Busy Doing Nothing

Holy smokes! Time flies when you're doing a whole lotta nothin'! Since my last post I packed nearly all of my office, snaked the toilet, took a friend on a giant shopping trip to Costco, drove to Conway and spent three days retrieving Orion, snaked the toilet (again), went grocery shopping (I'd forgotten how much he eats!), packed up more of my office, checked out the new paint job (pictures soon!) on the new office, waited for the cable guy and plumber, and knitted with my good friend, Jennifer.

No wonder I'm worn out! And this is supposed to be a vacation!

Tomorrow I plan to return to Costco (they overcharged me about $44), pack up the rest of my office (tall order, I know!), and make dinner! I have to get the "rat killin'" out of the way before I settle back into writing.

I better get some sleep!

What Are Your Thoughts?

Friends, I am in need of some advice. Nearly a year ago I lamented about my G.E. washer needing serious repairs. The repair man suggested junking it as the cost to repair it would come in just under the cost of replacing it. He did tell me I could run it till it stopped working. It's slowing down considerably and I've washed a few loads twice just to get them clean, but it's still chugging along. But the other day the dryer got really hot (too hot) and smelled like all sorts of fiery death (probably more like burning cat hair) and well, we just sort of encouraged her to go to the light.


Well, the weather's been good and I usually use mother nature to dry my laundry, but after a week of off and on rain and nearly 100% humidity, I had to truck my stuff to the laundromat to get them dried. I am going to have to buy a washer and dryer soon.


So I've been shopping.


And reading.


And shopping some more.


And now I wish I hadn't read so much, because now I am confused more than ever.


I pretty much decided to avoid the G.E. and Roper brands because I do not wish to replace the washer and dryer in another five to six years. While front loaders are out of my price range, I have dreamed about them for years and a good friend bought a display set, discontinued color, for a steal! After reading about front loaders' having serious and expensive computer problems, it made those grapes seem less tasty. I found a Maytag that was one or two rungs up from their intro model and thought, "this just might do!" But then a friend told me about Maytag's woes a few years back and I started reading up on them. Oh my! I found a Whirlpool at Coscto, but they now own Maytag. And I believe I read that Kenmore (Sears) are made by the same folks too!

So what I want to know from you (and please, if you're reading this post, take a minute to post a comment!) is: what brand washing machine do you or have you used and what has been your experience! What are your suggestions? Please help! While I am perfectly able to beat my panties on a rock down by the river and hang them on the line to dry, it takes a great deal of time to do so!

The Office

Curious about where I spend twelve to fourteen hours a day in any give semester? Wonder no more! Yes, it is small. Yes, it is full. Yes, it is not very orderly or terribly tidy. Behind the open door on the right is a large bookshelf. You can see my burgundy desk chair harvested from surplus some time ago. To the left you can see the grey edge of a chair for a visitor. I have already used the boxes to pack my things for the move to my NEW office.

Below is a close-up of my desk. What do they say about a cluttered desk? Perhaps I don't want to know. Yes, that's a pile of math manipulatives, a lava lamp, a stuffed Holstein, a Virgin Mary, and a Buddha. (I think most of my bases are covered!)

I spent some time Saturday boxing up the office. While I used all of the boxes procured for me, I have not quite made a dent in the pile. But first, I must find more boxes. I need more boxes!

I am very excited about my new office. It is slightly larger, nearly a square, measuring almost 100 square feet- an increase of about 40 square feet! Best of all, one wall contains a bookshelf that is 8 feet long and another wall contains cabinets above and below the U-shaped counter top. The only negatives are that the window opens into a hallway (at least there's a window!) and there are no drawers for desk items. But boy do I have plans!

I took a picture of the new office (below). Maintenance will be coming to paint the walls a beautiful green (Benjamin Moore, Aurora Borealis) some time next week. After that, I get to start moving in my goodies! I can't wait! I'll make sure I take "after" pictures to go with the "before" pictures!

