Productive

pro·duc·tive: \prə-ˈdək-tiv, prō-\
adjective
1: having the quality or power of producing especially in abundance
2:
effective in bringing about
3 a: yielding results, benefits, or profits b: yielding or
devoted to the satisfaction of wants or the creation of utilities
4: continuing to be used in
the formation of new words or constructions
5: raising mucus or sputum (as from the
bronchi)

Oh yuck on number 5! The kind of productive I'm referring to here today is more of a number 3 I guess. What I'm getting at, is that today is turning out to be a productive day for me. I'm multi-tasking here, and getting a good amount of tasks accomplished. In other words, I've managed to keep my ass out of the Pogo website so I can get some stuff done! Yes, I've ended up reviving my addiction to playing online games at Pogo again. It's fun, but it doesn't get stuff done!

So today, as most Sundays are around here is laundry day, and I started out with a nice mountain of it today! But while I've been doing the laundry chores, I've been getting other things done as well. Had the oven on cleaning cycle, the dishwasher going, and pre-sprayed my bathroom down with Tilex, wiped down the kitchen then swept and mopped the floors throughout the main part of the house. That's like what... five or six different tasks going all at once?! Cool! Work smarter, not harder! Once I was done with the floors I went and finished off the bathroom, then unloaded the clean dishes from the dishwasher. Still switching laundry loads, I did some dusting and then I decided to sit on my butt and finish off the last sleeve on a sweater that I have been crocheting. But even though I was sitting on my butt, I was still multitasking. While crocheting, I sat at the computer, and watched an episode of Celebrity Apprentice online that I had missed on TV. After that, I went on the hunt for the first episode of Moment of Truth, which is a new reality TV game show that aired this past Wednesday on Fox. My sister was telling me about it last night on the phone, and I wanted to see if I could find any video coverage of it online. I managed to find an 8 minute condensed clip of the first show at YouTube, so I watched that, and decided it will be part of my Wednesday night line up! You can view the entire episode at Fox on demand, but I didn't bother attempting to download the player you need there, because it never worked for me on my old computer, and I don't want to clutter this one up with a bunch of useless crap!

Anyway, now I've got my sweater in the wash, being felted. I should have taken a before picture of it, but apparently I wasn't thinking at the time! It's green though -- I used the same green wool that I made the little felted Mary Jane slippers out of, that I posted previously. I hope it looks good after the felting process, because it sure was cute before! It's a little hoodie sweater. Aww, simply adorable! Anyway, I'll post a pic here when it's done... if it turns out okay! ;-)

Olivia

Verdict is in

Okay people, this post concludes the end of testing the bouncing bumpy blue dryer balls. Three tests completed, and the verdict is in. My verdict anyway! In the laundry room should you follow the bouncing balls? Hell no! Save your money and stick to your old ways of drying your clothes. In my opinion they are nothing more than a bumpy chew toy for the dogs, and that's what they are in my house right now. At least they're liking them! But like everything else they get, I'm sure they'll be cast aside in an hour or so, and perhaps never to be chewed again!

My last test was with my microfiber blanket. While they did seem to keep the blanket from twisting into a ball -- at least I think they may have helped -- when I pulled that blanket that was dry in the half an hour by the way, it was full, and I mean loaded full of nasty static! It had my hair reaching out on end from my head with electrical force to join itself to that blanket. I HATE that feeling, and that snapply sound of electric shocks!

I would never ever recommend that anyone ever buy these dryer balls. I think they're a bunch of hooey, and aren't worth the money paid. You can get a better deal at PetSmart for a chewy ball for your dog! My suggestion is to keep on "Bounce"ing along with your "Snuggle"y laundry routine to keep your clothes "Downy" soft and "Cling-free"! And you can bet your ass that I'll be hoping my next laundry day is a day full of sunshine and light breezes so I don't have to use that darned dryer again!

Olivia

The final test and shiny diamonds

Test number two is complete, the towels are finally dry. I really hate dryer drying! Again it's taken over an hour for this load to dry. I know it's not the dryer, because it's running hotter than I normally would run it on. So my conclusion so far on these fan-dangled bumpy blue dryer balls is that so far they aren't doing what they claim they'll do. If this is supposed to be saving me money on hydro by cutting down on the drying time, I'll have to beg to differ to this point. Are my towels fluffier? I don't think they're really any fluffier than if I hadn't bounced those balls around with them. I guess I'd have to take a picture of them all folded up and then wash them again without the balls and take another picture. I'm not interested in conducting this comparison that closely, so I won't be doing that. In other words, I'm not that friggin' crazy to cause myself more work than I have already!

