Repetition

My day so far:

1. Sort & start laundry.  
2. Paint lumber (for finally finishing the patio cover).
3. Stop to switch around laundry.
4. Paint. (Because of the way things are set up and the dimensions of the lumber, some of it can only be painted on one side at a time, so each coat is a four-step process.)
5. Complain to Molly about my aching back.
6. Stop to switch & fold laundry.
7. Paint.
8. Complain to Trixie about my aching back.
9. Repeat until sanity hangs by a thread. 

Oh, and did I mention that I have to wash out the brush after each painting session?  I do, because I've learned from past brushes ruined that putting it in a bag in the fridge doesn't work that well for me.  I tend to let them wait around too long, and after that, they're niver the same again (as Judy Plum would say).

I need to get these boards painted and done.  They're set up in the middle of the kitchen (with cardboard underneath to catch drips-- as if I ever dripped paint! Ha!), which means that my Kitchen Work Triangle is all messed up.

I feel like I'm walking around in circles in there (because I am), and Molly keeps getting in my way.  Now, Molly tends to stand right in my path, anyway, but now that the kitchen is doubling as a lumberyard, the spaniel speed-bump effect is exponentially more noticeable.

Well, I think I can get this bundle of lumber painted and finished today, if I keep at it.  Then there are three more ("differently dimensioned") boards all primed and ready to paint, oh boy.  And... I'm trying not to be aware of it, but there are even more boards out on the back porch.  Will it never end???

I guess I can set those up to be painted outside, at least.  (The only reason we put this first batch inside was to avoid the rain that has already come through.)

...Or maybe the painting will just slip my mind altogether for a day or two...

Ah.  Time to go.  The laundry's buzzing!

Humble: It's a Funny-Sounding Word

Humbling Things, Should I Begin to Think Too Highly of Myself :

• Trying to brush Trixie's teeth when she doesn't want them to be brushed.  (I was trying because I'd noticed that some of them are looking a little dirty around the gum line).  She can make her mouth tiny, and I never dreamed she had such muscular lips.  

• Working hard at cleaning the floor, only to find that it's already getting dirty again by the end of the day.  Or (in some cases) by the end of the hour. 

• Stepping into the front yard and finding 2- or 3-foot high weeds in the foundation plating, where I could swear there were no weeds a day or two ago.  

• The seemingly self-propagating piles of papers and stuff I need to go through, sort, and Do Something With.  (Where do they come from?!)

• Good intentions.  Lack of follow-through.  (That says it all, really.)

Oh well.  That's just life, I guess.

Incidentally...

If you want to make your own washable, reusable cleaning pads for the Swiffer WetJet, you don't have to fiddle around with elastic or velcro strips to hold them into place.

I found someone blogging about how she made hers from scraps of fleece (polar fleece-- not genuine fleece, by the way ;o)), and found that they stuck to the velcro-y stuff on the Swiffer just fine (especially after being pushed around the floor a few times).

I didn't have any fleece scraps, but I did have some old, unwearable flannel pj bottoms in the rag bag, and flannel seemed at least as sticky for velcro as fleece, so I gave that a try.  And yes!  It works!  No velcro!  No elastic!  Just flannel on one side and old towels (terry cloth) on the other, and it stuck perfectly.

And because (out of consideration for my readers) I believe this will conclude the saga of Swiffer, I'll conclude this entry with... "and they Swiffered happily every after (except for those times when nothing but a really thorough mopping would do the job)!  The End."

ETA:
Argh!  Well, the first one I tried worked great.  Then I used a couple more today (after publishing this post, of course), and they were less amazing... In fact, the towel side stuck to the velcro fairly well (after a little doing), but the flannel's sticking ability was less than impressive.  Oh well.  If all else fails, I have plenty of cheap elastic to use up. 

Monday Random Stuff

Thoughts and "I/we did"s...

