Q: Your thoughts can change your feelings (loneliness, depression) and behaviors (how well we cope). If you think negatively about being alone, you will most likely have negative feelings about it. However, if you embrace being alone you may be able to better cope with it and reduce your loneliness overall. Use positive self-talk. For example, tell yourself that being alone can be a good thing. Tell yourself, "It's okay to be alone. I like my own company." This can help you build up your tolerance to being alone. When you find yourself thinking negatively about being alone such as, "I hate being alone. I'm so lonely. This is terrible," think of some alternative thoughts that might be more realistic and helpful. For example, you could think or tell yourself, "I can deal with being alone. I feel lonely but I know I can cope with it. It's not so bad. Alone time can be a positive thing." Studies show that how you think about yourself in relation to others has an impact on your level of loneliness.Fear of rejection can discourage social activity and increase feelings of loneliness. If you are thinking you are inferior, this may lead to worrying about social interactions. Remind yourself that we are each different but equal. You are worthy. Expect positive outcomes instead of negative ones when interacting with others. Think of alternative ways that the situation might pan out. For example, perhaps the person will like you! It may not always turn out as badly as you think it will. Animals are the next best thing to humans. There is a reason some therapeutic treatments involve therapy dogs or nature-related activities. Research suggests that being in nature or around animals can give you sense of calm and reduce loneliness. Get a dog, cat, or any other pet (fish, hamster, etc). However, don't overload yourself with too many pets that are difficult to manage. Make sure you identify first what you are prepared to take care of (a fish vs. a dog can be a big difference). If you've never owned a pet before, start small. If you cannot get a pet, go to the pet store and spend some time with the animals. You could also visit a zoo, or offer to watch a friend's pet for the weekend. When alone, reading can give you a sense of social connection and help combat loneliness. You can connect with the author or characters in the book. Reading can also transport you to another place and distract you momentarily from feeling lonely. Read as much as possible, because reading not only calms you but also helps keep your mind fresh and active. Pick a novel that you can read for pleasure. Choose a genre that you enjoy such as adventure, fantasy, or sci-fi. You can even read a magazine. Many books are available online as well.
A: Change the way you think about being alone. Manage your thoughts about your social interactions. Surround yourself with animals. Read.

Q: Only use paper towel and soft cloths on a stainless steel stove. Harsh, abrasive brushes, like steel wool, will very easily scratch stainless steel. Bleach of any kind should never be used on stainless steel. Chloride products and oven cleaners often contain bleach, which can seriously damage stainless steel. To keep your stove clean, wipe it down after every use and avoid letting food spills sit on the stove. The longer the food stays on the stainless steel, the more likely it is to stain it. Wiping down your stove after every use will also help you to avoid needing harsh cleansers to clean your stove.
A: Avoid abrasive brushes or cleaners. Do not use any kind of bleach. Don't leave a mess on the stove.

Q: People often talk about having a "feeling" or "gut instinct." It is hard to define. Think about it as a way of knowing that takes into account different things than your normal, rational thinking. The heart may be based on thing things like the past (your experiences), personal needs (how you feel), and the present (other people around you, choices, etc.). All of this can lead to a different calculation than reasoning alone. Try to tell distinguish what comes from your heart. Did a thought just pop into your head, for example? Reason usually relies on analysis step by step thought: i.e., "Well, if I don't do X, Y will happen. Therefore I should do X." The heart does not always follow this pattern. What about that "feeling"? Sometimes intuition comes to us as vague sense. It's hard to describe. It's hard to even know what the feeling means. You may feel uncertain about changing jobs and not know why, for example. Outwardly, everything about the new job is great, but you still feel a nagging sense that something will go wrong. This is intuition. Your inner voice may not always be clear, but it's trying to tell you something. Learn how to listen to it. To start, you'll need to temporarily drown out our rational thought processes and focus on the voice. There are some ways that you can do this. Keep a journal. Writing your thoughts on paper may help open up the unconscious mind. Write what comes to you; be spontaneous. Begin sentences with phrases like, "I have a feeling that..." or "My heart tells me that..." The point is to follow emotional responses rather than rational ones. Temporarily drown out your inner critic. It may take some effort, but be watchful over your rational processes. Listening to the heart is hard because we try to rationalize it away. Allow yourself to write or think without letting in the doubting voice that says, "This is silly." Find a quiet place. One of the best things for opening your heart is quiet contemplation. This could be meditation. Or, it could just be taking a walk by yourself in a park or woods. Find a place where you can let your thoughts and emotions flow freely. Intuition is only one way of knowing. But it is not necessarily better than your sense of reason or the best way to make decisions. While you should try to listen to your heart, don't trust it automatically. Sometimes it's wrong. Say that you are on a jury. The accused insists very persuasively that he is innocent he stirs your confidence. However, all the physical evidence says that he committed the crime. Do you listen to your reason or your intuition? In this case, your intuition is probably false. Think too about the possible consequences of relying only on the heart. Would you bet your life savings on a gut instinct, for instance? Say that your financial planner advises you to invest in secure mutual funds, but you have a really good feeling about an up-and-coming company called Enron. It is probably better to listen to the rational advice of an expert than to trust your instinct.
A: Learn to discern your heart from your rational mind. Listen to your heart. Don't overrate the heart.

Q: To get rid of cattails, you need to completely remove the root system. Cattails propagate through rhizomes. The rhizomes send out additional roots horizontally, quickly resulting in new plants. Manual removal is most effective if you dig out the rhizomes when cattails are first establishing themselves in a pond. Dig down below the root system to remove the cattails. Dispose of the cattails. Consider using a backhoe for manual removal if you need to remove a larger amount of cattail stands.
A:
Dig up the cattails.