Competing for the Holiday Dollar

Both Home Depot and Lowe’s are wasting no time in getting things going for the President’s Day holiday weekend.

I checked email earlier and Home Depot wanted to be sure I knew that they were offering 10 percent off of home appliances valued at $398 or more. Hmmm. Maybe the mother could find something with a price tag to offset her displeasure for anything that is not the one and only refrigerator she had picked out – but that will not fit in our kitchen.

They’re also offering $5 off a can or $20 off a bucket of Behr paint. Now that’s something I might have to look into. The appliance sale goes through Feb. 18 but the paint sale ends Feb. 16.

Within 30 minutes, Lowe’s followed suit. Their email didn’t tell me exactly what was on sale but linked me to an ad that did. Here’s some highlights:
· 10 percent off Energy Star major appliances
· 15 percent off Levelor special order blinds and shades
· A $5 mail-in rebate on their Valspar paint (I’ve never used this stuff. We’re Behr fans and only HD carries that.)
· A $100 gift card when you buy $400 of Owens Corning insulation.

These sale prices are only good through Monday, Feb. 16.

Not coincidentally, today is Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. I guess, in this hour of need, he would be glad to know he's still doing his part for the country, this time to pump up the retail volume!

For Sale

Tonight is grocery night, so I drove to the bus station. My fellow commuter Sandy will be going along for the shopping trip. (I had to laugh because one of the days last week that the car was in the shop the Daily Act of Kindness was “Offer a ride to someone who needs it.” As if I could have!)

Driving to the depot, my head almost did a Linda Blair spin when I saw a “for sale” sign outside one of my favorite houses. It’s actually the house next door that’s for sale, but I didn’t realize that initially. So I was able to calm down pretty quickly. Good thing. One less thing to taunt myself with! I know JeanMartha knows that feeling all too well after coveting a certain barn property recently.

What I noticed though after the major realization that my favorite triplet wasn’t for sale, was that a lot of other houses were. In that block alone, I counted eight. EIGHT. One or two are almost always for sale, but eight? The next block, four. Then two. Then one block with none. So that means there are at least 14 houses for sale in a three-block area. Wow. Sounds like a buyer’s market to me.

I heard last night that the home-buyer incentive was one of the casualties of the stimulus plan but there might be an alternative credit included in a future treasury plan. Sounds like it’s something my city is going to need.

In Defense of St. Louis

Talk about kicking you when you’re down. To me, that’s what Forbes has done with its second annual list of America's Most Miserable Cities. Don’t we all have enough negative and bad sh*t floating in our heads, hearts, and homes right now? Gee, thanks. *rolling eyes*

To create this list, Forbes looked at the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., which meant those with a population of at least 378,000. They rated the cities on nine factors: commute times, corruption, pro sports teams, Superfund sites, taxes (both income and sales), unemployment, violent crime and weather.

Granted, I’ll give you weather hands down. And, up until last week, I’d have argued commute times. That’s because the Metro bus system is cutting routes dramatically after a failed sales tax referendum back in the fall. (Luckily, that’s not the case on my side of the river.) But sports teams? Seriously? We are Baseball Town USA! So what if the Rams suck?

Admittedly, I’ve got a horse in this race. I’m plenty peeved to find St. Louis at No. 10. Now, I’m not a Gateway City resident. I do, however, hold a much deeper affinity with the city than I do with the one whose ZIP code I’ve shared for the past two decades. I work in St. Louis. I went to high school there. Most of my friends live there. I like to hang out there. It’s just generally a great place.

It’s home. So, Forbes, you can kiss my butt. Is your city on the list? Did you get a bum rap?
In protest, I’m going to point out what I think some of the greatest things are about St. Louis. Feel free to comment and add yours!

Forest Park – In addition to its beautiful greenery, a backdrop for the 1904 World’s Fair, it is home to the St. Louis Zoo and the St. Louis Art Museum, two wonderful establishments you can visit FOR FREE! Not many cities can say that.

The Arch – I take it for granted. I could almost see it from the house I grew up in (could see it from the roof). I now see it at least twice a day. I can even see it in part from my desk at work if I stand in front of my window just right. But I can’t tell you how awesome it is to see tourists gawk at it from the ground or shake each other awake as they drive down I-70.

