Here’s the Happy List!
THE HAPPIEST
This is the happiest “beach shack” I have ever seen. I would love to rent this for a couple of weeks, especially since it is in Australia.
More photos of this home can be seen over at Dwell.
(image: David Sievers for Dwell)
ACROSS THE FENCE
This fence idea made me smile. I can imagine two dads coming up with this idea for hanging out. They look so pleased with themselves.
(image: Beautiful Work via Bored Panda)
BEST ICE CREAM
The best ice cream we’ve had this summer is the Blue Bunny flavor called Bunny Tracks. I haven’t seen this yet in New Jersey. I had it in Colorado and I’m still thinking about it a month later.
OLD MEETS NEW
I am fascinated by the new addition to this very old home in England. It’s neat, right?
The vertical slats are on the roof too and they conceal the pipes and gutters for the home. I’m trying to figure out how this works. The slats must be a shell on top of the regular roof and siding structure of the home. Architects have the coolest job.
You can see more photos of this home over at Remodelista.
(image: Francesa Iovene via Remodelista)
P.S. I did analyze the pointing on the stone portion of the home very closely since I’m in my Pretend Mason era.
BODY GLIDE
Brace yourself for some TMI. Handy Husband has used Body Glide for over 10 years to prevent chafing on his runs.
I’m now using it on my fingertips before I wrap my fingers up to do my repointing work.
My fingers were sweating inside my gloves, which was making them prune-y. That, combined with the abrasive nature of repointing the stones in our Carriage House was contributing to my fingers not being very happy. The Body Glide combined with a little cotton and the self-adhesive bandages I’m wrapping them up with seem to be the magic combo to keeping my fingers healthy.
If you have skin rubbing together or something rubbing on your skin that causes chafing, blisters, or irritation, Body Glide might help! It’s made by a Washington state company.
(image: Amazon)
BOIL IT
According to a study released by Guangzhou University, most microplastics in water can be removed by boiling the water.
To quote the article, “Anyone who uses an electric kettle or coffee maker knows that the limescale builds up and needs to be addressed every few months. When the scientists boiled the hard tap water, the pushing out of the calcium carbonate from the water solution effectively trapped a variety of plastic particles ranging from 5 micrometers to 10 micrometers in length. 90% of these components were trapped in the limescale layer.”
It doesn’t solve the initial problem, but it is hopeful. Learn more about this over at Good News Network or read the study directly here.
P.S. This was a photo of our cute kitchen when we lived in Ireland. We boiled a lot of water in our electric kettle because instant coffee in Ireland is VERY good.
VINTAGE PERFECTION
I Spy DIY is back with another gorgeous makeover. What caught my eye in the photo was this vintage stool. Isn’t it neat? It got my wheels turning with ideas on how to make creative stools or plant stands.
You’ll want to check out all the pictures of this makeover because you won’t believe how they took something builder-basic and turned it into a WOW moment.
(image: I Spy DIY)
WHIPPED RICOTTA
Today, I’m going to the store to get the ingredients to make this recipe for Whipped Ricotta from Alexandra Cooks. I’m going to serve it with some rustic bread toasted with olive oil. I suppose I’ll cook up some spicy sausage and veggies too because I doubt Handy Husband will think bread is a complete meal.
My friend, Nancy, shared this website with me. I’ve been hungry ever since.
(image: Alexandra Cooks)
POETRY MOMENT
HOW TO HOLD THE HEAVY WEIGHT OF NOW by Dana Levin
She said, “You just made this gesture with your body-”
and opened her arms as if she could barely fit them
around an enormous ball-
“Make that shape again,” she said, and so I did. “Now
let it change,” she said, and I did-
slowly closing the space between my arms, fingertips
converging until they touched-
I watched my hands turn together, align pinkie-side to
pinkie-side, I watched
my palms open, pushing gently forward, leading my
body forward, I watched them
let a bird go, I watched my hands
make
an offering-
Thank you for reading today’s Happy List.
Be good to yourself and others this weekend.
I’ll see you back here on Monday.
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