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Category Archives: Around the House

Every home should have a fire resistant safe

by Mary Anne

Every home should have a fire resistant safe. Important papers, such as life insurance policies, vehicle titles, copies of wills, and stock certificates all need to be protected from the possibility of being lost if the unthinkable happens and the house catches fire. Sadly, there may even be times when one family member needs to lock up other types of valuables to protect them from dishonest friends, family, and even service personnel.

Back when I was a newlywed, my husband was taking classes to become a paramedic he brought home some special vials that had hearts on them, and a big heart shaped sticker to put on the refrigerator door. He told me that the idea was people that have medical conditions that emergency response personnel should know about where supposed to put information about that condition in the vials and put the vials in their freezer. The emergency response personnel were trained to look at the refrigerator door for that heart sticker and if they saw it that they would look in the freezer for that medical information. Part of the reasoning for this was that freezers are insulated and would resist burning in a house fire, so that would be a great place to keep something important.

From my point of view that’s a good idea, except that my refrigerator doors are always filled with magnets and shopping lists – I’m not sure that anyone would see a heart sticker on it! But that was back in the 1980′s and I don’t have any idea if the rescue people still hand those out or not. And my hubby at that time is now my ex-hubby and I’m not very inclined to call him up just to ask him about it, so I may never know.


Grandfather clocks are the comfort food of home furnishings

by Mary Anne

I think that grandfather clocks are the comfort food of home furnishings. Every house that I’ve been in that I felt welcome and at ease in always had a grandfather clock in the living room. There simply seems to be a feeling of warmth and comfort that I associate with the grandfather clocks.

My mother has a very handsome grandfather clock in her living room.  The clock is standing in a corner, lonely and unused. The clock has been there for about the past twelve years now, a silent sentinel, quietly standing watch over the room.

I have told her that I feel bad that this gorgeous clock is not being used. She told me that the ticking sound “bothered her” so she stopped using it. I asked her if I could have the clock for MY living room because I have always found the ticking sound of a clock to be a comfort. I think that one of my other sisters will probably end up with it as an inheritance piece instead – she has always favored them.

 


Counter stools for the kitchen island

by Mary Anne

When we first looked at this house one of the things that I had mixed emotions about was the dropped surface of part of the kitchen counter island. Obviously it was intended to have a couple of counter stools tucked up to it, and I like that idea a lot, but I really would have preferred that it just have an overhang instead of a dropped level.

The house that I had lived in before I was lucky enough to have been able to design my own kitchen and have all of the cabinets custom built by a master cabinet maker so I had everything exactly the way I wanted and designed it to be. So I have to admit that I was spoiled in that regard, having everything exactly the way I wanted. That’s really hard to compete with, but since we were planning to move about seven hundred miles away we really needed to get a different house.

From time to time I think about how I would redesign this kitchen if I had the chance, and I have to admit that I really don’t know any way to make it better, given the shape and size of the kitchen. Except for that dropped counter.


Spice racks

by Mary Anne

One of the most frustrating thing to me about my kitchen is that I really have not been able to figure out a good location for any kitchen spice racks. I’ve read that you should not keep spices near a source of heat, and yet most of the time when I see displays of spice racks they are usually right beside or right above the stove top!

To make matters more complicated, I can’t seem to find a spice rack that actually holds most of the spices that I use. Spices come in such a variety of boxes and cans and bottles, and different sizes. I’m the kind of person that would like to have all of the spices lined up in alphabetical order so that I could find the spice that I need quickly and easily. But since they are all different sizes and shapes I can’t get them organized very well at all. I’ve heard that the world will beat a path to your door if you invent a better mouse-trap. Well, I would beat a path to the door of the person who created the perfect spice rack!


Working the room

by Mary Anne

As we walked through the building, Tim introduced me to some of his business associates, and we wandered over to the tables full of food and beverages. I recognized the serving ware from the last social networking event we had gone to and I mentioned to Tim that it was the same stuff as before. He said that the organization supplied that kind of items to the events, that they could get them wholesale through a Hotel Product Supplies & Catering Supplies company’s website.

Well, ever since I worked for a Hotel Bathroom Supplies & Restaurant Supply Company myself back in 1972 and 1973 I have had an interest in where people can go to get those types of supplies at a wholesale price. The place that I worked at did not advertise that they would sell their products to walk-in customers, but people walked in just the same and bought things from the company.

I decided to try to look up the company I used to work for on the Internet, and I couldn’t find them online. I wonder if they’ve gone out of business! I did, however find the website of the PeachSuite Wholesale Hotel Supply & Restaurant Equipment Company and found myself spending quite a long time looking at the different flatware and stemware and thinking about how even after all of these years I am still using the same flatware that I bought back in 1972 from the company that I worked for. I’d say that was a good investment, wouldn’t you agree?


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