Melting Clothes, Daycor Updates, and an Emergency Kit for the One Percent

This week two close friends lost family members, one a mother, the other a brother.   I am so sorry.  Much sympathy to CM (x3) and EP.  Whatever you feel/say/write, I am there with you.  As Anne Lamott wrote, "We are here to see each other through."  

* * * * *

The past several weeks have been full of minor domestic things gone wrong.  My car (dead battery, replaced by AAA), Jerry's car (brakes), my iPhone (will no longer allow photos to be e-mailed), the boom box in my studio (too much opera lately?).  It's been one thing after another.  But here are two problems we managed to fix ourselves, and I'm passing the remedies along so you, too, can feel thirfty and empowered.

First, toilets.  I know, gross--and a major inconvenience.  Two clogged up several weeks apart, and after a plunger proved to be useless, I googled the problem and came up with this formula.  To my amazement, it worked!  No plumber needed.

•      Pour 1 cup of baking soda and 2 cups of vinegar into the toilet.  This will fizz dramatically.

•      Pour about a half gallon of hot water (the temperature of hot tea) from waist level into the bowl.

•      Let the mixture stand overnight.

•      Flush.

At this point, our toilets were unclogged and functioned perfectly.  Thank-you, WikiHow.

Next up:  a nearly-new Rowenta iron with a plate gummed up with residue from ironing polyester/spandex,  a mess that neither fingernails nor non-abrasive scrubbers could clean up.

Truly magical results

I went back to the internet.  Someone commented that a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser worked, so I tried it.  Voila, no more sticky gunk and no scratches! 

Later I called the Rowenta help line and found out that I should have used the "Synthetics" setting; I had melted the man-made fabric, my bad.  The Magic Eraser treatment was new to him, though. 

Don't they check the internet?

* * * * *

Following up on my post about trends in  home decor, I was very bucked-up to read in House Beautiful   that white kitchens are back!  Oh, yes!  White counters, appliances, cabinets--once again au courant!  I'm back in style (our kitchen is c. 1999).

Of course, you're more chic if you go with faux-vintage appliances:

I have no idea what these cost, but it's got to be more than your garden variety Whirlpool.

Then I found yet another tarted-up laundry room on a blog:

I'm so missing this gene!  Why would you fill glass-front cabinets with paper towels?   And go to the trouble of papering the walls to look like subway tiles?

Just to give you an idea of my own laundry room and the energy I'm willing to put into its appearance:

Under the house and with a bare light bulb

We ARE thinking of remodeling my bathroom.  Here are my sister and the contractor discussing what can be done:

A 1924 closet turned into a bathroom in the 1960's.  Somewhat better than the laundry room, but with definite issues.

*****

And yet more information on emergency kits.  How about one that includes a monogrammed emergency bag and Earl Grey tea?  All for a mere $375, as documented in the New York Times:

A kit for the one percent.

Scarlett Johansson, who reviewed this kit, said, "If somebody is that concerned with the look of their disaster kit then they're not going to survive the apocalypse.  The zombies are coming for that guy, because he probably tastes like Kobe beef."

Daycor Trends You May Not Know About

For the past few months, I've been dipping into home decorating blogs.  Most are written by women in their 20's and 30's, so I'm dropping in on another demographic, and, boy, do I feel it.  It's all been news to me.

I've identified some trends.

1.  Beige is out.  Gray is very in.  In fact it's everywhere.

 Note the sign over the range.  More on that.

An example of a "before" room:

A color found all over my house.  The blogger replaced the beige paint with gray.

2.  You can use the word "décor" in a completely un-ironic way.  As in "I picked up a few things to add to my decor today."  Or "a lot of decor is on sale." 


3.  You can paint a chair:

 This chair went from crimson to gray with something called "chalk paint."

4.  Target, Pottery Barn, and Crate and Barrel are the stores of choice for home decor, depending on  income.  I've seen one gray and white  pillow from Target, below right, umpteen times.  (I bought it on sale in coral.)

At right: the pillow seen everywhere

5. Laundry rooms are tarted-up.  It's not unusual to see a chandelier.

 They'd die if they saw my laundry room.  We're talking bare bulb.

6.  Monograms are popular, especially in the South:

 Even on the front door

Multiple trends: Gray and a monogram

7.  Signs are big (see #1), always directive re happiness.

 

8. "Pops of color" are still in style:

9.  Pillows belong on any and every chair and bench:

10.  Everybody wants a mudroom (above), although sometimes it's just a closet with the doors removed:

That pillow again

 Boots as decorative element.  Chevron design appears on pillows, rugs, bed linens.

11.  Wedding dates can be converted to Roman numerals and used as art:

Even in the bathroom

I never leave comments on these blogs, but there's one I'd love to: "Could 'fun' be used ONLY as a noun?  Please?  Not as an adjective?"

Signed, Crone

Dept. of Domestic Chaos & Quilt Update

Quilt update:  Bidding stands at $400.  You have until noon tomorrow to bid.  More bids most welcome and  for a good cause (tax deductible contribution to the Berkeley Food Pantry).

* * * * *

Jerry's study on Sunday afternoon

This weekend was dedicated to a massive re-shuffling of STUFF.  As I mentioned earlier Jerry has to vacate his campus office (note: took possession in 1967), and guess what?  His study at home is not going to absorb it all.  No way.  Not even close.