♣  It's funny how you can't help but notice which card games were popular during certain periods of history, based on how frequently they were mentioned in contemporary literature.  Whist is always popping up in Austen, for example-- and in books set "between the wars", bridge seems to be the game of choice.  In at least one of the E.F. Benson Lucia novels, all the characters are obsessed with it, and now I've just finished Agatha Christie's Cards of the Table, in which bridge plays an even more important role in the story.  I don't guess I have any interesting commentary on this subject, though.  It's just amusing to notice. 

♣  The most recent (only?) TV adaptation of Cards on the Table is awful.  I mean, I'm really fond of David Suchet as Poirot, so as far as that goes, I was happy, but did the writers have to change so much of the story?  Nearly every aspect of the novel was distorted, often beyond recognition.  This is the second time I've seen an adaption of an Agatha Christie that I'd actually read.  That one was also altered significantly... and horribly.  (Interestingly, both of these adaptations saw fit to inject homosexual themes where they didn't exist in the novels.  I guess the writers thought that would make a juicier story for modern audiences.  ...?)  The downside:  It's disappointing that it may be difficult to find a faithful adaptation when I want one.  The upside:  Maybe this means I can read all those Poirot novels I've watched adaptations of and still find the plot virtually unspoiled.  (g)  (My remarkable ability to forget things also helps in this respect.)

The main reason I don't understand major rewrites in adaptations (particularly in these Agatha Christie mysteries, where the plot is pretty much everything) is this:  You have a carefully plotted story all ready to go.  It's been proven successful!  Yay!  All you need to do is figure out how to transfer it to the screen.  But no.  You decide to change how characters behave-- their relationships to one another-- the motive of the murderer-- maybe even the murderer's identity.  But why?  Your audience can be divided into two groups-- those who have read the novel and those who have not.  For those who have not read the novel, the original plot will be entirely new.  (See?  No need to change a blessed thing!)  And those who have read the novel, yet still decide to watch an adaptation must've liked the original plot, right?  I mean, if they hated it, why would they bother watching it on TV?  It makes no SENSE. 

♣  Sometime within the past few weeks, we (mostly Donald) put up a ceiling fan in the breakfast room.  Last summer, we decided it would be a good place for one-- so now we're all set! 

♣  I spent a portion of the morning cleaning out and reorganizing our pantry-- with the result that it is probably the most organized "room" in the house, now.  (Probably ought to do something about that...)


♣  I sewed a washable pad for my Swiffer Wet Jet from a piece of an old towel and a couple snippets of elastic.  It seemed to work pretty well (cleaned the floor, stayed put on the Swiffer during cleaning), so now I'm interested to see how it holds up in the washing machine.  If the elastic doesn't work out, I may try velcro... but I have a feeling elastic is much cheaper (even if I have to replace it every so often.) ...Or I may try making one side of the pads out of some fabrics that tend to cling to the velco on their own...
 

Random Thoughts

(When all else fails...)

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I tried out my new Swiffer WetJet this afternoon.  I hope that it will encourage me to clean the hard surface floors (mainly the kitchen and breakfast room) more often than I tend to do with the mop or scrub brush.  I have sneaky intentions of either crocheting or sewing some reusable pads for it-- anything to avoid having to buy the disposable pads.  Also, I've found a tutorial that allows you to refill one of the bottles of cleaning fluid yourself rather than buying a new one every time.  (A penny saved, etc., etc.) 

Maybe it's just me, but the WetJet liquid smells like an odd mixture of fruit (sour apple?) and beer.  And yet it's not unpleasant.

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Further proof that I am an über-introvert / hermit:  I got a lot (by my standards) of comments on my crochet/sewing blog a while ago, back when someone must've noticed and spread the word about my Circle of Friends-based afghan.  It's flattering and all, but I haven't even read the comments there or at Ravelry, and now I'm avoiding that blog so I won't have to deal with it all.  Surely I'm not the only person who has this love/hate relationship with comments.  (Right?  Or, ok, maybe I am.)  This is part of the reason I decided that Facebook wasn't my cup of tea.  Practically the whole thing seems to be centered around comments. (I may start going there to lurk, though.   ...Maybe.)

