It is Sunday, November 1.  I know.  Where did the time go?  It seems like only yesterday it was October and now it is November.  Anyway, you still have 10 days until I celebrate the 36^th anniversary of my 30^th birthday, in case you haven’t gone shopping yet.  Today we remember the birthdays of Benvenuto Cellini, Stephen Crane and Keith Emerson.  On this day in 79 (not ’79, just 79) Pompei was buried by Mt Vesuvius, in 1894 the vaccine for diphtheria was announced by Dr Roux of Paris and in 1969 the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” album went to #1 and stayed there for 11 weeks.  It is State Day in Antigua, Memorial Day in Togo and Author’s Day in the US.

I saw an incident recently that exhibited, once again, how totally unaware of their surroundings some people are.  I was in the parking lot of a large strip mall and was walking to a store when I heard a grinding noise.  I turned to look and a car had driven up over a curb and was now hung up there.  It seems that the driver was trying to do a pull-through rather than having to back out of the space she was in.  What she either didn’t notice or saw and then forgot was that there was a curb in front of her car.  In this lot, every so often, they have a narrow island that runs the length of the lot.  Why?  Who knows?  Maybe the contractor got a good deal on the blocks used to build it.  The point is that it is at least four inches high and this person tried to drive over it.  Oops!  So this week’s driving tip is look before you try to drive off.  The undercarriage you save may be your own.

As we settle in to our new home, one thing becomes more and more obvious to me.  It is impossible to replace anything that we have in the house.  One example of this is our front door.  The door has brass hardware that did not hold up well to the weather and sunlight.  From what I can tell, it is the hardware that was put in when the development was first built 10 years ago.  I am fairly sure it is not top quality and, as with most things, was designed with planned obsolescence in mind.  No problem.  The lovely Elaine and I decided that we wanted to change the color of the door and go to satin nickel with the hardware. Sounds simple, right?

Wrong!  The first problem is that the door has a knocker on it that has a peep hole.  Why they needed a peep hole is beyond me.  There is a panel of windows on either side of the door.  If I want to know who is at my door, I can simply look out those windows.  So why is the knocker with a peep hole a problem?  The main reason is because they do not sell them in stores anymore.  I can go on-line if I want one, but it will cost me over $50, plus shipping, to get a replacement.  What makes it more of an issue is that the door is a steel door.  If I get a knocker without a peep hole, I now have a hole drilled in the door that I will have to patch. 

I did find one on-line and ordered it.  When it was delivered I discovered that not all of these things are standard.  On the one that I got everything was good, except that the screw holes were six inches, on center, and I needed 4 inches.  I ended up having to return it.  In looking further, I was surprised at how many did not provide that information.  I would think that would be information that would be important to know.  The various stores sell door knockers without peep holes, and fortunately, they give the screw measurements on the package.  I was able to find one and now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the interior hole.  I thought I could just put some kind of fancy hook there and hang seasonal decorations on it.  I mentioned this to the lovely Elaine and got the look.  Oh well, I will figure something out.

Another issue we have is with our stove.  The previous owners did a fair amount of damage to the face plate.  It seems they decided to scrub the plastic with steel wool.  Not a good idea.  The other thing they did, and I am not sure how, is they managed to chip the paint off the burners and there are sections that are down to bare metal.  I decided that, while I am sure it would not be cheap, it would be easy to simply go to the manufacturer’s web site and order replacements.  The previous owners had left all the booklets on the appliances so I had all the information – model, style, part name and number, etc. – so that I could get what I needed.  I went to their web site and found out that the stove is no longer manufactured and parts are not available anymore.  Don’t ya just love it?  

Otherwise, we are slowly adjusting to being here.  The biggest problem is adapting to the new space.  We were in our old house for 36 years and got used to things being in a certain place.  As an example, in the old house, our stove was free-standing and we were able to use a magnetic towel bar and hooks on the side for a dish towel and oven mitts.  Now our stove is built in and there are no sides available for that.  We have been able to come up with adjustments, but it takes time to develop alternatives that are convenient and sensible.   We are adapting and I am sure that by the time we are here 36 years we will have everything sorted out.

For those of you who are wondering, we are still not completely done with the old house.  There is the matter of a stairway that needs to be completed.  The contractor got started on the job and then decided that it was a good time to go away for a couple weeks, so that whole issue is still pending.  It is our hope that this will all be settled in the next few days.  Stay tuned!

This week our fact tells us that the active ingredient in Chinese Bird’s Nest soup is saliva.  Whose?  How does it get in the soup?  Does someone just walk by while it is cooking and make a contribution?  Is it special saliva?  Is there some sort of saliva section in catalogs for this kind of thing?  Just one more reason why I never order this item.

Have a good week and stop by again.