Lake Michigan, In Our Driveway

Did any of you get this mess yesterday?  It was dry all day then boom, we got like four or five inches of fluffy snow in a few hours, then – it decided to rain?!?

And not just a little sprinkle, no it was a belt off the aluminum siding, noise making, hard driving rain.

We heard our neighbor out in the night with his little four wheeler plow clearing the cul-de-sacs side walk - in the POURING RAIN (thank you neighbor).

Hubby sat there and thought about it for a bit, should we clean the driveways? (yes, we have two)  Should it be done now or wait until the morning?  Would this confused precipitation continue or would it end at some hour?  

We both concluded that it would be easier to clear the snow with a little ice crust on top (you know something like a Crème-Brule) than it would be to clean ice off the pavement if we moved the snow now and the rain froze.  So he made a dog path and then left the rest.

Oh my goodness, it’s not a nice little ice crusted layer of snow – it is full out slush.  I can barely move the shovel, it weighs a ton – really – a ton!  And it’s a lake, splorsh, splorsh, splorsh every step you take.  A lot of water fell yesterday, it has nowhere to go, the ground is frozen and it’s all just accumulating…

Here’s my concern, we didn’t move the snow when it could still be considered snow, so now it’s just pushing around slushy water, which just slushes back at ya.  It is supposed to be “warm” tomorrow and then it’s going down to 20 degrees the next day (that’s -7 Celsius).  It’s going to be an ice berg nightmare.

Nothing will be flat, everything will be peaky and the standing water is easily and inch and a half deep once you move the slushy bits – try breaking that up once frozen.  

I’m off for another round, my fourth one today.  I like to think I see progress, but really it’s only Lake Michigan I am seeing out my window… a bit chilly for a swim, to shallow for a boat, to warm for ice fishing – what to do, what to do, with our dream house on the water?  Splorsh!

Update - 1/30, see - the water had no where to go, it's two inches deep on the lawn....

Stream of Elimination

OK, it’s not like I don’t get out in the world, promise I do, quite a bit – but look – another cool update of an everyday convenience!

Have you seen this before?  It’s a water bottle fountain – I know!!  You don’t have to do anything – you just set your bottle down and it fills!  There is stream of water filling my bottle in the pic, it’s just hard to see.  And the bottle doesn’t touch anything but the pad on the bottom – so it’s all very hygienic too!

My row club moved – no more watching pretty horse’s do their jumps in an indoor ring or ladies clubs playing tennis (depending on which way your rower faced) from a large upstairs room last decorated in approximately 1974, complete with sweeping copper accents.  (I actually kind of enjoyed the whole vibe of it all and I really enjoyed pulling in there and pretending I belonged….).

Nope, we are now in a brand new fancy club – except we have been relegated to the basement in a cement room with no windows and an echo that pretty much eliminates any attempt at socializing.  We aren’t actually allowed the use of the club, just the basement cavern – it is painted blue though – I suppose to mimic the sky and the lake?

We all tell ourselves it’s a lot healthier for us, just because of the fact there we can’t actually see mold colonies on the ceilings of the new place, so I suppose it’s for the better.  It’s a tad further drive and I always found so much blog fodder going to the old place – I hope the new location provides future interesting things along my drive. 

Anyway – do you see the little green lighted box at the top of this fountain?  Well – it is telling us that it has “eliminated” 1134 plastic bottles from the environment.  I suppose, but what would have happened in my case is I would have found and “old fashioned” water fountain to refill my bottle or just did it when I got home from the kitchen sink – therefore I find the count to be a little ambitious.  My guess is that 80% of the other people filling bottles there would have done the same thing.  

Either way – I like it!  Can we put one of these next to my bed?  I tend to run out of water every night and when I need a drink late, late at night– the bottle is empty.  Lord knows I’m not going out in the cold to fill it back up – It’ll get refilled before I go to bed again the next night.  

But yeah – this would be handy! 

So would a garden hose, hmmm, there is one right the window – maybe we can rig a spigot inside next to the bed – then there won’t be any noisy compressor running to keep the water cold – or shiny green lights keeping me up at night.  

Wow, if you could ask all the garden hoses of the world how many people have drank out of them – I bet the number would be infinitely higher than the 1134 “bottles eliminated” at the fountain.  They were around long before the plastic bottle – and I’ve heard, in the beginning of the bottle age – regular garden hoses were actually used to fill those bottles, starting the whole trend back in the late 80’s…. oh those brilliant entrepreneurs….

 These are the horses from the old club - not the entrepreneurs....in case you were wondering.

Extremely Loud and Way Too Close

BOOOMMZZZZ, BOOOMMMZZZZ, the man down the street got a new BOOOMMMZZZZ, stereo in his car….