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There is a reason that crocheters don't typically make blankets using a mixture of motif shapes.  This afghan I am currently piecing together has octagons, squares, and triangles, and it is taking for-ev-er.  I long for simple columns and rows of squares!  (But I'm not "allowed" to start another project for myself until I get this thing pieced together.  ...And when I do, I think I'm back in the mood for thread crochet.)

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What's this about an NFL lockout (whatever that is)?  Fortunately, I couldn't care less about football (especially NFL football) if I tried, so I don't have to bother about this (incredibly boring) subject. 

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My take on the situation with the Wisconsin senate democrats hiding out-of-state to avoid doing their jobs is predictable:  It's simply infuriating. If they refuse to fulfill the obligations of their positions of political power, they need to step down (or be removed from office).

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How does spring manage to sneak up on me every year?  

Ugh.  There's so much I need to do before the summer heat sets in.

To Anyone Considering an Eskie for an Indoor Pet

The Eskie.

As a puppy, adorable. . .

As a grown dog, beautiful. . .

A (mostly) loyal and (sometimes) obedient companion. . .

Energetic. . .  Intelligent. . . Athletic. . .

And a constant source of amusement and company. . .

They are also little fur-shedding machines.

If you have an indoor Eskie, you can expect long, frizzledy white hairs on the sofa, rugs/carpet, and your clothes*.  Dog-hair "tumbleweeds" will mysteriously appear in corners (particularly in hard-floored rooms).  Your belongings will seem to generate not only a layer of dust, but also of dog hair.  And your vacuum cleaner will fill up faster than you ever thought possible.

(A word of warning:  If you're squeamish about hair and/or fur, it may be best if you just skip the next photo. . .)

This is our vacuum cleaner's canister after I vacuumed one room.  (I know because I emptied it before I started.)   

Admittedly it is a decent-sized room-- the room we use most-- the room Trixie spends 95% of her time in-- and a carpeted room.  But still.  I think you'll agree that this is. . . impressive (?)-- especially considering that it's been only a week since the last time I vacuumed this room-- and this time I didn't bother to hook up the attachments to vacuum the sofa and all the little nooks and crannies.

I guess I can't blame it all on Trixie, but she's responsible for the majority of it.  It's just part of what you have to expect when you keep this kind of dog inside the house.

And yes, she's worth it.

*When dressing to go out, you have a few options.  Don't wear dark colors, change at the last minute-- and don't you dare sit down or handle the dog after changing-- or have someone de-fur you on your way out the door.  Well, there's one other option-- decide that you don't care if people know that you have a sheddy dog at home.  Wear your dog-hair-covered clothes with pride!

I feel like I'm forgetting something. . . Oh, well!

I turned thirty over the weekend! This last year, I'd become increasingly conscious of the approach of the big 3-O, so I wasn't shocked when it finally arrived. Somehow, 30 seems less "awful" (if you know what I mean) than 29. I won't lie-- I don't feel thirty, and I can't really understand how I got here already (I mean, I was only 18 just a few years ago!)-- but at least now that it's here, I can finally let it slip further into the back of my mind. (I hope. (g))

Also: I was thoroughly spoiled by my family on Friday, and then by Donald on Saturday. (My actual birthday was on Saturday, but on Friday night we had a little get-together for my birthday and Mom's, which is later this week.) Thank you, everyone!

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I've exercised (more than incidental exercise-- housework and our almost-daily walk to the pond) two days in a row, now, and I've also started limiting my soft drink in-take to one can a day. Two days of exercise is hardly something to brag about, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Of course, the hard part will be keeping it up. I guess the next step might be not buying more of my favorite colas, once I've drunk up what we have in the house. I don't think a can of Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew a day is a terribly bad vice (g), but I don't need those extra calories (or the caffeine), and I'd probably be healthier if I just cut it out of my daily life and let it be an occasional treat instead of a daily habit. We'll see. . . I've cut the cola out of my diet before, but somehow it managed to sneak back in.

