Litany of petty complaints

(I'm in that kind of a mood today.)

This is the only ruler I could find with inches as well as centimeters.  Guess I'd better stop letting my son play with my tape measure.  (But at least I scored some "Vertmont" maple syrup.)

The water in our shower is merely tepid; to get it to the temperature I like, I have to get out of the shower, drip across the floor, flush the toilet, and then hop back into the shower to enjoy a few hot minutes.

Italian potato chips seem to be uniformly slightly stale.

Few of our Tupperwares have matching lids, and of those that do, the lids still don't stay on.

At the supermarket, plastic shopping bags cost a few cents each.  It wouldn't matter, except that hardly anyone seems to buy them; they bring their own, or they just pile everything into their cart without bags, and then pile everything into their car trunk in the parking garage--or else they buy one bag and stuff it to overflowing.  Which makes me feel like a spendthrift for spending ten or fifteen cents on a few sacchi di plastico.  (I don't throw them away!  I would re-use them, but I keep forgetting to put them back in my car after I put the groceries away.)

A drawer in our kitchen is overflowing with plastic shopping bags.

My husband bought me the Malo cashmere sweater pictured at left.  I love it--that's not the problem.  But look at how horrifically it's pilling! 

My pocket-sized camera, a Canon PowerShot SD20 (don't buy one!) thinks it's a computer and keeps freezing up.  I have to take the battery out to reboot it.   Sooner or later I'm sure it will break down completely.

Three of my four watches need new batteries.

I hate working out.  Especially that infernal leg extension machine.

I hate wearing mascara, but my eyelashes are short and sparse.  Usually I still don't wear mascara.

With no impending deadlines, I'm not getting anything done on the swatches and ideas I have percolating. 

At least I've made a start on my own Sherwood.  I'm not sure yet whether I'll make it into a sweater, or into a sleeveless jumper; I'm tempted to do  the latter, but remain dubious about knitted skirts in general.  I wish I could knit faster.

Comments

[Typesetter]

For the shower issue. It sounds like the water is running too fast through the "serpentina" in your heater, or the fire of the heater is not high enough. Turn on the hot water and take a look at the heater (open it so that you can see the fire): it's probably lower than it should be. I would contact an idraulico to have the heater checked upon, because it probably needs to be fixed or regulated. meanwhile, half-close the central valve, the one that lets cold water into the heater. This may reduce the amount of water running through the serpentine, thus making it hotter. Open up the valve after you finished washing.

Plastic bags make perfect bags for the waste. I do not know how is the waste managed in Como, in Sesto San Giovanni I can use them for the non recyclable part of waste, in Milano they can be used for the "dry" waste (anything that's not recyclable and not organic).

[Kristin]

What about using the bags for bathroom trash bags? They fit my garbage in the bathroom perfectly, and I haven't needed to buy them for a good long while.

[sogalitno]

I use my plastic grocery saks as my kitchen trash can bags. I found that using those big ones (i live alone) i would let it get to the point of overflow but that would take up to 10 days and then - stinko. So once the landlord let a broken window stay so long that mice came into the house - although my two cats are VERY effective and good mousers, I started using these - also here in the Hudson Valley they DOUBLE Bag your groceries - so now I use the grocery bags and take my trash out once a day and its all nicely bundled and tied up and not smelly in the outside trash can. (the village garbage men say they love to empty my trashcan as its always clean and tidy :)

I also havent bought those expensive plastic kitchen garbage bags in over a year. and still have pleeeeeenty left.

I know hot water is a drag not to have - i went thru a huge deal with that with my landlord when i moved in fall 05 - but i think i would love to live in como - nonetheless.

how long are you there?