I have three smoke alarms in my house, all hard wired into my electric system. I thought I was set. Never had to worry so long as I could look up and see that comforting green light saying they were working.
Well, it turns out that smoke alarms have a life span of about ten years before their efficiency starts a pretty steep downward spiral. Who knew?
I know now because a very nice friend who is also a rabid fireman came over, checked them all, pulled them off the walls, bought me three new ones, and installed them, all
Here’s an idea
Washington State is poised to pass a bill forbidding text messaging while driving. Other states have banned anything but hands free cell phone use. Here’s a suggestion. Why not just ban the idiots who think they can do those things and drive. Think of how much safer and less congested our roads would be. Think of how it would help global warming. Think of what a pleasure it would be to drive without fear that some fool is watching a video while driving. Think!
You know it’s summer in Anchorage
You know it’s summer in Anchorage when everyone just seems to open their doors and let their dogs run loose. It certainly gives a whole new tenseness to taking a walk with my dogs.
A violence soaked society breeds violence
There’s probably not much left to be said about the shooting at Virginia Tech last week. But I do want to say this. I don’t want to live in a society in which we have to arm teachers in the classroom so they can kill anyone threatening our children. That’s how it may be in war torn Third World countries. But not here. Not in America.
That may sound ludicrous, but it was the first response of one of my friends as a way to avoid future tragedies. “Arm all the teachers”, he said. And he was serious. “If just
Am I the only person….
…in America who has never watched American Idol or cares to? For that matter, I seem to have missed the entire reality show craze, having never actually either seen one or felt I was missing anything if I didn’t. You really want to be entertained, watch Bleak House on PBS. Now that’s entertainment.
Abdul dances
More moments I’m glad no one can see me. Every Saturday before I give my African Gray parrot Abdul his shower, I turn to the golden oldies music channel on TV. Abdul hangs from the bars at the top of the cage swinging madly in tune. Then he comes out, climbs on top of the cage and we dance together for at least a few songs before he goes to the shower. He’s not great on slow dancing but he’s the best partner I ever had for fast dancing. That bird got rhythm! ,,,,,hmmm, on second thought, he actually is
Oh dear….
I think one of my dogs might be a digger. The snow has melted in the back yard finally and I ventured out to peek around the side to see how my little flower garden area had weathered winter and moose feet. Seems the moose feet weren’t the problem. The holes where plants used to spend the winter sleeping till spring might be. Hmmmm….could this be why Blondie disappears around the corner when I let her out and takes what seems to be an inordinate amount of time to do her business? Thank god she’s not bright enough to tunnel
My little household
I guess you never realize how odd your little household sounds till you hear the silence at the other end of the line as you describe it to a potential house sitter.
What has happened to simple civility?
Here’s the height of incivility. Be talking on the phone with someone, hear their other phone start ringing, and suddenly realize they have answered the other phone and are no longer listening to you. I can only assume they were hoping the other person would provide them with more meaningful amusement. How rude. Cell phones have destroyed what little polite society was left to us after the last century.
Barking
When you have pets in your life, it is never dull. Just watching them and trying to figure out what’s going on in their minds at any given moment is fascinating.
This morning, Blue was lying at her usual spot by my feet and Blondie was lying in her usual spot on the now snow free deck. Blondie has claimed the deck all for herself. It’s dry, warm, and since it’s on the second floor, she can see everything going on in the streets and yards around her. Something startled her out of her snooze and she started barking. Blue,