Thursday, December 18, 2008

Ants in My Pants!

Well, not quite ... but there are ants in my bathroom!

*Shudder*

Ants belong outdoors, that's all there is to it! They do NOT belong in my bathroom -- or in any
other part of my home! I didn't have time to figure out what to do about them before I went to work this morning. Well, I did hurry up and mop both the kitchen & bath floors, just to make sure there wasn't something there that they were finding yummy. And I got out the bottle of vinegar I bought the last time they invaded, a couple years ago (Christmas morn, to be specific!), and wiped up several hundred of the little beasties. There's something about vinegar that ants don't like, at least for a short while.

This afternoon, I noticed a crack in the drywall near the tub, so I soaked a piece of TP with vinegar and stuck it in the crack. That took care of the ants for an hour or so, but they're baaaaaaack. It's just dawned on me that I have a "bug bomb" left over from the last time; I'll set that off in the morning right before I leave for work.

I had to go over to the management office to pick up a couple packages this afternoon, so I double-checked that they'd received my voicemail from this morning requesting a visit from the exterminator. They said yes, they had -- though they hadn't bothered to call (as I'd requested). Turns out they have a new policy of having tenants sign their rights away. Lovely ... I did hand write a note on the form about the office employee telling me that even though, by signing the form, I was agreeing to empty out ALL of the cupboards and under the sink & vanity, etc., they were still
only going to spray "the baseboards and around the edges." I haven't had an adverse reaction to the spray yet, so there's no reason to think this time will be any different. I hope Alicia Tové will be ok -- the instructions said to turn off aquarium filters before the spraying and leave them off for 4 hours or so afterwards. Alicia's little aquarium has a lid with just a wee feeding hole, so I'll need to remember to cover her up before the exterminator arrives -- or maybe, better yet, move her to a far corner away from where the "bug bomb" will be set off ... that will probably be riskier for her!

Have I mentioned how much I
hate ants?

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

3 Days and Counting ...

Just wanted to make another mention of this upcoming event! I've participated in this show since 2001. Serious shoppers always arrive 15-20 minutes before the doors open. The doors do not open early. Hope to see you there!


Bird in Hand
Holiday Folk Art & Antiques Show

Saturday December 6th, 2008
9:30 am until 2:30 pm

347 First Street
Los Altos, California

$1 admission (benefits the Los Altos History House Museum)

This show is held at the American Legion Hall, across from Draeger's Market in downtown Los Altos. Los Altos is located midway between San Francisco and San Jose.

I've stocked my Etsy shop for the holidays! However, it will be "on vacation" (meaning you won't be able to buy anything) from Friday evening (12/5) until Sunday evening (12/7) when I return home.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

With Luck Like This ...

Sunday evening, I burnt the hell out of my lower lip. Co-workers think it's a cold sore. It's not. I know exactly when it happened -- and the blister came and went before I even began to feel the pain. Ouch. (Sorry, there won't be any pictures of this!)

Monday afternoon, I came home from work -- ready to do some serious "Cyber Monday" shopping -- only to discover the red light blinking on the DSL modem. There wasn't a dial tone on the phone either. This didn't look good. I reset the modem, rebooted the computer, even unplugged both phones while the modem was shut off (can you feel my desperation?!). But nothing helped. So I went to the manager's office to borrow a phone to call AT&T, who allowed themselves 26 hours from the time of my call to repair the problem!

Tuesday morning, I discovered a huge bolt in one of my truck's tires. WTF? Ran into a neighbor as I was headed back to my apartment to use the phone without a dial tone to call my boss to tell her I'd be late for work. I asked him if he knew how to change a tire. He did ... and he did (and he even let me use his cell phone to call my boss!). He wouldn't take any $$, but mentioned that he's got 4 kiddos, so I'll take them a plate of holiday goodies!

Tuesday afternoon, I tried THREE places before I could get the tire repaired. Midas was full to over-flowing with customers. Firestone claimed the tire wasn't repairable, but wanted to sell me a new $100 replacement tire (they offered me no choice of tires, just said that it would cost $100 plus the cost of the valve stem, mounting, balancing ... I said "No thanks!"). Then I remembered the tires, which are about 5 years old, were from Les Schwab and their purchase included a road hazard warranty. YAY!!! The closest Schwab store was about 2 miles away, where I was met by a nice young service writer fellow in the parking lot even before I had the ignition shut off. "That's correct, ma'am; there's no charge for repairs when it's our tires!" WOW!!

Tuesday afternoon, part II, after getting the tire fixed, I got home and peeked around the corner of the bedroom door to see if that obnoxious red light was still blinking on the modem. It wasn't!! I gingerly picked up the phone receiver and OMG ... a dial tone!!! And here I am ...