You can tell I’m bored when I’m writing about whether to open a piece of junk mail (see screen capture) that arrived a week ago. The USPS uses a more professional term — marketing mail — and that’s likely what it is. But are there enough outward clues to decide whether it is worth opening?
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The insulation upgrade to my 50-year-old house was completed on January 6th. So far, I don’t have enough data to know if I’m going to save significantly on heating costs. This week’s cold weather would be a great test of whether the upgrade is making the house more comfortable except there’s no good way to measure that.
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I’m still recovering from the hip injury I suffered in a bicycle fall three weeks ago. Since then, I have graduated from a walker to a cane, and therapy is helping, but I’m far from being completely mobile. Today, I decided on a good future test to see if I have regained enough mobility for normal living.
Continue readingPosted in Home, Mud Bay & Rocky Point
Last summer the pumpkin in the photo was planted and grown in a sunny fenced garden on Treasure Island. Compared to its vine mates, it was the runt of the litter. After being harvested in early October, the pumpkin had a short career as a front-door Halloween decoration. Then it moved inside. Who knew it would last this long?
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They are inexpensive, easy to store and install, safe, colorful, use low-power LED bulbs, and, most important, send a welcoming message. I’m talking about holiday window lights, which might be all you need to decorate your house’s exterior for Christmas or whatever December holidays you celebrate. This is the second year I have displayed them in my upstairs windows (see photo).
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A few weeks ago my GE dryer died overnight. One day it worked; the next day it wouldn’t start. The resulting repair, professionally done, might approach record territory for its speed and simplicity. Although I’m out almost $200, I’m happy with the result.
Continue readingPosted in Business Beat, Home
I like ADUs (accessory dwelling units). I like reading about them, touring them, thinking (OK, dreaming) about having one built. Especially entertaining are accounts of the wars that pit neighbor against neighbor when local governments relax ADU building codes to the point of absurdity in the interest of promoting density and creating additional affordable housing. Seattle and San Diego, are you listening?
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Tagged ADU, affordable-housing, housing, real-estate
Airblade at Skipper’s restaurant in Silverdale
What high-end appliance would you want in your kitchen assuming you had the space and the budget? How about a La Cornue range or a Sub-Zero refrigerator? My choice wouldn’t have anything to do with cooking or food storage. It would be a Dyson Airblade db hand dryer (see photo) so I can say goodbye to wasted paper towels and damp dish towels.
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This is Part II of the battle, which took place in January 2017 and ended in a draw.
When you fail to think things through, to consider various possibilities, things don’t always go as planned. That’s obvious, I know, but it’s my best explanation for the outcome of the rat battle.
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Posted in Home, Mud Bay & Rocky Point
Standoff in the Shower
This is Part I of the battle, which took place in January 2017 and ended in a draw.
You got a rat problem, you get a cat, right? In my case, I already had Trek, a Bengal cat, on retainer (see photo), so I figured the problem was solved. But I wasn’t battling just any rat, and Trek apparently thought of the rat more as a housemate than an enemy.
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Posted in Home, Mud Bay & Rocky Point
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