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I don’t know what the “bigger picture” significance of this is, but I found it pretty amazing.
A good end to a pretty crap-tastic day.
Bringing peace to the world through music…pretty cool. Also courtesy of an NPR report.
Also makes me wish I had an ounce of musical talent somewhere in me.
Today has been so beautiful that I managed to completely avoid indoors up until now. With warm weather, I am less likely to write and more likely to garden. This change in weather is probably the only thing that will get me through life in the cabin for another few months- the house prospects are still just that, prospects.
In other news, I went to one very interesting yard sale today. Actually, I shouldn’t even say “yard sale” because that’s not really what it was. It was a sale to benefit the Byram Animal Rescue Kindness Squad (B.A.R.K.S. – I think it’s a stupid name too) held at Wild West City. So, basically a whole lot of junk in a mock-Western ghost town. There was a massive line and I’m still not quite sure how they got all that stuff in there! This is a crappy picture I took with my cell phone.
I’m amazed at the garbage that people are willing to pay for, and wait in line for! But I made one very exciting purchase that I believe will keep John from using my living room chair as a clothes hamper (wishful thinking?). And for only $5.
Overall, a productive day. I just wish I had somewhere to put this thing!
Apparently, you can now mow your lawn with the Wii remote. I suppose pushing a lawn mower is a bit of a tedious activity and probably a little bit tiring, but it’s probably not the worst chore we have. I personally enjoy a little time in the sunshine. And using the Wii mower probably isn’t going to be any faster so it certainly won’t reduce mowing time. I guess it seems like it might be fun to try but an overall unnecessary invention. I can also imagine accidentally mowing over the neighbor’s cat when you drop the remote- don’t forget to wear that safety strap!
I can think of a few chores that I would like my Wii to complete for me:
- Dusting – If my Wii could lift my trinkets and dust my shelves, that would be awesome.
- Cleaning the shower – I realize that electronics and water don’t mix, but I’d really like to be able to complete this chore without getting soaked.
- Folding laundry- not sure how the Wii could make this less annoying, but I’d settle for a game that gets my husband to match socks without realizing he’s doing housework.
I came home, last weekend, to a house that had been mostly cleaned and stocked with groceries. This makes being away from husband for a few days worth it. But there are some things it is difficult to leave to John alone, particularly grocery shopping. I despise grocery shopping but I can do it in about half the time it takes John. I may spend more money, but time is money, so I think it evens out. And I don’t come home with nearly as much ice cream.
But this post isn’t about ice cream, it’s about proportions. Particularly, my all-too-clear understanding of the fact that our home is very small. I am fairly certain that their are children who have “play houses” bigger than my house. And certainly, we are living in something smaller than the average American garage. John estimates that our house is 400 square feet and I’m too lazy to break out a tape measure, so I’ll take his word for it. If you were wondering, the average American home was 2,330 square feet in 2004, and 1,400 in 1970. For those of you, like me, who are measurement-impaired, I will provide some assistance. We have one closet, wide enough for two sets of towels folded in tri-folds. We store paper towels and toilet paper in the attic. We can vacuum our entire house without unplugging the vacuum. Actually, we can vacuum outside of the house from a single outlet, we just don’t need that much cord. We cannot fit a sofa in our living room so we sit together on a chair-and-a-half. Good thing we’re not obese. Everyday, I go out onto our closed-in porch, open a zippered wardrobe, and pick out my work clothes. In the winter, I let them warm up in the living room before I put them on. Get the picture? Small house. Crammed. Lack of space.
Which leads to me to proportions and my attempt to understand why John would go to the grocery store and purchase the largest bottle of mouthwash that they sell.
You may not be able to tell from this picture, but this bottle is so large that it is actually holding up the shelf above it, too large to even fit on it’s own shelf. And, let’s be honest, we don’t use mouthwash every day. It will probably take us months to use up this mouthwash, meaning that it will prop up the top shelf of my medicine cabinet for months. I’ll be much less inclined to use it, as well, because I have to lift the top shelf and wedge it out without knocking over everything else in the cabinet. It did not occur to John, who has lived here for nearly three years with me, that we are limited on space and should probably go for the medium, or even small, sized bottle of mouthwash.
I will never understand how he thinks.
Found this today at Kohl’s. Thought about purchasing for living room, but line was too long.
You can now subscribe to me on google reader. If you have a gmail account, you should check out reader.google.com. Or create an account. The site allows you to see updates to any website you “subscribe” to as they appear and all in one place.
