I am in Love

...with a machine.

After the flood, and the fact that I had toyed with the idea of buying one before we went out and bought this...

The living room is clean, the rug we had in the living room that the neighbors were tossing to the curb and I got to cover the cold tile in the living room, is now about 50x better. Maybe more than that. I even cleaned half of the large rug we have in the dining room. (I would have done the other half, but Alice hadn't napped yet, and it was about 6pm by the time I finished. Besides I would have had to move the table legs onto the rug, and supposedly if you put furniture on wet carpet the stain on wood might bleed. At least that's what the vacuum's manual said.

I even steam cleaned the living room chair. No it didn't take the pen out, but really, the cushion cover is washable, so I can try harder if I feel like it.

I also learned about some amazing stuff, that I am surprised I hadn't found out about until it was May. "Furnace Caulk" also called cement caulk or heat resistant caulk. It comes in black and is used to seal furnace joints or whatever AND the gap between the fireplace and the fireplace doors etc. Yes, for less than $20 I can solve the problem with the drafty edge there. And I thought we would have to do some major damage (i.e. remove the doors, insert LOTS of insulation, and put it back). Trust me, that was not something we were looking forward to. In fact, I might have put that off for a while, just to not have to deal with it. I mean, a blanket is perfectly useful. It might look sort of tacky, and strange, but it helps stop the cold wind. Plus, its not winter anymore and I can deal with warm air more than cold since I have a barefoot ankle biter.

Oh, and yesterday I was given some plants. I now own Obedient Plant and some slightly illegal Moroccan Mint. (It was smuggled out of Morocco by the lady's friend.) Supposedly it makes great tea, but right now I am excited to have some invasive ground cover on the side of the house. I mean sure I moved some Iris over there when I thinned the patch, but this way I won't have to pull out 500 tiny trees when the trees try to proliferate this fall (the spring seeders are done thank goodness).

Anyway, Daniel is awake so I should go say hi. Later on Bodacious Blogity Blog. I shall have to write about my new (and 3rd) calling later. Go me. I must appear to have spare time.