The Hill – Mama Mia! You want some Italian? They got it!

Soulard – History, architecture, food, eclectic bars.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians – These folks throw one hell of a parade every St. Patrick’s Day in Dogtown without fail. And, on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s, there’s another parade downtown. It’s good to be Irish!

The Cardinals – Great bunch of guys. World Series in 2006. Enough said.

And that’s just a few things. I could go on and on. Just knowing that there is so much more I could say is enough to make me happy.

The Eighth Dwarf

Today, I am the eighth dwarf personified: Whiny.

It does no good to whine. Logically, I know this. Realistically, I can do nothing about it. It’s a combination of sleep deprivation, tension, hormones, and the weather. No bright beautiful moon in the sky today. Just endless gray. And rain.

The rain poured on the house last night like a battering ram. It started in just before I went to bed and continued periodically until after 4 a.m. They said we got between 1 and 2 inches in all. The streets are even muddy. All the dirt and grit left from the snow that finally melted last week has been washed to the surface making a murky, soupy mess.

I don’t think we run street sweepers any more. Probably one of the many casualties of budget cuts, so this mess is likely to be disappearing and reappearing for some time until eventually, traffic will successfully spread it to other locations. See? I told you I was whiny!

I need to just shut up, drink some tea, and go get some work done, don’t I? Sounds like a plan.

Nice While It Lasted

I didn't get to take my walk today. Bummed me out because the wonderful and unseasonable weather we've enjoyed the past few days is on its way out. It was 71 degrees today! I was so thankful for it though. The rain started earlier tonight and it looks like it will hang around again through tomorrow.

Also going away, though I don't know when for sure, is my door-to-door bus service. A service road behind the construction that has the main drag closed now has traffic lights. They aren't on yet -- or at least they weren't earlier -- but once they are, the bus won't have to detour right in front of the house anymore. At least it got me through some really nasty winter weather so I'm grateful.

I'm happy to report that the Ladybird is finally home. Picked her up tonight and the old seatbelt is back in business. All of her many pieces appear to be back in place. That's a relief!

The wind got my favorite umbrella on the way home last night. Just outright busted it up. Poor thing never had a chance.

It occurred to me during the past few days that I haven't done a historic architecture post in a good long while. Watch for one of those this week!

This D*mn Lawn

The moon was back again this morning. This time, it was full and bright in the morning sky, thumbing its nose at the rising sun. No ominous black cloud, just pure beauty. In fact, I could still see the moon for the first part of my commute, even as I began to glimpse the sun breaking through the morning sky.

Before the rain rolled in and began clouding up the sky, yesterday was also a beautiful day. Sunny and 71 degrees! Today is to be a repeat performance – minus the rain – with a high of 73. I will have to go out for a walk today as this is the last of it for a while. It’s day like this that help sustain me when it’s 30, 15, or 2 degrees.

Standing across the street, I got a good look at my lawn this morning. Or, I should say, the dead brown straw that appears to be passing for my lawn right now. Man, it looks awful. I’m glad that I don’t have to worry about mowing it yet, as we all know how much I love yard work. But still, it looks like some seriously bad carpet.

I need to get some weed and feed. However, the last time I used that stuff, it seemed like we had more dandelions than ever before. It was like it fed the weeds instead of the grass! I probably should do something to it though. I probably should already have done something to it, but you know I was a little busy last fall.

What do you do to treat your lawn? And when?

Review: Shift3 Projection Alarm Clock

Getting to work every day is part of what keeps things going at This D*mn House. It’s an important job – and why I haven’t entrusted it to a digital clock for more than a decade. After we went through a series of power outages in the late 1990s that made keeping time difficult, I switched to battery.

The problem with that though is that when I wake up in the middle of the night I have no clue what time it is – without getting up and hitting the snooze/light bar. I’m generally a light sleeper so sitting up, crawling to the edge of the bed and fidgeting with the clock could actually wake me up. Another thing I hate about a digital clock is having it shine in your face all night.

So, for some time, I’ve seen in passing these clocks that project the time on the ceiling or a wall. I never seriously went out looking for one though. Then, a Tuesday Mornings’ flyer came last week, advertising just such a clock for under $20. Sold!

