bright_as_yellow's Profile

Bodum's quality is too good to buy in a trendy color that I'll hate in 5 years. But if my 12-year-old Bodum kettle (in white) were to bite the dust this year, I might replace it with that lovely Aroma model.

@ilima There's a mixte on their website: http://www.publicbikes.com/images/bikes/large/on-brick-white-mixtie-with-.jpg

I'm more than happy to drop $1200 on a bike, but...these are rather bland looking. It will be interesting to see the specs, which are not yet published.

Terri, can we get a link to more of your artwork? I love the painting, too!

I also clean to make other people comfortable, so I try to note what makes me comfortable (or uncomfortable) when I'm at other people's homes. General clutter doesn't bother me, and a certain amount is even comforting. But I notice what's dirty in two particular spaces: where I eat, and where I go to get clean. That's my motivation to keep my own kitchen and bathroom clean.

I like A2FlyGirl's advice about 3 sets of linens, although I keep only two sets precisely so I don't get into the bad habit of letting things sit in the laundry! I really enjoy using clean linens, but I don't get to "treat" myself until the dirties are in the washing machine.

I have an UO floor cushion. The foam isn't the most resilient, but it's pretty well constructed and comfortable for lounging.

The storage space idea is good. Book a truck/van so the two of you have a deadline to pack the stuff that isn't being used on a regular basis. Maybe this includes some of your stuff, too, in the spirit of compromise. Ideally the space would require a check to be made out and sent each month, not an automatic payment--make it as cumbersome as possible, and make it her responsibility to make the payments. Encourage her to sort and label everything for "easy retrieval". The sheer effort involved in physically moving the stuff & making the payments (not to mention the long-term costs) may allow her to determine she doesn't really need the stuff.

Another idea: could you hire a housekeeper as a "gift"? For some people--myself included--nothing kick-starts the desire to clean/purge than a deadline and the potential embarrassment of someone seeing every nook and cranny as-is!

I'm pretty sure that you're not going to get her to see a therapist by insisting that she has a psychological problem, even if that is the case. Warranted though it may be, the amount of anger in the original post suggests that you might both benefit from sitting down together with an unbiased third party to find out how to deal with this in a loving & compassionate way.

I had no cell, landline, internet, or tv for most of 2001-2002. It was honestly one of the best times in my life. My job required me to be on the phone or talking to people all day long, and by the end of the day I appreciated the silence. Family & friends knew they could reach me at work my work number, and there was a payphone outside my building where I could make calls if necessary.

I'm also pretty sure you can make a 911 call from a disconnected landline, as this was the case several years ago.

OP here, thanks everyone for the suggestions! And I completely understand those who think we must be insane. Once upon a time I thought one bike was all I would need....then I started racing. We both compete in track, road, time trials, CX, and MTB, and we commute or train outside every day, year round. The only sentimental bike is a cruiser that used to belong to my grandmother, and that gets used by friends.

I'm comfortable leaving the commuter bikes & cruiser on the porch, but not the racing bikes. In the winter, our road or TT bikes stay set up on the trainers, and in the summer the track bikes stay at the velodrome. The basement will have to suffice for the remaining 9. The ceilings are <7 ft and all the walls are concrete, so I think ceiling hooks or free-standing racks with low clearance are our options--the double-decker shop style racks are intriguing, so long as we could find one with enough clearance.

Really beautiful!

Patrick, I think I saw the same Ellis Island photos--Smithsonian magazine, I think? Silverware and plates still on the tables, overflowing file cabinets left untouched.

I appreciate your ingenuity & sense of humor, Elizabeth--I was losing faith in AT's ability to relate to the rest of us. I am so happy you haven't found a $300 designer toilet lever to replace this with!