A Smattering of Summer Stuff

Here's a smattering of updates....

My potted plants: Three survived. Yay for the pansies, succulent, and lavender. The chocolate mint died in the few hot days we've had...such a shame because it's one of the best smelling mints ever. Might get a new one and put it in the shade for summer. The wind also beat up the bird feeder, so it's probably time to buy a new one. I got five years out of this one, so it's done well. As for other plant stuff, I could trim up some shrubs that are touching the house. Supposedly those branches transport carpenter ants and other nasty bugs onto your home.

My car: So we all change our car batteries from time to time, but apparently having corrosion can also cause your battery to not work so well. I ended up buying a new battery, but I really had let a bunch of corrosion sit there for a long time. I checked online and apparently you can keep the terminals clean with baking soda and water--just try to disconnect the wires from the terminals first and go at it with a toothbrush. The baking soda makes a bunch of bubbles and cleans it up. I recommend you look up more detailed directions because sulfuric acid and batteries are potentially dangerous. The acid can burn holes in your clothes, blind you, etc. Still, I never was taught to clean up my battery growing up, so it's good to know it's not super mysterious and can be done safely.

My kitchen: Oh, the kitchen. Today I bought some earthy products in the hope that cool cleaning tools will inspire me to spend more time in there. Have I written this before? I think so...anyways, I'm trying out some cellulose wipeys instead of always using paper towels. They're Full Circle cellulose cleaning cloths. They can go in the dishwasher or be boiled, so that sounds hygienic. I heard that sponges are actually really nasty and you should use washable rags anyways. Still, I can't seem to give up on sponges all together. I also got two plant-based sponges, Twist Clean Naked Sponges. (Aren't most sponges often natural sponge, though?)  But somehow these just look cooler--plain white, no coloring, etc. I'm sure there's some rule out there of when to buy a new sponge, and I'm sure I'm due.

That's all for now....

Free Shred Day and Cleaning out the Glove Box

I would be remiss if I did not mention the City of Austin's Free Shred day coming up Sat. May 18. You can find out more info at the city's link: http://www.austintexas.gov/event/free-shred-day

I found some shreddable documents today when I decided to empty out my glove compartment in my car...I used to keep my service records in there, but in the last few years I started putting them in a file folder indoors. Anyways, finding service receipts from 2003 was funny but jarring. I also found a map to a state I haven't lived in for years. Even better, I found the my back-up garage door opener. In my defense, it's very small and black, and for some reason I thought it was in the house, not in the glove box. Such a good feeling when you find long-missed items when you tidy up. 

By the way, I know we call it the glove compartment, but how funny we still call it that when no one is wearing driving gloves. According to Merriam Webster, the first known use of this term was in 1939. Must have stuck.