We didn’t make it to the store on Tuesday when the sale started and I didn’t have a car for a couple days last week so I felt very lucky to still find exactly ONE on the shelf Saturday. I didn’t even know it came with a whole bunch of other features including:
· AM/FM radio
· Six audio settings including woodsy sounds, rain, crashing ocean waves, and cawing birds
· Thermometer for both inside and out

You can program the alarm to wake to radio or one of the audio settings. I don’t use the alarm, but I checked to make sure it works. I don’t think the outdoor temp thing works. I put the remote sensor to it in my window – away from direct sunlight – but while it was warm this weekend, it was telling me it was 68 or 70 when I knew it was below 60 degrees!

Note: The directions for this thing tell you to “remove the battery cover” on both the clock and the remote sensor as each requires the use of 2 AAA batteries. For the clock, no problem. For the remote temp sensor, BIG problem. There is no battery cover! You need a tiny Phillips screwdriver to undo the case to put the batteries in. Wonder why they don’t include THAT in the instructions.

I don’t see me using the radio much. I might get some benefits though from the audio settings as going to sleep to the sound of crashing waves might help drown out a yowling cat!

So far, the light from the projection screen doesn’t bother me. Since it goes upward, it doesn’t shine in my face. It casts both the time and the alleged outdoor temp on the ceiling. It’s been very cool to wake up, look up, and roll back over knowing how long I have ‘til the alarm goes off! If you do want to just use the clock without the projector, it comes with two backlight settings for night viewing.

If you’re interested in one of these, there are some to be found online. Just Google it. I Googled it the other night to see what was up with the battery compartment on the remote sensor. I think the cheapest I found was $25 – worth it if you want one of these like I did!

A Sight to Behold

When I threw open the backdoor this morning, the moon, nestled atop a black cloud in a slate-colored sky was there to greet me. Waxing toward fullness (tonight) it was huge and bright and looked almost as if I could reach it, if only a threw a ladder onto the deck. It was ominous, but beautiful.

It’s an image I wish I could have captured. Suffice it to say that if it hadn’t been a workday, I’d have been setting up a tripod on the deck in an effort to try! I could scarcely take my eyes off of it as I carried the trash to the alley. When I made a second trip outside a little while later, I had hoped to see it again. Sadly, it had slipped into the final remnants of the night sky, chased off by approaching daybreak.

I can finally feel my fingers again. I greatly overestimated the temperature, or, more accurately, how it would feel to me. It’s in the 40s, definitely not a temperature to complain about based on recent weather. But since it’s going toward 70 today, I thought a ¾-length sleeve and a rain slicker (we could get rain as early as the evening commute) would suffice.

I dropped the car off again this morning, only today I had plenty of time to catch my regular bus. No two-block mad dashes for me. Instead, I was able to take my time, and sadly note the decay of the neighborhood, something that was nearly as chilling as the early morning air.

I’d gone to grade school about four blocks from here, a building torn down nearly 20 years ago. I hadn’t thought about that place in years with its turn-of-the-century brickwork, marble stairs, and always shiny hardwood floors. It made me sad. Architecture was making an indelible mark on me even then.

Watching the bus lumber up the road was infinitely comforting, both because it could ferry me away from this post-mortem of a neighborhood and shelter me from the cold. Today, I needed both.

*500*

I don't expect a ticker tape parade or anything, but wow. I was surprised to see that this is my 500th entry. Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Speaking of which, yesterday was AWESOME! The wind died down, the sun came out (for a while at least) and we hit a record-breaking 70 degrees. It was truly wonderful and a much-needed pleasant afternoon for both the mother and I.

We looked at several and purchased a few things for the house, I got some scrapbooking bargains, and I got something hellacool for my room. (More on that in another post.)

Without intending to, I created a project for myself. The mother had her heart set on a cast iron bell. She wants to replace the one hanging out in the carport. I'm all for that. I've never liked that thing.

Besides, I think this new bell is kind of cool. The problem is that the hardware for the clapper isn't flush with the bell so the whole thing hangs down unevenly. I made the mistake of inspecting it and then saying, "I could probably drill this out a little..." Yeah. Me and my big mouth!

