Esmeralda's Profile

I'm not a fan of t.v.s over the fireplace simply for aesthetic reasons. When I lived alone, I didn't like the way my bulky old set visually dominated the room, so I put it on a stand tucked inside a closet in my living room. Underneath were all my vhs tapes. When I wanted to watch something, I just opened the door; when not in use, it was out of sight.

Particle board and post-it notes? Did you mean to post this on April 1st?

I was pretty focused on my wheelchair-bound mom and an elderly friend of ours in town. I made sure they were set with batteries, firewood, appropriate food, and charged up cellphones, and let them know I'd be there in my car to take them to higher ground if things got bad. By the time I'd got them settled (they both refused to leave their homes unless it was disastrous,) I barely had time to get home before the storm. We already had firewood, canned soup, etc., because, hey- we live in Maine, and stuff happens.

I bought this set last month, and have been enjoying them immensely. A little goes a long way, and they add a nice extra dimension to cocktails.

As the only Romany in my neighborhood, I try not to live up to the stereotypes. So, as much as I love the look, my house's exterior will remain as neutral as that of my neighbors'.

I don't think I could deal with separate bedrooms- when he's stateside, I insist on cuddling as much as possible, no matter how much he snores. However, I dream of the day when we can add another bathroom to the house. We only have the one, and it's teensy, with little storage- I'd love to have a bit more room to breathe!

Regarding the toilet seat: I've always replaced mine, ever since moving into my first apartment (in which everything was filthy and in disrepair.) It only costs about ten bucks, and it's an important symbolic gesture to me. I also play nice music and bake cookies in my new kitchen- even if they're just from the refrigerated tubes of dough at the grocery store, they make the apt. smell like home.

I work in people's homes, and the one thing that nobody ever seems to clean is the stopper to the kitchen sink. Not just the top- flip it over, and pop off the rubber disc on the bottom- on most of them, you can do this. That rubber disc is nearly always slimy and gunky, especially the groove that goes across the top and is normally hidden by the metal part. Give it a good scrub with a stiff bristled brush, scrub the metal portion, rinse, and reassemble. I do this every couple of days, and I feel much better about prepping my veggies in that sink.

He's agent Cooper!
Seriously though, it's not that uncommon for people to buy their clothes in a very limited colour scheme. Just grab a shirt and a pair of trousers without looking, and you know it's going to coordinate perfectly. Einstein did this!

On occasion, I've used this method to make goat's milk yogurt, and it works great! Goat yogurt is so expensive at the store, but a half-gallon of local goat's milk is like 4 bucks at the farmstand, and it makes the most wonderful yogurt to serve with blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup.