Aphelion Thursday

[helia]

Back from the med. center. Convenient - X rays and bloodwork are through the same waiting room. I'd forgotten that. Dd16 gets her blood drawn regularly, so we've been to this lab many times. Last time, she had her blood drawn after her endocrinol. appt. at the brand new children's hospital (Motts) with the Univ. here and used their phlebotomists. She said they were really good! But we weren't sure about the X Rays for dd14 there since their pedi. is not a part of the Univ. system.

Doors and windows: One factor for us and windows in doors is light. We LOVE natural light in the house; it is extremely important to us. That is just our taste. This house has a lot of windows, as did the last house we owned. Dh refuses to have curtains in the house b/c they will block a little bit of light. We have shades in bedrooms and bathrooms and just valences in the living areas. However, we are fairly sheltered from the public eye b/c properties in this neighborhood are large, the house is set far back from the road w/ enormous evergreens lining the road, and there are no neighbors behind us or across the street from us.. . . In fact, we only have one neighbor whose property touches ours, and windows /trees are set up in such a way that we can't see them from our house and vice versa. Lots of woodsy landscape. --Anyhow, a different setting would require more window coverings for us. I believe all our newer natural wood doors have windows/window panes waist-height on up, 9 small panes. In fact, the play room door is full length glass. Again, we have so many windows that trying to keep a stranger from looking inside is pretty laughable. People coming to the door have even waved to us through the windows. Our style and preferences; I know not everyone shares them.

Off to finalize the groc. list and finish the a.m. routine. I'm out the door again in 20 minutes to take dd14 for a haircut.

[Twins' Mom]

Regrouping....have finished up packing a couple more boxes. The wildlife guy was here and his assessment is that we've had flying squirrels in the attic - couldn't tell if active right now but thinks not. So he will do the clean up and plug the biggest hole.

I need to be out of here in about 45 minutes and on the road. I have my directions printed out and have my purse and phone and stuff ready to go.

We also are heavily into natural light - we're on a cul-de-sac and are set back a little from the street. We have woods behind us - in the winter can see other houses. Since I can't see in, I'm figuring they can't see us either. We are having blinds installed on our windows that will face the street in the new house - we're close to the street and neighbors (much smaller lots) although the street is a small circle that doesn't get that much traffic.

[helia]

Forgot to add that we have a big black dog that likes to hang out outside. The dog lovers, however, quickly figure out what a harmless sweetheart she is.

Flying squirrels! How neat, Twins! --Though, admittedly not neat in your attic. We don't have flying squirrels here that I know of.

[Cowinkie]

Morning Ya'll...

I was up early this morning so treated myself to a cup of coffee and went back to bed to read for a while. Yesterday I wanted to vacuum the house and as always got way into cleaning. Removed spots on my MBR carpet, did laundry and then while vacuuming the LR got to thinking how I might rearrange it. Thought I would do it another day, but you can guess what happened. The thought kept bugging me so I just went ahead and did it.

I removed all the furniture off the carpet...I have a huge combined kitchen/eating area/livingroom area. My kitchen is tiled as well as my eating area. My living area has carpet. Anyway, after moving one 3 seater couch, one love seat and two barrel chairs in many configurations, I finally found one the I liked. Took close to 2 hours and believe me I counted it as my workout Sweetie likes it so all is well with my decision.

Today I have worked on my guestroom and office. I had boxes that needed to broken down and put out for recycling. My guestroom is done. My office still needs some work, but nothing major. I spent an hour or so doing desk stuff. Little by little things are coming together.

I love today's title. It always amazes me that we can be so far away from the sun and still feel its heat. We are closest to the sun during our winter which, though I do understand in theory why it is cold, makes not sense to me. The planets and stars have always been so interesting to me, and I loved teaching it to my kids. For our first Valentines Day Sweetie had a star named after me. And when my son turned 21 I wanted to do something out of this world to celebrate the occasion so I bought him an acre of land on Mars. Its legal and registered. I figured while he may never live to see humans walk on Mars, his kids might. Just trying to give them a head start on being property owners....

As for front doors..mine is solid steel with an iron gate front. I can open the metal insert during nice weather and the net covering allows me to see out, but people can't see in. Sweetie installed a camera as well as a motion light. Easy to tell who's at the door and the light comes on at night when there is movement. I sort of live with a James Bond type of guy

Off to finish a few things around here and then I think Sweetie wants to take me to the movies this afternoon, and I'm always up for that .....cya'll later.

[sherinjoy]

Front door choice - We have a painted metal door - easy maintenance - with a peep hole. We live in a neighborhood that gets door-to-door salespeople, so I want to be able to see who is at the door before opening it. We have lots of light from our windows, so I didn't need light from the door. We don't have a screen door, but lots of neighbors do. I can open our windows with screens if I want fresh air.

Indiana - thanks for the update, was wondering how she was doing. Thinking about her yesterday with all the fireworks and bad air quality. I don't like to be out in all that smoke!

Feels like a Monday today - strange to have a holiday on a Wednesday. House cleaning on the agenda, and laundry! Always laundry!

[Cowinkie]

OK, if you didn't think I was a bit crazy before this might just do it.

