My car wash adventure

 

 

I have gone on a glorious adventure. I took my car through Delta Sonic. That is the car wash here in Buffalo.

Here are a few pictures of the psychedelic experience.

On Sunday at the Latin Mass coffee hour I dined out on this experience. In Buffalo you are not brought up to pay to have your car washed. You are supposed to wash your car yourself. And we are all fascinated by the experience of going through a car wash.

Not being brought up to go through a car wash, I have been in one only... well, only once. The Buffalo News had me doing a story on going through Delta Sonic on the first warm day of spring and so I did.

What a pain! I remember begging Howard to go with me however Howard would not. I had to go through on my own. Not easy!

This second time around was just as challenging.

The car wash puts out no prices, no options. There was nothing in print as far as I could determine. It is expected that you know these things.

As I was heading into the car wash I had to notice for myself that one lane, you did not go in that lane, nobody was in it. Everybody was in the other lane. The lane on the right was not open, however nobody told you that. There were no signs.

When I got out of the car wash the drama continued. The arrows were all pointing in this one direction however when I followed them, the only exit I could find was the road going the wrong way. It was the road where the people coming into the car wash were supposed to go.

Luckily nobody was coming into the car wash at that moment. However I thought, I must be wrong. I backed up the car. I looked around. 

I could not figure out any other way out!

So I went out the wrong way. I reached Sheridan Drive successfully, hung a right, and I was out of there.

I do want to become accustomed to going to the car wash. Sure, you get hosed -- pun intended. 

Still it is worth it to get your car cleaned. I am trying to get my life together and cleaning my car is part of that. I am, as YouTube motivation gurus would put it, raising my floor.

The car wash was part of a larger surge. On the way to Delta Sonic I also went to the dry cleaner, for the first time in my life. And to the shoemaker, also for the first time in my life.

But that is another story for another day.

The mystery cups

I am holding the family Easter and there is big emergency cleaning going on. And rearranging. And lots of what my Uncle Bob used to call "fuss."

It is amazing, the things you find.

This honestly keeps this kind of chore from being too painful. It makes things entertaining because being me, I never know what will wash up.

One thing that I found today was this little cardboard box.

It had been sent to me years ago by my friend Bonnie. I do not actually think I ever met Bonnie, which adds something to this story. She sent it to me at The Buffalo News.

I remembered thanking Bonnie. However I no longer had any idea what was in the box. I no longer blame myself for anything I did or failed to do at The Buffalo News. It was what it was. I did the best I could being the person I was.

Long story short, the box has kicked around the house, here and there. It was upstairs on my dresser for a while. Then it was in a downstairs drawer. Now it had made its way somehow to the sideboard in the dining room. It was occupying a place of honor in a high-traffic area, who knows how or why.

There is that box, I said. It has to go somewhere. It can't stay here. What was in this box, anyway? I opened it up and looked.

There were four little silver cups, tarnished but pretty, wrapped in a blue cloth. Each cup was about two inches tall.

Automatically, acting fast, I decided to put them in a cabinet I have, next to some shot glasses. Then I found the note inside. Bonnie had written me a note.

Bonnie said in the note that she had been told they were Communion cups, and understood somehow that they were stolen from a church. She had been using them as candleholders however did not know what to do with them and so she had sent them to me, as people will, knowing that I never throw anything out.

I must have read this note years ago, then put the cups aside not knowing what to do. 

Now, being in a different place in my life, I have a plan. I can take this box and bring it to folks I know at St. Anthony's and they can figure this out. I have never heard of  tiny "Communion cups" like this...

... however who knows, there is a lot I do not know. Bonnie seems to have believed they were Catholic which is why she sent them to me. We will find out.

Kind of odd, you know, that all this is happening on Holy Thursday, the day when Christ gave us the Eucharist. That did not cross my mind at first however now it has.

Anyway. One thing I know, there will be rejoicing, because the box will be leaving my house. 

