Don't Trash It, Fix It!

Hello again!

The other day, as I pulled my sunglasses out of my purse, I made a terrible discovery. My sunglasses had lost a screw!

:(

Now, I have had these particular glasses for a long time. I COULD have just chucked them and bought a new pair for pretty cheap. But I didn't want to. For one, I really like these sunglasses. Additionally, all that had really happened was a screw had gone missing. I knew I could easily find an eyeglass kit and replace the screw.

Fixing what we can is the ultimate middle finger to the culture of consumption. It's a way of rejecting the status quo. And it is SUCH an empowering feeling. Seriously, successfully repairing something provides a unique kind of boost.

It is also good for the Earth. Now, rather than fossil fuels being processed into plastic, a factory turning the plastic into glasses, spewing pollution into the air, and all the transportation required to facilitate this, I bought a repair kit that can be used to fix this exact problem 9 times, AND saved my favorite sunglasses from the landfill.

Here is my kit, purchased from Dollar Tree. Other sources of such kits include grocery stores, optometrist offices, and other companies with small giveaways. These little kits are good to have around. I plan to keep mine in my sewing kit.

This kit contains 3 tiny screwdrivers (1 phillips and 2 flatheads), a cute little magnifying glass, a lens cloth, 9 screws, 2 replacement nose pads, 4 stick-on comfort cushions, and 2 "plastic starters." (I have no idea what those are for. Do you?) All of that in a cute little box.

Fixing the glasses was pretty easy once I got the arm positioned such that I could place the screw. I didn't even use the magnifying glass. They are now as good as new, although all of this fixing has me thinking that I might want to touch up the chips on the frame with nail polish!

Take a look!

Thanks for stopping by. Have you fixed something recently, instead of just replacing it? Tell me your story in the comments!

Wisdom Tooth Update

Hello, Readers!

Today is Sunday, the 6th day after my wisdom tooth surgery. I am doing much better, but not 100% yet. This is my last day of antibiotics. I have been off the prescription painkillers for almost 3 days! Very moderate soreness is now being treated with an over the counter pain killer as needed. I even ate pizza yesterday. 2 whole slices.

However, I really must complain express my concern about my lingering tongue numbness. The left side of my tongue has been numb since the surgery, and, even weirder, I have had a really odd feeling at the left base of my tongue, like a ball is wedged back there or something. It makes swallowing awkward and I feel it all the time. It doesn't actually hurt but it is annoying and distracting and strange.

The funny thing about the nerve damage is that, before the surgery, the doctor reviewed x-rays with us. He showed us the nerve and it's relation to the tooth, and predicted no nerve trouble at all. Hmm.

So now, I have to wait and see if it will go away. I really hope it does.

And now, Readers, I leave you. We are going to Lowe's to look at some goodies for our indoor and outdoor gardens. :)