We've cleaned out the basement so that some of it can go there.  I've come up with a handful of things I'm ready to part with via Craigslist, and on Saturday we lugged those items upstairs so I could photograph them against something more attractive than basement chaos:

 Now parked in the entryway: Relics from my Chintz Period, before I took up quilting and had no room for them in my studio.

Clutter in the living room:  Amish Nursing Rocker (left), a rust-colored chair of indeterminate period (center), and floor lamp with substitute (teetering) shade.  Destination:  Craigslist and then to the curb.

After two days of work, this is what the basement looks like:

 

Won't last:  Center of the room is destined to become a parking place for file cabinets

 

These seem to proliferate.  How many do we need?

 Jerry's getting his mind around dispensing with his "logo golf ball collection."  Similar collections for sale on e-bay, would you believe?

Ordinarily, I stay out of Jerry's professional life, all aspects--including organization.  But this move threatens to take over the house.

On the other hand, look what I've done to the dining table:

 Asian porcelain that my dad collected, which my sister and I are hoping to sell at auction.

My goal this week:  To get rid of some of this stuff, somehow, somewhere.

Library Glasses, Granny Panties, and Fluffing the House

You've seen plenty of "nerd glasses" around, mostly on younger people.  But did you know they're part of a "generational swing?"

I learned this today from the New York Times.  Understated frames are the mark of Baby Boomers.  Younger people are buying outsized plastic glasses, formerly nerd glasses, now "library glasses," which make a statement.  They indicate that a person is "open and guileless and actively inquisitive," among other things.

A model on the runway for Gucci this year.  Inquisitive or bored silly?

The small, unobtrusive glasses that Steve Jobs wore rejected excess; the new glasses "reject that rejection."



I never did think he seemed as "adventuresome as a critter out of Japanese animation,"  possibly due to his glsses, so maybe this theory holds.

Soon I'm going to have cataract surgery and for awhile I'm going to have to wear glasses I bought in the 1990's:

Will I finally look cool?  Sadly, no.  A couple of years ago, someone in an eyeglass shop told me that big 1980's-1990's-style glasses were coming back, but "not for people your age."  Meaning that I'd look like I living in a time warp instead of making a fashion statement.  Or any statement, let alone open and guileless, etc.

* * * * *

The author of the eyeglasses article, Troy Paterson, starts out by saying that eyeglasses are "more intimate than underpants," because they're plain for all to see.

Which brings me to another thing I learned recently:  Thong underwear is out!  Oh, yes! (For years, I've referred to flip-flops as "thongs," which raises eyebrows and  shows how out of it I am.)  I do own one pair of thong underwear, courtesy of my sister, who spotted a Visible Panty Line. 

Some of today's young women have switched to wearing "granny panties," or what my college roommate Debbie called "big whites."  Back then, we were all switching to bikini underwear.

"Within millennial and Generation Y consumer groups, it's considered cool to be wearing full-bottom underwear," says an apparel analyst,  again in the New York Times.

It's also a feminist statement, because scant underwear is designed to appeal to men, and big whites are all about comfort for the wearer.  However, you can still be a feminist and wear skimpier underwear, apparently.  Yours to choose.

* * * * *

Well, fine!  I've just overhauled my undies so that I have a smoother look from behind, which I got a really good, dismal look at in a department store dressing room recently.  This is what I bought, neither Big Whites nor bikinis, just something to shore up what's sagging and/or too visible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These babies are stretchy and comfortable and have rows of
stick-um around each leg to hold it in place.

Weird stick-um but it works

 

 More info  here .

* * * * *

I've been rushing around like a maniac refreshing and refurbishing my house.  For several years, I've been busy planning trips and making quilts and ignoring things in the house that were tired, needed repair, or just plain worn-out. 

I started out by replacing old stuff that works but had just gotten boring:

BEFORE

Yes, it's okay, but I'm tired of it, even if it was bought at a  museum shop in Paris.  See "understated," above.

AFTER

A $5.99 replacement from Target.  Score!

* *

BEFORE

Again, tired.  And no rubber backing, so it slid around.

 

 

AFTER

 Another Target sale item

 **

BEFORE

 I have a pair of these rooster lamps, inherited from my parents. I've lived with the old damaged shades since 1998.

 

EIGHT TO TEN WEEKS FROM NOW

 I ordered new oval shades that are a better fit, but...

 

 ...with made with plain parchment and a black and rust ribbon trim, shown above.

 

Then there's the harder-to-find, expensive stuff, like a new light fixture for the upstairs hall.  I've lived with this monstrosity for 30 years:

Hate it.  Recessed lighting may be the way to go.

Or how about this:

Sun-damaged black-out lining in bedroom curtains. Three windows like this.

Or this:

A dust ruffle that doesn't fit the new box spring.  It was nice when it was new, about 25 years ago.

**

The front doormat is shot, especially after months of workmen coming in and during the bathroom remodel. What I want is an absolutely plain doormat, 24" x 36".  Can't find one.  Or rather, I did find one online at Home Depot, but they're sold out (doesn't this tell them something? Buy more to sell!).

 

I can find lots like this:

I don't want a doormat that looks like quilt.

This one was mildly tempting because it's funny:

But I'm not that antisocial.

Will keep looking.


P.S. Just found a plain one at Ikea for $9.99!