Why I Oughta...

A few years ago, I came across and brought home a few Tawaski Scrubbing brushes on a trip to Tokyo.  Here's that post .  On the next few trips that I've been there, I sought out and brought home some 'made in Japan' brushes and we used them and gave them to family.  I really like them, but they don't (at least for us) last long because when food gets stuck in them, it is time to toss.   In Japan, you can find these things in different forms at stores and markets, but quite a few of them are NOT made in Japan.  If you flip the package over, you'll see that they're made in Sri Lanka or somewhere else.  I'm happy to pay $10 or $12 for a real-deal Japanese one.  But those other ones?  Meh.  Especially when I'm not sure how long they'll last before the left-over scrambled eggs that are stuck to the pan infest the brushes.  That was, until, we went to our first US-based Daiso called Hello Tokyo up in Niles .  At Hello Tokyo - everything (well..

Right at the end of last year, I posted a photo of a Wave Hill Garden chair and talked about how I was struck by the design of the chair - and the fact that it wasn't a traditional adirondack chair that you see everywhere.  We had spent some time in Luxembourg Gardens in Paris last year and fell in love with lots of things - including their chairs - and have been thinking about how I bring a chair or two to our backyard and garden.  The Wave Hill chair seemed to scratch me right where I itch. A gardener named Dan Benarcik has developed plans for the chair and is selling them for $35 (the updated plan version) on his site . I put the idea of creating a chair like this on my 2020 Gardening To-Do List .  #11 on the list is to 'build something' like these chairs (or a raised bed).  I haven't sprung for the plans (yet), but I've been nosing around the Web for some additional inspiration.  I came across this post on Reddit that featured a photo of a modified Wave

And it was great.  I grabbed one of these Cherry Bublys off the shelf and was impressed with the experience.  And the cost.  $0.69 for a can isn't terrible, right?  Target is selling the 8 packs for $4.39 or about $0.55 per can.  Not a terrible markup.  Let me tell you: I'm not an Amazon guy.  Nat is the Amazon buyer in our house.  And we use it a ton.  And what the company has done with PRIME and same day/next day is really quite unbelievable.  But, knowing that I'm not an "Amazon guy", I can honestly tell you:  the store is a neat experience.  However...if you look up, you get startled.  The cameras up in the ceiling are terrifying.  But, I suppose that's the tradeoff for the convenience.  I have to wonder if they'll make them a little bit more friendly or hide them in some way going forward. I also can't help but wonder if these initial Amazon Go stores are going to be like the new minor leagues in baseball:  just using it as a data modelin

In two-tone brown.  Saw this as we were heading south on I-355 recently and I absolutely INSISTED that Nat use my phone to snap a pic of this beauty.  Paint it two-tone blue (powder blue on top, navy on the bottom) and this IS the Dream Machine.  As named by my childhood friend Steve Blocker. Just look at the length of this thing.  Can you imagine driving this?  It almost seems more appropriate to a church group than a normal family, doesn't it? The Dream Machine was my Dad's van that was a fixture of my childhood.  So many memories in that van.  Lots of laughs.  Some embarrassment.  And a bunch of bonding.  All in a van.  Ours was a 1978, so if this one is of the same vintage, that'd make this a 42 year old van.  That is still on the road.  Incredible.

The last time I did a firewood consumption check was with this post on January 20th of 2020 .  A little bit over a month has past and we've exhausted probably 3/4 of the face cord that was delivered.  That's a fast pace.  In 2019, I ordered the backfill face cord in mid-February , so this year was running three weeks ahead of last year.  Last year, it seemed that the firewood lasted until right up at the beginning of Spring.  This year, I'm not so sure it will.  One of the things that we learned last year is that we wished we had firewood for during the Summer and Fall - to burn in our outdoor fireplace.  So, that means that if we burn through our rack in March, we won't have anything to burn - unless we turn to the Ash firewood that we picked up on our block . Knowing we're now in year three of buying and burning firewood, we might need to consider ordering more in the Fall or doubling the second order. 2017/2018: Ordered one face cord in January 2018/2

On most days, I commute to and from work through Chicago's Union Station and barely notice the station as I hustle off the train, down the platform and up/out of the station. But a few weeks ago, Nat sent me/tagged me in a friend's Instagram post while I was at the office.  At first, it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary.  Brooke's post is embedded below and if you're following her on Instagram, it shouldn't come as a surprise that her photo features Mickey Mouse.  But, then the caption hit me and realized that she was talking about *my* train station.  She was there, on a fake beach with Mickey the Mouse.  What the What? View this post on Instagram Mickey and some friends from @disneyaulani showed up at Chicago’s Union Station today and reminded me how much I love that Hawaiian paradise. Brb checking flights. 😎🏝🌺✈️ . . . . . #alohawindycity #disneyaulani #disneyvacationclub #hawaii #mic

This might be the killer crossover.  For me, at least.  This is a vintage Mickey Mouse Christmas ornament.  Sits right at the intersection of vintage Disney and vintage Christmas and is perfect for our house.  I was given this as a gift by Nat's Mom recently.  Mickey himself is in great shape and has almost no wear on him.  He's holding a big candy cane and some holly and waving with his other hand - covered in a green mitten.  He has full eyes - he's not 'pie eyed' - so someone with some history with Disneyana can likely date this particular ornament.  There isn't a sticker on him, but on the back of his belt there seems to be a little bit of residue that a sticker might have lived.  I imagine a 'Made in Japan' sticker was there, right?  I have a few pieces of Disneyana here on the blog including this Estate Sale Disneyland pennant (which...reminds me to post about something else soon).  The other items posted here are: First was this Pooh