dynagirl » domestic

TWEET: Hawk!! http://twitpic.com/tyxl2

LaFaucon — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:41:38 +0000

whoosh

Miriam — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:09:05 +0000

We signed up for MG&E‘s wind power last month, and so far have not used 577 pounds of coal.

We also got a new air conditioner last week, after the forty-year old Carrier gave up the ghost. They figured the old unit’s SEER value was about three, and the new one is thirteen. It’s also so much nicer / more efficient that it needs to run a lot less, so it’ll be interesting to watch our usage over the summer. Then again, with the way the cost of energy has been going, the bill will probably stay the same even if the use plummets.

like ravelry for your garden

Miriam — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:16:27 +0000

I think it’s a little newer, and I’m hoping to see more Ravelry-esque features, but MyFolia.com is pretty danged neat way to keep track of your garden.

hotbox

Miriam — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 12:34:13 +0000

Watching John Adams last night, I loved the Adams’ bedcurtains. “How cozy and warm!” I thought—and later, when we were all curled up in bed, I realized: Yeah. Warm like a Dutch oven.

finally a grown-up (sorta)

Miriam — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 15:17:26 +0000

I bought my first furniture that isn’t used and didn’t come from Target! A few weeks ago we saw these funny-looking chairs (in way uglier colors), and I sat down. I thought, “hunh, that’s really comfortable,” and moved on… then slowly got obsessed. Yesterday we found them again at Century House Leather Gallery, and in the car on the way over to the other location that had the colors I wanted (OMG xanadu), I thought, “Wow. My ass actually misses that chair.” The guy at the store said they call it “the buttbucket,” which is probably easier to pronounce than “Hjellegjerde Luna.” I like its OMNOMNOM face.

also fixes broken Vortex Manipulators

Miriam — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:12:44 +0000

Even though it’s been a dream toy since I was ten years old, I was having a hard time justifying this most excellent sonic screwdriver — until I realized that it was a sonic screwdriver that could also detect cat pee. Spiffy! All those years, who knew the Doctor had a cat?

a failure to communicate, tool version

Miriam — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 13:40:21 +0000

Two staple guns, three boxes of staples, no love. Grrreaergh. If you’ve ever wondered why someone would throw three “perfectly good” boxes of staples in the trash, well, now you know.

my hoopty fantasy

Miriam — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:44:19 +0000

We’ve been able to manage being a 1.5-vehicle family for a few years now, with a driving car and a haul-shit truck (a giant gas-guzzling, back-firing, tweaky, exhausty 1986 Ford F150 that is horrible and yet awesome). Mr Dynagirl works out of town, so he drives; for about a year-and-a-half I worked along his route, so we could ride together, and for the last year I’ve been working on the opposite side of town but commuting with a friend. That luxury will probably be ending when Madison’s August Moving Party starts. Not only am I going to miss the drive-time company, we’re gonna need some wheels.

While I want to put this off as long as possible — I always find it nicer to spend new mone — this is kind of exciting. The last time I bought a car was 1994 (Holy shit, that thirteen years ago? No WAY). I’ve got some added needs/wants since my Saturn SL1. I learned how to drive stick in the parking lot of the dealer, and now… I can’t figure out how to drive an automatic. That’s probably a mental block, since, duh, it’s easy, and stick is just way more fun to drive. I’ve also gotten spoiled by the fahrfegnügen of our 2000 Passat (six cylinder). Seriously, that thing is like a dog when it hears the keys. “We’re going for a drive? Wanna go? Let’s go!!! Wrrroof!” Love love love it.

You can easily guess that I like cars that get awesome gas mileage (the SL1 got ~35mpg, back in ’94! I was a dork and kept a little notebook) and run forever. No matter what I get, I’m going to have to do something to be able to get my iPod hooked up to it, so that’s not really an issue; air-conditioning goes without saying.

I’d like a used car for a number of reasons besides up-front cost. It’s ridiculous that such a large machine as a car, with so much manufacturing technology and industry behind it, is so disposable. Why is something considered high-mileage already at only nearing 100,000 miles? Metal is good. Try getting a dent out of bondo. Oh, wait, it doesn’t dent, it shatters. I like the idea of a car that can be fixed without the aid of a computer. Cars shouldn’t come with operating systems; oh, hell no. My husband is great at fixing either, and, as cute as he is when he’s geeky, I do like seeing him sweated up working and on a car. (Oh! Banana*!! Sorry.) Plus, when the end times come, it’ll be good to have something more independently workable.**

So, here’s what I need:

manual
fahrfegnügen / low-end of “luxury”
awesome fuel efficiency
durable
$5-8k
dark blue, black, or dark grey preferred

Which brings me to a short-list of a (bio)diesel Volkswagen, Audi, or Mercedes. I love Volkswagens, I put Audi in the list only because they’re basically Volkswagens gone bland; Mercedes is unknown to me and quite alluring. Did you know that they have free roadside assistance for the life of the vehicle? No matter where you got it or when, you get a flat tire? Call ‘em up. That’s pretty rad. Also, I want to earn one of these:

*our safeword at work for TMI.
** kidding! really!!