Hopefully though, I WILL be able to do it. But not today. Today has got to be about laundry. It's piling up, much to my chagrin.and i'm starting to run out of clothes. And, the now melted snow managed to do some nasty splashing on the legs of both the jeans I had on yesterday and the khakis I wore to work Friday. I need to try and get those stains out before they get good and set.

So, I'm off to get into Irish washer-woman mode. But, I can't do that without giving a nod to the original Irish washer-woman herself, me sainted grandmother. That's her in the photo. Of course, I never knew her when she looked like that! She was quite a lady. And, if she were still alive, today she would be 99! Ninety-nine? Man, that just doesn't even seem possible.

Of course, she was well ahead of her time. She didn't marry young Tom until she was 28 and didn't have the mother until she was 32 -- both unheard of in the 1930s and '40s.

Even though she isn't here to celebrate it, happy birthday, Gram. I still miss you.

On An Excursion

For total clarity, if anyone read in my last post that I was actually planning to do all that – please reread. Total work of sarcasm. Or just read this and know that it was put out there to illustrate how crazy it sounds. No overnight family in my future, folks.

Wow! I just nearly had my arm pulled out of socket while opening the back storm door. Not sure how high the winds are gusting, but it’s pretty high.

The sun is out. It keeps drifting in and out of clouds but for right now at least, it’s out. There’s a chance of rain but since the next several days are set to be water-logged, here’s hoping it bypasses us. The really awesome news is that it got up to 66 yesterday and may well do it again today. The snow is all but completely gone now. Yippee skippy!

The mother and I are heading out for a while. I’m not sure what exactly the quest entails. See, she has this way of telling me she wants to go somewhere. She usually has a set plan in mind, but it’s never shared with me until we’re on the road. You’ve got to love it.

Yes, we can head out because I have the car back. It’s not fixed yet, mind you. I’ll be dropping it off again Monday morning. What’s so hilarious is that the poor thing is in pieces. The panel I took out last weekend is laying in the console. The back seat is not in place and it’s filled with other panel pieces. The driver side speaker is laying behind the seat. Poor Ladybird.

In the trunk, the upholstery is all pulled away and there’s these two electronic boxes laying there. So, loading and unloading is lots of fun. (I made a few stops on the way home last night.)
I’d better hop. I still need to get dressed, hit the bank and gas up. Here’s to a fun Saturday afternoon.

All Her Children

You wouldn't think I'm in a light-hearted mood and reveling in Fridayness, though I am. I probably shouldn't even go there but what's the point of a blog if you can't occasionally empty your mind of its thoughts? This has nothing to do with DIY or anything really except that if I don’t get this out and I have to hear or see one more media report on it before I do, my head may explode. You’ve been warned.

I’m a single, 40ish woman. I’m not in a serious relationship. I’m an only child. I longed for siblings while growing up, and I’ve always wanted children of my own. I still feel a little bit cheated in that department. But as the sun begins to descend rapidly on my time in which to become a mother, especially in the most conventional way, maybe I should find myself a donor and run myself over to the nearest fertility clinic.

Knock me up, doc.

Never mind that the economy’s in the crapper, I’ve got a house to maintain, and I’m already worried about staying employed to do it. I’m relatively certain this is not something my insurance plan covers. Even so, I could probably still find enough money to do the procedure. Maybe by mortgaging This D*mn House and selling off some possessions, I could squeak by. After all, it's what I want and this is all about me. Aren't I just a portrait of responsibility?

And if it worked, I could have a baby – or two. Or four. Or 12. Sounds pretty crazy, doesn’t it?

Well, it is -- and that's the point. But what if, for the sake of argument, we said I didn’t have a job, or a house to mortgage? Oh, and I already HAD SIX KIDS?! That’s not just crazy, that’s selfish, and irresponsible, too. And Nadya Suleman –the new mother of 14 after having octuplets last week – maintaining that it is anything else is nothing short of delusional.


I’m not saying she set out planning to have this precedent-setting brood. Still, I burst out laughing when I read that she “only wanted to have one more baby.” Um, sweetie, you’ve GOT SIX AT HOME! One still IS a baby! Well, OK. If this was someone who decided to be a single parent, had the financial, physical, and emotional wherewithal to do it, just to have a child, I’d still disagree with them philosophically, but hey, live and let live. Lots of women do it every day. More power to them if they can handle it.

