Archive for washing machine

>In the niddle of it…

December 12, 2010 at 4:22 pm · Filed under bedroom, bookcase, chores, courage, domestic help, energy, laundry, organizing, paperwork, sofa, the cold, Tyke, washing machine, worries

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I’m in the middle of doing chores and really don’t have the time to sit down and write a post, but while the washing machine is churning away, I figured I could ignore the dishes and sit here for a bit. I can see the dishes from where I’m sitting behind the computer and I’m glancing at them as I write. I will not be intimidated by them. There are not that many of them and I’ll have them done in no time. I’m saying this with all the courage I have in me at the moment and that is more than I had earlier in the day when I was more cowardly. 
I’ve done some chores already and did them more speedily than I had anticipated. I’m more efficient than I thought I was. Apparently I had put enough thought into it ahead of time that I went to work in an organized fashion and got them done in the shortest amount of time. Either that or I had them blown up in my mind to a size that was completely out of proportion to their actual size. I think the latter must have been the most true. I do worry about things ahead of time too much. 
I had one single sock in the dry laundry, but I know where the other one is. Tyke had stolen it and used it as a security blanket. It had floated around the living room for a few days. He had not chewed any holes in it and I finally took it away from him and put it in the next load of laundry. I’ll have to give him an old sock that smells like me. I don’t really know if I have one. He’ll have to wait until I truly have an old sock. Maybe the next time I have a hole in the toe of one, but my socks seem so sturdy. They are industrial strength socks. 
I’m slowly reorganizing the bookcase in the bedroom and finding new places for all the things that Tyke shows the least bit of interest in. It means getting rid of things too. A lot of it is paperwork that needs to be better organized and it’s a good reason to do that. I need to make a box with vital documents and have those safe in a cabinet where they are also handy. I used to have them in a file system, but it has fallen apart due to old age. You always have to decide what to keep for posterity and what can just go. It’s also important to stay in the here and now. 
Tyke purposely rolls his tennis ball under the sofa and then stands beside it and barks so that I have to get the African walking stick and get the ball out from underneath. He’s a little stinker. I saw him do the same thing with the ball and the CD rack. He’d get it stuck underneath there and couldn’t get it out without my help, but he pushed it underneath there himself on purpose. He really made the effort to. That dog is much smarter than I give him credit for. 
Every time I think the washing machine is done, it goes and does something else. European washing machine sure take their time to run through all the cycles and I put it on a short program too. I want to dry the laundry tonight so that I can change my bed again soon. I have a shortage of pillow cases, because I use four at the time and I can’t find the right size unless I go to Ikea. I haven’t been there in a long time and I should talk my sister into going. 
I discovered the window in the spare bedroom was open and had been open for god knows how long. It does explain why it was getting so cold in here so quickly. One of the domestic helps must have opened it and I have a suspicion which one it was. I kept feeling a draft by my legs when I sat behind the computer, but I thought it was because of the cat flap. Since I closed it, it is a lot warmer in here and the heater hasn’t gone on all day. It goes to show you how much energy I could have saved. I’m glad I discovered it before it got really cold again tonight. I would have turned up the heater with it open and have been none the wiser.
I think the washing machine is done and I will go hang up the laundry. It’s dark outside and time to turn on the lights. It’s time to be cozy and cuddle the animals. 
Have a good evening!
Ciao,
Nora

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>Chores…

September 3, 2009 at 3:36 pm · Filed under books, boots, chores, clothes, Ikea, laundry, television, washing machine, weather

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Instead of doing chores in sets of threes, I am being lazy and doing one chore at a time and in between each chore I get to sit at the computer. In a while I have to get up and hang up a load of laundry, because I changed the sheets on my bed again, because I deserve it. I got them straight off the rack in the bathroom onto my bed. There’s nothing I like better than clean sheets. Well yes, a good looking man between them maybe.