The Library

The library is a quiet and dark place. Just like a library should be, I think! It is probably the second largest room in the house with the basement "playroom" coming in first. The library is adjacent to the dining room and the foyer and most likely served as the formal living room. It is a large rectangle with two windows on the exterior wall. There are no overhead light fixtures or wall switches. Perfect for nine six feet tall book cases and then some.

I'd like to say that the library contains all of our books, however there are two bookshelves in John's room and two in Orion's room. And if I recall correctly, there might be two or three boxes of books left in the garage. (And a whole bunch more in my office at school!) At one time I could give you a precise number of books owned, but not any more. With every move I have given several boxes away. With every trip to Half-Priced Books in Overland Park a few more books find their way home. To limit my habit, I try to purchase only hard back books. This new approach is working and my book whoring had slowed considerably.

In addition to the innumerable books, the library contains two comfy chairs a floor lamp, a roll top desk, the dissertation table (ugh!), and a lot of tchotchke. One of my favorite items is pictured left, a wind chime from S. Korea that Tree and P.D. sent to Orion when he was born. Below are some additional pictures of the library.

(Letter writing central)

(Children's literature corner)

(Wall of books and dissertation table; view from the dining room)

(Looking toward the foyer from the dining room)

With the dissertation and so many of my favorite items residing in the library one would think I would spend more time there. I wish I did.

The Past Week or So...

The past two weeks have been crazy! I am teaching three courses this summer. And with Orion at his grandparents' house in Arkansas one would think that I have had plenty of time to catch up on whatever it is I need to catch up on, but alas, I feel as if I have run from one fire to another. I feel like a cat chasing my tail. Will I ever catch it?

Roughly two weeks ago we began packing to head to Conway. Orion's birthday was the 25th and we wanted to celebrate his special day with him. The day before we left, Nola became ill and vomited in the area between the library and the dining room. Six or seven times. Seriously. I took pictures; I have proof. We had no time to seriously clean, so we disposed of the chunks and set off to Arkansas. Well, whatever was ailing Nola passed quickly as she did very well to and from Arkansas.

We stayed as long as possible, returning right before the both of us had to return to work. The week before the holiday was crammed with teaching, meetings, grading, and the usual. I had to write a proposal for a conference in Sacramento, CA in January of 2010. (After submitting it, only moments before the deadline, they ended up extending the deadline another week!). I planned and prepared for my last week of classes. Graded some more. Carved out four hours to celebrate the 4th of July. Attended a multiple day Program Revision Retreat (My head still hurts!). Squeezed in some sleep, but not nearly enough. Graded even more papers. Started the process of packing and moving my office. And started (mentally) counting down the hours till the Summer Semester ends for me! Thursday night can't come soon enough.

And somewhere, amidst all of this I made time to rent the Rug Doctor (again!) and scrub all of the carpets and the dog vomit stains. I am very pleased with my clean carpets. I believe Spot is impressed too. (See the picture below.)

Did I mention that it looks like we're going to have to "pull and snake" the toilet in the main bath? Sounds like a fun weekend!

Thrift Store Finds

Much of my house is decorated in family hand-me-downs or thrift store finds. And I like it that way. Each of the items that I choose for my home has a story and purpose. I just might not know what that story was or what the purpose is. Eventually it is all revealed.
The awesome lotion and soap dispensers were found in Harrison, AR at the Junk-Shun. It's a big red barn filled with amazing treasures. My friend, Shannon, recommended it. The first thing I noticed was how well lit the store was. The second was how clean everything was. These groovy retro bottles (and they're glass) were $4 for the set.

The plastic cracker tray came from the Leslie Antique Mall in Leslie, AR. It was a $1.50 and so dirty I wasn't certain I wanted to pick it up to bring it home. It cleaned up nicely and will make a great addition to my collection of Crazy Daisy (a.k.a. Spring Blossom Green) Corelle that I am collecting.


Shannon came up to visit the first part of June and one of the things we always try to make time to do is to visit the antique stores and flea markets in the area. One of our favorites is Those Were the Days- a three story flea market! There I found something I couldn't part with! And at a $1.00 who could blame me! Clothing for my toaster! Don't you just love it?