Wisdom Teeth and Preparedness

Last week, I went in for a dental cleaning and x-rays. My insurance would be running out shortly and I knew I really needed to go in. I was extremely anxious about it, since I haven't been to a dentist in many years. You see, the last time I went to a dentist, the hygienists were so rude and I was just another number to the dentist. They all treated me as if I wasn't good enough to be in their chair. Grant and his family assured me that their dentist was excellent and they could squeeze me in on short notice.
So on Thursday, there I went. I was pleasantly surprised that my teeth had only 2 cavities that I would need filled. The hygienist did a "rough cleaning" on my teeth and I need to go back in soon for a finer cleaning. However, my wisdom teeth were fully "in" and they all also had cavities.
The receptionist, knowing that my insurance would be running out on the 7th, was kind enough to call the local oral surgeons and found an open appointment for Monday. Yikes.
This dentist office is fantastic. If you live in Reno and need caring dental professionals, I can't recommend Sala Family Dentistry enough. They are fantastic.
So, yeah. We definitely could have been more prepared for that. Which is why I am writing today. This wasn't exactly an emergency medical situation, but everyone should be prepared for such a thing. You see, even though I had dental insurance, the oral surgeon required a 10% down payment when I came in for the extractions. Luckily, we had plenty in savings and all was well. As a young woman, sometimes it is hard to choose between a great sale at Macy's and padding the old savings account. But I chose correctly frequently enough to make this procedure happen with no effect on our day-to-day lives.
However, when it comes to food, we could have been better prepared... Once I arrived home from the surgery, Grant and my darling brother, Kevin, carried me up the stairs to bed. And while I slept, Grant had to go shopping for soft foods, as well as pick up my prescriptions. They even let him pick up my vicodin. I didn't know that was legal, but apparently, it is. Anyhow, a few jars of applesauce and some boxes of Jello would have been a big help to us this week.
I can only imagine Grant bustling around the grocery store, hoping I'm not at home, starving to death. Luckily, any kind of medication hits me like a sack of bricks, and I slept for several hours.
And, TMI alert, I woke up with blood everywhere... In my hair, on my pillow, on my ice pack and my clothes. Yuck! Since all I wanted to do for the first day was lie in bed and sleep, having a spare set of cold-weather sheets would have been smart. But we didn't, so I had to wait, awake, out of bed, while they got clean.
Readers, learn from my mistakes! I am on the road to recovery and have managed to eat some solid foods, if they are in small pieces.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

On Valentine's Day and Romance

Hello readers! Long time no chat! Today is Valentine's Day! I came home from taking Dad's cat, Whiskers, to the vet, to find some lovely flowers from Grant! I added them to the vase that is holding the flowers he got me late last week. Yes, you heard me. In the past week, Grant has doubled the number of times he has brought me flowers.

The irises are from today, everything else is "vintage" from last week!

I was thinking about romance today, and where we learn our romantic preferences. You see, I love getting flowers and other little gifts. It really brightens my day. I think I learn this from my Mom's relationship with my Stepdad. Stepdad is really romantic. He and my mom celebrated all kinds of anniversaries. 1 month. 6 months. 18 months. All of that. And sometimes, he would bring her balloons or flowers for NO REASON. When he decided to propose to my mom, he went all out. He and Mom love going to concerts together. They went to one up in Tahoe, although I forget who was performing. After the show, they went outside and saw a limo.
"Let's see who they're waiting for," he said, "it could be someone famous!"
The limo was waiting for THEM. In the limo was a bouquet of roses. They rode around the lake and stopped at a few beaches. At one of the beaches, he proposed with a huge diamond solitaire ring. Of course, she said yes. That was almost 12 years ago, and they are happily married and have 2 adorable kids together.

My romantic reality is much different. And I am okay with that, but it took some getting used to. When I wanted to celebrate our 2 month anniversary, Grant said something along the lines of
"Woman! How many anniversaries do you need?!"
Oookay.
And I already told you guys about flowers.
But Grant is romantic in his own way. He likes to do things around the house to show he cares. He fixes things that I didn't even know COULD be fixed. It was not what I expected, but this is his type of romance. It took some adjusting, for sure, but I have grown to appreciate his own variety of romantic gestures.
When he proposed, it was uniquely "us," and decidedly unflashy. We watched a total lunar eclipse at midnight, out in front of the mall (I had just gotten off of work in the mall and there wasn't time to go anywhere else before the eclipse started). He made some cute/corny astronomy-themed statements about our relationship, and presented me with a beautiful floral ring made of blue and white sapphires. It was hardly my mother's proposal, but it was everything I could have asked for and so much more. It was perfect for us.

