Revolutionary Cleaning Tip!

I'm not entirely clear why it is so, but if you've read this blog for any length of time, you'll know that I have no problem with outdoor work-- in fact, I love it. Indoor work? Not so much. However, yesterday I learned something so revolutionary  that I couldn't help but want to clean more.

I love just about all things Google. If I had to pick one of their products as my favorite, I might be hard pressed. Yesterday though, it was search engine that pretty much changed my life. Yep, I'll admit it in this very space. While playing bridge with Bev, Arlene, and Barbie Monday afternoon, the talk turned to stainless steel appliances with much grumbling about how notorious they are to keep clean. Although I said I was thrilled with my new purchases, I did not admit how messy they looked as we played. That, my friends, is a thing of the past, thanks to my search mission. Neither Bruce nor I can figure out how it happened, but all over the front of our wonderful new freezer, there were spots. I'm not exaggerating. Furthermore, the front of the oven had big swatches of ugliness. More of the same on the dishwasher. With two relatively neat adults living in this house, you would think this would not be a problem. It is, or make that, it was. Olive oil. That's the ticket. I bought some fancy British stainless steel cleaner, as well as a special wiping towel that claimed you only needed water, but I swear, both of them made things worse.  Plus, you had to be careful about wiping with the grain.

According to Martha Stewart, Windex is king when it comes to cleaning stainless, however, several commenters on that post mentioned the ease of putting a little olive oil on a rag and wiping away the spots. Certainly I was skeptical but figured what could it hurt? Not a thing my friends. It worked like magic, and now everything looks just like new again! I was so excited I immediately called Angela who I know struggles with the same problem. This morning I had a message from her: "Brilliant!", which pretty much sums it up. Speaking of Angela, do you see what I see in her umbrella?

Clearly Angela is a very smart woman, however, she's yet to add bird identification to her repertoire. Last week she told me there was a bird nest in her side umbrella, but I never dreamed it would be so visible, facing directly into her sun room window! Early yesterday I went over to see it for myself and to determine what kind of bird would do such a thing. Can you guess? Yup, a cardinal. Guess what? Our eggs have hatched! Actually Bruce checked on Saturday and there were the three chicks huddled together! While showing it to Angela, mama cardinal flew away and one of the chicks popped it's little mouth up for me to see!!! Won't be long until those little guys are hopping around the yard.

Rain fell steadily throughout most of the day yesterday while I cleaned for hours. Hours? Can you believe it? Neither can I. Stormy weather oftentimes makes for some nice skies at sunset like this one from Monday night.

In more bird news, it seems as if this is either a couple, or a parent and child,

because they both are on the tree, then the really red headed one jumps to the ground, and the other follows suit. Could this be a second Mr. and Mrs. Peck on the property?

Not only did I clean the appliances but I actually washed my floors. My friend Bev does it daily, me, every few months. I got rid of my kitchen rug while doing so. Ever since we put in the new floors, I struggled to find a rug that really looks good in front of my kitchen sink. Well, duh! Why do I need one anyway? I suspect the practice began to make things easier on the person washing dishes, but since that's mostly a thing of the past for folks like me, then what is the purpose except to collect dirt? Any thoughts on the matter?

The living room now looks great; the rest of the house mostly got the vacuum treatment. My work table is pretty good because I've yet to put in my order--today's task. Without prints, room is left to showcase all of the goodies from Dave and Michelle.

Clearly she understands her mother-in-law prefers writing lists on paper, rather than notes on her phone. Plus the awesome colors!

Bruce is across the street as I type, straightening out Herb and Corrine's new mailbox. His son put it in Sunday night, following the mega-storm, without regard to it being level. He does not have to look at a leaning mailbox tower every day, however, the rest of us do, and if Bruce can fix it, why not? Angela, in particular, was an advocate for this project. "While you're at it, can you straighten their tree?" she asked the neighborhood handy man. Indeed he can.

Rain all day kept me from riding until just before dinner. It was nice going out at that time because there were more folks out enjoying the weather break. Then too, I came across this very interesting variety of passion flower, a color and style I'd not seen before.

 I'll have to go back today, after I finish mowing the lawn, to see if those white things curl up as is typical of this type of flowering vine.

Can you wait to try the tip on your own stainless steel appliances? I thought not. You don't need much oil, just enough to rub the front, followed by a clean soft cloth for buffing and that's it. Let me know how this works for you.