How Hard Can It Be?

I’ve blogged about my hair before, probably more than anyone even finds interesting, yet here I am blogging again about my hair. Not my hair so much as my prowess as a hairdresser. My own hairdresser. Let’s just say, I should not switch careers.

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Valentine’s Day Fail

Here we are at February 14^th already. Valentine’s Day has arrived again. Time to show your special someone how much you love them. I know, I know, you should do that every day, but today is the one day a year when you should really treat your sweetheart to something uniquely special. Something out of their ordinary. Something frivolous. Nothing says, “I love you,” like wasting money on something only the receiver will appreciate and enjoy. Like flowers. Or a bottle of their favorite Prosecco.

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These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . .

Photo by P. Rickrode

Photo by P. Rickrode (my Fatso when he was a wee lump of fur)

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New Shoes For Dummies

People love to get new clothes just before they travel, present company included. There’s something about going on vacation that inspires me to want something new and cute to wear. It’s part of the vacation experience. I know that I am not alone because often when I’m cleaning rooms after my inn guests leave, I see signs of new clothing items in the room. Shoe boxes, those annoying little plastic attachers for price tags to be affixed to clothing, brand name tags that have been clipped off and discarded in the trash.

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It’s Not Just A Dress

I used to love getting dressed up for special occasions. Heck I used to enjoy getting dressed up just to go to work. When I worked in a professional office I wore dresses, two-piece business suits, heels, pantyhose, make-up, jewelry, even glitzy hair clips every single day. In the summer I wore more sundresses and sandals, but I always overdressed by today’s standards. I was often the best dressed employee in the office, but I felt like I had to “look the part,” and dressing up added a feeling of me being extra valuable in the workplace because of it. It was a self-esteem issue for me.

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What Are People Doing With My Napkins?

Here at the Baer House Inn, I like to set a pretty table. We use china and crystal and cloth napkins for breakfast every day. We try to add special touches for special events. Something about a pretty table makes the meal seem that much better, at least in my humble opinion.

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Sensible Shoes

I don’t know about you, but I love shoes. Always have. I’m somewhat of a collector, or at least I used to be. Since high school I’ve had office jobs and since high school I’ve worn high heels. Used to be, the higher the better. Shoes make a statement and I was bold.

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Celebrity Endorsements

We’ve all seen commercials and magazine ads with beautiful famous people using their charms, good looks and famousness, to help sell products. I ask you dear readers, does this strategy really work?

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Let’s Talk Toilets (and Other Bathroom Stuff)

Photo courtesy Google Images.

Since when has using a toilet become so complicated that we need self-flushing devices? As toddlers, we learn the basics of toilet operation. Have we evolved to the point of complete helplessness? What’s up with the self-flushing toilets? Are these really necessary? I get it, that some people are lame and don’t flush after they do their business, but does that justify needing self-flushing toilets for everyone? I mean, how hard is it to flush a toilet?

I’ve found that most of these “modern” models don’t even flush when they’re supposed to. Or worse yet, some flush repeatedly; over and over and over. How much water is wasted from these continually flushing engineering wonders? Have you ever been quietly sitting on one of these self-flushing jobbies and have it flush before you’re done? It’s downright frightening. Not only do you get a wake up call, but your bottom gets a wash job. You also have a terrifying moment wondering if you’re going to get sucked into a deep dark vortex of sewage. Heaven help you if you were wiping at that very moment. Sit carefully my friends and once in position – do not move.

Image courtesy Google Images.

Now from the horrors of the stall, we move to the downright silliness of the automated sinks and soap dispensers. Okay, I’ll admit, the automated sinks are a nice feature, especially at the airport where you’re toting around a handbag or backpack and 50 pounds of luggage, it’s nice to just stick you hands under the faucet. But, first you must find the exact spot of the sensor to engage the water. Sometimes this is like sticking a square peg into a triangle hole with all the finageling and finger waving you must do. Some sinks are like a math problem, finding the right angle of entry and quadrant for positioning from the faucet so you don’t get your midriff sprayed at the same time. Again, I wonder at the need for these faucets? Who can’t figure out how to operate a basic bathroom sink?

