrubbery. Be cautious about other home remedies.

Place it in the refrigerator 24 to 48 hours before you plan to marinade it. Score the fatty side into one inch (2.5cm) crisscrossed squares. Rub all over the surface of the meat. Place it in the refrigerator for 12 hours. If you are running behind, make sure you marinate it for at least two hours.

Summary: Defrost your lamb shoulder completely before cooking. Remove it from the refrigerator the night before you cook it. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the shoulder. Mix rosemary, lemon juice, oil and garlic in a bowl. Cover the lamb shoulder with foil or plastic wrap.

The saddle is basically a long, skinny nut, usually made of bone or a synthetic material, that is inlayed at the bridge. To lower the action on an acoustic guitar you don't have to adjust the bridge in any way, you only have to adjust the saddle. The saddle serves the same purpose as the nut, controlling the height of the guitar strings. If you lowered the action at the nut, you must also lower the action at the bridge or your tone will be off. The strings are strung through the bridge, and their tension holds the saddle in place. It isn't glued in place. Saddles may be either straight or compensated. A compensated saddle is curved to compensate for the tone of the strings and help keep the guitar in tune. This is why if you want to lower the action at the bridge, you always sand down the bottom of the saddle, never the top. Use a ruler to measure the distance between the sixth string and the 12th fret. You'll also want to measure the first string at the 12th fret. You don't need to measure the other strings. Most acoustic guitars take 2/32 of an inch (about 1.5 millimeters) of action for the first string and 3/32 of an inch (about 2.3 millimeters) of action for the sixth string. If your action is more than that, you'll want to lower it. Since the tension from the strings holds the saddle in place, you won't be able to take it out without first loosening the strings of your guitar. However, you should be able to leave them on the tuners. Use your string winder to detune your guitar until the strings are loose and floppy. Don't take your strings off the tuner. You'll have to take your strings off if you want to get the saddle out, but there's no reason to remove all of your strings. This will just give you extra work and make the process take longer. The lower three strings should give you enough room to slide the saddle out, provided the other three strings are really loose and floppy. You still don't need to remove your strings from the tuners unless the strings go through the bridge. If you do have a string-thru bridge, this process will take a little longer because you'll have to remove the strings from the tuners as well to get the saddle out. Once you've removed the lowest three strings, you should have enough room to slide the saddle out of its slot on the bridge. Do this very carefully. If it's wedged in there tightly, you may need a pair of pliers to grip it and pull it out safely without damaging your guitar. Once the saddle is out of the bridge, you're ready to lower your action at the bridge. Take care to keep it even as you sand it, because an uneven saddle will ruin the tone of your guitar. One way to do this is to place a piece of double-stick sand paper on a level table or work bench. Get the ruler you used before and determine how much you want to sand down your saddle. Mark your saddle across with a pencil. Then all you have to do is sand until you get to the pencil line. Keep in mind that if you sand your saddle down too low, your strings will be too long. You also don't want to take more than you need. Be cautious and only sand down a little at a time. You can always repeat the process if you didn't sand enough, but if you sand too much you won't be able to put it back. Lift your strings and carefully slide the sanded saddle back into its slot. Then replace the bottom three strings that you removed and retune your guitar. Measure the action again and play your guitar a little bit to see if you like it. You may want to repeat the process and sand down a little more. Keep in mind that industry standards are just that, but each guitarist has their own personal preference for how much action they like.

Summary: Identify your bridge and saddle. Measure your guitar's action at the bridge. Loosen your strings. Remove the lower three strings. Remove the saddle from the bridge. Sand down your saddle. Replace the saddle and bridge.

A commercial water filter is the easiest and most effective way to filter sediment, pathogens, metals, and other pollutants from water. These filters contain special materials like charcoal, carbon, ceramic, sand, and cloth that are specially designed to filter out dangerous pollutants. There are many different types of filters you can use, including: Whole-home filters that filter all the water that comes into your house Point-of-use filters that get installed on specific taps and filter water that comes out of the faucet Countertop filters that you fill manually with water Water bottles and straws with built-in water filters Handheld UV water purifiers that kill bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants from small quantities of water
Summary: Use a commercial water filter.