11-14-07

Eat, Pray, Love. I finished a little after 7 and did my usual morning stuff – writing and posting an entry, scooping litter boxes, sweeping the laundry room, making sure the food bowls were filled, cleaning the kitchen – before heading out to the garage. I think I mentioned last week that I was planning to start lifting weights again. After I did my 35 minutes on the elliptical, I did just that, doing three sets of two exercises that targeted my chest, two that targeted my back, and two that targeted my abs. I got back into the house a few minutes after 9:00, and after a little cooling down and web surfing, I changed into an old t-shirt and pants, and headed out to the shed that Fred finished building over the weekend. I told him several times during the building of the shed that if he wanted, I’d paint it for him, and he decided to take me up on that offer. In fact, he was even helpful enough to make sure everything I needed was waiting for me in the shed. I started painting around 9:30, and except for a short break around 11:00 for breakfast, I kept on painting until almost 2:00. In retrospect, I’m not sure that a day in which I was planning on spending hours painting a shed was the best day to start lifting weights but, y’know, whatEVER. My back is really sore today – not unable-to-move sore, but it’s definitely letting me know that the muscles back there did some work yesterday. I got the entire shed rough painted and even got a second coat of paint put on one end before I got to the bottom of the second can of paint and decided it was time to stop painting for the day. I got inside, took my shower, went and spent some time with the kittens, and just as I sat down to eat lunch, I heard thunder. A little while later, it started pouring. I’m hoping the shed was dry enough by the time it started raining, but I haven’t been out to look because I really just don’t even want to know.

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Lately, my Dyson hasn’t really been All That, and I’ve been wondering what the hell was going on. The last time I had an issue with it was last Spring when I was vacuuming with it and accidentally sucked up a couple of nails, which created a tear in the hose and impeded the Incredible Dyson Sucking Power. I ordered a replacement hose and Fred put it on, and all was pretty well. Lately, though, it just wasn’t picking stuff up the way it used to, and I worried that maybe the whole “Never loses suction!” promise was bullshit and perhaps the Dyson needed to be put out to pasture. And then it occurred to me that it had been a little while since I’d cleaned the filter (which you’re supposed to do every six months), and so I took the filter out of the Dyson and took it into the kitchen to clean it, and it was just horrifying. It was caked with (shocking!) cat hair and when I rinsed it under warm water, the crap that rinsed out looked like mud. It took quite a while of rinsing to get it completely clean, and then I let it sit a few days to dry. Yesterday I put the filter back in the Dyson and vacuumed the downstairs, and the difference was just amazing. That Dyson Suction was back and kicking ass. Amazing what a little maintenance will do, ain’t it?
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CRRRRRRRRRRAZY eyes! SLEEEEEEEEPY eyes! ****************************** Buffy’s all “Hey, guys! Whatcha doin’? Can I play too?” and Tommy and Sugs are all “What do YOU want? Go away. You have COOTIES.”
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Previously 2006: “I CUT THROUGH THE GODDAMN EXTENSION CORD AND THEN I MADE THE CHAIN COME OFF THE CHAINSAW!” 2005: Senator Stanley J. Boogerton. 2004: No entry. 2003: So I’m not reporting that. At all. Never happened! 2002: Riley’s response? “Nuh uh!” 2001: Dr. Phil looked at me judgmentally, and I began to babble. 2000: And I don’t even like cherry Poptarts! 1999: Fred has agreed to let me adopt the kitten! ]]>

30 thoughts on “11-14-07”

  2. Question for Friday, oh house cleaning queen: My husband exploded something in the microwave this weekend (chili?) and, of course, did not clean it up. There is now a disgusting dried gunk in my microwave. Any tips on cleaning (besided getting DH to do it, because that’ll never happen)? And thanks for reminding me to wash my Dyson filter.
    Me wants shed painted pictures!!

  4. Um…Dysons have filters…which need to be cleaned??? Uh oh. See, you learn something new every day (writes note to self to check her Dyson’s filter this weekend). 🙂

  5. Quick microwave cleaning tip: I put 1/2 a lemon in a big bowl of water and cook for 5 minutes. The steam will unstick all of the gunk and wipe right out. The lemon just gives it a fresh scent. I read this somewhere years ago.

  7. know what else impedes that amazing sucking action (oh imagine the google hits on this one)…foam cat balls and a sharpie marker. (that was a bitch to remove too!)

  8. okay, so I’ll have to do that to mine, too. I’m pretty sure I’ve never cleaned the filter in mine. You’re talking about the round one, correct?

  9. Putting a bowl of vinegar in the microwave and heating it for a few minutes works wonders too for softening the gunk up enough to wipe it out.

  10. You mean my Dyson has a filter I’m supposed to be cleaning????? Thanks for letting me know! I guess I should read instructions when I purchase expensive household items!!! ha ha ha

  11. I got my dyson a few months ago, and immediately broke it out on our carpeted stairs. I was sooooo disappointed. It hardly got anything and I had to scrub at the carpet to lift the cat hair. The next day I realized that the part that connects the hose to the tank was not connected all the way….doh…
    now it sucks good!

  12. Even just a cup or bowl filled with water in your microwave will work. Heat it long enough so that it boils and produces some steam. That will help moisten the dried up gunk so that it will come off with minimal work.

  13. Whew you had me worried. I am seriously thinking about a Dyson for my next vaccum and mostly because of your reviews.
    Glad all is well!
    How does it do on hardwood/linoelum type floors? I am thinking of putting little carpet in my house pretty soon.

  14. I would rather poke sharp things in my eyes than ever paint anything ever. My enthusiasm shows in my skill level.
    I will never be asked to participate in anything that requires painting again. I have made sure of that.
    I took a page from my childrens’ book and did such a crappy job that no one will ever ask again, and if they do, Pookie will simply show them my handiwork and they will backtrack quickly.
    Man, I hate painting. In case you couldn’t tell.

  15. I am sure painting your shed gave you a nice workout- kind of like lifting weights. I used to paint exhibit galleries with nice 8-10 foot tall walls, and hefting the pole with the roller on it was quite the workout, as I recall. That thing gets heavy! It’s nice to burn a few calories while doing something practical like painting.

  16. Shit, I just spray my microwave with whatever cleaner (usually Windex) I have in my hand and walk away for a few minutes. Come back and it wipes clean. Y’all actually get a bowl of water and turn the microwave on? Wow. Apparently I have y’all beat in the TOO LAZY to be bothered department. Hee!
    Robyn, I think I need Rhian to come live with me (she could be my Mini-Poo). Please email Rick and ask him because you know he loves you more than me. Hmph.

  17. Glad to see that I’m not the ONLY one that did not realize that there is a filter on the Dyson. I suspect why I haven’t been so placed with my vacuuming results lately. Hmmmm. Better clean the filter tonight and test again. But again, that’s been my excuse not to vacuuming lately. 😉

  18. Robyn, I was just reading a few of your older entries and see that you read Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. She is my favorite author and Coming Home is her best book IMHO. Anyway, have you read any of her son’s (Robin Pilcher) books? Also, have you read Jan Karon’s Mitford series? Jan has begun a new series and I couldn’t be happier!

  19. Sh*t. Gotta go find the filter on my dyson and clean it. I thought little knomes came and magically took care of my Dyson’s maintenance…

  20. Poking my nose in to tell those who are cleaning their Dyson filters to make sure it’s COMPLETELY dry before you put it back in…Robyn notes that she let hers dry for a few days (not hours). If you put it back in too soon (still damp) you’ll have a terminally ill vacuum that will likely need surgery or worse. Not that I know this from experience…no sir.

  21. Holy cow, my Dyson is 2 years old and I’ve been wondering what the hell was wrong with it. I never heard of this filter thingie.
    If you need a topic for tomorrow’s post you might consider edumacating your lazy readers with a tutorial on how to properly maintain the uber-sucking Dyson.

  22. I second what Rose said. Clearly we’d all be lost without you. I can’t believe I’ve never cleaned the filter on our Dyson! Gross!

  25. Ha…I didn’t even know my Dyson had a filter underneath the canister! The pieces are now thoroughly rinsed and drying as I type.
    Thanks, Robyn! :o)

  26. OMG…just last week my Dyson did the same suckless job and I remember the filter. Voila! Gah! I sure won’t let that thing get so dirty next time. It’s amazing how suction works when not clogged with pet hair!

  27. For Friday:
    Not so much a question, but I think you should have a poll where we all vote for who our favorite kitty is. It’d be interesting to see who keeps the readers comin’ back!

  28. kay – the dyson is the only vacuum that i’ve owned that you can see dust get sucked into while vacuuming hardwood floors. Every other one, it looks like the dust gets blown away, instead of in.
    The only thing I dislike is that there’s no carpet height adjustment, so we can’t use it on our shag area rug. If you have high-pile carpet, you should try it out first to see if it works ok.

  29. Thank you Sharon. That is exactly the answer I was looking for. My current one just blows it away! Frustrating! 🙁

  30. Why haven’t we seen the painted shed yet? AHEM.
    Also, LITTER BOX. *goes to clean that stupid thing*

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