this week in domestic news

Well, now that spring is officially here I can say that all of the things I planted last summer and fall have made it through the winter okay. I was a bit worried about a few of the things I planted during the hottest part of summer since they didn't even look that great when I bought them. So why would I buy half dead looking plants to begin with? Because they were summer drought discount prices and I couldn't resist. I was probably the most worried about the rose bush I cut back severely last summer. I hadn't pruned it in five years and it had turned into a half dead looking scraggly mess with terrifyingly large thorns.

This is what it looked like last summer after I cut and cut and cut it to pieces like the internet said it was okay to do.

I was fairly certain that I'd killed it. But this is what it looks like now.

So, it all worked out okay. Do whatever the internet says.
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And check out what I did to my front door.

Yeah, you can't tell. But I frosted the window on the top of the door. Not a big deal, but after months of answering the doorbell and screaming when I saw my brother grinning at me in the top window, I decided it was time to do something about my front door privacy issue. Not privacy from my brother exactly, but every time he did that, it reminded me that anyone at anytime could walk by and take a peep in my living room if they were so inclined (and tall).
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I bought a new vacuum. Well, that's not a big deal either, but this was my very first vacuum purchase. Yay? A long time ago my mom bought a used vacuum cleaner (or as she likes to call it "refurbished") so it was already old when it came into our family. I inherited that vacuum cleaner when I moved out 10 years ago. It had quirks. Like I couldn't use it to vacuum the hardwood floors even though it had a "hardwood" setting because it would leave long scratches in the finish. And the latch that kept it upright so you could roll it from room to room was broken so I had to physically carry it around the house. But it never occurred to me to buy a new one because bottom line: it worked. If there was something on the floor, it sucked it up. This whole "but it works!" line of reasoning is also why I still have the same washer and dryer set I got as a moving out gift 10 years ago. Even though they only have the capacity to hold two bath towels and the washer sounds like a helicopter about to take off when it hits the spin cycle and my dryer's belt has to be replaced every year.

Well I noticed the other day that my vacuum wasn't picking stuff up anymore. That's when I saw that the suction hose had completely torn in half. So, time for a new vacuum.

My new vacuum's on the left, the dearly departed one is on the right. There have been some technological advances in vacuums in the past 15 or so years. Can you believe it? Nothing as drastic as computers or cellphones, but still. My new vacuum is probably less than half the weight of my old one. Also, when did they stop making vacuums with bags? The biggest difference has got to be that the new one sucks up more than just visible dirt. I vacuum every day, but as soon as I came home with my brand new vacuum, I immediately vacuumed the entire house again (should I be ashamed to admit that?) and when I got done the canister was already halfway filled with dirt and dust bunnies and hair.

Despite the fact that I feel like I'm vacuuming the house with a plastic toy, this has been a top notch purchase.