8-31-11 Wednesday (It Sucks, But It’s Very Good At It)

Hello.  It’s me.  It’s Wednesday.  I was off.  Here’s what you missed for the week:

First off, the vacuums story.  Yes, plural.  You remember I purchased a Roomba, right?  Well, I use it just about every other day.  Vacuuming so often can be tiring… to Roomba that is.  Not so much for me.  Every time I tell Jim I vacuumed he says it doesn’t count as work just to push a button.  What about the time involved in emptying the debris cup?   Or carrying lugging it upstairs?  No credit at all?  I was asked what the pets think about Roomba.  They don’t care.  Sometimes they even get bumped with it.  Clea tries to attack the bristles on the side.  Here’s what I found after Roomba completed a cleaning cycle:

Above: Is Clea cuddling with it?  Guarding it?  Waiting for her next play date?

I thought Roomba + our existing Hoover upright would solve all our vacuuming needs but then we decided we’d need something better for the stairs.  Truth be told, the very heavy “self propelled” Hoover we bought 7 years ago kinda sucks.  The suction isn’t all that great and the air powered hand tool barely works.  So what do we do?  Well, we consult Consumer Reports and buy an Electrolux Oxygen. 

I will tell you that we used this model to clean the RV while visiting Jim’s Dad.  We thought the suction to be amazing.  I researched pricing.   The average price $325(Walmart) or more.  I got a factory refurbished (with a 2 year warranty) for $180, no shipping charges through eBay.  I ordered an $80 powered handtool from a separate vendor for $20.  Although the power tool hadn’t arrived yet, the vacuum came today and worked extremely well on the tests we through at it.

That’s a lot of info about vacuums, isn’t it?

OK, so Monday I made salads for the week:

Not nearly as exciting as vacuum talk is it?  Hmmm, that’s what I thought.  Let’s talk about my hair… or lack of… or actually growth.  The backstory: Several weeks ago I got razor rash/burn or whatever on the back of my head and couldn’t get rid of it.   I’d constantly irritate it when I’d shave so I decided to take a break from shaving my head.  I’ve been getting compliments and may leave it.  What do you think:

That was Dasher in the photos too.  It’s hard to see but I was feeding him pieces of cat food, which he loves.

So what do you think?  Shave it?  Keep it as is?  Grow it longer?  I took several angle shots so you could keep in mind the bald spot on the top.

Wow, this is going to be a long post.  Mainly because of all the photos.

I met up with Ruby, a good friend, excoworker and travel agent extraordinaire.  She actually manages the AAA Travel center in Huntersville.  We had lunch together and then returned to her office to talk about vacations.   Call her at 704-897-0592!  Anyway, she put together several trips for Jim and I.  I was interested in a Europe tour, Alaskan cruise, Hawaii or perhaps San Francisco.  Europe was well over $5,000 and had to be put aside.  Since Jim and I hate the beach and laying out for a tan, we thought we should probably cross out Hawaii.   San Francisco is awesome.  Maybe we’d even see the Naked Tat Man again?  Much more fun than Big Foot or something…

Jim and I went out for dinner last night and talked about the possibility of going on an Alaskan Cruise as the most probable vacation.  We’re thinking June 2012 or June 2013.  Any suggestions, must-see’s, ports of call, ideas, tips, tricks, feedback?   Jim’s grandma has been on an Alaskan cruise so we’ll pick her brain.  I’m in research mode…

Today we had a NACA inspection at the house.  Minor problems included the dishwasher hitting the kitchen drawer knob (we knew about), 2 cracks in concrete (garage floor and exterior side) need sealing, drainage ditch is trip hazard (we’ve been trying to resolve the driveway/grading issues), and the stove isn’t in it’s anti-tip brace.  These issues have to be resolved, reinspected and then we can close. 

While we waited for the inspection, I took more photos:

Above: Loft-office space.

Above: Guest room #1 of 2.

Above: Taken from upstairs looking down into 1/2 bath.  To the left would be the dining room and front door.  To the right would be the living room, dinette, kitchen and back door.

Above: Upstairs guest bath.

Above: Master bath.  Tub is on the left behind the door.

Above: Master bath, sinks are on the right.

Above: Downstairs 1/2 bath.

Above: From the middle of the kitchen.  Left door = pantry, middle = garage, right = coat/extra closet.

Above: I know I take a lot of photos of this but I love it.

Above: View of the loft/office area from the master bedroom door.  The door to the right is the utility room.

Above: “Honey, I’m home”.

After the inspection, Jim and I went to Growler’s Pour House for dinner.  He bought a Living Social certificate which is very similar to a Groupon.   The place is a bar, limited seating and a very limited menu:

What we had was good but we weren’t expecting such a limited menu.

Oh, and just in case this entry wasn’t long enough AND you’re not tired of hearing about the house, here’s two walk through videos I filmed: