Wow..

The weekend is gone already! We had BEAUTIFUL weather and it was a good thing too.

Since today is BUBBLE day, which means laundry and it's due to rain all day, I did all my  laundry yesterday! (can't hang clothes in the rain ya know) Good thing too, it's raining already.
It was 74 here yesterday! Wow..what nice weather!
It's still one thing Mondays though, and today's one thing is..CLEANING THE COFFEE POT! Don't have a coffee pot? How about a tea maker? Or any item that you use on a daily basis that can get sediment in it and clogged up. Today's the day. It's the coffee maker for me. Oh yeah.

Tomorrow is the first of the month and there are certain things I do on the first of the month too..here's the list..
Change the air/heat unit filter
Check fire/smoke detector batteries
Give the dogs/cats heart worm medication
Dust ceiling fans

That's about it. Do I get it all done? Not always, but I make sure to try and get it done in the first couple of weeks.
I sure do hope you have a great day rain or shine.
KEEP THE VOW!

A Challenge for YOU!

I'm not sure how many readers are aware, but I have been a 'clothes line gal' for a while, was raised with one as a matter of fact, BUT. (confession time) .I've not use it to it's fullest extent. I know, bad girl, but with this years mantra and a great desire to reduce a few things, (namely my 'carbon footprint', and my electric bill), I have taken a vow of....uhmm what shall I call this..a vow of...poverty? no, chastity? oh heavens no, dependence?...well, I can't use that cuz I'm still dependent on electric for 'other' things.
Let's just say it's a vow to reduce! Yeah, that's the ticket.
I have vowed to not use my dishwasher or my dryer as long as possible.
I've been at this since Oct/Nov of last year and in that time, I can say I've used my dryer twice, for 20 minutes each time when it started raining and I had to grab my not quite dry clothes off the line. I now have an inside drying rack so hopefully that will not happen again.
Now, the dishwasher. Hmm how to explain this one? I use it everyday. Not electrically though. Instead of removing the electric vampire demon, I use it as my 'drainboard'. I wash dishes by-hand in the sink and use the dishwasher to drain them in. Now, because I do this it means that once every month and a 1/2 or so I do have to run it at least on hot a rinse cycle. If I don't what I get is, standing water in the bottom. Since we have well water with lots of natural minerals, leaving well water to 'sit' is not a good idea!

So since Jan 1 of this year, I have used neither the dishwasher or the dryer. Since I will have to run the dishwasher once every 6-8 weeks or so I'll make sure it's FULL of stuff of course but if I can stretch it to once every 2 months, that means only 6x's in a year. That's a good thing since reduction is the goal and last year, prior to Oct/Nov I ran it at least every other day. (sometimes more depending)

So the challenge is out there for all you Hedgewives. This year, for the year 2011, take a vow to not use your dryer or dishwasher. At least reduce the use of each as much as possible. Want to join the vow?

A funny thing I saw on the way to:

My TAXI for the day!

Ok, here's an adventure I never told you about.
One day a few months back, very late in the day my phone rings. I recognize the number as being Tony, my nephew (remember? the officer?) The first thing out of his mouth is "You wanna go drink tomorrow morning?" I'm a wee bit confused, dumbfounded and wondering what has gotten Tony on a kick to party! I asked him, with all seriousness, 'Uhmm..drink? HUH?"
After a few minutes of conversation and confusion I realized what he was talking about.
It's like this see.
Police officers in training have to learn how to determine if someone is possibly over the alcohol limit by looking for certain signs, then by those determinations they administer a breathalyzer test.


Well, just how are these trainees going to learn what to look for unless they encounter an 'over the limit' person? That's where I come in, and what the phone call was about.
In short: The Police academy conducts 'wet labs' where volunteers 'drink' a certain amount then go to the classroom and get tested by the officers in training. They are learning how to determine if someone may be over the limit. Once the officers looks at them and issue a few tests, they must give an educated guess on what they would 'blow' on the breathalyzer based on their observations.  The volunteers then 'blow' and the results are recorded, discussed and re-evaluated if needs be.
There are rules and regs and it's completely safe. For instance, you are never alone. If you have to go to the bathroom or outside to smoke you are escorted.  The officer pouring your drinks does so on a measurement basis so that each person gets the same amount of alcohol no matter the drink of choice.  You have to drink 'X' amount in 'X' amount of time. You blow 10 mins after each drink to see what your 'level' is. You are not allowed to leave the facility until you 'blow' a 000. And believe it or not, they even serve you lunch.

Believe me, I'm not much of a drinker and when I do drink it's wine. But it's even harder to start drinking wine at 9:30 in the morning, get snockered and then sober up in time to get home to cook dinner! WHEW!
I did it anyway!
The academy is very appreciative of the volunteers that do this, heck, I even got 'parting' gifts last time! LOL. We had a wonderful time and I learned a lot. I learned exactly how much I can drink before I blow over the limit and trust me it's not much. (you would be surprised!).
Now, I tell you all this so I could show you these pictures: Ready? Once we arrive at the academy and get out of the car, I'm in a parking lot full of police cars right? Walking up to the academy I just happened to notice THIS TAG:

 And then, realized it was on THIS car. I bout died laughing. Gotta love an officer with a sense of humor!!!

See ya next time......down on the farm! Sage