This is our stove. It is quite large. And a bit dated. But it is gas. And let me tell you I love it. It's taken a little getting used to but what's not to love about instant heat? Plus the smell reminds me of camping and our little portable propane Coleman stove. Plus, plus I can make s'mores in the comfort of my own kitchen anytime I want.

"I noticed every time I spent a lot of time in the bathtub, I would just get fantastic realizations about myself, and they were so valuable and liberating."


-Leonard Orr

So. 

Since moving in 6+ weeks ago our beautiful pedestal bathtub upstairs has been in different stages of disassembly as my husband tried to fix the drain. He must have gone to at least a half dozen hardware and plumbing supply stores and talked to just as many experts about what specific part he needed and how hard it was to find and order. It was starting to look as though we may never have a fully functioning shower AND tub drain upstairs. 

Well, just last week while doing some random straightening up of his workbench in the basement he came across  a small little metal screw-like piece. And as he analyzed it the heavens opened and the sound of singing angelic choirs filled the air...

Ok. Not really. But my husband did have an "Aha moment". And in a mere half hour the drain was fixed, the tub was put back together, filled with hot water and some votive candles were lit. All so I could have the inaugural soak.

I was speechless. 

Then he told me the story about finding the part and being himself speechless, that after so many weeks of fruitless hunting in stores and online and being convinced that we'd have to buy some modern, expensive, plastic thing to replace the whole drain pipe, the one small missing "link" we needed ended up being in our possession all along.

"What I can't figure out is why it was in the basement in a baggie?"

"A baggie you say?" I replied. (Cue sheepish smile.) "I did that..."

"You?"

"Yeah. But in my defense I did tell you. Remember? I found it in the medicine cabinet upstairs with some extra screw caps for the toilet so I thought it was an extra thing for the toilet and I put it in a baggie in the basement."

"Oh, boy."

"Hey, at least we found it before you replaced half the bathtub..."

"I have often walked down this street before;
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before. "

-Lyrics from My Fair Lady

While the rest of the country languishes under drought-like conditions I thought you'd all like to take a break from the ever abounding browns and tans and rest your eyes with something green. Thanks to the towering oaks and maples and lindens Columbus Circle has thus far been spared most of the scorching heat. I think I have officially become a tree-hugger!

"Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world."

- T'ien Yiheng

If the above quote is true...and I think it is...imagine what tea drunk in a sunny backyard can accomplish.

A picture is a worth a thousand words they say...so here's about 8000 of my most eloquent.

Fresh cherries, just washed-
beads of ruby strewn across
white bowl's shiny gloss-
dainty stems crisscrossed.


-ephemera

"Thieves respect property. They merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it."


-G.K. Chesterton



So including my husband our new neighborhood currently houses 3 Firefighter/paramedics, 1 Police officer, 1 State trooper and 1 retired Sheriff. You'd think that as a result our neighborhood would be one of the safest around. And I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying I find it kind of amazing that our next door neighbor's car was stolen early Sunday morning. 


Then again, maybe it isn't that amazing. Maybe no one has bothered to informed the criminal element that in our neighborhood their chances of stealing from either law enforcement or Fire department employees is statistically very high. And therefore statistically ill-advised.