It will be someone else's problem!

Marie Kondo and Me

Today was a huge day in my life. I Feng-Shui-ed the office!

This is Howard's and my shared office/studio in the back of the house.

Here is a Before picture. Yikes!

And from another angle. Double Yikes!

I had not planned this project for today. It is 80 degrees and sunny and it made no sense to be working inside. However in a way housework goes more easily on a beautiful day. You do not feel so discouraged.

While I worked I got on YouTube and listened to the audio version of that book Marie Kondo wrote on decluttering. I had heard it before. It sort of goes off the cliff when she talks about your possessions having thoughts and feelings. However it beats a few other videos I tried. I do not want to be told that people are happier without any possessions, which is what one video started pushing. And I do not want to be blamed as an ugly American for having too much. With me it is not a matter of keeping up with the Joneses. It has never been. I do not even know what the Joneses have nor do I care.

At least Marie Kondo is calm and she has a sense of humor. I would laugh at what the book was saying as I worked. 

Jeoffry took a liking to the garbage bag.

I did not get everything done that I wanted to get done because other rooms in the house got involved, also I had to go to choir. However I got done what I needed to get done for today. And it will continue tomorrow. 

Here are the After pictures. 

Notice my old pole lamp from when I was a kid. I really enjoy that lamp.

It is not perfect, I am not saying that. You will see I did not get to the huge pile of books because I had to run to choir and before that get in a sketch. However tomorrow is another day.

But what I did get done was magic to me. See the sun on the floor? I could not believe walking barefoot across that hardwood floor -- I had forgotten I had hardwood floors because there was so much stuff in the way. And sure, they are not professionally refinished or anything, but they feel beautiful under your feet, these warm boards. I do not even know if I want them refinished. It is like my old Steinway. I love my 1905 Steinway as is. This floor is beautiful and it feels great.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. I am afraid I am going to waste another beautiful day but still.

This feels great!

The Warming Drawer

So today my life felt as if it were spinning out of control and so I cleaned the house.

That is what it takes for me to clean the house!

One thing I did was scrub the Bosch stove. I always mean well, intending to clean the Bosch daily or at least once a week. Which, I never do that. And so it gets dirty.

I felt like the gal in the picture at left! Except my stove is a Bosch. And it was no so easy to scrub as the oven in the picture. I want that oven.

I was scrubbing the Bosch and I did the range part of it. And then what I did was, I pulled out the Warming Drawer. That is the drawer at the bottom where you keep all your baking pans.

The drawer was unbelievably scuzzy!

I mopped it down. I mopped down the drawer where it comes out, and then I swabbed down the entire drawer. The drawer was unbelievably dirty. I took all the pans out of it and washed them. Then I thought ...

Why don't I leave this empty, as the Warming Drawer?

What is a Warming Drawer, anyway?

Bosch says it is to keep meals warm before you serve them.

It would be nice to see if the Warming Drawer works. There is always something on the Bosch that does not work and right now that is the broiler. If the Warming Drawer worked that would be a plus for the stove. I have never used the Warming Drawer but it has never been empty so I could use it. Perhaps if it were empty and clear of all the pans you store there, I could use it.

Whatever, now the Warming Drawer is empty, and clean.

Perhaps I can use it now!

Stand facing the house

I am trying to get my house in order so today I took out the recycling and the cat litter. Yay me! Well, I am normally pretty good about the cat litter. But it is a special challenge because every time I approach Jeoffry's litter box, he all of a sudden wants to go.

Why is that??

Why is it that as soon as I start to clean the litter box, he needs to use it?

He is not shy. He just horns on in and squats. And he looks at me the whole time. I just start laughing and put the scoop down. What else can you do?

So that was my accomplishment. Recycling. Litter box. And I paid bills and sent away for liquor rebates. Getting your liquor rebates in the mail is a huge accomplishment! It completely eclipsed all the Pennario work I did getting up early.