Anyway, little by little I’m getting a bunch of things done and I’ve even glued the sole to my boot and pinned it in place with clothes pins. I only hope I’ve found the right glue, but the Exfactor told me where to find it, so I assume I had the right tube. It was mighty sticky and I almost glued my fingers together. Nice gooey stuff. I’ve done the dishes and I went to the tobacconist and I’ve swept the living room floor, because there was hair again. The bane of my life. I see I have to sweep the kitchen floor also, so that will be on my list too.

My plan was to start reading The Secret Scripture, but I haven’t even gotten around to doing that. I will though as soon as everything else is done. The problem is, that every time I turn around, I see something else that needs to be done, so I think I better stop looking and start ignoring things. Like this dusty computer desk I’m sitting at and which I have to wipe clean every time I turn around. I so very much want carpet to keep the dust down, but I’d have to rob a convenience store first and I don’t think I can make a quick getaway on my bike. Besides, I don’t have any real criminal tendencies. The stress would do me in.

It stopped raining, but the sun never did come out and the weather is blustery. I still have the top windows open and the blinds are fluttering in the strong draft. It does mean that there’s some fresh air coming in here and I need that with all the cigarette smoke.

I always thought I didn’t like the wind, but I’m finding out differently. I do like the way it whips around my head and body, as long as it’s not too cold. It’s not as nice when you’re riding your bike into it and you don’t get ahead, but walking into it is great fun. I know I’m going to regret saying that in the middle of winter and the arctic wind howls around me, but that very seldom happens, so I should be okay. Hey, watch me get snow blind in flurries whipped up by some storm in January.

I am now already thinking about the clothes I’m going to wear tomorrow. It will have to be a sweater, because of the chilliness. I’m glad I’m wearing my leggings, because it means I can wear my comfortable mini skirts again. They make it so easy to get on and off my bike. I also enjoy wearing my boots, the weather is right for them again. So you see, I get to pick out whole different things from my wardrobe and that does make getting dressed more exciting. The more layers of clothes, the better.

The washing machine has stopped spinning, so the laundry is ready and I get to hang up the next load. Maybe I’ll break records in bed changing. Some of my duvet covers go on very easily, so I use them often. They will get worn out quickly and I will have to make a trip to Ikea to replace them, but I never complained about going to Ikea, except when I had to go with the Exfactor. For some reason those trips always got on my nerves. I like going with my sister, because we like to go at the same speed and look at the same things. Men just want to get to the point and race through the store. No dillydallying, except in the restaurant over the meatballs.

I’m always so surprised that my washing machine still works and I hope I don’t jinx it now by writing about it. I got it second hand and it is ancient, but it works like a trooper. I think it is indestructible. It doesn’t have any sort of computer program, but just mechanically goes through its cycles. Even the detergent and softener compartments still work, though they look a little scummy and I hardly ever use them. I should use softener, because the water is so hard here. I must remember to buy some the next time I’m in the store. They do have all sorts of lovely smelling ones.

I’m going to walk the dog now and have dinner and watch the news. Then I’m going to read my book, because after the news, there’s nothing on television for a while. A hospital reality show and an awful game show that is so bad that it makes my toes curl. Still, people watch it. It’s very popular, so we suffer.

Have a really good evening.

Ciao…

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>Friday morning.

November 7, 2008 at 10:28 am · Filed under grocery shopping, hair, house cleaning, self image, shops, the Überhund, washing machine, weight loss

>I have come to depend on the Überhund waking me up in the morning between 6 and 7 AM, but this morning he didn’t wake me up at all and I slept until 8 AM. Now he is snoring away on his blanket and I am still sitting here in my pajamas, wondering when he is going to demand to be taken for his walk. I let him out back for a little piddle, but usually that is not enough to satisfy him.

