CatEyeSpecks

Last week I left my carpet cleaning machine at work, intending to more or less donate it, because I had another (new in box) one at home. We really needed something like that at work, because I sometimes bring Dexter to work, and one of our ladies has a therapy dog, so sometimes it's just nice to have something easily available to get a deep clean when spills or muddy footprints occur somewhere in the offices. The ones I have are those Bissell Little Green Clean Machines, which have been around for some time. The machine I had at home I had purchased a few years back at a church rummage sale, and it looked to be NIB. I had never tested it though, assuming it was new.

Well, I had reason to use the machine at home on Friday, because my work compost bin (which I bring home on Fridays to empty at home) toppled and leaked in my trunk. However, once I opened the machine, it was clear it had actually been used. That actually doesn't bother me, as I am a thrifter, and as long as it's in working order, I don't mind used stuff at all. Sadly, after I filled the tank with cleaner, I realized the hose nozzle was not dispensing/spraying. Drat. In the moment, I just used a manual spray bottle to spray the trunk liner, and finished it off by vacuuming with the Bissell. It did the job, but darn I hate when people donate stuff that isn't working right.

So, on Saturday I looked up videos on how to fix the machine. And I was able to take it apart, clean it thoroughly, and diagnose the issue. I was afraid it would be the pump or some part that may be hard to find, but as it turned out, it was just a clog. Seems the old owner used some kind of granulated cleaner that hadn't dissolved fully in the water tank (or it was mineral build-up). So, with maybe 45 mins of time invested, I've got a fully functioning machine again. Yay! It feels good to fix stuff, as I truly hate the throw-away culture we live in.

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My youngest brother made it from California to the east coast, and he was staying at my mom's for Saturday night, planning to head up the his new house on Sunday (and back to work Monday). He drove across the country over the course of about 10 days, camping along the way, sending me pictures here and there. I went over to my mom's last evening to have dinner with him before he went up to his place. We had Poke bowls for dinner and chatted (and watched a random, low-budget, badly-acted movie, which prominently featured a local diner he loved as a child).

I brought him a bit of a housewarming basket, but kept it small, because I knew his car was probably full of stuff. I gave him two door mats, because we've been getting a lot of rain lately, so I thought something practical to clean his shoes at the door would be helpful. I also gave him some organic, fair-trade, locally-roasted coffee, some chocolates and macadamia nuts, and a vintage mug from his favorite childhood diner (mentioned above). He and I are both big coffee drinkers. When he saw the mug, that's what prompted him to look up the diner and he found the movie, which we watched after dinner. It was an enjoyable evening, for sure. I am excited to go visit him at the new place once he's settled in a bit.

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Sunday I mostly hung out around the house, doing my usual chores. Watering plants, turning my compost, doing laundry, clipping the cats' nails, etc. I was able to spend some time starting a new book about inherited family trauma, which is interesting. I was finally able to take Dexter outside for some proper playing, as it's been too rainy the last several days. My husband and I also took a short trip out to Harbor Freight to get some hard cases for his camera gear, and so I could cash in all my coins for a Home Depot gift card. Yay home ownership. The CoinStar machine doesn't take a surcharge if you convert your cash to a gift card, so that's what I always do. Husband was like, "We could either do Home Depot or one of these restaurants." I guess I am just too practical. haha.

Yesterday my youngest brother left California to move back to our home state (which is where I live now also - about 30 mins drive from our hometown). Back in January, while home for the holidays, he purchased a house up in the mountains a couple hours away from me. I'll take the 2 hour drive, over the 50 hour drive. He had lived out in California for maybe 8 years, but when my dad had Alzheimer's several years ago, he started talking about moving back out here to be close to family. He will keep his job in CA and work remotely, paying the much cheaper cost of living that is here. He'll be getting to this area in about 11 days. I am looking forward to it.

My husband and I are talking about going up to visit him at his new place once he gets settled in. We're going to give him our barely-used electric lawn mower, as he's got a nice small lawn at his new place. I'll also give him some local coffee and a vintage mug from this diner he used to like when we were kids. He's a big coffee lover like me. When he was home for December/January, I actually gave/lent him my Moka pot, because he was growing frustrated at the mediocre (awfulness?) of our mom's Keurig. I am far from a coffee snob, but I can't do Keurig either. Half for the quality, half for the utter waste of single-use plastics.

When we go to visit my brother, I want to bring our dog. It would be the longest car ride he's been on with us since the day we adopted him. I want to get him accustomed to longer rides, as I would love to take road trips with him, and have him relax a bit. I used to take him to work fairly regularly (a 12-15 minute ride, which I have paused for reasons unrelated to him), and he just whines the whole ride. Same when the weather is nice and I take him to various parks. I think he's just excited or overstimulated by seeing everything around us as we drive. We live on a fairly quiet, semi-rural property, so he doesn't get tons of interactions outside of beings in our household. Anyway... I'd like to give it a shot. I wonder if there's something I could give him to calm him.