Household Science

This morning I started with the idea of keeping a list of things I've done, rather than making a list of things to do.  I am going to see my mother at noon.  I am trying to make the most of the time before then.  Here is what I have done:

• Cleared the sinks upstairs and down with baking soda and vinegar.  This was a lesson for me.  It turns out you need a lot more vinegar than you think.  First I stuffed the drain with baking soda, then  I poured in white vinegar.  The downstairs sink had a less exciting reaction, as I didn't use enough vinegar.  The upstairs sink burbled and gurgled and spat out of the overspill hole.  Very exciting.  I think it may need to be done again, and that Abby and Sam should do it.
• Fold five loads of laundry.  Nothing else need be said about that.  
• Made another pot of coffee.  Much needed.
• Dealt with the upstairs toilet.  It is always clogged.  Opened it up and watched it flush.  Made a sign for the bathroom- Hold the handle down!  
• Glued the arm back onto the little couch that fell apart on New Year's Eve.

A change in plans...

The roof still leaks.  What to do?  As it continues so does life beneath it.  I am changing this blog into a sort of domestic record.  What happens within may affect the roof.  We'll see.

Rent my Lent

Imagine this:  The son of your God came down to earth and died for your sins.  To honor him, you are supposed to sacrifice something for forty days, to prepare yourself for his rising.

Forty days.  Doesn't seem like much, really. 

What have you given up?

I have never been religious, but the rituals of religion have always interested me.   I am the kind of girl who buys matzo at Passover.  This year I am going to observe the tradition of a kind of fasting for Lent.

During the Middle Ages meat, dairy and eggs were often forbidden during Lent.  I have given up, for the period of Lent, all meat, fish and dairy.  To add a modern flair I have also given up white sugar.   During Lent Sundays are considered "mini-Easters" and are not included in the forty days.  I am adapting this a bit, allowing myself a meal with my mother and one other social meal a week outside of my fasting for Lent.

Lent traditionally consists of three practices: prayer, fasting and almsgiving (which Wikipedia also calls "justice towards neighbor".)  I ask you this:  why not make your almsgiving a donation toward my roof?  I am doing the fasting.  I've given up enough for three or four people, really. 

Forty nickels. Forty quarters.  Forty dollars.

Forty days.  C'mon, rent my Lent. 

Moving Slowly

hand-dyed wool and mohair, ready to spin

 

 Seems it takes a lot of

time and effort 

to turn this

hand-spun yarn waiting to be plied

Sam's photo of money in a pan

into this

into this.

So far the most productive thing I have done to earn money for a new roof is clean.  It seems there is change everywhere I turn.  Pennies in the Playmobil.   Quarters under the couch.  Next week I will consolidate my little jars of coins, put them in that crazy machine at the bank and out that in my little savings account.  

Ebay has been a bust so far.  My Etsy store is still empty.  I think winter may be the time to lay the foundation for the incredible success spring is sure to bring.  Right?  Right?

Until then, here is a little something I am working on...

Fire it up.

When I was a freshman at Emerson I decorated the walls of my dorm room with colored vinyl. My roommate, Miss Teen California, Miss Jolene (no kidding) brought a lot to the room. A lot of hairspray. A lot of makeup. A lot of cigarette smoke. I brought colored vinyl and a featherbed.

Most of the records were from Newbury Comics, where I would look for anything colorful. I hadn't heard of most of the bands. I didn't listen to any of the records. I was in it for the color.

Seventeen years later I still have those records. Almost everything I bought remained as obscure as it was then. But there was one record, the orange one, that went a little further. Some guy named Kid Rock.

I still haven't listened to it. I hope he's worth a shingle or two.

Fire It Up. On Ebay.

Bluefaced....

This is the first yarn I have spun since the Farmer's Market ended this fall. Bluefaced Leicester, kettle-dyed this summer. I had intended to put it on Etsy when the twist was set but I had a tricky time plying it and am rethinking my intentions. I overfilled my bobbin. Got all tangled. Didn't pay attention to my wheel. Now I am afraid it is too twisted, too energetic.

That aside, it is very soft, very light, and very blue. I will give it a few more days to rest. Then I will see if this yarn helps me raise the rooftop.

Full Disclosure

I feel like maybe I am starting with an unfair advantage. I have a savings account already that I plan on using to squirrel away all my roof money. I think I should tell you it has a little in it already: $11.73. Now you know.