Arkay's Profile

We mounted an old long tool box with a hinged lid on the wall like that in our foyer, and use it as a landing strip. A break chain let the top open like a drop leaf desk.

HOW ABOUT A CLEANING PERSON? A European friend said to me (when I was a poor grad student): You Americans are crazy thinking you need to do everything yourselves, that scrubbing your own toilet somehow makes you righteous, even when you're busy as hell and have FAR more important things to do, jah? So I scrimped and saved and hired her cleaning person -- and never looked back! Now, my partner & I both have jobs & 2 young kids & work on the big old house we live in, so we're busy. Once a week or every other week someone comes and scrubs the bathroom, the kitchen, vacuums, etc. -- and it removes SO much household stress from our relationship!

We still have to do laundry and dishes etc., but it helps TREMENDOUSLY - and what's left we divide on the basis of who has more time that week. It's also a good way to deal with one person having very different standards of cleanliness than the other. And it brings cleaning/housekeeping into the dollars-&-cents equation -- which could be a strategic move for couples who disagree on this stuff. It's also cheaper than therapy -- or divorce!

Perfection doesn't exist in the world, it exists in the mind -- and there, often as a disease. The best is the enemy of the good.

Stephanie4180 - Take some cheap flipflops (or buy them there) if you plan on visiting temples/mosques/monasteries - because you often have to leave your shoes at the door, and anything nicer could get stolen. And keep a pair of thin socks in your pocket.

To add to the list (3rd World travel):
* Tiny LED flashlight
* Candle & matches acquired at my destination.
* Sun hat -- usually a crushable brimmed fedora-type thing, and a baseball cap.
* Mini tripod for camera - for shots inside buildings, or in plazas at night
* Favorite energy bars - antidote to "angry-hungry" on a too-long bus ride; also saves you from buying "street snacks" you might later regret....

I saw a similar thing done with old square barn beams sawn in cross-section and then installed as an accent in a larger white wall (a 6'x6' section) - stunning! They fit tight together and were sealed with polyurethane or something.

To do it yourself all you'd need are a few beams, a chop saw with a couple of spare blades, ear protection and a bunch of spare time.

I want this. Got a 4 YO who climbs on everything. Any ideas about getting this shipped to the US?

(By the time I DIY / overbuild all those branches, kid will be in college!)

I read a story online about someone having a problem with noisy apartment sex neighbors -- he renamed his wireless router "We hear you having sex" and within a week they quieted down.

I had a problem with a barking dog, and researched remote anti-bark technologies. There are devices that can be hooked up outside up to 50' from the dog that emit a high-pitched tone (people can't hear) that distracts/interrupts the dog when it barks. I arrived at a different solution so I don't know if it really works, however.

Congrats Teresa, and good luck!

The room looks great, but as the dad of twin boys I would say -- lose the ladder. One day a little switch will go off, and a little brain will think: "Oh, that's for climbing." And it will happen when you least expect it....

Also: love the print.

Here in Philly, our quince bush is blossoming. Weird....

We were looking for a loveseat to put by the fireplace in our (not tiny) 1910 foursquare, and everything we saw was HUGE - so we got a chair-and-a-half instead. Found it on Craig's List, and the seller had the whole set - huge sofa, huge loveseat, huge chair-and-a-half and enormous ottoman, all in a small suburban ranch. The four pieces covered more than half the floor space of their living room, with maybe 10" in between.