Blogging, kids, and privacy

Miriam — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 15:05:05 +0000

A question over on Soopermomz, which I hope gets discussed further.

the dirt under my nails

Miriam — Wed, 31 May 2006 16:06:00 +0000

Garden: 31 May 2006, wide
Whenever someone’s asked what I’ve been up to lately, it seems the only thing I can say is, “gardening.” Well, here’s why. From the window, and stitched up in Photoshop.

New things this year:

sod
bamboo fencing cover
bricks finished
compost contained
clematis
rehabilitated front bed #4
added bed along the side of the house
added and rearranged some stuff in the other front beds

It doesn’t sound like that much when it’s listed out like that, but believe me, there’s probably seven solid days of work in there. And the tricky thing is that it’s never “done,” even though you may think so at the time. I’ve been to the greenhouse THREE TIMES thinking, “OK! That should do it for this year, save the weeding.” And, yes, there will be another trip in a week. Fooey.

Rosa Floribunda Julia Child

Miriam — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:42:30 +0000

I love roses*, and how could I not plant this lovely bush with petals that –hunh! imagine that– are the color of butter? She should be arriving May the fifth, which is a good incentive for me to get the bed on the south side of the house finished (started, too).

*hardy, no-maintenance, wild and lush and smelly and bordering on invasive roses; not the huge fucking pain in the ass, must be painstakingly cultivated and pruned and covered and sprayed and coddled roses that barely bloom, and when they do they have no fragrance roses, so preferred by other people I know, who though they may be blood relations are not spoken to or about.

good fences

Miriam — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 16:27:37 +0000

click for larger
Ta-da! This weekend’s garden project was the installation of split-bamboo fencing cover over the ugly cyclone fencing around the garden. This was a snap to put up; I did the whole thing by myself in about five hours. Just a lot of putzy wiring. It’s a bit higher than the cyclone fence, and screens the view of the neighbor’s driveway and garbage cans. It also gives the garden a much better sense of space. I didn’t do the whole perimeter, as there’s a twelve-foot span across the back that has a number of tall grapevines that are quite enmeshed in the fence. Next up: finish the brickwork, and lay gravel on the path.

open a new window, open a new door

Miriam — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 14:49:42 +0000

If a steel-clad, foam-core door is five times more energy-efficient than a solid-wood exterior door, how much more efficient would that be compared to a HOLLOW, crappy, nasty interior door that also had quite a wide gap on the side, and no insulation in the space between the studs and the door frame?

D’oh, a deer!

Miriam — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 13:05:40 +0000

Russ found him via a “we’re moving, come take what’s left” post on Freecycle. Astute fans will notice that Buck Mulligan is hung in the Wisconsin Room, near Lamont, the Rubber Tree (who has moved locations since that photo). Sweet!

Rubbermaid Paint Buddy

Miriam — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 13:21:19 +0000

This looks so cool – store your leftover paint, in a roller-tube for quick touch-ups.
Via Boing Boing

cotton anniversary mash note

Miriam — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 16:11:01 +0000

Happy anniversary, darling! Thank you for two wonderful years :), and I look forward to many more with you.

&@#!!!!!

Miriam — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 15:27:21 +0000

I HATE GAS OVENS. I wouldn’t have electric burners but this crap-ass cheapo stove thingy I bought for a hundred bucks (from the previous tenant) when I was moving into an appliance-free flat sucks so much goddamn cock I can’t stand it. Miss Thang is dearly afraid of unlit pilot-lights, and the motherfucking oven light has gone out TWICE THIS WEEK, leaving her to reach wincingly under into the broiler with a long, lit bamboo skewer, confident THAT HER ENTIRE ARM WILL BURN. And now today, it is out and IT WON’T FUCKING RELIGHT. Hallelujah, my arm isn’t a cinder, but I’M GOING TO DIE OF POISON GAS.

Fuck fuck fuck. I have some errands to run on the west side today and I think I’ll stop at the fancy-ass new GE store, because sticker shock is more fun than DYING LIKE SOME SHIT POET. Bah!

new tenants

Miriam — Wed, 15 Sep 2004 13:08:06 +0000

Ada B. up and left Madison, and bequeathed her aquarium to us. We did a little renovation and now have new tenants here at The Bungalow of Love! It’s quite peaceful. There are fish in there, a loach (kind of a small eely fish) that lived there before, and five neon tetras that Himself brought home last night.

Call me Lamont

Miriam — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 13:49:47 +0000

I found this lovely on the curb in Milwaukee as its former owner was hauling it out. In it’s honor, there’s new music in the sidebar (it’s the long version!).

Truth In Marketing

Miriam — Tue, 08 Jun 2004 21:03:23 +0000

Fish & Poop!
Via Reenhead