Anyway I take pride in my domestic progress. Tomorrow I think I will clean out my entrance way.

What got me going was seeing Graycliff, the summer home Frank Lloyd Wright built for Darwin Martin, the Buffalo businessman who was a director of the Larkin Soap Company. Above is one of the photos our photographer took. There are more in this gallery so you can see what got to me.

There is work to be done on Graycliff, though not on the scale of what needs to be done on my house. But I was just enchanted by the place's clean lines and open spaces. It was no wonder the Pierist Fathers pitched camp there for a few decades, after the Martin family sold it. You could imagine it echoing with Gregorian chant.

And I thought: What is with my house?

Whenever I play Gregorian chant there it is as if it is an affront to the chant.

Changes must be made. Hence the recycling and the litter box.

One small step for mankind.

One giant leap for me!

Chutes and ladders

I took the picture of my lunch today because it is one of the last days at my old desk. I must soon be moving!

We are all moving. I am sort of looking forward to it. I like my co-workers and I likmeane the thought that I will be more in the swing of things instead of around the corner where I have been with just a few other people. On the other hand I will miss the view. Plus I am nostalgic. This desk was right where I was sitting when I spoke with Leonard Pennario for the first time. There has been so much water over the damn. Did I write damn? I meant dam.

One thing, I am a slob as I admitted the other day, so it is good for me to have to start afresh.

There is all this old stuff that has to be moved including stuff I stuck into drawers and forgot about. It makes me think: Could I move my desk at home too? I should. There is all this stuff and it gets away from you.

Sometimes I fantasize about one of those big chutes you see at construction sites. I want one hooked up to my window. And I will just pile all this paperwork, early drafts of my book, mean letters from mean people, and it will all go Schlooooop! into this chute and be gone.

Wouldn't that be great?

Could I have one of them hooked up at my home permanently?

What I should do is move constantly around my house. That way things would not collect. From occupying the south bedroom we could switch to the east bedroom. From the east bedroom, to the west bedroom. The west bedroom is full of junk so that would have to be moved. The east bedroom also has its share of accumulation.

Furniture would have to be moved so that means that it, and the area under it, would have to be dusted and cleaned. I would be traveling light, in my own home.

Perhaps this is an idea I should patent.

Perhaps I am onto something!

Bad Housekeeping

I am a terrible housekeeper. Were I to offer an excuse I would say I spend too much time on my work, which is true. But I would probably be a bad housekeeper no matter what. I am lazy when it comes to cleaning. I always have something else to do.

However. You reach a point when you cannot take it any more, you know? And so today I cleaned the bathrooms. Unbelievable accomplishment points, you know?

Finish good draft of Pennario book: 200 satisfaction points.

Get it into hands of editor friend: 500 satisfaction points.

Stick with deadline: 1,000 satisfaction points.

Clean bathrooms: 8,000,000 satisfaction points!

Things have been extra bad around the house in the last week because mostly for work-related reasons, I just have not been home. When I did get home I just kind of dropped everything anywhere.

So I thought: Start anywhere. Do anything. I began on a whim with the floor of the, ahem, powder room. It had been looking grungy for I do not know how long. And it's funny, once you get around to dealing with it, it does not take that long. It is not like cleaning the fridge or something! Suddenly it is done and you have this clean cool floor.

Inspired, I went upstairs and did the tub.

I still have to do the mirror.

Perhaps tomorrow.

Meanwhile here is something that cracked me up. While I was touching up the bathroom our cat Jeoffry walked in. Jeoffry loves to drink out of the bathtub faucet. You turn it on to a trickle and he walks up and puts his paws on either side of the faucet and laps up the water.

It is too cute, and for a while now it has been depressing me that the tub and the faucet have been so dodgy. So now I am all proud of what I have done. Jeoffry hopped into the tub as he always does and I was standing there beaming.

But Jeoffry was not beaming.

