A Small Misunderstanding

I got all excited yesterday when I thought that the TV program might air the photo of my kitchen today ... and I assumed that the show was taped in the morning and aired that afternoon. That was an incorrect assumption, and now I know that the show tapes with a live audience and then airs from one to two weeks later.

I emailed the woman who first contacted me and asked if they had used my photo and she informed me that the show had not taped yet and even if they do use it, it won't air for a while. She also said "we found a kitchen that's a whole lot uglier than yours, so we may not use your photo." Mr. kenju said that was sort of an insult....but I call it a "backhanded compliment."

No one knows better than I that we need new countertops and back splash, but we are always a day late and a dollar short as the old saying goes. The other problem we have is that we can seldom agree on how to correct a decor situation. He would vote for granite and I want to see what the latest favorite thing is before I make a decision. Discussing it with a friend recently, I found out that stainless steel is replacing granite as the countertop of choice, and butcher block is coming in at a close second. I really like both of those choices, as they may be more durable or easier to fix if there is a problem.

Imagine that you need to re-do your kitchen and are trying to decide what surface you'll use on your counters....what would you choose and why?

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone, and my prayer for 2010?

Peace.

Boiled Eggs, Irate Neighbors and Deer (always the deer)

Watch this video to learn how to remove a boiled egg from the shell without peeling! I haven't tried it that way - putting baking soda in the water - but that must be the trick. I did attempt to blow out an egg I had boiled with plain water and it did not work! If you try this, please let me know what happens.

***

Big happenings in my neighborhood these days, and not all of it pleasant to take. The current HOA has been derelict in communication and when they did communicate, it seemed to take on the form of "YOU DO THIS NOW" or "fork over this amount"....... because we said so."

That doesn't fly with some of us and about 25 homeowners attended Monday night's meeting, as did I. There were sparks flying everywhere at the start, when one man refused to shake the hand of another. There's no excuse for that; it sets a bad tone for the rest of the discussion. Midway into the meeting, that was remedied, and both parties shook - albeit tentatively. But accusations were bandied about and defenses were mounted. I heard that one member of the board got bonded and another sought the advice of an attorney, lest his character be defamed. This is serious stuff, people, and I would hope that we can settle our differences without resorting to lawyers.

It's not that we don't have serious problems - we do. Too few people pay their homeowners dues (they are voluntary). We need a new entrance sign and some landscaping, some people don't maintain their property as they ought and in the past, none of this has been enforced. If you haven't enforced the covenants in over 30 years - it's very hard to just start doing it , especially with people who are not naturally compliant. Some need to remember that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar (sarcasm and/or rude outbursts are not productive.)

We have such a wonderful women's group here; I don't know why some of the men have to act like bantam roosters (see image above) strutting their stuff.

Another quote from Wilferd A. Peterson:

"To be a friend a man should be tolerant. He should have an understanding heart and a forgiving nature, knowing that all men stumble now and then, and that he who never made a mistake never accomplished anything."

*****

The deer are still coming around to my yard and they seem more placid every day. Some of the neighbors want to remove them, or scare them off with buckshot. I won't do that; they were here before I was. It's true that they are beginning to overrun the area - or so it seems - but there has to be a better solution than harming them. I suppose it would cost too much to round them up and transplant them to more rural areas. Why can't we all get along? Neighbors, deer and all of us together!

Caption This! + If I Ruled the World...

Give it your best shot - in the comments, please.
(And no, I don't know who it is.)

^^//^^\\^^

If I ruled the world, kitchen and bathroom cabinets would always be high enough off the floor to allow a vacuum cleaner easy access right up to the shoe molding!!

If I ruled the world, every wall in the house would have 2 electrical outlets (minimum).

If I ruled the world, good coffee would be no more than $1 per cup, with unlimited refills!