I’m not doubting for a second this woman’s ability to love all her children. But I am saying unequivocally that she did not act in the best interests of any of them. (I love my dog and cats, too, but that love isn’t doing enough for them unless there is food in their dishes and a roof over their heads. What if I suddenly decided to go adopt 11 more? How could I hope to provide enough love and sustenance for all of them without drastically taking away from the original three? The answer: I couldn’t.)

Who is going to take care of the 14 of them – financially and physically? Is she just going to foist all this on her parents? The state? The federal government? God knows they already have enough people they can't take care of.

I know plenty of parents ready to pull their hair out with two or three under the age of 10 or 12. But FOURTEEN under age NINE?! Supposedly, she has collected (depending on which news report you believe) $150,000 to $170,000 in disability payments from a back injury 10 years ago, worsened by pregnancy! Hello. Anything in this woman's head? She was not even thinking about her health or of jeopardizing her ability to care for any of her other children. What if this pregnancy had paralyzed her? Yeah, that would have been great for all her children! Really good thinkin' there, mama.

It’s a substantial sum of money, probably gobbled up by her fertility treatments, but a sum that wouldn’t even cover half of the birth expenses of the octuplets. Even assuming she still had the full amount, and that she had only one more baby instead of eight, that breaks out to less than $25,000 per child. How far will that go? Not far. Parents, I know you agree on this if nothing else!

This woman has no long-term resources, no support system, and, dare I say it, no sense.
She told morning TV she wants to be a counselor. I think she should get counseling first. Clearly, she needs it before attempting to help others.

The thing that gets me the most is the bad light this is casting on infertility treatments generally and the implantation of multiple embryos. They do this because first, it gives them the best chance to become pregnant, and second, because this is both an emotional and expensive procedure. Why wouldn’t you want to get the best odds possible? I know several people who have had them, resulting in one, two, and in two cases, THREE babies! For the others, it resulted only in more heartbreak.


Where the light should be shone instead is on the doctor who agreed to do this and on the people close to this woman. Her own mother even said she has problems. Why didn’t someone intervene? Reproductive rights are one thing. This, however, is insanity. I guess no one ever bothered to tell her that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

So, I guess that’s it. I’m going home tonight and telling the mother that I’m planning to have children. Lots of children. As many as I can, as soon as I can.

I’ll be committed before sunrise.

The Game Plan

It’s actually not too bad this morning – a balmy 32 degrees. We’re supposedly heading for 59 today!

They said 62 for tomorrow but for both today and tomorrow, we’ll be getting some funky winds. And starting tomorrow night, we’re in for several days of rain. Great. Oh well. It’s better than it being 20 degrees or lower every day.

I did some measuring, pricing and head-shaking last night after which the mother and I decided how to proceed with The Michelangelo Project. That said, it’s getting put on a back burner – for now. We had a long discussion about my concerns and we’re in agreement to focus on the basement and the bedrooms in the immediate future and take a “wait and see” approach to everything else. (Pretty much what I outlined in last night's post.)

She wants to get some of these projects done as badly as I do, so it was a heavy-hearted experience to have to talk about putting them off. Oh well. Consider it another season or two of life for the blog.

It isn’t like we don’t have anything to do in the meantime. And, thankfully, I already bought 90 percent of what’s needed to wrap up outside, so that won’t require any really significant investment to complete. We’ve even still got a good 12-14 weeks before I can think about starting on that, too, as I want to be into much warmer weather first.

And, at least before things started to get too ugly with the economy, we got an awful lot done last year. That’s a good thing, too. Frankly, I’m not that anxious to start on much of anything. I’m finally starting to emerge from “the plague” and work has been kickin’ my butt this week. But that is a good thing. So I guess it’s just rest up, rock steady, and roll on.

Right now, we still don’t have a car. Jim called yesterday and said that he was trying to find something with a schematic to identify the path of all the wiring as it appears that the seatbelt motor isn’t getting any power. Way over my head, so more power to him – literally. It doesn’t sound like this is going to be easy or cheap.

But then a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt, combined with the extra insurance costs for points against my license wouldn’t be either, right?

In any case, I need to pick it back up tonight as we’ll need things this weekend. So, here’s hoping for good news on that front.