With that said, I'm giving these balls one last chance before they end up chew toys for the dogs. I've tossed them in once more, this time with a queen sized microfiber blanket. What I'm testing here is not a matter of fluffiness, or drying time, but rather to see if they will prevent this large blanket from twisting itself up into a ball itself. I hate when I have to run downstairs half way through drying time to untwist the load so it will dry properly and I won't have a big damp spot where it was all gnarled around itself. I guess in a sense I am still testing the drying time for this load, because I've remembered to set my little digital timer for a half hour, so I don't waste any more time than I have to. I really do miss having that buzzer on my dryer let me know when it's ready to switch loads. So yet again, we'll have to wait and see how things pan out with the bouncing balls!

On another note, my friend called me a few minutes ago on her cell phone from the theatre so I could hear David Gilmour singing "Shine on you crazy diamond", which is one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs. "Wish you were here" is my all time favorite. If she calls me during that song, I think I'll have to cry for not going!

Olivia

They're dry!

Well, the first dryer load is finally dry. Oh, and when I checked the setting on my washing machine, I wasn't on the hang dry setting, so that load wasn't on a lighter spin cycle. Anyway, they're finally dry, after almost 1 1/2 hours of drying time. Am I impressed? Not really so far.

So my second load I've just put in the dryer consists of eight towels -- three bath sheets, three bath towels, a beach towel, and a tub towel. Most of these are older towels and aren't as thick as they used to be, so it's not really an overly heavy load, as compared to newer thirstier towels. However, I've stepped out of my comfort zone here, and I skipped adding any dryer sheets or liquid fabric softener. It was hard for me to shut that dryer door only trusting that these bumpy blue balls are going to fluff up my towels and make them soft. At least with a load of towels though, I don't have to really worry about static cling, so that's the only good thing I'm going on here, and the rest is up to those two bouncing balls! We'll see how it goes!

Olivia

Blue balls update!

Heh heh heh, I couldn't resist that title line!

Okay, it's been about an hour since I put those bumpy blue dryer balls to the test, and I've just gone to the laundry room to check that dyer load. I would have gone earlier if that damned realtor hadn't caused havoc! So, here's the scoop... the damned load isn't anywhere near dry yet! What's up with that? Now mind you, as I said before in the other post, it is a heavy load. I think there's a couple pairs of jeans and a couple pairs of denim skater length shorts of my husbands in there, and I know there is a pair of denim capris of mine, and two heavier sweatshirts, one being a hoody, so in all fairness, it is a heavy load. But on the other hand, it's been an hour, and that seems a little long to me, considering I'm using those funky bumpy balls! Hm, I just had a thought though. I might not have switched the setting on the washer from hang dry, which would have not spun that load so much to take out more excess wetness in the clothes. I'll have to check that when I go back to the laundry room. I'd do it now, but since my laundry room is in the basement, and I'm not feeling totally energetic with this damned cold, I'm too friggin' lazy to run down and check for the hell of it right now. I'll keep you posted though!

Olivia

Another thought...

I just switched laundry loads, and as I said previously, I have to begrudgingly use my dryer for today's laundry chores. A couple of weeks ago, my mother in law brought me over a present that she had picked up while shopping with her sister. It was a package of those blue bumpy balls that you put in your dryer. They're supposed to be these little wonder balls, that are going to do all kinds of marvelous things for you to save you time and money and give you the fluffiest laundry ever.

Well, since I'm having to use my dryer for the first time since she bought them for me, I'm putting them to the test right now with this first load, and it's a heavy load too, so it should prove to be a pretty good test!

Now they say that these little bumpy balls will eliminate the need for me to have to use any sort of fabric softener, either liquid or dryer sheets because those little bumps are going to massage my laundry, which will fluff it up and soften the fabric. Now I'm pretty damned picky about my laundry, and the thought of using no type of fabric softener, especially in the dryer just doesn't sit right with me. There's nothing worse in my mind than static cling. With that said, I still tossed in a dryer sheet, but I only put one in, where I normally would have put about three of them in with a load this size. They also say they are going to help make my clothes dry more quickly because they are going to bounce around in the dryer and keep my laundry separated to allow the hot air to flow more efficiently between the fabrics. I do hear them bouncing around, so that part is a given. But we'll see how close my load is to being dry by the time the washer finishes it's cycle. Remember, I said it was a pretty heavy load I have in there right now.

So, I'll keep you posted here today on whether I think these balls are worth the few bucks they cost, or whether I think they'd make a better massaging chew ball for the dogs!