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I've had the washing machine going for two days, now. (Well, ok, I'm not running it all night, and I did get a late start on it today. . .) That's a lot of laundry for a household of two (+ two dogs with their own doggy blankets and towels). Yesterday was mostly just our regular washing, which I always seem to do on Mondays. Today, I've started catching up on some of the "special" washing that's been piling up. Anything that doesn't get washed regularly or that needs special attention-- table cloths, decorative bits of fabric, gardening gloves, etc.-- usually gets left until later. "Later" sometimes ends up being months later. If I ever manage to work my way through all that stuff, I should regain the use of a few more laundry baskets, which ought to come in handy. ;o)

Quizzes and "My Day So Far"

First, some pointless quizzes to disrupt the tedium of a rainy day:

Saw this quiz on someone's blog today: Is you cat plotting to kill you? (I feel like I've seen it before, which probably means that you all have, too...) Fortunately, I don't have to worry about this particular problem, but for you cat-owners out there, it might be worth your time. ;o)

Dog-lovers: Click the image below to take the "Name That Dog Breed" quiz.

I only got one wrong, and wouldn't you know that the one I'd miss would be the cocker spaniel? (g) (Sorry, Molly.) I knew it was some type of spaniel, but guessed Brittany spaniel instead, because. . . I don't know why. I guess I didn't know what the Brittany looked like. Now I'll spend the rest of the day with my head hung in shame. ;o)

One more quizzy link:

I'm thinking that this is one of those quizzes where the lower your score, the better. ;o) I was altogether too familiar with many of these candy bars. (Honestly, though, I haven't had most of those in years. Funny how I can remember what's in a candy bar I haven't eaten since high school, probably, yet I forget where I put my jeans half a year ago!)

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Now for some thrilling snippets that I like to call. . .

My Day So Far:

• Rain, rain, and more rain. Woken early by lightning & thunder. Now things have calmed down, but it's been raining off and on all day. Usually, a little rain is ok, but today, I'd actually have preferred dry weather. (Also, see next item.)
• Trying to keep the puppy satisfied with staying in her crate as much as possible, which isn't so easy, now that she's gotten used to being outside much of the day. Leaving her loose in the house isn't feasible, at this point, unless I can watch her like a hawk the whole time.
• Putting away cleaned dishes.
  
• Picking (and tossing over the fence) a crop of (inedible) mushrooms that had sprung up in our yard. This was an effort to keep Trixie from sampling them. I don't think she would-- and I don't really know if they'd hurt her, even if she did-- but I thought about removing them, and having thought it, knew that if I didn't, I'd never forgive myself if she actually ate them and was poisoned. (Plus, there were quite a few of them-- big ones, some with red caps-- and I thought she'd be likely to notice them.) And then of course Trixie saw what I was doing and was possibly more interested in them than if I'd just left them where they were. (sigh)
• Putting away the boxes the Christmas decorations were in. Still need to arrange the nativity and a few knick-knacks.
• Run out in the rain to get something from the mail lady. (It wouldn't fit in the mailbox.)
  
• A couple loads of laundry (towels and whites).
• Made the bed. (Always harder this time of year. All those layers add up-- especially on a king size bed-- and it's hard to get them to budge.)
  
• Tidied up a messy jumble of boxes and packaging stuff. (Had to, to get past them to the closet where the Christmas decoration storage goes.)
  
• Lunch. (Ham salad sandwich. Pretty good, if I say so myself.)
• Trying to clear off the table and counter so that I can put on a seasonally appropriate table cloth and a few decorations. Those surfaces are almost always cluttered. Very bad habit-- but hard to break, since they're so conveniently placed by the door. . .
  
• Vacuuming much of the house.
• Asking Trixie why she's barking. Does she want to go outside? Not particularly. But I put her out there anyway. (g) (Don't worry-- it's not even raining right now.)
• Feeling stressed out by all the things I need to do this month. . .
  
• Etc.
  

(Incidentally, I know that my list isn't "parallel". I've just decided to break as many of the rules as I like-- and that's one I can certainly do without, today.)

Now. Back to the de-cluttering. . .