Decisions, Decisions -- Delays?

I keep asking myself: How fearless should I be? Just how bad can the economy get? What’s the likelihood that I’ll find myself without a job this year?

None of us want to think about those things, or at least I know that I don’t. But I have to force myself to. It’s time, or soon will be, to start deciding which house projects to take on. There are so many things that I want to do, but after doing some preliminary calculations, I just don’t feel comfortable pursuing most of them. At least not right now.

So I think what I will do is get Lawrence in for some of the smaller projects and to finish up a few things that have just been hangin’ for a while. The unfortunate part in this is that some of these jobs require me to take on things like getting new countertops and putting in backsplash in the kitchen. Then he could put on the new kitchen faucet and sprayer. And, the mother could go ahead and paint/stain the cabinets (we aren’t sure yet) and I could get the new door and drawer pulls on.

The ceiling could wait, if it had to. But then I’d want to get the new appliances we’ve been talking about for months. And before that, I’d want to put in a new floor. Or would I?


If I do the ceiling in the bathroom (actually before I would) we’d want to rip out the fiberglass tub surround. I want to put tile in it (ideally white subway and the mother is liking black grout) but I’m afraid of what kind of shape the walls behind it are in. So, there I’d be all ready to do one job and get stuck with an even bigger and more expensive one to do before I could continue.

Right now, my gut says to just get the family room in order, finish out the closet trim and other woodwork down there, and then focus on the bedrooms. (The only supplies I’d need are wallpaper paste for both rooms, and some beadboard and chair rail for mine.)

Maybe by the time we’d finish that, I could have a better idea of the long-term and just how much money I could part with and still be OK if the worst happens. It really sucks that it’s this way because I thought maybe, just maybe, this might the year that all of the big stuff could get done. Instead of moving forward at 90 mph like I’m used to doing, I’m practically paralyzed by doubt.

I guess that’s just the way of the world right now as this news would seem to indicate. At least I'm in good company.

Was It Only Yesterday?

Could it really only have been 24 hours ago that I was standing in my room, still in my pajamas, inventing new forms of swearing? I guess it was.

I dropped the car off this morning. I gave myself plenty of time as I dropped the car insurance off first.

While driving past the bus depot, en route to the mechanic’s, I got about two blocks away when I spied the bus coming into the station. This bus is the bus before mine. I knew it would be cutting it close, but I decided to try to catch it rather than wait almost another 20 minutes for mine. (It’s 18 degrees today, with a wind chill of 5. Better than other recent mornings, and warm air is coming TODAY, but still.)

I made the last few blocks to Jim’s, turned the car around and parked out front, killed it, grabbed my gear, locked ‘er up, and tossed the envelope with the spare key and a note into his drop box. Then I ran like hell.

It’s two blocks back to the main drag and bus route. I was diggin’ for all I was worth when I saw that the last 30 feet of sidewalk were covered in ice and snow. Damn! I had to detour into an alley and across a huge parking lot. None of this would have been bad, except that if the bus had come right then, he would not have been able to see me as a building on the lot blocked my view.

I cleared the building, carefully made my way around some snow and ice on that sidewalk to a clear spot. No more than a minute later, I saw the bus lumbering up the road. Yay!

So here I am. And I wish I had my camera. The sun is still rising in the sky and it is illuminating one whole leg of the Arch. Beautiful. No. Gorgeous.

Here’s hoping that the tone for the day stays just like this …

Review: Twin Draft Guard®

It’s been a very cold winter already and it’s still got several weeks to go … Sigh. But something I finally bought over the weekend – after weeks of seeing it advertised on TV – is making the season a bit more bearable: the Twin Draft Guard. I paid $9.95 for it at Wal-Mart.

I am, by nature, a skeptic. I never believe anything I see on TV. And through the years, manufacturer after manufacturer has done little to change that. So, it was not all that surprising when I opened the box to find, in a nutshell, four pieces of foam and a skimpy, brown cotton sack.

Yeah. Right. This is really going to work, I thought as I assembled it as instructed. The directions say to measure your door width and cut the tubes a half-inch shorter. Luckily, I didn’t do that. I laid it down along the door first and found that I already had at least a half-inch gap at the hinge side of the door.