He was confused!

He looks this way and that way. Gingerly, with his paw, he touched the clean tub. He backed up, away from the faucet. I turned the faucet to the trickle he is used to. He just looked at it. Then he looked down again. He looked up at me.

Then he hopped back out of the tub! Without a drink.

I guess I should clean more often.

He is not used to it!

I confess .... about my desk ...

Because of my clean desk I have become the confessor for people who sit at desks.

They tell me how clean or cluttered their desks are! I guess I am an extreme case because mine was so messy, and so people feel comfortable confiding in me.

One thing I used to do with Leonard Pennario, when he asked me to, was occasionally help him straighten out his desk. We would go through random papers and try to figure out what could be thrown out. Most of the time we would give up and just end up sitting there laughing about something. But the time was not wasted because it led to things I might not have found out otherwise. For instance if I had not happened on the correspondence from the Motion Picture Academy I would not have realized that he voted on the Oscars.

Speaking of voting, I remember we worked together on his absentee ballot for the government election. Haha, no privacy with me around! Pennario was fun that way. He didn't care what I looked at. I remember that now with such affection.

I am happy to say I have a letters organizer that belonged to him. It used to sit on his desk and hold papers and now it does that on my desk. It is just this cheap little thing but I like it because it reminds me of those afternoons, sitting around with him.

Looking at my clean desk I am haunted by something I once heard a comedian say. I can't remember who the guy was -- he might have been famous, he might not have been.

He said:

"There are some people, ain't nothing on their desk ...

".... Ain't nothing in their head either!"

So true.

A pig's life

I went to the Erie County Fair yesterday and one thing I did was take pictures of pigs.

Such sweet, innocent animals! The way they smile is something I can never get over.

And the way they sleep, take a load off.

Unfortunately although I love pigs I cannot live like one. I spent so much time today house cleaning!

I did laundry. I washed clothes and also kitchen stuff like towels, mitts and napkins. I washed the bath towels. I washed the kitchen floor and the floor of the back hall.

At the same time I was running the dishwasher and then I had to empty the dishwasher. Then the laundry came out and I had to hang everything up and put everything away.

Then of course it was garbage night!

Son of a pork-chomping sea cook! All I wanted to do was concentrate a little on Pennario and it got so I felt like Cinderella realizing she would not be able to go to the ball because she had too much work to do.

Oh well.

Got to clean the house once a year whether it needs it or not!

Utter clutter

There is nothing like spending half the afternoon -- heck, three quarters of the afternoon -- cleaning your house, and then wondering if the progress you made is visible to the naked eye.

That happened to me yesterday!

I am having the family Thanksgiving so I must needs clean and child-proof the house. And there is just so much to do.

The problem is not dirt. The problem is clutter. I got that picture up above on the Internet but it is pretty close to the truth. All it needs is some Leonard Pennario albums and file cards to make the picture complete.

Then as I clean up I keep finding things I want to listen to and look at. Well, I am good at fighting that.

I found part of a Choceur chocolate bar from Albrecht Discount and ate it.

I found a Beethoven sonata book and so I stopped and played the piano for a little while.

Two steps forward, one step back! That is how the house is cleaned. At least I think it is cleaned. Well, I think I have started at least anyway.

Can anybody tell?

The Gloved One

On my way over to my mom's today I stopped at Dollar Tree again. I could not stay away! And I bought more of that Mop and Shine. I also bought a ton more cleaning stuff for Howard to use on Big Blue.

This is heavy-duty stuff for a heavy-duty house!

One thing I bought was the Concentrated Dish Soap. It smells kind of industrial which I like about it. None of this lemon or lime la-ti-da. And I picked up the laundry detergent. Give it a try.

I look for the Totally Awesome brand!

I bought $35 worth of stuff. My cart was full and people were laughing at me with all my plastic bottles.

"I'm cleaning my house," I said.

