My calendar

The pandemic caused my long time hair stylist to rethink her life. She switched careers and moved to a warmer climate. 

I found a new stylist, who I love. The forced change was very good for me. 

New stylist has a very full schedule and that requires advance scheduling. During the first two years, I scheduled two appointments forward/in advance. And we determined 8 weeks is my needed/preferred schedule. 

Every other appointment I get cut and highlights. The in-between-appointments are cut only. 

This third year, we scheduled all of my appointments for 2023 at my last 2022 appointment in December. That felt really fabulous. I love my calendar. 

I do the same thing with my doctor’s appointments. Some appointments are annual, some are every six months. Almost all the offices allow me to schedule a year in advance. I bundle my appointments, 6 mos apart, targeting May/June and December. 

I started this proactive medical calendar in 2019 and as we entered lock down in 2020, I was current on all my appointments, tests and shots (shingles, pneumonia, etc) and very relieved to have been proactive.

Dog bed covers using boxed corners

At my house, my 9’ window seat, the cushion covered with marine vinyl, is basically a very large doggy bed. Bonus - they love to look out the window. 

We bought two new dog beds for middle’s house. They are orthopedic beds with a very good/firm cushion. We bought one sleeping bag pad/mat and cut two pieces out of it. These are in the bed/under the cushion for added support and warmth. We made two covers using no pill premium fleece from JoAnn’s. 

Then we made a new no pill premium fleece cover for a dog bed we already had - 

We boxed the corners, on this one/above, and it turned out great.  (Instructions - https://youtu.be/B6NNi0wZJvc ). 

The cover fits snuggly. 

There is a zipper in the back seam on all the fleece covers.

I have one more dog bed, under the counter in the computer room at my house, that needs a cover. That is the next project. 

The story of two benches

This post is about two benches.

I am 61, the red bench (below) is probably at least as old as I am, maybe much older. My mother says my paternal grandfather made many of them. I wonder how many are still in use, loved.

The red bench, in my kitchen, serves several purposes:

I set grocery bags there to unload.

It keeps my husband from kicking the dogs’ water bowl, which is actually a huge problem.

We pull it up to the end of the kitchen table when we have a crowd. 

It is a safe haven for one of the puppies. 

That is a puppy with a fresh haircut. She loves to lay under the bench. 

A woodworking neighborhood came and looked at the red bench and I also sent him photos. 

He made a second bench for middle’s new house, six feet long and slightly larger scale. 

The 6’ bench is made with a 21’ long 100+ year old board stored in his family barn. The board looks new because it was  planed and sanded. Middle plans to paint it. 

The 6’ bench is made with pegs and the legs are inset with dado joints. So in other words, the new bench is made with very old wood and is constructed with old school techniques like the red bench. 

Middle is very pleased. And my guess is she is the only great grandchild, of that Grandfather, who knows of and loves his benches. He died in 1982 at the age of 66.

Suddenly too small

I used to be able to buy tall kitchen garbage can bags/liners and they worked perfectly. 

Sometime in the last couple years, maybe Covid manufacturing related, the bags are too small. Or what my store stocked, changed and I did not realize it. 

I looked and most tall kitchen bags are 13 gallons. 

Trash bags are 30+ gallons, too big. 

I found 20 gallon x-large tall kitchen bags on Amazon -

They seem to be working perfectly. 

My old 13 gallon tall kitchen bags fit perfectly in a slightly smaller tall kitchen can in the garage. So they will not go to waste. 

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good

I had Bose blue tooth earbuds for a while (2019-2021) which worked great for me. 

They were connected to a U shaped collar which I loved. I used them every day. After two years of daily use, I wore wore them out. Since they had a warrantee (purchased thru Best Buy), I tried to replace them, but by that time they were obsolete/no longer made. (Best Buy refunded me $400 which went toward a new living room TV.)

And here is the problem - the Bose were expensive and in a class all to themselves. There was nothing else made with the same features at that time. So I went back to wired gummy ear buds. And they drove me nuts for over a year. 

I went back to Best Buy in early October 2022 and got help. There was a product similar to the Bose style for $50. 

And here is the important part. 

The guy helping me said - no they are not the same quality as your old Bose, but they are good. 

In other words, Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. 

And, I cannot tell the difference in the sound quality or the features. The $50 pair (now) feels the same as the old $400 pair. 

A professional sound engineer would probably not agree, but the new ones are perfect for me. And it is such a relief to be wireless again. 

Bonus, at $50 each if I wear them out every couple years, it will not be nearly as sad to replace them. 

Yes, the kids all have small wireless blue tooth ear buds that sort of sit next to their ears. I need something that goes IN the ear and is more noise cancelling. Plus I like being able to pull them out of my ears, but still have them available for quick access around my neck, like if my phone rings while out walking.