tina & carol

Starting Friday night, I felt the weather relent and a cool breeze soften the heat of summer.  It’s still warm now, but no longer stifling.  The heat had kept many of us in a stasis, bound in some sort of human cast.  There was so much to do - so much I wanted to get done, but my body was in mutiny.  But today’s a new day, and my body and mind are one.  :P  

I’m starting with the innermost room, which is the master bathroom.  Then, our bedroom and then, the closet…  And then, slowly outward, one room at a time.  I’m not sure how I acquired this pattern of cleaning, but it’s similar to the pattern of a chambered nautilus.  Every so often as I clean, I like to look back to see what I’ve done so far.  And I feel such satisfaction in knowing that that “chamber is closed” and that I don’t have to go over that area again…  It’s like our past or even our sins, once forgiven, huh?  

I can go even deeper with that analogy, but alas, I have cleaning to do!  

By the way, just to throw in a gadget for today, this is our favorite scooper:

Initially, it was my mother-in-law who had it and when I found myself constantly looking for it while helping out in her kitchen, I decided to get one, too.  After using it and confirming its indispensability in my own kitchen, I tried to get one for my sister and mom, too.  Well, I couldn’t find it again.  So, now, after many years, I finally found it at Uwajimaya in the International District (ID).  This is more than a rice spoon.  Actually, we don’t even use it for rice - it’ll scratch the sides.  We use it for scooping everything else…  

Happy Monday, everyone!

I have a lot of things I want to write about, but they’re all a bit too introspective for a Wednesday.  So, here’s a very short review on one of my favorite household tools, the Gator-Grip!

This is a must-have.  It’s one of our most frequently used tools, so I’ve given it to a couple of our friends as a housewarming gift.  Every household that has to assemble or fix things should have it.  It will save a lot of time and energy…

My review for today?  The Weed Hound.  

I read a lot of good reviews on it, so I bought one, but it didn’t fare better than my Grandpa’s Weeder.  Don’t get me wrong, they both work well on certain weeds and certain soil conditions, but for the “gecko tailed” Dandelion, they both were a hit and miss.  So, I got a “green” weed killer called Burnout II, which is 11% citric acid.  

I’ll test it out soon, and let you guys know…

So, in light of the recession, Steve and I decided to keep our 9th year anniversary sweet & simple.  I forewent a gift, since Steve has gotten me some very nice gifts in the past several years, and I got him a spice rack.  Don’t laugh!  :)  I know that sounds strange, but Steve is turning out to be quite a cook.  I think he gets the knack for taste from his mom, who is an incredible cook herself, and creativity from his dad, who has his own sense of artistic style.  So, the combination works well together!  I, on the other hand, like things by-the-book and no-nonsense!  Hahaha~  I have to learn the recipe/instructions first before I can think outside the box and that’s a stretch, too.  :)

After all my research, I landed on the Williams Sonoma Brushed Stainless Steel Spice Rack, though I do have another one on standby from Target. 

I did mention that I have another spice rack ready on standby.  It’s from Kamenstein, but for some reason, I can’t find the exact picture of it…  This is the closest to it as I can get: