Friday Randomness
What’s new pussycat? Around here, it’s gotten hot again, though thankfully only for a few days, and never over 100 degrees. Today is the beginning of a cool down. One nice thing about September heat waves as opposed to July or early August heat waves, is that the sun goes down a little earlier, so the full heat of the sun isn’t beating on our house for as long. It’s the little things in life, right?
I kept seeing this ad on Facebook. It’s for a t-shirt company. My thought? Hannah’s an actor! (Hannah is Engie’s dog) Do you see a resemblance?
Here are some gross things. We recently had our 45 year old HVAC system serviced. The picture on the left is the blower, which is completely caked in dog hair. So, so gross. Mulder used to nap right in front of the intake grating, so that’s dog hair and dust that got past our filter. I’m glad to have it cleaned out now! The other two pictures relate to the fruit fly/gnat issue we have had around here. There are theories as to what kind of bug they are. My theory is that they are fruit flies, and they came with our Farmers’ Market haul a few weeks ago. But they could be something else. The majority of them have been in the kitchen, and they infiltrated our green waste bucket that sits on the counter, as well as the coffee grinder and the Nespresso machine. So gross. I looked online at how to get rid of them, and found a site that suggested two methods. In desperation and feeling neither patient nor scientific, I decided to try both. The middle picture is a little jar with holes poked in the lid. Inside the jar is apple cider vinegar mixed with a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid. The bugs go through the holes and get trapped in the water. The picture on the right is a slightly more high tech solution, but only slightly. It is not a zapper, just a blue light that attracts the bugs. The squarish part is like thick card stock, and the side facing the wall is sticky. The bugs get stuck there and die. They are both pretty effective, actually, and have caught a lot of bugs. But we still have a couple flying around. When I replaced the sticky card in the the Safer Home product the other day, I also replaced the apple cider vinegar. I checked them this morning, and the vinegar soap mixture had caught about 3x the number of bugs as the sticky card. This may be because the kitchen is not completely dark at night, plenty of competing light comes in through the window. Or perhaps it is just more effective. I would recommend either product, but the vinegar solution is cheaper, assuming you have the parts laying around: jar with lid, nails, hammer, apple cider vinegar, and dish soap. The light was about $20 at the hardware store.
Is this a real sign? Or did someone mock it up? Who knows. I didn’t take the picture, I saw it online. What I do know is that I have walked into a very clean glass door before (years ago). Thankfully I didn’t break it, and my friend and I almost peed our pants we were laughing so hard at my clumsiness.
My job situation is unchanged. We had another round of layoffs this week, and my team was thankfully spared this time. We’re expecting another round at the end of September or early October. BAH! The IT world is rough sometimes.
In more cheerful news (though still being gainfully employed is certainly cheerful), Ted and I are taking next week off from work for a Staycation. Not sure what we will do with ourselves, but it won’t be working. Maybe we’ll go to the ocean, maybe we’ll go wine tasting, maybe we’ll do both. Maybe we’ll find some projects around here to work on. The last few years have been expensive, vacation wise, so we’re laying low this year.
Did anyone watch the Bachelorette and feel like Jenn dodged a bullet by ending up with none of the last handful of guys? She clearly let some good guys go too early. Why do we watch this crap anyway? I blame Maya for turning it on, but I’m just as invested as she is, which is just lame.
How about you? Anything exciting going on?
32 Comments
Birchie
The staycation is going to be a blast! Enough time for both the ocean and a winery, plus relaxing around the house – hopefully not doing too much work around the house.
J
Thanks Birchie! Yeah, not sure how much will get done around here. The projects that need doing are mostly too big for us to manage (like painting our kitchen cabinets or putting in a new bathroom vanity, which sure, in theory we COULD do, but we’re not handy that way). So I suspect there will be reading, and blogging, and day trips. Sounds nice, right?
Elisabeth
Fruit flies drive me crazy. We used to have a HUGE problem with them – generally year-round – in an apartment we lived in when the kids were younger. They were the ban of my existence.
Funnily enough, I JUST read a blog post comparing seven different ways to trap fruit flies. If you’re so inclined: https://www.younghouselove.com/how-to-get-rid-of-fruit-flies/
J
Elisabeth, thanks for the article, it was interesting about the bits of fruit as bait. I’m tempted to try a bit of banana peel, but worried that it might be too gross to see them in the jar on the counter, and also that they might fly back out somehow. With the vinegar, they drown. We’ll see. It’s so gross, and yet somehow satisfying when I see they are dead.
NGS
That dog super resembles Hannah! If only her ears were STRAIGHT UP all the time in CONSTANT VIGILANCE. What an adorable puppy and I would support that tshirt company because of their support of mixed breed shepherds!
Apple cide vinegar and dishwashing liquid is always our solution to tiny flying insects. I love it when an inexpensive solution is the winner!
J
Engie, I’m glad you think the dog looks like Hannah! The tshirt company is ONNO, though I don’t see their dog anywhere on the site. Just in the FB ads that popped up. Also, YAY for ACV and dish soap!
Ernie
I died laughing at that cucumber meme. We played a game called Wits and Wagers last weekend. One of the questions was how much of a cucumber is water. After guessing, all the players place a token on the number they think is closest without going over (they can vote for their own option or others). The question was how much of a cucumber is water. Coach guessed like 75% and we all made fun of him, naturally. Of course he had the last laugh when he won. He was like “Humans are like 60% water, so I knew it was high.” All that to say, seeing that funny ha ha meme pop up here was very timely.
That dog does look like Hannah. I didn’t see the dog in the photo until you pointed out the resemblance.
I’ve done the apple cider vinegar and plastic wrap over a plastic cup before and was amazed at the results. I hate fruit flies. I haven’t watched the bachelor or bachelorette in years, but I do remember getting sucked in.
I’m taking the two little girls, their two friends, and one of my besties to Notre Dame tomorrow. Coach is teaching in St. Louis. There’s an ND game that we will not be attending, but we plan to enjoy the festivities leading up to the game – the band, the tailgate, walking the campus. Basically, I needed an adventure in order to survive my solo parenting weekend. The weather will be mid 60’s, so it should be great.
Eek, the job situation sounds nerve wracking. I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable staycation.
J
Your ND day sounds like fun, I hope you have a great time. Regarding Hannah, I’m not sure I would have noticed in the picture I showed. It was a video that kept appearing on FB, and the dog was walking with the human. I took a screenshot.
Meike
I am not sure anymore what kind of flying bugs they were but I also had an issue a few years back. I ended up cleaning the whole kitchen and putting everything in closed containers. It turned out they originatedmin a closed flour bag. Super annoying. I am glad for you it is subsiding.
I hope you get to do something fun on your staycation. I always end up just doing random stuff around the house whenever I stay home so I try to avoid it but we sure have plenty of things to explore around here. Considering you are not far it’s got to be the same for you.
Nothing much going on here what I consider a good thing.
J
A closed flour bag? Goodness, who would have thought? That’s crazy. The issue has subsided a lot since we put the fruit in the fridge and decommissioned the green waste on the counter, but we’re still catching bugs and seeing them occasionally. Frustrating.
sarah
I found a bunch of Beatrix hair in the couch the other day and really wanted to clone her from it. I got the cute little RAID brand fruit fly trsap that looks like a tiny apple– works great (and is probably poisoning us).
J
Oh, a clone of Beatrix! I’d be afraid that she would get lymphoma again though. ACK!
Margaret
Fruit flies and those tiny ants-I hate them so much and they’re difficult to get rid of. I sometimes find that the old tried and true methods work best. Yes, the IT world is scary with the layoffs. There is absolutely no loyalty to employees these days. 🙁
J
But every company says, ‘we’re family’, right? Until we’re not, and then it’s ‘just business’. Sigh.
Nicole MacPherson
We have fruit flies, but last year I bought these little containers and I add apple cider vinegar and dish soap, and they work like a charm!
That DOES look like Hannah!
J
ACV and dish soap is the best, I guess!
Kyria @ Travel Spot
The holes in the lid of that jar look so small! I guess fruit flies ARE tiny but it seems like they wouldn’t be able to get in there!
I had a friend who walked into a plate glass sliding glass balcony door on the 2nd floor of the apartment we were renting in Buenos Aires, and it broke and it fell onto the street. Luckily it did not hurt anyone below, but he could have used that sign!
J
I’m not sure how they get through the holes, but they do!
ACK, that glass falling to the street sounds scary! So glad no one was hurt!
Ally Bean
I’m finally catching up with you and I am amazed to learn that you have a 45 year old HVAC system! How can that be? We’ve lived here 25 years and are on our third one. I’m impressed with yours, I gotta say.
I like thinking of myself as a cucumber with anxiety. Thanks for that little bit of self-awareness.
Fruit flies are lousy. Kill them with impunity.
J
Re the 45 year old HVAC, I KNOW! We live in a townhome that was built in 1979, and there are 30 units in our complex. I wonder how many of us still have origninal systems? I sometimes think we should get a more efficient system, but then I see how expensive they are and decide to stick with the one we have.
Yeah, I feel kind of bad killing bugs, often I will try catch and release, but not fruit flies.
nance
I detest a fruit fly or drain fly infestation. The ACV/dish soap method is tried and true. I often get a teensy bug infestation in the late fall when I bring in my geranium. With that, I just keep whacking them dead. Irritating, but effective.
Mulder (bless his heart!) is the gift that keeps on giving. His hair will be around for a while to come. Have you pulled out your fridge to vacuum the back of it yet? Sigh.
I adore my two cats, but I admit that I grow ever tired and frustrated with their hair being absolutely everywhere for the past 14 years. How much longer will this go on, I sometimes wonder. (I remember EmilyCat was almost 19 when she finally couldn’t go on.) Good heavens.
J
Nance, good call on the fridge. I can’t remember if we’ve done that yet or not. I know I’ve cleaned the dog hair at the filter at the front of the fridge, but not sure about the back. This might be the right level of project for my week off.
Lisa's Yarns
That dog DOES resemble Hannah!
Fruit flies are terrible. I had a trouble w/ them when I lived in Charlotte. I think my disposal was leaving some food particles so that seemed to attract them so dumping some vinegar down the drained/running the disposal seemed to help. But I also did the apple cider trick as well. They can be so hard to get rid of!
Your work situation is so stressful! Rolling layoffs are the worst. I’d rather just have them all in one go versus continuously wondering if you are next! I hope you are enjoying your staycation. I love taking staycations. They are so very relaxing and wonderful! I haven’t taken more than a day at a time in a very long time but might need to do that, maybe around the holidays.
Oh and your suggestion about putting Taco in pjs on soccer nights is a good suggestion. He often ends up going to a park so if we could keep him from getting his jammies terribly dirty that would be a good way to streamline the bedtime process when he gets home. I’m still hoping my husband will hire the neighbor girl, though. Then he’d get a night off from doing Taco’s bedtime (which can be a super frustrating process because he keeps asking for one more hug, one more kiss, do this this, do that, and so on and so forth). I bet he would go right to bed for the neighbor girl, though! But I can’t force him to do this – he needs to decide for himself that it will make his life easier. We’ve already given this girl a downpayment for future babysitting when she was selling tickets for a cash wash since she didn’t have change so I don’t know why he doesn’t just hire her! But he is stubborn about things sometimes… whereas I will happily throw money at a problem (it would probably be $15 so we are not talking about much money!!!
J
I agree that hiring someone sounds ideal, I hope it works! If not, maybe jammies. Hard when it’s at a park when dirt is involved. Much easier at a pool or a library.
Our first few days off have been lovely. I’m loving not being at work! 2 years ago right now I was on a flight to France…le sigh.
coco
sorry to hear about the job situation it must be stressful not knowing what will happen next week/month. Glad you have spirit up and will enjoy a staycation. I’ve never done one, please share how you like it.
J
Coco, staycations are such a mellow vibe, and we live in such a beautiful part of the world, so we may as well take advantage of it. 🙂
Stephany
Ugh, I was having SUCH a fruit fly problem! I tried the ACV/dish liquid trick but it didn’t work for me so then I tried the fruit fly trap, which worked like a charm. It took over a week to finally start noticing a difference but now it’s a permanent staple in my kitchen.
A staycation sounds GREAT! I love doing that. I took a few extra days off over Labor Day weekend with no plans to do anything and it was SO NICE.
J
Hi Stephany, I’ve tried the ACV before without luck, but I guess the lid with tiny holes is a factor. I looked at a website that showed 3 or 4 different ACV/Dishsoap options, and they said this was by far the best. Do you have the same fruit fly trap that I show? It works pretty well!
Staycations are really good and really relaxing.
Diane
I have also, more times than I care to admit, walked into a glass door. It’s always better, I think, when someone sees you do it because it’s such a stupid thing to do that you need to have witnesses. Because at least that way you know that you probably made someone laugh.
We have a vinegar and dish soap trap in our house. It seems to work okay, though I feel as if there will always be more until we get to winter. I also keep ACV in the bathroom to rinse my hair with it and there was one time when the fruit flies got into that and that was gross. Luckily I saw it before I put them all in my hair.
Staycation sounds so indulgent! I’m eager to hear how you spend it!
J
I would not have been nearly so happy to walk into the glass door if my friend hadn’t been there to laugh with me!
Your ACV hair situation reminds me of the time we had ants in our cereal and my husband discovered it too late…enough said.
Staycation is the best, except for vacation. I like to see somewhere new. Although we have seen new places this time, so in some ways it’s better…
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Enjoy oyur staycation. Hope ypu get to go to the ocean and the wine tasting.
I have used the vinegar-soap-trap before. It does work. And is cheap.
Sorry to hear about your job situation. Must be exhausting…
J
Thanks Tobia! We’re enjoying our Staycation for sure. And yes, the job stress is no fun at all. I feel safe most of the time, but if anything unusual happens, I panic.