Weird stuff that has to get cleaned

File this one under weird crap that it's easy to forget (or never really realize) needs to be occasionally cleaned: the nose pads and nose pad arms on eyeglasses.

I was just looking at myself in the mirror, and while a photo wouldn't really have done it justice, I realized this little area full of nooks and crannies was quite nasty, and multi-colored. Seriously, readers who wear eyeglasses on a daily basis (as I have since the ninth grade): if you have eyeglasses with nosepads, take them off right now, and look at them carefully. And then go get the rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip or two. (Shoutout to F, who loves them a good Q-tip!) The stuff it took off was even yuckier than the first glace would have suggested.

For context: I do a lot in the outdoors, I ride my bikes a lot, I do a lot of woodworking and building and fixing things in old houses, I camp in muddy rainy fallow cornfields, I take my eyeglasses to Burning Man, and so on. So, yes: I do a lot that can and does make me and my accessories dirty. But probably everyone who wears glasses daily has some built up dead skin slough and other unidentifiable yuck.

Speaking of stuff that we do know need to get cleaned, it's been a rough day already in the various bathrooms I keep clean. So far I've cleaned up poop, extensive dried urine, random detritus*, and the mess from someone who looks like they tore out a bunch of their hair over the sink but didn't bother to wipe up any of it. Oh, and a couple of just generally filthy toilets. And while I was walking in to use the bathroom myself this morning, someone was standing silently behind the door in one of our (single occupancy) bathrooms, lights off, door mostly open. It scared the shit out of me.

Okay, I'm gonna switch to the fun stuff for a while. Specifically, repairing a hole in a 120 year old hardwood floor.

*A sadly underused word, if you ask me. 

Filthy

Another in a series about cleaning the home. Here is a couple weeks of not sweeping:

Granted, we have 99% hardwood floors (only the master closet is carpeted) but that just means the dirt would be hiding in the carpet.

Today's study in contrasts is inspired by the fact that they are both roughly circular when you're only looking at thumbnail sizes in your photos folder.

First, some delicious FOOD PORN! (Oh, and to hell with those who say looking at food porn makes you fat: you're just not looking at the right stuff )

Anyway, above are vegan hot dogs from a couple nights ago. J's version on the left has (bottom) homemade sauerkraut, grilled poblanos, and dijon mustard; and (top) homegrown pineapple sage (about the most vigorous plant in our kitchen garden raised bed on the front porch), sweet (YUCK) relish, and dijon mustard. Mine on the right has pineapple sage, homemade sauerkraut, grilled poblanos, dill (YUM) relish, dijon mustard, and veganaise, with a side of grilled ONIONS!

And now to remind you of a previous fun topic, namely of the perils of not cleaning out your drains on a semi-regular basis (or at least the perils of you both growing your hair out.) The bathtub has been starting to not drain as quickly in the last few days, so this morning I cleaned out the drain. Big times here at Dangr-us Thoughts World H, lemme tell ya'.

Riding out now to bike bicycle tubes!

Household plumbing fun

When was the last time you cleaned out the p-traps and pop-up drains in your bathrooms sinks?

Here's what they look like after only a few months of not being cleaned:

And that's the crap that came out of just one drain tailpiece and p-trap. If it looks gross, trust me, it smells worse.

In case you're wondering, the piece of red duct tape on the toothbrush handle is to remind J and I to not stick this one, used for such tasks, in our mouths.