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January 16, 2006
Vacuuming
I have enjoyed vacuuming as long as I can remember. Must have something to do with the fact that vacuum cleaners are the only household appliances that you roll around on the floor like a toy. I remember following my mom around the house while she vacuumed, and eventually getting to push the thing around myself when I was tall enough to reach the controls. The best part was and is getting to see the debris go away as if by mechanical magic.
At Nutglade, we began our collection of vacuum cleaners. We had a commercial Eureka for the upstairs (worked all right, but was noisy) and a handheld Dirt Devil™ for the stairs. The year we sold Nutglade, we inherited our first truly good vacuum cleaner, a dark blue Panasonic. It did a great job for several years, but eventually the belts began wearing out too rapidly and an annoying burning rubber smell would emanate from the "hood" of the machine. The pet dander of two dogs is a challenge for all but the best vacuums, I suppose. Replacing a good vacuum requires extra research because an inferior model will feel like a real waste of money.
I researched vacuums at epinions and found that the Dyson™ had a passionate following. They cost more than we really wanted to spend, but I have long since given up on resisting the advice of my stepfather who says that if you are really going to use something then spring for the best. He has never regretted using that philosophy and neither have I. We sprung for the Dyson DC-07 Full Gear, which differs from the rest of the range only in the color and the accessory attachments included in the price. We found the best deal on eBay, and we have never regretted our purchase. No bags to replace (the Panasonic required bags and filters to be specially-ordered once the model had stopped being produced), and it was a joy to watch pounds of dirt get lifted from apparently clean surfaces. My only complaint is that over time the lexan or polycarbonate canister scratches up, so the joy of watching swirling dust is somewhat diminished.
Since our purchase, Dyson has begun running more television ads. We had never seen one before we owned the product. And Rob Walker of the New York Times Magazine ran a piece about the cult-status of the Dyson as an example of viral marketing. I am ashamed to admit that a torch inside me burns a little for the newer models (mostly on account of the instant-release telescoping wand), but our DC-07 shows no sign of flagging.
In Saint Paul, I had the best garage ever. But it would collect cottonwood duff, and some of it would accumulate under the motorcycle lift and workbench. A shop vac was called for. It has been pointless to use it here, except to do the car. The garage floor is mostly dirt after all. And I am not especially happy at how the filter seems to clog so easily. If Dyson made a shop-vac. . .
So the Nunu is a logical extension of my vac-u-lust. It scoops up piles of leaves and makes them disappear. It has wheels. And I can tell the difference between when I started and when I finished. I am even considering replacing the mulching blades with bagging blades on the Deere for more efficient nunuing.
Posted by Underblog at 8:42 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 15, 2006
Moving In
Even though we have been in Albuquerque for 4½ months, it feels like we have not yet moved in. Coming from a 4 bedroom house with a capacious attic and full basement to 1 bedroom house (albeit with guest-house and an acre of land), many of our things ended up in places where they fit rather than in places where they really should go. Most of our paintings are out in a little playhouse next to the house. In order to find Roomie a blank cd yesterday, I had to move 10 boxes in the packed tiny house and move them all back again to enable myself to back out again.¹
The garage, although it was small, dark, dusty, and had floor made of dust, held a few critical items. I say "held" because the garage is coming down this week and a new shiny beautiful garage is going up in its place. Of course, the loss (however temporary) means a certain amount of additional dislocation. Two scooters are now parked in the Tuff Shed.™ Motorcycles are parked behind the structure intended for garden equipment, the nunumotor and US Army folding chairs shares the Kelty tarp space. Cans of paint are now stored in the casita's kitchen. All the tools, boxes, fasteners, etc that used to be in the garage are now stuffed in the adobe sheds. The darkest hour of our storage crunch has truly arrived.
I have managed to achieve my goal for the day: both the garage and the "workshop" (in fact one notch above a chicken-coop) are empty, the electrical service to them disconnected, and the construction debris consolidated next to the garage. To celebrate, I nunu'd up the piles of leaves that Roomie so diligently raked yesterday. By the time I return from yet another road trip, it should look a lot different around here.
¹ Roomie later volunteered to go in the playhouse and retrieve a cd case, and gave up when she saw the number of boxes she would have to move.
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