(no subject)

Today was just another standard housewifey-day. I'm fighting off a cold (again, or probably 'still') so it was taken up by a large amount of sleeping - and stoking the fires, I swear! I ate around 2300 calories of food in 24 hours, about 1000 more than I normally would. And right now, at 2:00am, I am fighting the urge to go find something to eat.

Weird, that.

Our attic-bound heating unit has been making an odd noise since it was turned on last week, an intermittant low growling when the motor is running. Last week was the coldest of the season, so we put off calling a repairman until today, when the weather is wonderfully mild and the repair guy wouldn't be freezing off his fingertips up there. He arrived this morning as I was yawning my way through a fight with Morpheus (I won! I lasted until the guy left!) and Bossman had already cleared a space in the garage to reach the attic hatch. (Someday we're going to do something about that very inconvienient hatch opening. Like install a pull-down ladder-hatch in our hallway or something.) It appears that the motor was fine. He suggested that we might want to watch the capacitor, as it was testing out less strong than it should but was still within specs. Barely. As it is at least as old as our mortgage (over 20 years), I asked him to replace it. The weird thrumming noise? A metal cover whose screws had come slightly loose next to the air intake. Three twists of his wrist and the noise was gone. The whole system got a thumb's up from him and he nixed my idea of maybe having a vent cleaning - said it didn't look bad at all, barely dirty, and would be a waste of our money unless we were highly allergic or something. Pretty cool, that. Who knew? In a house of books, books, books, craft projects, pets, and camping equipment being brought in and out, I had expected more dirt in our vents. He attributed the cleanliness to the "top line filters you've been using in the air intake'. The only downer of the visit was the cost - but it had a silver lining too, as a normal one-shot visit costs about the same as a yearly maintanance contract and they'd thought that when I had said, "It's probably normal upkeep stuff", the receptionist marked the visit as a maintanance one. I was happy to agree to that idea! So next sping, when we're getting ready for hot weather again, they'll come out 'for free' and recharge the coolant system and all of that. Plus, they offer discounts on replacement equipment to their contract-holders (which was handy for the capacitor purchase.) Nonetheless, it was no an inexpensive call... which I had not budgeted for.

I found a wonderful flooring company nearby and am actually excited about dragging Bossman there to shop for the new bathroom floors. That, we have budgeted for, and I am really looking forward to getting the two rooms back into shape. The next step is to replace wallboard - I won't be much use to the Bossman for that, but I can do the spackling afterwards and help with the sanding. Once that is done, the floors go in and then it is paint time & followed by 'install the new fixtures' time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. YAY!

Well now, was that boring enough for you? And here you thought LiveJournal was more interesting than FaceBook!

We're not going to make it to Holiday Faire this weekend (see heater-repair story above). That does give us a weekend to work on the house, though. Assuming that Bossman agrees, since he's stuck doing most of the heavy work.

The untimely demise of my Nook has been driving me crazy. I'm currently re-reading old series of paperback novels, but doncha know, each story brings to mind a scene from a book that is lodged in my Nook. ARG! I really hope that I get a replacement one for my birthday. Really hope. Really. I want this one: Nook 6 Simple Touch eReader with Glowlight 2GB. I prefer my magizines to be paper ones and don't surf the web on my ereader - I'd rather be able to read it while in strong sunlight, to tell you the truth, than to have all the fancy bells and whistles yet not be able to use it except in dim (relatively) light. And this new model has a built-in lighting bar, which I highly approve of! The only concern I have is getting some of the stories not purchased via Barnes and Noble transferred to the new e-reader. I don't know how to do that since they are not currently in my home computer's Nook storage area. It didn't occur to me when I was turning them into pdf's and transferring them to the Nook that I ought to ensure that a copy of them stayed in my computer, too. "Copy", not "transfer". Lesson learned.

In health news - results of my latest blood test indicate that my LDL levels is well within normal and glucose levels are pretty darned good too. (6.0 acl, and an average of 124g) so if I keep up the weight loss and figure out a way to exercise daily, I should be kicking auxillary meds to the side by next year.

Tiny Houses

For a few years I've been actively intrigued by "tiny homes", starting with the Tumbleweed models and moving on through the various styles that have been designed since those were introduced. I've always thought of living in a wee house when I got 'older', someplace just large enough for one or two people, easy to keep clean, and somewhat storybook-like... "grandma's cottage", if you will.

I hadn't expected the idea to catch fire but I'm glad it has. Cruising the web looking at models of them is fun. And the advent of e-readers and Blueray interface between computer & TV have made the concept even more appealing as our relaxation needs are met by minaturized support equipment. Who would have guessed in the 60s that televisions could hang on a wall like a portrait? Or that telephones would not only fit in your pants pocket, but would also hold all of your favorite music, show movies, and hold your library too?

As we've gotten further along in our hobby-play, my need for a sewing machine and all of the vast array of designer equipment has nearly disappeared. Yeah, I do still sometimes use my machine but most of what I make is handsewn. I don't need a serger, a buttonhole maker, a pleating machine, or even a quilting stand (I generally make tied quilts, which can be done by laying them on bed or floor to pin, then sewn draped over a table.) So my need for storage space has lessened. Not being a clotheshorse, I use less of a closet, or a chest of drawers, than Bossman does. Again - not bad for someone who'd love to live in a tiny house someday.

But my downfall is in 'stuff'. Memento-stuff. Today I am cleaning out a hope chest stocked with things given to me over the years from SCA friends that I had no need for but also no desire to give away to someone else. And some of it (like the cowbell in there !?!) would never be good as gifts anyway. The chest has been ignored, for the most part, and is nearly empty. And yet in another room we have a pile of blankets that we use for camping and winter-time, with no place to store them except on top of whatever is sitting 'out' on the craft room floor. Today, the chest will be meeting the blankets and a merger will be formed. And the assorted bits of 'someday I may fit them' clothing and the little pile of datebooks I've kept in the bottom drawer of my chest of drawers are going to find their way to a Goodwill box. Because really? What is my purpose in keeping that stuff?

Because if, someday, we ever DO decide that the ideal retirement plan is a tiny house, I want to be ready for it.

So that means that my photo albums are going to be dismantled and the photos scanned for digital storage. And the dishes in the kitchen and craft room (SCA ware) - They too shall be merged. Why on earth do we have two sets of dedicated dishes and silverware? That is just silly. Why not use the ones that we bought because I love them all the time instead of only on weekends? Frankly, I'm tired of the Pfaltzgraff pattern we've had for the last 25 years. And we sure don't need enough to set a table for 12! So why not merge the 'feastgear' and the 'regular dishes'? I think it'd make a very ecletic table setting, and a fun one, too.