Olivia

Laundry woes

So it's Saturday, and as usual, I've got the laundry scene happening here at home before I go out today. The weather isn't so nice here today, so I'm going to have to dry my clothes in the dryer instead of hanging them outside. I hate that. I much prefer line dried laundry, over dryer dried, especially bedding. But when I only have the weekends to do my laundry, I don't have much of a choice if the weather isn't going to cooperate with me.

My dryer really sucks too. I need some work done on it, and I don't feel like paying a repairman to fix it. I can still use it, but it doesn't seem to cool down at the end of the cycle, so if I get carried away doing something else around the house, it dries my clothes to a wrinkly crisp. I'm assuming it's the timer. The dial does move as time goes on, but it doesn't buzz when the clothes are ready anymore, and worse, it doesn't cool down and stop. It just keeps on blowing hot air, no matter what setting I have it on.

I'd really like to look into getting a new laundry set though. I love those front loading Whirlpool Washing Machines and dryers. I've always stuck to one particular brand for all of my appliances, only because I put those purchases on credit at Sears, but I've never really been very happy with this laundry duo that I bought from them, so I think it's time to start checking out other manufacturers for my appliances.

There's a site called Krillion, where you can compare different brands of major appliances and TVs, etc. I, like most people do most of my research for big purchases like this online, rather than travelling store to store and talking to all different salespeople that are going to tell you their brand they carry is the best. The only problem with doing online research like this, is that sometimes you find what you really want to purchase, and then have a hard time finding out which local store carries that brand and that model. That's the nice thing about this Krillion site -- they have the reviews, and then they tell you the closest brick and mortar shops to you where you can purchase the item. Saves a whole lot of leg work, and I like that!

Oops, washer stopped... time to change loads!

Olivia

I know that smell!

I remember learning about this way back, and I mean way back in elementary school. It's the smell you smell sometimes when it rains. It's not a nasty smell, yet it's not a fresh smell. It's just a smell that you know it's raining.

Today was another hot and humid day here, and a few minutes ago the winds came up, blowing the trees quite a bit. Next thing you know, I could smell that familiar smell. I couldn't hear the rain, because of the wind rustling the leaves on the trees. I love that sound too! But then the wind subsided for a second or two and I could hear the cause of the smell. It's raining!

We need rain so badly here. Everybody's yard is full of brown dried out grass. I know it's too late to turn that around now, considering the summer is almost over, but at least the flowers will benefit a little free water! I just hope it's not raining in the morning when I start doing laundry. I hate having to dry my clothes in the dryer. You just can't beat the freshness of hanging laundry outside to dry... especially the bedding!

Olivia

I've been ranked!!

W00T! W00T! I've finally got a Page Rank!!! This is just so frigging exciting for me! Mr. Google gave my blog a 2/10 page rank! I know it's small potatoes compared to many other pages out there, but after having a zero rank for so long, it's a pretty damn welcoming rank for me! I'm hoping it will help me get a few more blog writing gigs with PayPerPost. Money has been really tight lately and I could use a few extra blogging bucks!

Anyway, I'm out of here for the afternoon. It's a gorgeous day and I'm going out to the farms to take some pictures of the blossoms on the trees. I've got all my bedding hanging outside in the sun and breeze that's perfect for airing out duvets and pillows. All around, it's a great day so far! :-)

Olivia

Blowin' in the wind...

Yesterday it rained all day, but when I let the dog out last night before I went to bed, I was so happy to see the moon shining in all it's glory, and a star-filled night, well, as much star-filled as it can be with all the light pollution from the city lights. I woke up early this morning and started the laundry so I could start hanging outside in the sunshine. I love hanging my laundry much better than putting it in the dryer. After I had coffee with my mother-in-law, as I do every weekend morning (she lives right next door), we went out to our open back yard and started cleaning out and digging up our flower beds. We cut one of my huge hostas in half and planted part of it in another area of the yard. I love hostas, especially this one variety I have. I don't know what it's called, but I got two plants from a friend of mine that passed away a couple years ago. She had brought them to me from her mom's garden, who has also passed on. Anyway, I want to keep this variety going, and divide them when I can to make more plants. They have a nice large leaf and are solid green. I'll take some pictures of them when they grow this year and post them here. Maybe one of you green thumbers can tell me what the variety is.

Anyway, I had my camera out in the yard today too. Here's a picture I took of some scatter rugs I washed and had hanging to dry. I love the colors, and I love strange pictures! ;-)

Olivia