Waste Land

Almost every week I have a date with my ironing board, which I set up in front of our tv in the basement. I put in a dvd and start in on the shirts and handkerchiefs (that's right, I don't like the no-iron version - not absorbent). This week I finally got around to watching a much-recommended documentary, Waste Land - and I had to stop ironing and sit down to watch with full attention.

Waste Land is about a famous artist, Vik Muniz, who made his way from Brazil to New York and became wealthy from his success as a sculptor and visual artist. After a time he decided to return to Brazil and work on a project with the pickers of recyclable materials that he met working in a huge garbage dump outside of Rio de Janeiro. He took some wonderful photographic portraits of some of the most memorable pickers. The story of how he collaborated with them to create very large versions of the photographs constructed entirely of stuff collected from the dump was life-changing for everyone involved - reminded me of the story of Pinocchio. The project helped the pickers to see themselves as so much more than human "garbage." A film like that always makes me feel larger.

Little Train Fan

 

We live just 4 blocks from a station for Metra, the commuter rail system in the area, and two of our grandkids live 4 blocks from the station two stops north of ours. The little one loves to watch the trains from the library windows just across the tracks from that station, and I've taken him there in his stroller just to watch the trains at rush hour - one every few minutes. Every so often he'll get to ride the train down to our house for a short visit, then back again - a great delight! So, when he turned two just last week, I knew just what to get for a birthday present. Where to get it was a bigger problem. No luck on Amazon or the nearby costume store. Enter the Chicago Costume Company - just across the street from the main DePaul Univ. campus along our old route to Grandma's. 

They told me they had one hat left, so we rushed over to get it. The little conductor looked very proud to wear his hat at his birthday party, and I'm told that it will be part of his Halloween costume this year. A good time was had by all!

Another Great Recipe - 3 Ingredients and No Cooking!

I love cooking shows and find most of them on PBS since we don't have cable. Yesterday I was watching Joanne Weir's Cooking Confidence and saw a really easy dessert - fresh pineapple chunks drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt. I've learned how to cut up fresh pineapple, but if you need help with it, watch this clip. Supposedly, the olive oil cuts the acidity of the pineapple and the flaky salt brings out the flavor. Now to get some Maldon salt.......

Extended Warranties - a Reluctant Fan

Last week, my 10-year-old Kenmore washer died in the middle of the 4th load on my wash day. I fished out a couple of sheets and dialed around until I got a spin cycle to try to get the water out. All was well until I got to within 2 inches of the bottom of the tub, then a horrible clanking and a bad smell told me to shut the thing off immediately. Fortunately, we found out that the extended warranty we bought from Sears a few years ago was still in effect! We have argued a lot about whether or not to get them lately. I've been reading that they are a waste of money and an easy source of upgrades for appliance stores.

Today, the repairman came out, replaced a timer, and then talked us into a new warranty on the washer AND the dryer that will last until 2015. We are either big-time suckers or brilliant.

Chicago Garbage Trucks vs. Flooded Basements

 

 So here is the mighty garbage truck in Chicago. Today I went for a walk in my neighborhood and saw that a few people just got around to cleaning out their basement from the flooding last week and stacked the ruined items on the curb for pickup today. Carpets, furniture, black bags (heavy with damp stuff) - it all gets eaten by the garbage truck. I got to watch as my neighbor's huge pile of mildewed debris was fed into the maw by the two regular workers, PLUS the driver, who actually got out of the truck and put on work gloves! (I've never seen the driver do anything but sit and look bored.) Within a minute, a van drove up and another guy got out, putting on gloves to help the other three. The best part was seeing a big, overstuffed sofa get mangled, then swallowed whole by the truck's compactor (see above) - truly amazing! They cleaned it all up in less than 5 minutes.

In other news, I've given up on Chrome for Blogger posts - now it's Firefox once again. At least I can add photos that way. Now to see if I can update my reading list. Good to be back!

Another Google problem!

Guess it wasn't bad enough that Google Reader is on life support. Now I can't update my reading list - forums say that other Google gadgets are also not working. Depressing news.

Google Reader Alternative Needed

Here I thought Google stuff would be around forever - silly me. Now I've got until July 1 to come up with something to take its place. Anybody have a good candidate?