Naturally nothing is ever easy, otherwise I would have gotten this book on Leonard Pennario done a long time before now. When I got home I put everything in the front hall and later, zut alors, I realized the front hall was soaked. What had happened was, one of the Bang Bathroom Cleaners had burst open.

Bang is Totally Awesome's answer to Kaboom. That is what I have figured out after reading last night's reviews. There was much discussion on the Internet as to which had the better smell, Bang or Kaboom.

So, end result as we say here in Buffalo: I wasted 50 cents worth of product, about half the bottle. On the other hand the front hall is more clean that it has ever been in its long life.

A toast to Totally Awesome!

Floored

Today I cleaned my house. What an adventure that was!

For one thing I realized how long the vacuum cleaner cord is. It was plugged in downstairs and I was vacuuming upstairs! I could not get over that.

Another thing, I went through all my new vinyl purchases and got them into boxes with others of their ilk. Then I cleaned off my desk so I can continue wrapping up my Leonard Pennario book without all this clutter of receipts, notebooks, cooking magazines etc.

Yet another thing, I did not even mind cleaning my downstairs toilet because of when I discovered how old and rare it is. Now I take pleasure in polishing it because it is this rare antique. I am like a normal person would be polishing a Corvette.

I am saving the best for last.

It is my Dollar Tree Mop and Shine!

That is the bottle of floor cleaner I picked up at Dollar Tree. I had never heard of the brand, Totally Awesome. But it is, well, totally awesome! It lives up to its name!

It says to pour the stuff out into a "little puddle." Which I did. The I poured it into several puddles. The kitchen floor was pretty dirty.

Then I went at it with the Swiffer Wet Mop. I had gotten this Dollar Tree bottle thinking maybe I could use it with this wet mop instead of the expensive cleanser that fits the mop. The Swiffer cleanser did not work that well, anyway, when I used it last time.

Well.

The Totally Awesome Mop and Shine is a different story!

There was this sticky spill I was dreading tackling. I had spilled this stuff not long ago and I could see where it was and I decided I would save it till later. So I am sort of dragging this mop over it to get to this other, easier spot. And then this miracle occurred.

The spill vanished!

All the mop did was glide over it and it was gone!

The Totally Awesome Mop and Shine had erased it, just like that. I could not believe it. Anyway, the floor was done in a snap with this stuff which, I cannot see how it can be legal. There have to be forbidden ingredients, is all I can think.

It says made in U.S.A. but still.

Now the floor is all sparkly clean and it feels as if it is waxed. You can slide on it in your stocking feet. I have had a good time doing that! Howard and I are both slipping and sliding all over the place. Howard could not get over it and he wants me to go to Dollar Tree and get him numerous bottles of Totally Awesome Mop and Shine to use at Big Blue.

Hahahaa... I am on Dollar Tree's Web site because I wanted to find a picture. And there are three reviews. Everyone loves this stuff. "Best Floor Cleaner EVER!!" someone writes. The first writer is the best. She writes: "Slickest Floor in Town!" She says her dog was chasing her cat and slid right into the fridge!

This stuff is the greatest! For $1! And here I was at Dollar Tree feeling stupid for buying it. Thinking I was wasting my buck on something that was cheap and would not work.

I am a winner!

Now I am going to go buy 10 cases of this stuff.

Before it is banned!

Stand facing the fridge

Last night I could not sleep because of a lot of things on my mind, so I got up at 4 a.m. and cleaned the fridge.

This is a secret that could help you sleep on nights when you think you cannot. Get up and do something. Get something done.

Cleaning the fridge is perfect. It beats trying to work on a list of Leonard Pennario's concerts which was the first thing I tried.

I threw out a bunch of things and consolidated others, and I packed lunches. I also emptied the dishwasher, an onerous task that I hate. I put all the dishes away.

I took out the crisper drawers and rinsed them and scrubbed them and dried them and put them back.

Ahhhh!

Everything was better.