Then, I just wrangled the loosely connected tubes (joined by a very fragile collar on the end of one) into each side of the bag, pulled over the excess and sealed at the velcro closure, tucked in the corners and slid it under the door. I had a very tough time closing the door, but finally it did. And the draft? It stopped.

It was a cool night (40ish) but not frigid when I installed it so I put little stock in the success. The next night, however, it got down in the teens, and then lower during the morning. Still no draft. The door was still hard to close, but working a little better by last night. When there was still no draft! Mind you, this skimpy bit o’nothing replaced one standard towel between the storm and front door and a second, chunky towel on the inside.

Caveat: There is more than one type of this out there. If you want to buy this one, look for the “As Seen on TV” label.

A second caveat: I looked at a ton of online reviews. I’d say it was about a 60-40 split in the product’s favor. The biggest complaint was that it didn’t fit the door. Frankly, I’m concerned about whether this will work on the other two doors I want to use it on. But, I’m going to find out and I’ll let you know.

The second biggest complaint was that it fit too loosely, got bunched up, and needed constant readjusting.

A handful of people complained that it didn’t work on carpet. I can’t attest to that as we no longer have any carpet in the house except in the downstairs family room. I can tell you that it seems to stay along the door, unlike the towels, so I don't trip over it -- also like the towels.

A few more people reported that it didn’t hold up. (There were a few reviews though that cited having the same one, still working, more than two years later.) I can’t attest to that either. I can tell you that if the thing wears out, I’ll go buy another one. And for now, anyway, the towels can stay in the linen closet!

Guess Who’s An Idiot?

Oh, that would be me. The one who doesn’t bother to turn an alarm on!

Nice, huh? And on a day where I’ve already got a lot going on. Why not stress myself out a little more by waking up 15 minutes after my bus has already gone by the house?!

Me, at 6:58 a.m., still in pajamas, when it’s not the weekend, a holiday, or a vacation day is never a good thing. That said, I’m slowly making my was toward the office now. Looks like I’ll be there in about 25 minutes or so.

I just need to chill out. Which, actually shouldn’t be hard since it’s FOUR degrees! I guess they’re lucky I didn’t just sleep until sometime next month.

Ice Cold

Another busy day and another day where I’ve managed to lose something. Yes, another set of ear warmers! Can you believe it? Not the ones I just got, but still, fairly new.

I’m hoping they’re just laying around my office someplace. One thing is certain: I had them on when I arrived this morning. I know this because it was TEN FREAKIN’ DEGREES with a wind chill factor of -5 No one gave us a warning on this stuff. It’s only going to get into the 20s again tomorrow, and it was supposed to be 50-something. Now we’re talking half that.

So, here’s hoping I locate them in the morning.

Speaking of weather … well, why not? I’ve done little else most of the day! I’ve been talking to and emailing with reporters most of the day, in parts of the country hit by the ice storm last week, some of whom just got power back themselves. I was even able to commiserate with them, to a point. Our massive power outage was in the summer. Granted, 100-degree weather, but summer – not this crapola!

And speaking of being cold…this is giving something I bought for the house over the weekend a true work-out. If it is still performing well, I’ll definitely be buying more. Expect a review tomorrow.

Feelin' Catty

Cats. They are EVERYWHERE. Or at least it seems so to me in the last 36 hours.

First, it was Tal over at Renovation Therapy. JeanMartha regularly reports on Tal’s exploits which always seem to center – or be right in the center – of whatever she’s doing. We love Tal!

Then there’s Buddy and Finn, the stars of Satan’s Fur Puppets. Buddy seems to forever be hangin’ around his mistress’ keyboard. He and his brother are adorable.

Of course, Gene at DIY Insanity, can give you some great tips on building special places for your constant cat companion(s).

And last night, I nearly choked reading a post of Jayne’s over at The Kelly House. Maybe it’s because a friend of her son’s gave a description of her resident feline with issues, Marie Antoinette, that struck way too close to home for me: "That cat is a demon who wants me dead."

The description reminded me ever so much of our mentally unhinged Toby the Cat. But he’s just so damned cute, isn’t he? If we aren't playing peekabo, during which his eyes get as big as silver dollars, he always seems to have this disdainful scowl pasted on his face.

