45 RPM Records - Beatles and More

I thought I collected all my old records the last time I was visiting my mom. There were quite a few, and a certain grandson was happy to get them. He actually has a record player! So I was surprised when my mom told me that there were even more in a drawer in the old bedroom. So I found at least 15 more. The Beatles were the most out of the remaining collection. We danced to a lot of these songs, and they were played at a lot of slumber parties. Then there are the Zombies, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Gordon Lightfoot! I'm glad someone I know values these things. They meant a lot to me then, and still mean a lot to me now. But I can hear any or all of them on my iPhone on iTunes. Things have changed, but listening to music brings back a lot of memories. 

Copland, Klemperer, Webern, and Korngold in the Whittal Pavilion at the Library of Congress

I think I saw this room one time about eight years ago when I first stated working at the Library of Congress. The Whittal Pavilion is on the same floor as the Coolidge Auditorium where we have often visited for a variety of presentations. It is in the beautiful Jefferson Building and attracts many visitors through the tunnel connected to the Capitol Building. Yesterday I had another opportunity to visit this space in preparation for a meeting that was to take place over a two day period. It was set up with four round tables, and around the perimeter were four busts of music related known entities - although I had not heard of two of them. Aside from these sculptures were housed in several cases what were obviously priceless stringed and wind instruments. Looking outside on to the courtyard that sits directly under this room was a lovely fountain and garden. I know a lot of meetings and gatherings occur here. Many of the special guests that are a part of the programs as well as government officials use it to host their constituents and otherwise. I also know about the Whittal Pavilion because I track the utilization of all the rooms in the library. Our public programs department needs to schedule, set up and and provide catering services for special events. It's nice to know year after year what is used, when, and how often. This one seems to have a lot of use - and I can see why. It's quite lovely, and nothing like any other meeting room place I've been in. 

Inter Design Drawer Organizers

I like to be organized. In fact, not being organized and having a schedule of sorts drives me wild. I no longer deal well with the unexpected. I've been wanting to get the bathroom cabinet in order for a long time. In Milwaukee we had a lot of closet space for two full bathrooms. But in this tiny apartment, there is not a lot of room.  At least we put a shelf in to divide the space under the sink when we first moved in. But nothing happened after that and things are just thrown around on the bottom shelf. So when we went to Costco the other day, we found some plastic bin drawer organizers made by Inter design. It came with four bins, but I ended up only needing three with the fourth being used in another useful place in a living room cabinet. So now every time we need to unload the cabinet it will be a lot easier than before. Sometimes it's the small things that make all the difference. 

AT&T and a Personal Hotspot

I've had an unlimited data plan with AT&T since I had a cell phone - and that's a very long time. But neither my husband nor I use a whole lot of data every month. The peak times come whenever we travel by auto and run google maps, which has been quite a routine this year. But whenever we travel, it is very frustrating that I am unable to use my iPad when we are in Florida, or on the road. Sometimes it's hard to see things on the tiny iphone screen. I stay at my mom's house, and she does not have Internet. Her iPad has a monthly data plan set up, so I can't piggy back on her wifi. Ever since the personal hot spot came out a few years back, I couldn't access it because my unlimited data plan doesn't allow for it. I would have to change my plan to get it. On top of that, a few months ago, we got my husband an iPad mini with cellular capability so we would have Internet available on those rare occasions. But that required a SIM card and I got lost after that. Anyway, we decided to change our data plan last week to a share plan with so many GB per month and free text messages. As soon as I did that, the personal hotspot became available not only on my iPhone, but my husband's iPhone, and his iPad mini. But his iPad mini was running on the AT&T personal hotspot rather than the Comcast Wifi, which I changed as soon as I noticed it. I am hoping this was a wise decision because I can never go back to my unlimited data plan. But having Internet access while traveling is more important - especially when I need to keep in contact with my customers and their pet portraits! I guess time will tell, but for now I'm glad we did it. 

Do You Rip or Gently Open Boxes and Packages?

The other day we were in Costco making what we thought was our final visit there before the membership for the year ran out. But once we were leaving the place we decided we would renew our membership because we get more out of it than we thought - even though we were only there three times. Two items we brought home were frying pans and coffee mugs. It's not the products I'm talking about now, it's the way they were packaged and taken out of the boxes. I always look for the folds and the wires that keep things in their place, step by step removing them in an orderly fashion until the product can be safely unpacked. Then I unfold the boxes in to a flat sheet so they can be taken to the dumpster without taking up a lot of room, and is also required by the condo rules. My husband on the other hand, invariably opens things on the wrong end, pays no attention to how the product is enclosed in the box it comes in, and rips it open using all the force he's got. In the end I'm sure it doesn't make much difference, but it is an interesting and amusing observation. As for directions? I'm sure you know who reads them, and who doesn't. As with any couple, it's nice when each does something the opposite. It might be difficult if we did everything the same. 

Tramontina Frying Pans and Contigo Travel Mugs

When we walked in to Costco the other day, we had a list of things we knew we needed. But we always end up getting things that we hadn't planned on, but needed without knowing it. And such was the case for a set of frying pans and thermal mugs. Although not familiar with the brands, it ended up that the mugs we were replacing were the same brand as the ones we had. The problem with the mugs we had is that the tops are very difficult to clean. We've tried pipe cleaners and tooth picks without success. But the next generation mugs seem to have rectified this problem. They can by put in the dishwasher, and the mechanism in the lid is much easier to access and clean. As for the frying pans, the ones we had were pretty scratched up and the Teflon long gone. Since my husband does all the cooking, he needs to determine what will work best for him in the kitchen and I am in total support! So I strongly encouraged him to update his supplies. The frying pan didn't come with directions, but the mugs did. And of course I read every bit of the directions before using anything and he never reads the directions and asks me about it. I suppose we each have a role to play in new items we buy, regardless of the magnitude of the purchase. 

Renew Costco Membership?

We joined Costco last November. We received a membership renewal notice and decided we better go at least one more time before the membership expires because we didn't think we would renew it. That would make three times we went to Costco since last year. We try to go in a less busy day and time of day, so we went yesterday around noon. We always start out on the housewares side, go though the clothes, over to the household products, and then to the groceries. It is simply amazing what we find along the way... Everything from HP ink, storage bins for the bathroom cupboard, electric toothbrushes, winter garb for around the house, olive oil in huge bottles, favorite cookies, frying pans, throw blankets, and fruit and cheese that we can't do without. There were both Christmas and Halloween decorations everywhere. We could easily spend more than the two hours of free parking in the place. When we left, we decided it was such a great savings to shop there, even if we go so infrequently. So we decided to renew our membership after all. It's only a short trip over the bridge to Arlington for us to travel, and well worth it. Now we just need to find more space for all this stuff in our tiny place in DC.