Hot Suction

No picture of it yet, but I'll try to get one soon, of our newest pet. Yes, we did a little shopping today, and as is usual with D4 and I, we went out to buy one thing and came home with something quite different.

I'll 'splain. We've been needing a new vacuum cleaner, since the two we have are on their last sucky breaths. One keeps burning out belts, which is annoying as well as smelly; the other has lost most of its oomph. We had been looking at, and planning to buy, a canister vac since they seem to be pretty powerful and easy to maneuver. Especially now that we have so much bare floor, a versatile and efficient vac seemed to be the answer.

So we went. We looked at canisters. We tested out canisters. I've been particularly fond of the Dyson canister--it's a homely little beast, but a friend has one and I was impressed by how quickly and easily it cleaned up broken glass. Well, it's heavy. As in, very very heavy. All of the canisters were.

Then we saw the Electrolux vacs. Very cute, very functional. Very red. Tested out one or two of those. The saleslady suggested we look at the little Dyson ball vac... lightweight, efficient, not a lot of bells and whistles but oh my, lots of power. So that's the one that came home with us.

It's already vacuumed most of the downstairs. D4 is loving using it, and I think I'll have no problem with it either. So, cat hair? Dust bunnies? Dust elephants? No worries!

Hot Times!

The NaBloPoMo theme for August is "hot" and I have decided to take on the challenge: a post a day, with a "hot" topic! In fact, just to make it more fun (in a twisted sort of way, my specialty!) I'm going to use the word "hot" in every title.

The irony to this, of course, is that I really dislike heat, and don't do well in the summer! I have to admit that this summer, so far, we've had a few hot days--as well as an earthquake--but (here I'm cursing myself and the state, sorry folks!) it hasn't been too bad.

Now watch: record-breaking heat will be the new order of the day!

Here's one of my favorite hot topics, though: Miss A, who has found a new "toy." Yes, like her cousin Garrett, she just loves Memere's knitting bag.

It's a perfect toy for her, really. It's big but not heavy, it's full of really interesting items that she can't get at, there's nothing she can hurt herself on...

and it has a delicious zipper pull!
Who knew baby girls love to gnaw on zipper pulls?
This has kept her amused for a long time. She's really learned to focus on things, and she seems to be very curious about everything in her world. Mommy's hair, and Memere's glasses, and zipper pulls and green Birkies.

Oh, and an occasional toy.

Lest you think this is just a baby blog today, I would like to call your attention to the contents of that bag. Yes, it's the Sweet Pea Sweater, and thanks to the fascinating qualities of the zipper pull, I've been able to knit while keeping an eye on her. The sleeves are coming right along, and as soon as they're done I'll be able to sew the sweater together.

I'm also planning to participate in this year's Summer Ravelympics games--you can see a couple of my "team badges" over on the sidebar. I've joined five teams, but three of the projects are WIPs Wrestling, which will have a double goal as it will help with my Mission Possible 2008 goals as well.

Bet you thought I'd forgotten all about those, huh? What with the distractions of house renovations, babysitting, fun and games at the ER... Well, not all the items on my list are within easy grasp, but I'm still hopeful that eventually the Organization Fairy will sprinkle her magic pixie dust on things and I'll actually be able to find my book on getting organized. Then I'll be dangerous!

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's Friday night and time for my What Not To Wear fix. I heard there's a particularly juicy Clintonist smackdown on a fugly handknit tonight!

Summertime...

...and the livin' is lazy. Case in point:


Certain inhabitants of this house seem to think that if it's summer, they get to lay around and look cute.

Well, I guess that's par for the course. That is their job, right?

The house continues to come together, although very slowly it seems. Funny how hard it is to unload boxes when you can't stand up!

The ankle holds grudges. It will let me do certain things, and then slam me down. Sample dialogue when I got home last night: "Okay, I carried you around during class tonight. I didn't complain much. So hear me now! ROWRRR!"


However, thanks to a visit from the Vegas branch of the family, a little furniture moving and rug-laying happened and now we have these new fur-catchers down.

I had to edit the pictures a bit, so you wouldn't see the stacks on the tables. We are using them, after all!

The new coffee table (which is actually a storage bench) fits right in with the furniture and the style we're trying to achieve, and the dining room rug also carries the "oak tree" theme.

See the oak leaves and acorns there?? As soon as I can be a little more ambulatory, and the table gets cleared off, I hope to have some good pictures of the full "effect" with the table, the light fixtures, and the French doors.

That's it for now. The furboys haven't been cooperating with the camera--they've spent a lot of time sleeping, and I don't do much either since it's hard to do anything without standing up!