Banana Bread

What do you do with those bananas you can't bring yourself to eat or throw out? You make Banana Bread, of course! Don't have the time or patience? Give this recipe a try.

I made this bread during the spring semester and brought it to my morning class. We had no left-overs!

Banana Bread

What you need:

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons corn syrup

3 ripe bananas

nuts or raisins to add

What you do:

Grease and flour a Crock-Pot. For this recipe I used a $3 Crock we found at the Salvation army. It is a 3.5 quart Crock-Pot with a removable insert (*See above).

Combine the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter, sugar, eggs, corn syrup (if you have it), and bananas until smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the mixture. I used the Kitchen Aid mixer for this. At last, add nuts or raisins.

Dump into the Crock-Pot, cover, and cook on high for 1.5 to 2 hours. If yo have a larger Crock-Pot, you will need to decrease the cooking time.

The Dining Room

Just about 18 months ago we were lucky enough to find an abode large enough to house all of our 'stuff' and even luckier to have several great friends help us move.

Over the past year and a half, my mother has asked me on several occasions to share pictures of my house. And honestly, I would love to. My only problem seems to stem from the fact that the entire house is never clean enough for pictures at any one time. Even when we have company, there's a room or three that is piled high with a disturbing amount of crud. In fact, much of the dissertation is in a box behind a large chair in the library at this very moment.

It came to me one day, after putting up my new china cabinet actually, that I could take pictures of each room, shortly after it is cleaned, and not worry about the rest of the house. Eventually I will photograph the entire house and family and friends far away will know what my house looks like.

Now, on to the dining room. The dining room is one of my favorite rooms in the house, yet it is rarely used. As far as dining rooms go, it is rather small. The oak table that I inherited from my mother (First it was my mothers, then my brother's, then it was my sister's, until she gave it back to him and he later gave it to me with the instructions that I could only have it if I promised not to bring it back!) is about four feet in diameter. The dining room is just big enough to fit this table with four chairs. The room shrinks a bit when folks are sitting at the table.

But what the dining room lacks in size it makes up for in storage. In fact, the amazing number of closets in this house just blows my mind! The dining room has two, built-in, dish or china cabinets. They are located on the outside wall and frame the dining room window. The cabinet to the left of the window is picture here on the left. You can see my aluminum canister set as well as my aluminum cake plate. The cabinet to the right is an exact replica.

The one on the left contains my Visita Alegre china that I purchased at an outlet mall in Lebanon, MO several years ago to the tune of 90 cents a piece. Fortunately I found a setting of eight pasta bowls, salad plates, cups, and saucers. I even found some nifty serving pieces. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate a full size dinner plate. So I use these brightly colored, make me happy plates, as my pasta ware. The top shelf contains a couple of my teapots, my Japanese dish set from Pier 1 that I found at the Salvation Army for $7 (W00T!) and a couple of very nice, treasured Korean pieces that Tree and PD brought to me several years ago. The bottom of this cabinet contains odds and ends: pickle and relish trays, Jewel Tea pieces, and a set of 12 Corelle dishes Crazy Daisy.

The open part of the second cabinet, located to the right of the window serves as my liquor cabinet (too dusty to be pictured!). On the shelves below you would find a collection of glass pitchers as well as an impressive collection of Corelle baking dishes of all sizes. Above, you will find assorted glassware. Left you will see a picture of my Grandma Josephine's Candlewick glasses with some Boopie pieces tossed in. What a treat. Not pictured are some gorgeous, heavy glass, orange goblets that my friend Shannon found and bought for me one day when we were adventuring south of town.

In one corner of the dining room there is a seven foot bookcase crammed with some of our cookbooks. This bookcase is just right of the pocket door that leads to the kitchen. To the left of that door is the new china cabinet. Due center along the back wall you will find my highchair from my childhood currently being used as a plant stand.

The walls of the dining room are decorated in primitive art from well known artists like Grandma Fran and Katherine Mangione. Funky plates and pottery also decorate the walls. Perhaps this is one of my favorite rooms because so many of my favorite goodies and memories are stored here.