I went back to bed and set the alarm for 7:30 a.m. because that was when I had to be up. And I went to sleep.

When the alarm went off I got up and made coffee and then I went to the fridge to get the half-and-half. And I opened the door and --

"Oh," I said out loud.

I had forgotten what I had done! And there was this beautiful fridge. Waiting for me.

That is a daymaker!

Miss Clean

I am sorry for my silence. I had to clean my house! With other people that is just something they do on a Saturday afternoon along with their other chores and errands. With me it is this big deal.

The reason I had to clean my house was, I was the host of the office cooking club. When I took it into my head to do that I had know way of knowing that Larry would leave his post.

Larry, remember, is the friend I pay to come over and clean the house.

Larry's car went on the fritz and he lives somewhere out in East Amherst where the buses do not run. I do not think he has plans to fix his car. Apparently he is just going to sit in his house like some troll.

So Larry was not here and naturally, everything also conspires to make this into the perfect storm!

There was this cider from the Clinton-Bailey Market that Howard and I were ripening in the fridge and it leaked through its plastic bottle, creating this sticky mess.

Then I thought I had my act together with my Christmas tree put up in a stand I bought at a garage sale. Well, guess what? That stand leaks too!

I am going to have to sell my story to WikiLeaks!

But anyway. The up-side to this story, the triumph of it, the Leonard Pennario-like aspect of it is that I soared like an eagle and cleaned the house myself. I did a masterful job. It took days, but were I to tackle it again say, next weekend, it would not be that big of a deal.

I feel empowered! When I got up this morning I was walking around the house amazed.

Thinking: I did this!!

Perhaps Larry walked away from his post at just the wrong time! When he finally fixes his car he will be out of a job.

As Howard puts it, he left his bowl.

Ha, ha! Normally I picture a big dog but the puppy is cute too.

Big dog or little dog the moral of the story is the same:

Do not leave your bowl!

Green day

Here I am slipping beneath the wheel again! I have not written in the Web log since viewing the Mega Moon the other night.

Unexpectedly, in a nightmare for my disorganized self, I was called on to play host to our office cooking club. That was Sunday. I did not know I was going to be doing that until the last minute so first I got up, worked on my Leonard Pennario book for a while, went to Mass, went to Zumba, went to Michael's Crafts in my electric green Zumba pants, shopped, bought this and that. Michael's is right next to the gym so I thought, what the heck.

After that was when catastrophe struck and I learned that cooking club would be at my house.

Sturm und Drang!

It was like the time I was holding the family dinner and frittered away that whole Saturday at the gym! Except for this time my boss was going to be there and so was Janice Okun, The Buffalo News' restaurant critic.

At least these days I have Larry cleaning the house so I did not have to vacuum or clean the bathrooms. I just had to de-clutter the place. I am the world's biggest clutter bug. Piles of cooking magazines. But I use them! And records. But I play them!

Always there is the bag of clothes bound for Vinnie D's that somehow cannot make it out the door.

My skis were still in the entranceway leaning against the wall along with the Christmas wreath. I had taken the wreath down off the door but it had made it no further than the foyer.

I needed more toilet paper for the downtown bathroom. Why now?

Finally it was all done.

Finally.

And would you believe it, I actually had fun? I roasted a couple of chickens from Budweys and the beauty of cooking club is, everyone else brings another course. We had guacamole and chips and asparagus and basil risotto and dates stuffed with cheese.

The guests gathered in the dining room.

We feasted and drank pinot noir and for dessert, we had basil ice cream and cookies, both of which Janice had made, yummy.

Our theme was "green" which explains all the basil.

What about Basil Ford?

Or Basil Rathbone?

There is one more famous Basil I can think of and that is Basil Fawlty.

Unless you count St. Basil the Great.

Thoughts like that were swirling around my head late last night when I was cleaning up.

I was so tired!! I went to bed and sank into dreams.

Dreams of green!