Photo courtesy Google Images.

Once you’ve found the correct entry point for the water, you must do the same with the soap dispenser and then hold very still while you lather up and rinse because, if you move your forearm or wrist just enough, you’ll get another squirt of soap on your sleeve and then have to re-calculate faucet entry again. Please dear readers, be very careful at the sink station. Apparently we’ve raising a society of really stupid people who can’t seem to figure out how to dispense soap.

And finally, we arrive at the paper towel area which is ususally surrounded by a huge pool of water from dripping hands and sleeves and midriffs while people frantically wave their arms in front of the machine to get the paper to come out. Now, if you’re lucky at the paper towal dispenser, you’ll get more than a 3 inch strip of toweling with which to dry your hands and soaking sleeves, still sudsy from the over-achieving soap dispenser. If you’re not so lucky, you’ll need to wait a few seconds and wave your arms again for a second equally small slice of paper. Do this enough times and you’re hands will have drip dried onto the floor and there won’t be any need for additional stips of towel. Perhaps that’s the ultimate goal of these stingy dispensers; simply let the hands air dry.

Photo courtesy Google Images

And so I ask, are these devices making our lives easier? Do you prefer automated bathrooms or good old-fashioned hands on restrooms? I’d love to hear your automated bathroom story. Don’t be bashful, let’s get this out in the open and discuss it.

Word of the Day: Hegira

Fun Fact about me: Like Laverne (Laverne & Shirley), I like milk and Pepsi.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, October 2015. Photos courtesy Google Images.

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Should There Be Boundaries On Creativity?

I’m a writer. Writer’s tend to be overly creative people. We have overactive imaginations. We think differently than others. We see the world from a different perspective. We hate math.

Did you just shutter at the graphic? Did your eyes glaze over? Did you automatically say “24” after the first line because the multiplication tables were drilled into your head in the 5th grade? Well, you might be a creative person.

It’s no surprise. A lot of folks are creative. For instance, musicians, actors, artists, all rely heavily on the right sides of their brain. It’s the left-brainers you have to worry about. But sometimes I have to wonder, should we limit the extent of our creativity? I know that goes against the whole premise of this blog (“Where imagination abounds, nothing is impossible”), but hear me out. Consider these wacky inventions, then I’ll ask the question again:

What is the purpose of this? So a blind person knows where to hold the glass?

 Pizza cutters not trendy any longer; we now need scissors? And who even eats a slice of pizza this small?

 Here’s the answer to sweaty palms. (Jenny Hansen at More Cowbell has probably known about these for years.)

 Wanna see who’s following you, but don’t want to turn around?

 All the tables at your favorite restaurant full? No worries, just sit yourself down and order up. (I’d avoid the soup.)

 I call this one – the Nap Lap.

 Tired of messing up your whole face with that damned lipstick? Here’s the answer you’ve been looking for.

And my personal favorite:

Are you a busy mom but worry about setting your baby down on the dirty ground in order to get those dreaded chores done? Well, here’s the product for you.

I’ve got to admit, that last one is genius. (Does that make me a bad person?) But seriously, how can anybody holding a baby properly wash their hands after using the restroom? I’m sure this invention was created by a man; I’m just sure of it.

And so folks, after seeing just a minuscule display of the wacky stuff that people “create,” do you want to change your answer? Should creativity have limits? Or do you agree with me, that maybe we should just put a boundary restriction on inventors. Yeah, that’s it.

What’s the craziest invention you’ve come across? Have you ever purchased something “clever” to make your life easier? Do you want any of the above items for yourself? Hey, I won’t judge.

Word of the Day: Guipure

Fun fact about me:  I love starfruit.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, April 2015. Photos courtesy Google Images.

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