Stuff Done

Done today:

• Laundry-- sorted, washed, dried, folded and put away: clothes, towels, and two small rugs
• Unloaded/reloaded dishwasher
• Cleaned out/reorganized two messy kitchen cabinets
  
• Put contact paper in those same two cabinets
  
• (Helped Donald) put nicer frosted glass shades from our old bedroom ceiling fan on the living room fan
  
• Added to "give away or donate" pile
• Did a little touch-up painting on furniture
• A little vacuuming
• General cleaning/decluttering (though you wouldn't know it to look at the place-- much more to go)
  

Also, played with Photoshop a little. (Hey, a girl's gotta sit down sometimes!) I spotted a couple of nice photos in the "Commons" section of Flickr and thought it'd be fun to layer some of my own photos over them. (You'll find links to the original photos in the captions in my Flickr photostream, if you're curious. And as always, you can click images here in this blog to see them larger.)



I doubt their times were really any simpler than ours, but I do envy them just a little. . . even if they didn't have Photoshop or the Internet for entertainment. ;o) I like imaging their reactions if I could go back and tell them, "One day, years and years into the future, almost anyone living in a modernized country will be able to hit a few buttons and look at this photo of you!" Would they believe me? Would they care? (g) I wonder what they'll be doing with our photos, hundreds of years from now. . .

Old pickle relish, anyone? ;o)

Snippets are on the menu today. . .

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I cleaned out the fridge a few days ago. (Anyone want some old pickle relish or past-its-prime ranch dressing? ;o) Okay, not seriously. It's already in the trash. . . . Of course, some of you may be freegans. . .)

It was a long time coming, because (brace yourselves-- a real shocker's comin'!) it's not one of my favorite things to do. All those nooks and crannies-- having to take out drawers and shelves to wash them-- said drawers and shelves all being too big to fit in the sink and therefore taking much more effort to wash without getting the whole room wet-- and all this under a certain time limit, since I don't want to leave the food without refrigeration for too long. Whew! It's a job, but it sure does look nice and fresh, now! (Next up, the freezer!)

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Potential button-makers (and/or liaisons with other potential button-makers), I've been researching and making polymer clay buttons over the past couple of weeks. (Since I was researching it, anyway, I put up some related links on my other blog, if you're interested.)

I've put a handful of my buttons through the washer and dryer a few times, and so far, the results are promising. No broken buttons-- not yet, anyway. :o) Next up (I guess?)-- figuring out when's a good time for everyone to get together, if anyone would still like to have a polymer clay/button day.

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The other day, I started cleaning the guest room, which had turned into a storage area. We're going to a have a guest for a while, sometime soon, and I thought the bed might be more comfortable if it wasn't covered in picture frames, "raw" quilt batting, artificial flowers, etc. ;o)

I had only the best of intentions, but the flowers, which I bought on a super-duper sale back before Christmas, grabbed my attention. Because I had many other, more pressing issues to attend to, I of course ended up reworking our existing floral arrangements.

I'm making an effort to keep only the flowers and arrangements that I like best, which means that I'm going to have some left over bits and pieces. Actually, while cleaning lately, I've found several things that I want to get out of the house. See if anyone else in the family wants them-- sell them in a yard sale-- donate them to charity-- something. I'm tired of keeping things I no longer want or need. There's more than enough to keep clean without that extra burden.

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I recently spied a small green lizard drinking from Molly's water bowl on the porch. I don't know why I'm telling you all this, though. It just struck me as funny. . .

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Spring is in such full swing here that it's hard for me to comprehend that elsewhere in the country (not to mention the world) there are people still longing for the first daffodil. The lawn, which was fine a week ago, is now showing signs that it needs to be mown. Ah, the joys of the growing season!! :oP

Of course, on the plus side, the days are growing longer again, and there are new things to photograph, here and there around the yard.

Back to the negative side-- I somehow managed to let the whole lovely cool season pass without doing much yard work at all. This means that I now will have to do it in the warmer weather. For another month or so that shouldn't be too bad, but I know those sweltering summer days will be here all too soon. . .

Back to the positive side (to end on a brighter note)-- at least a little outside work will be good exercise. Maybe my waistline can even be persuaded to shrink an inch or two.