ecuadoriana1's Profile

No, I don't approve of anything that kills- whether it's insects or rodents. Ants, like every other creature on the planet (though the jury is still out concerning humans), serves an important purpose. Ants are eaten by birds and lizards as well as many other animals. The reason the Earth is so out of whack is because humans insist on disrupting the balance. Unless one plans to eat it one should not be killing it. Sure, insects can be annoying. Having come from South America I can assure you that your New York City cockroaches don't even come close to the ride-able ones we have where I come from. But killing for the sake of "convenience" comes with a HUGE price for the planet. Hey, PEOPLE sometime annoy the crap out of me but purposely "exploding" them is considered terrorism. Deterrence is what one should be practicing. Don't leave food out, store food in insect proof glass or plastic containers, use peppermint, rosemary, cayenne, and other natural ingredients to deter insects and rodents, and use Hav-a-heart traps whenever possible. Learn to live WITH the Earth- not AGAINST it.

Gosh I hope no one is allowing that perfectly good water to go to waste down the drain!!! I catch "warm up" water in a bucket so that I can use it later to mop floors or water the plants. I even use it to flush the toilet! I catch water in basins placed in the sinks for the same purposes. With the water crisis faced by so many on the ever shrinking planet I can not fathom why people would waste water by the gallons!

OH! THANK GOODNESS there are no posts saying things like "A kid could fall out of that bunk bed!" or other such dumb comments about how kids should live in hermetically sealed bubbles. Finally, messy rooms for messy kids that invite play & creative exploration. Great fotos!!!

I'm just sad that they got rid of that piñata that's hanging in the window. I would have kept it!!!

Been renting ALL my adult life- over 35 tears. I own one small apartment in my home country which I never live in- I have a relative who rents it out for me to travelers. NOT owning a house allows ME to travel travel travel!!!! Sometimes when friends complain to me about their neighbors, or their crappy view, or the traffic problems in the neighborhood I say: Well, why don't you move somewhere else? If they are a renter they say "Oh, yeah, you're right! I can move!" If they are a home owner (house or condo) & they hate the neighbors who party till the break of dawn or run the lawn mower at 7 am, or let their kids/dogs tear up/defecate on their lawn & I say "Why don't you just move?" their answers are much more complicated involving real estate prices & mortgages... I have never wanted to be tied down to one place or one abode. The world is too grand & life too short to tie myself to a stake. So, renting apartments & houses is the way to go for me. As I've gotten older I've become more attached to some locales & find it harder to leave the friends I've made. BUT because I know I won't be staying in one place more than a year or two, and because I've encountered SO many different people, cultures, & lifestyles it doesn't bother me as much as it would a home OWNER if the guy next door wants to wash his car in his driveway on a Saturday afternoon wearing nothing but a pair of ratty shorts, blaring Mariachi music, & drinking a few beers while all his kids, & every other kid in the neighborhood, run through the sprinkler chasing their dogs & laughing their fool heads off while splashing mud all over the clean laundry that mom just hung out on the line. And wow! can she yell up a storm! I head on over with a pitcher of lemonade & introduce myself. For me THAT is what makes life so sweet!

They thrive better in humid climates. I lived in Florida & my air plants thrived like crazy! I made beautiful outdoor planter arrangements with mixtures of air plants, succulents, & cacti. Then I made the mistake of bringing them with me to the dry south west. Deader than Tumbleweeds!!!

What's wrong with wearing mismatched socks? I do all the time. I only buy white & black pairs of socks. I just dump them in my drawer. I don't bother to match them up first & fold together. In the morning I pull out 2 of the same color & put them on. Saves time, energy, & sanity. Who has time for matching & folding socks! (and yeah, there have been days I've worn one black sock & one white sock! I save old pillow cases & put worn out & torn socks in it. When there's enough in there for a good amount of stuffing (& I also put in old worn out dish towels, T-shirts, etc) I sew the end of the pillow case up & Voila! Doggie bed pillow!

Big Brothers/Sisters comes around my neighborhood about every other month. A neon green card arrives in my mailbox letting us all know when they'll be driving through. The bags & boxes that I keep at the ready for those unused items (everything from clothes to furniture) get put out front on pick up day with the green card prominently attached to the bags/boxes. They pick up the items & leave a receipt in my mail box. They will even come to my house if I give them a call in between scheduled drive-by times. I'd rather donate things I no longer need. It's a better feeling inside to know that I am helping others less fortunate than what little money I'd gain from desperately trying to sell stuff on e-bay & Craigslist. My time is more valuable!

Not insane.
Had the room mate who "borrowed" my jewelry from my room to wear to her house cleaning jobs. The room mate with the cocaine addicted boyfriend who she had secretly living in her room. The woman who kept taking my food out of the fridge to make room for hers, but left my food out all over the counter to spoil. The woman who attacked me in front of the police because I told them to press charges against her teenage son who stole my car in the middle of the night & drove it into a ditch after a 5 mile high speed chase with the police. The woman who thought it would be "fun & kinky" to have sex with her boyfriend in my bed. While I was in it sleeping. The one who thought I would be the live-in babysitter for her weekend visiting daughter. The one who went overseas to visit a guy she met on-line. It was a bit unnerving to have the FBI show up at my job to ask me what I knew about the guy was she was visiting. The FBI. At my job. The one who got rip roaring drunk every night on cases of "near beer"- because she was trying not to drink anymore. Oh, I got stories.
Criteria? NOT insane.

All those concrete blocks & cacti- it could be MY backyard in New Mexico! I've got all the obligatory NM native plants- chamisa, sage, cacti, tumbleweeds...! I've even got the coyote fence, rocks, & the incredible mountain view kissed by rosy sunsets! Except MY backyard isn't nearly as beautifully laid out as this one! Excellent job!!! Dry drought prone climates are a challenge. But beauty can be found anywhere. Would love to sit out back there in the evening & watch the sunsets.