Here, he's using his brother's loofa toy as a footrest ...

Hmmm ... I wonder what bit of orneriness I can cause today ...
He did, of course, wake me up at 4 a.m. -- after I'd gone back to sleep from the gazillion mile an hour winds that woke me up an hour earlier. (Yeah it's a whopping 10 degrees this morning.)

He's cute, to be sure. Don’t be deceived though. He really IS a little demon.

In Search Of: A Can Opener

If you’re over 35, you probably remember that show, “In Search Of,” hosted by none another than Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). We watched it religiously when I was growing up.

At This D*mn House, the mother and I have resurrected it. When something is lost (keys, checkbook, cellphone), one of us will invariably take on the deep, dry Leonard Nimoy tone and announce: “In Search Of: Nicole’s wallet.” Anyway, it can get pretty funny.

Over the weekend though, during our trip to Tar-jay, we spied a v. cool under-the-cabinet can opener. Since the first year that we lived here, there has been one under the cabinet to the left of the sink. I think we’re on our second or third one. They’ve all been Black and Decker and the current one has been in place for at least a decade. Great way to keep extra appliances when you have almost no counter space!

Since the kitchen is on our near future redo list, this new B&D can opener got our attention. However, there were none on the shelf. Even in cyberspace, they can be a little hard to find (though I did find some). Here’s the problem: I’m a firm believer in stuff I read posted by actual users. You know, the people who bought the stuff to begin with.

Unfortunately, where this can opener is concerned it’s almost a perfectly split decision. That has never happened when I’ve been doing online research! And, there appear to be about six different versions of essentially the same can opener. It’s nutty.

This one is Model B001EU510E. It was $24.99 at Tar-jay. It has a cover that closes over the opener part itself so you don’t see it when you’re not using it.

So, do you own this can opener? Know anyone that does? I’m collecting opinions on it!

0-2 on the Day

For about a minute, more or less, my Super Bowl prediction was right on the money. The Cardinals were up by 3 as the clock raced toward the two-minute warning. I could scarcely bear to watch. (I probably shouldn’t have.)

I knew it was wishful thinking on my part, but at least it made for an interesting final five minutes of the game! The Steelers deserved the win, that’s for sure. And the Cardinals had nothing to be ashamed of. That turned out to be my second defeat of the day.

The first had come hours before when, in typical me fashion, I attempted to remedy the seatbelt situation myself. I had found a site online that offered some advice on getting to the seatbelt motor and manually moving the latch to where it should be. At first, I couldn’t find the panel in question.

When I got online again, I found another site with a drawing – I was in business! I crawled into the backseat, located and carefully removed the panel. Once inside, sure enough there was the manual control knob right on top as both sites has described. It was remarkably easy to move, in spite of the cramped quarters. (Anyone with hands even the slightest bit bigger than mine would likely have had problems.)

It was extremely slow-going though. Ten or 15 twists of the knob only moved the latch a fraction of an inch along the track. And, the rough edges of the knob did a great job of removing a layer or two of skin from my fingers. But, I persisted, and painstakingly got the latch into position. I slid the belt into place. Then, I reached inside and started the ignition.

Instantly, the belt slid forward, back into the OFF position – just what I did not want it to do. I shut the door and held my breath, hoping it would immediately sail back into place. It did not. All my effort was wasted.

So, the car will have to go and visit Uncle Jim, my mom’s long-time friend and our trusted mechanic for decades. Knowing that we might have to spend a day or so without a car, depending on Jim’s schedule, I made an early-evening grocery run.

While neither the seatbelt light or alert had gone off on Saturday when the problem first began, at intervals last night, it started going off. Ding – and that would be it. I’d drive a mile or so and then ding, ding, and the seatbelt light appeared on the dash. I’d rehook the belt and both would cease. The problem with that though is that in its current position, the belt interferes with the steering wheel, so I couldn’t leave it latched long. I’d undo do it and within a few miles, the ding cycle would repeat itself once more.

I’m encouraged by the fact that the latch actually moved along the track. That would signify to me that the track is in order. Maybe it’s just the motor. (I found one of those online for $25. I think it’s the right one at least.)

Here’s hoping this doesn’t become an expensive fix.