I currently have one subscriber. (Is that you Jenn?) Don’t worry, you can unsubscribe too!
It might be nerdy, but I really do love NPR. People unfairly judge NPR because they grew up thinking any talk radio must be boring. I listen to NPR because I really don’t like watching the news and don’t tend to take the time to read the news. It fulfills my need to make every waking moment useful by allowing me to get the news while driving to work. And NPR truly makes me sound smarter than I am. For instance, today I learned on “Science Friday” that there is 6 times more plastic than plankton in the ocean. Makes me wonder what our whales have been eating. This quality information came from Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who studies Flotsametrics.
And I am sure that I will be able to flaunt this fact at a party and sound truly genius…or at least somewhat smart. It is pointless knowledge and I’m sure this wasn’t the point that the Flotsam Man wanted to get across, but I enjoyed it anyway. Please excuse my frequent references to NPR in the future, but I think we could all use a little more unbiased, non-commercialized knowledge. Perhaps you too can sound genius at parties.
Well, not actually sick, just in recovery. Bella was spayed on Wednesday at the ripe old age of 8. She also had her teeth cleaned and a loose tooth pulled. And she was micro-chipped. I was so worried about her having this surgery that I couldn’t bear to write about it until she was home safe. I know- standard pet procedure- but Bella is not standard pet material. She came home and had a seizure within 20 minutes of walking in the door. The combination of surgery along with left-over anesthesia resulted in the following joyful shot taken this morning…
I think Bell could get used to be picked up and placed into bed like a princess. Perhaps she is even playing up the pain a bit. Regardless, I felt pretty guilty leaving her at home alone today when I went to work.
On Sunday, I had such horrible allergies that I thought about skipping my friend’s baby shower. I am talking eyes-so-watery-I-could-hardly-keep-them-open-allergies. So, I was pretty happy to hear the tease on the Today Show (my morning TV) on Monday regarding eliminating some allergens in your home. I’ll admit that my home is probably full of allergens – it’s old, it’s moldy, and it has the kind of baked-on dirt that can’t be cleaned (not my dirt, but dirt that I inherited). But television teases are rarely as satisfying as they promise to be and I’m not sure many of these suggestions are reasonable for my life. I will address a few of them:
Vacuum your couches and padded chairs after pet-owning pals sit on them.
Well, better yet, why don’t I just vacuum my friends. Or not let them sit on the couch. Or make them remove their clothes when they come in my house. At least then, I would have more exciting parties and save on clean-up!
Couch pillows, throws, and stuffed toys: These items come into contact with skin, and that means tiny flakes that slough off and encourage dust mites. If your pet sits on, fetches, or plays with any of these, they’re also covered with animal dander. Solution: Tumble the items in the dryer on high for 10 to 15 minutes each week.
So I need to put everything that my pet or human skin touches in the dryer every week. We’re lucky if I’m wearing clean clothes every day.
Keep shelves of all kinds, including bookshelves, away from the bed, or banish them from the bedroom entirely. Place trinkets behind glass doors so they don’t collect dust. Clean surfaces and vacuum bedroom floors at least once a week.
OK, I can deal with vacuuming weekly. Dusting, maybe. Living in a cabin the size of most people’s living rooms makes eliminating shelves in my bedroom impossible. And aren’t shelves just flat surfaces? Can you eliminate all flat surfaces from your bedroom? And putting my trinkets behind glass? I’m not living in a museum!
Wipe the [refrigerator] seal with a mixture of mold-zapping bleach and water weekly; use a cotton swab to get into the grooves and clean them thoroughly.
The day I start Q-tipping the refrigerator seal is the day that my husband officially commits me for insanity.
When outside, cover your hair with a hat or scarf. When you get home, remove your head covering and shoes inside the door, change into clothes that you wear only indoors, and shampoo and dry your hair. Wash your comb and brush weekly to keep them free of any irritants they’ve picked up.
I can cover my hair, but change every time I walk in the house and wash my hair? Even when I walk the dog? Check the mail? Oh, and I have never washed my hair brush. Is that gross?
Give away or toss out plants if mold and dust cause you to have severe symptoms.
This is my favorite! Does anybody want my moldy plants? I need to give them away.
This article is followed by the names of three doctors and one indoor-air-quality professional. All four of them must spend every waking moment fending off allergens or they are liars. My bets are on the latter.