Oh well, I’ll take advantage of the extra time and start writing this post and see how far I get…

…well, I didn’t get very far at all, because just then he woke up and decided it was time to go for a walk, so I had to get dressed and coiffed and go out into the world. Luckily, it was just a short walk, because he got his business over and done with quickly. I say, luckily, because I have to wash my hair and that is always quite a production requiring labor and products to get it in the shape I want it in and there are all sorts of tricks to apply. It keeps me busy for a while, especially since my hair dryer has done a disappearing act and I think I may have to buy a new one, but that is for next month.

When I read what I write, I realize what a vain woman I really am. I am so concerned with how I look, how my hair is done and what sort of clothes I wear and what sort of necklaces and if it all looks good and matches. I could be accused of being shallow, luckily, I know I am not. I am occupied with my self image, but once I am put together, I don’t spend the rest of the day looking in every reflective surface I come across. Every day, I live under the illusion that I look good, even when that maybe is not true at all, because I am still overweight and I am 54 years old, but I let myself have that illusion and I fit in it very comfortably. I figure that I radiate confidence, so nobody is going to doubt me.

After not having done so for a very long time, I went on the bathroom scales this morning and found out that I had gained 2 kilos, which does not surprise me considering all the cookies and puddings and chocolate I have been eating lately. I guess it was not a good idea not to go on the scales all this time. I do have to get rid of those 2 kilos in the shortest amount of time, so I suppose I will be observing my diet very strictly as of today. I do have a tendency to be very self indulgent, but I think that is something most women struggle with and that I am not out of the ordinary when it comes to that.

I did the grocery shopping yesterday and got enough stuff to last me for 6 days, if I am frugal enough. I always look at how much milk I have and how much yogurt. I figure if I have those, then I’m okay. They weigh a lot to transport home. Next is the coffee, but those packs are very light to carry, just bulky, and then I always have to make sure there is tobacco, but I get that separately at the tobacco shop.

I order the food for the animals on line and it is delivered to the apartment, but I am starting to doubt now if it is any cheaper and I may start buying that at the supermarket again. I’ve had a heck of a time finding food that the cats really like and they liked the one I used to get at the supermarket, the kind that has the least amount of additives in it. The Überhund likes Frolic in the little chunks and they sell that at the supermarket too now. It’s just hauling it home that is the bother of it. I’ll have to make separate trips.

Sometimes I feel like a forager when I go out and shop. It is a question of finding the best items at the best prices and to buy them at the best stores. Stores that are local and that you want to support with your business. You want to see the stores in your neighborhood do well and make a success of it. I always get my hair cut at a hair salon that is right around the corner, where all the local people go and where the upper middle classes don’t come, and it is really a shame, because they do a good job and would flourish even more if they had that clientèle as well. The fact that they speak the local dialect should not be a hindrance.

Today is deemed hair washing day and house cleaning day. It must be so. While my hair dries with mousse in it, I can vacuum the apartment. I am so awfully excited about this, I can’t stand it. The good part is that The Überhund is shedding hardly any hair now that it is getting to be wintertime and that has cut the need to vacuum down by half. I don’t know why I make such a big deal out of vacuuming, once it is done I always feel so deeply satisfied.

Doing the dishes and doing the laundry are my two favorite jobs. The only problem now is, that I am always short of dishes and laundry, living on my own. I have to search the whole apartment for things to fill the washing machine and quickly finish my mug of coffee so it can be washed. This way, I do get clean sheets on the bed on a very regular basis, which is something I love.

I rarely see the night sky, as it is obliterated by the lights of the city, but if I could wish upon a star, I would wish for a new used washing machine, as I distrust the one I have very much. It is ancient and I am waiting for it to stop working one of these days. It churns and churns, but with each churn I keep my fingers crossed. I look kindly at it and tell it that it’s my pal and to please keep on working. So far, so good. It isn’t letting me down yet.

Well, I suppose it is time for the proverbial show again. Getting it on the road and all that. I enjoy myself too much behind the computer. It’s definitely the kind of job I should have, although I would really like to work in a library.

Have a terrific day, you all. There is no sunshine here, but it isn’t cold either, so that is good.

Ciao…

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