I'm in love....with a mop

Just as I was signing off from here the doorbell rang. Sweetie answered and handed me a big box. It was the mop I had ordered from HSN. I felt like it was Christmas....I tore open the box, screwed the mop together and headed to the sink. The mop comes with a bucket. You fill it with water and there is basket within the bucket that you put the mop head in after you've gotten it wet. There's a pedal on the outside of the bucket. You stick the mop head in the basked and then use the foot pedal to spin the mop head....It's like a lettuce spinner only for a mop.

I couldn't wait to try it...and it works!!!! I cleaned more that a 1000 sq ft of tile, including my 2.5 baths in less then 35 minute and I never got my hands wet. My "girls" use a micro thread mop and my floors always looked so good when they finished. I don't mind cleaning a house, but I HATE mops because they seem so nasty to me.

I hated the idea of giving up my girls because I dreaded doing my floors...however I just went back to look at them and all I can say is WOW!!! Whoever thought I would get so excited over a mop.....

http://www.hsn.com/as-seen-on-tv/spin-m ... =&ocm=seis

[Harmony]

I have not completely cuop yet but wanted to stop and give my opinion on doors. We replace them quite often so have a little knowledge.

Steel is ok, but make sure it is not just steel clad. Those still have wood blocking along the bottom, and here that is the part that starts to rot out. Most total steel doors look more commercial to me, but you might find different.

Wood is not good here. It might do better in states that have less humidity and water than we do. Do you have an overhang where the water does not always splash on the door or wash up along the bottom? Gutters above? If it is sheltered enough, it might do ok, but not in our state.

DH has gone to fiberglass doors. They don't rot, warp, termites don't eat them, etc. and you must be aware of what kind of trim and casing you're using also. They're usually wood and will tend to rot if water is a problem. With the fiberglass doors, we use composite jambs, and I don't know what that's made of, just something man-made that looks like wood and it's paintable and it doesn't rot either. Our fiberglass doors are not cladded over wood. They're totally fiberglass. Ours come with a smooth texture or a wood-grained texture, and with molded panels or totally flat. Ours is painted, it looks just like wood. They're pricey.

As far as windows, they're nice to see out of, but can be broken into easier than solid door. We have impact resistant glass in ours, but that is very pricey and might not be necessary in your state. Necessary here because of the wind codes. I like the top 1/3 glass and bottom 2/3 solid material. Less chance of being kicked and broken. We are 2/3 glass and 1/3 door at bottom, but I wouldn't do that if I had kids here all the time.

I hope that was helpful. I'm back to finish cuop.

[Harmony]

Wow, Dee, that was quite a scare with the bump on the car. Yikes!
Kathryn, I'm sorry you had such a rough 4th. Hope today is going better.
Sorry to read Indiana is in the hospital. I was wondering about her when she said she was only 75% and then we didn't hear from her.

When I started reading today's I immediately looked up aphelion, had never heard that phrase, then I saw bittersweet's explanation!

Our 4th was ok I guess. DH worked half a day and I did a bunch of cooking and at noon took a meal to a guy who's wife was sick.

I sewed in the afternoon. DH went to see the fireworks, but I didn't go because he insisted on taking the big dumptruck so he could see over the trees...but I wasn't interested in riding in that dusty bumpy thing. We had a big storm but it must have blown through quick enough for them to set them off.

Today I've been super busy. 3 LOL hanging up. Desk cleared, checks written, account fixed. Ran out with deposits and charge payment to 4 banks; stopped and got gas in empty gas tank. Ran into W-M for milk. I have a big shopping scheduled for tomorrow, but didn't have time for it today. Oh, I did big cleanup in kitchen, dishes, cabinets wiped, and mopped the floor in there.

Cowinkie, I've seen that mop on TV. It looks like it'll work nicely. I use a string mop with a bucket that has a funnel shaped thing in it to twist the mop in to dry but it leaves it pretty wet. I also have a micro-pad velcro pad mop that I use too. I have an old-fashioned sponge mop but don't use that, don't like it. I wish I had one of those steam mop things, but can't decide on a brand.

[Norma]

New Baby on the way! DD informed us this morning that dggd is going to have a baby brother or sister in March. Naturally we are excited. We are hoping for a boy and I am sure "Daddy" is too, but we will be with whatever they/we get.

Cowinkie - I love the mop! So does Mr. Guy and he is excited about it. I mentioned the wheel washing and he will look at the video.

We are headed out for lunch and then to have my nails done. I am doing something different this time - Pink and White (or French Manicure) but Mr. Guy doesn't know yet. It is a surprise.

[helia]

Ah, good point about wood doors, Harmony. We have a lot of water too, maybe not as much as you, though. At least ours is usually solid in the winter. Three of our doors are 4+ feet from the edge of the overhang or porch ceiling. The playroom door has less of an overhang protecting it. Our contractor covered our doors in a sealant or something to help protect them from the elements. They may need to be replaced more often than other doors. Also, the dog can scratch them up more easily than metal, for sure. . . Grrr... But it is worth it to us.

Found a funny blog from 2010 about a 2 week experiment living as a 50s housewife! It is a little rough around the edges, but the Canadian writer has a great sense of humor! And she was surprised by some of the things she learned. I just skimmed a little; she details every day of her experiment.

Can you tell I'm totally distracted and not getting much done? I need to be more like the 50s housewife!

http://www.jenbutneverjenn.com/2010/05/ ... iment.html

Off to finish the groc. list.