He has an old 1970’s Nova, FAAZOOOMMMZZZZ, BOOOMMMZZZZAAAA, which he fixed up and he’s really been spending a lot of time, WALLAAMPPPZOOMZZ, with it.  It stood in the driveway for two years with a cover BABABABZOOOMZZZ, BABABAZOOOMZZZ, over it and it didn’t run, but now he’s got it, WALUMZOOMMMZZZ, going again. 

I’m THUMPA, THUMPA, THUMPA, very happy he’s got his car going and has invested, BZZZMMMM, BZZZMMMM, BZZZMMM, in a new stereo.  I’m a huge car girl, ZZZZMPHHH, ZZZZMPHHH and love it when a classic is brought, BOOMZZA, BOOMZZA, BOOMZZA, back to life.

Now I’m not against music GABBOOOMPAZZZM, in fact I‘m quite a big fan of the stuff, WHUMPZZZ, WHUMPZZZ, WHUMPZZZ, spent a lot of time at live shows in Detroit and Canada BOOOMMMZZZ, THAZOOOMZ, a whole lot of my youth has been spent enjoying very loud, DABOOOMMZZZ, but also very live music. 

It’s so loud, THAZZOMZZZZ, THAZZOMZZZZ, that the windows in the house are, ZZZMZZZMZZZ, rattling.  

This neighbor, DOOUUNNZZZ, DOOUUNNZZZ, is not next door to us, but down the BUGGAMZ, BUGGAMZZ street.  And if it were WAHHUUMMPPP, WAHHUUMMPPP, WAHHUUMMPPP, anytime during the weekend, BUGGGAZOOOMM, it wouldn’t faze me much, as I’m a true THUUNNGGG, THUNNGGG, believer that people should be able to enjoy THUNNGGG, ATHUNNGGZZZ, their houses on the weekends.

WHAHOOOMZZZZ, BAAALLLOOMZZZZ, FAAZZOOMMZZZZ, but you see BOOOMMZZZZ, its twelve thirty at night, FAAAZZZOOOMZZZZ, on a Tuesday, WAAPOOMMZZZZZ, can you hear him at your house too?  FAWHUMP, FAWHUMP, FAWHUMP…. 

I just want to sleep – ZZZZZMMMZZZZZHHH.

Snorephony

These are my beloveds and both my beloveds’ snore- on occasion.

Two nights ago, due to a stuffed up nose with the husband and whatever with the dog – there was a snorephony in our room.   Kind of like a symphony, but a bit scratchier, deeper and much more room rattling.  When one breathed out the other breathed in, creating a constant level of snore occurring in the room at all times.

I will have you know I was not up conducting the snorephony, but if I was I would have at least tried to get them on key and in sync so there could have been a half second of peace rotated throughout the night between snores.  I also may have started the concerto a little earlier.

As for this wonderful picture, I should say she doesn’t sleep on the bed anymore, but she used to and she used to sleep next to me on the other pillow before the hubby and I were married.  Once married the husband, of course, took precedence and got “her” side of the bed.  

She was then moved down to the foot of the bed, but every now and again we’d wake up in the morning and sometime during the night she had carefully and quietly wiggled her way back up to “her” side of the bed and to “her” pillow.  Shared very nicely I might say!

Look at them both so peaceful – I’m betting the morning I took this shot there wasn’t a snorephony in the room the night before –or  one of them would have woke the other up if they were that close.  I can attest to that!

Wait, we may be on to something here; maybe we should get one of those sound activated recorders?  I could have a masterpiece on my hands and not even know it with my two little snoring prodigies.  

The Snorephony in the key of B Flat, presented only after midnight – hot tea and warm milk will be served – along with big fluffy pillows and a nice soft cotton blanket – snuggle up and get ready to take in the sounds of the night!!

Ohh, or maybe it’s a Snorepera – since there aren’t any instruments – not counting the vocal chords….. 

Happy to share with you all that last night I slept ever so well, a solid nine hours if you can believe it!  If there was any snoring going on whatsoever –it could have very well been me…..

The Estate of Affairs is Quite Good

So today I went to an estate sale.  I get to do this every now and again and for the most part I find them quite enjoyable, even though I know they are occurring after the loss of someone’s loved one.   

Every sale has its own vibe – some are much happier than others, I only linger at the happy ones, the others - I skedaddle.  Somehow you just know not to pick anything up at an unhappy sale.  

The one today had a line out the door, it was 11:00 in the morning – these things open at 8:00.  Must be a good one!  I came back at 1:00….It’s 2 degrees Fahrenheit outside, I’m not standing in a line!

It was also in my favorite area, a big Polish and Italian population used to be the majority of the homeowners around here years back – they have the happiest stuff.  Proof of a good life!    