Getting Out of Town in an Emergency

Recently, Grant and I have been talking about Emergency Preparedness. It is something we really strive for, and we work at it a little at a time, and talk about it frequently.
Our most recent conversation turned to our cars, Pixie and Mitsi. You see, in Nevada, we are surrounded in almost every direction by miles upon miles of NOTHING. And that's a good thing! A lot of people can't stop talking about the "imminent end of the world" that is supposedly coming in December of next year. While I don't really believe 12/2012 will bring the end of the world, I recognize that a lot of people really do believe that. And when faced with the prospect of a disaster, people are capable of terrible things.
In the event of rioting and power loss in the city, staying at home is a viable option for us. We have one room in our home that has a wood-burning fireplace. While it would be cramped with all the people living here, it is certainly possible. But what if, the best solution is to leave town? Could Pixie or Mitsi save the day? They sure could, provided we stay prepared! We figured out that half a tank in either car could get us at least 200 miles away. Here is Nevada, that could put huge distances between us and trouble.
So, our goal is to keep half a tank of gas in one of our cars at all times, with the priority being on Mitsi, the newer car featuring more interior storage and better mileage. In addition to this, each car is getting a little survival box with gloves, blankets, can openers and a few cans of food, and water. I don't want to go overboard with my trunk kit, since I don't want to weigh the car down too much.

This post is being linked on Homestead Revival! They are a great resource for preparedness! I have learned a lot there

The Things We Keep

My darling Grant likes to label people by the things they keep. Now, the wording of that makes him sound judgmental or something, and that isn't what I am trying to get at. Here, let me explain...
I am a worryer, and I worry and stress about all kinds of things. When I am sleeping, I often wake up before dawn and am unable to get back to sleep because I am stressing about work, school, whatever. This issue (or, rather, its negative effect on my sleep schedule) is a concern for us, and Grant has taken to calling me "the keeper of the stress."
Then, there is my cat, Abercrombie. She has lots of beautiful, soft, long fur. Her appearance is really quite extraordinary. Grant likes to call her "the keeper of the long hair." LOL
This habit of his has me thinking... what are the things we "keep," the things that define us? Can we be defined by mostly good things, or are our traits and habits mostly negative? I think we would all much rather be the keepers of the humor, or the tasty cookies, or the beautiful prose than to be the keepers of the smoker's cough, or the anger, or, perhaps worst of all, the keepers of the old, dusty baggage from the past.
I think we would all do well to remember the things we are keeping. Let's all take a moment to unpack the negative to leave room for all the great things we could be keeping!

Autumn has Arrived!

Autumn is my favorite season of the year, always has been. I remember around 12 years old being insanely jealous of a girl I knew whose birthday was the first day of autumn. We got a new rake this weekend, and a big group of us went into the yard and cleaned up old leaves and pine needles. (more on this in my next entry!)
Autumn is full of beautiful colors that can be found in nature on the trees and in all the stores as cold weather fashion becomes necessary. The leaves are so bright and beautiful. I would really like to take a drive one day to see some autumn foliage, maybe through the lovely area north of Donner Lake, whose name escapes me at the moment. (Anyone know what I'm talking about? It's really beautiful there...)
And who can beat the delicious food?! Autumn food is just the best food there is. Hand's down. Not just Thanksgiving dinner, but all autumn long, all I want to eat is Shepherd's Pie, mashed potatoes, apples, soup, et cetera. And anything pumpkin. I just found some neat pumpkin recipes in a magazine that I can't wait to try out and report back on. Pumpkin custard, pancakes, bisque and brownies. Yippee!
Another great thing about autumn is the CLOTHES. Oh my gosh the clothes. Sweaters and tights and scarves and hats! Usually in autumn-appropriate colors, but occasionally in an expected, beautiful color like bright pink. And it isn't too cold yet, so you can still wear your lighter clothes with some layering without worry. For example, I attended a wedding just last week. It was chilly outside and I wore a strappy summer dress with a long sleeved t-shirt under it and a pair of nylons. No big deal. I looked good and was warm.
Speaking of clothes, HALLOWEEN! This was always my favorite holiday. I love to get creative and put together a great costume. A lot of times I employ the thrift stores, but they have failed me this year and I am going to try my hand at partially making my own costume as Little Red Riding Hood. Grant is going as the Big Bad Wolf and I think everyone will get a laugh at his costume, so I won't give away the spin he is adding to it.

Readers, what do you like about autumn? What are you dressing as for Halloween? Let's discuss this wonderful season together!