Here’s the thing, I am never going for the “big” find – I am always going for stuff that is useful.  My very favorite items to buy are laundry soap and bleach.  I know, I know, I told you it was odd.  I also get other stuff, but nine times out of ten I’m walking out with a 64 oz bottle of laundry soap I just picked up for a dollar and a half.  Tide is like $14 bucks in the store!  Today was no exception – it was bleach for 75 cents.  But here’s the thing, I also got a sock darner, thimble, a strainer and some turtle wax!  Fantastic – I know!!

For the past two months I’ve been scoping out eBay looking for a sock darner, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay $7 for one, plus shipping.  This is the kind of thing your mother should have passed down or given to you with a little kit when you were younger and well I feel gypped about that every time I need one.  So low and behold in the basement of this house was sewing stuff – I got a sock darner and a metal thimble for $1.25 – can I get a woo hoo!!   

Did I mention this house was impeccably clean?  Yeah that’s another thing about estate sales – sometimes they are just plain filthy and you don’t want to touch any of it – let alone bring it home…..

Oh yeah and the turtle wax, well I looked in our garage the other day and we are out.  I needed it to polish up and old mixing bowl we have and use almost daily, the green paint on the outside had oxidized and it needed a waxing.  I could have bought a new bowl, but we like this one.  Bowl is now waxed and looking like it did in the 1940’s when Pyrex originally gave birth to it.  Ok, maybe not looking totally brand new, but much better!

And the final thing, the little strainer with a handle – it was like a shopping trip made to order for me today!  Ran a bath the other day and our tub is a jet tub (not a fan).  Sometimes the jets get stuff in them (I never run the jets, but they are there, collecting things regardless).  So this little floaty thing came out of a jet spigot.  Have you ever tried to catch a little floating thing in a big mass of water to remove it?  Yeah, doesn’t work.  And even if you do get it in your hand, it slips out with the water as you raise your hand up.  So I thought, wow, could use a little strainer with a handle – it would grab stuff like this in a jiffy. 

And viola – today there was a choice of four littler strainer things with handles – fifty cents.   So exciting – aren’t you excited?  So the next time you need some little oddity in your house and you think man – I should have this somewhere – but you don’t – the handy dandy estate sale down the street might.  And if you’re lucky you’ll get out of there for less than five bucks like me!

It's the little things that make life more enjoyable!  We’re in the money, we’re in the money, it sure is sunny, da da da da da da da da da da da da…..

Dingle Balls and Food Baggies

What on earth, you may be asking – do these two things have in common?

Well my friends, the answer is - the kitchen shears.  Hmm, the kitchen Shears?  Yes indeed.

The ones above are ours – a nice pair, Fiskars, we have had them for many, many years.  They’ve been well used, banged around and super glued, yet they still prevail, like they know they have a mission – to be THE kitchen shears for the lifetime of the family and dangit – they are going do just that!

Again you ask – dingle balls and food baggies? And again I say yes and anything else that is in the kitchen that needs to be snipped open or snipped off.  Are you getting the picture?  If your house is like ours the back door leads right into the kitchen.  And yes, it’s a very busy place that kitchen.

So when you have a bag of say frozen peas that needs to be open, you reach into the junk drawer for the kitchen shears, likewise for a package of bacon, popsicles, boil in bag rice, frozen pastry bags, frosting packs, flea and tick medicine, super glue tips, batteries, animal treat bags, mail in bubble wrap envelopes AND when the doggie comes in with something stuck to her fur – for example dingle balls – you grab the kitchen shears before that stuff gets tracked all over the house! 

Has no one ever considered that the same blade that is used to remove the dingle balls, or tar or whatever other sticky and nasty thing that comes in from the outdoors (and yes the poisonous flea medicine in the little tubes) is the same blade that touches the bag of already cooked sticky boil in bag rice or the squeeze up popsicle you are about to feed your kid…. Yeah – something to think about.

How come we do not have separate scissors for things that occur in the kitchen, i.e. one for foodie items and one for EVERYTHING else?  Why?   

Hasn’t it just always been this way?  Can’t you picture the black or red handled scissors from your youth that were in your parents, aunts or grandmas kitchen?  Isn’t this where you learned of the vital importance of kitchen shears and carried it over to your own house? Aren’t they convenient and aren’t you proud every time you can find them?  

And why it is that no one has ever considered the nastiness of it all?

By the way, yes, I do have separate shears for cutting vegetables like scallions and herbs, but those live in the knife block and they really are an entirely different kind of scissor.   

So kids, I propose a movement, that we have TWO, yes TWO pairs of kitchen shears- one for food like items and one for everything else. 

I know, this is a big shift from the norm and it will require that they live in different areas or there will be no differentiation between the two.  So head the store for a spiffy new pair and then pick out a second drawer for them to live in and give your new scissors a hearty welcome!  

Then watch your husband and kids use them to cut the gum out of Fido’s paw – yeah, guess it won’t work – maybe if we just toss them into the dishwasher every once in a while we’ll feel better about it all?  Sorry I brought it up….