House in Progress Diary

Ooh! What is sleep testing like? That's really interesting.

I agree with you about the tidiness thing. I find an uncluttered room much more relaxing.

A lot of people will wear headphones and listen to music if they have to work in a noisy environment. But I find a "visually noisy" environment much more distracting. It's exhausting. It's very restful just to look out on a relatively blank vista.

I forget where I saw it, but someone postulated that since early humans had to watch out for predators, we may have ancient circuitry in our brain that actually predisposes us to like wide open, relatively uncluttered vistas.

Good morning!, er...Good night?
Anyway, seems to be the day (evening) for not sleeping.
For anyone that likes cars, The Henry Ford Museum is actually pretty cool and not TOO far away from Chicago. Obviously , lots of cars, but I also seem to remember a steam engine in the building ( BIG BUILDING). My dad had this habit of taking me to rather obscure ( To me anyway) Museums and such.
If the museum is still there, I'd reccomend a trip ( especially for kids 6 or so).
You also have what seems to be a deco era ciggarette case.
I have no Idea about the safty of making your own yogurt, however. :o)

The first is a few cards from an 'Old Maid' deck. I still remember playing with my friend and saying, "Hey, no fair, you're cheating!" We'd end up playing from hiding spots across the room from eachother.

Yes, you should be very, very frightened.

Hey, I saw a yougurt maker like that recently at the Goodwill. It was still in the box and all. I wondered who would have that kind of time.

I suggest you do a little research on the ash tray & especially the Shakespeare Theatre plate. If genuine could be worth many bucks. The theatre was rebuilt in recent years . The match books I think are from the Illinois Athletic Club & the Cliff Dweller's club, both very much still in existence in Chicago on Michigan Ave. POPS"30"

I dunno. "This" does look kinda cool. I kinda dig it. Is it wood?

Lisa...I KNOW I love to go to sleep in an uncluttered space...this is definitely part of it. I haven't had that in so long...especially since it requires total control over one's space. Which I don't have. Ah well.

C, anon, irasali, Pops...Thanks! Those hints help. The cigarette case is so interesting. The initials on it are "JS"...no one in the house that I know of had those. Hmmm. And I wonder if the yogurt maker would be useful for making other things...like custard! Or puddings! Hmm.

(A few of these things were put on eBay yesterday as part of the "Virtual Garage Sale" for politics. We may be cash poor but we're well off with junk so every little bit helps, eh?)

Tony....It's actually painted brass! So that makes it even more mysterious. I thought, "decorative lightning rod"? But I really have no idea.

Tully....AGGGGGGHHHH! Must.Rent.That.Movie.

all the best,

jm

OOOH! Are you a pudding freak, too? I'm a TOTAL pudding freak. Anything pudding! Any ethnicity! I love them all. :-)

Let's start the pudding cheer, "HOORAY FOR PUDDING!!" Butterscotch, chocolate, rice, vanilla, flan (it counts! Kinda), Tapioca, banana, corn, bread...I could go on and on and on. Comfort food o' my soul. Sweet creamy delight, we salute thee!

(especially homemade with real ingredients over heat...)

Did somebody say pudding??

JM, if you ever make it to Cincinnati, we'll take you to the best little restaurant on the west side. It's called Rondo's, with bread pudding so good it will bring tears to your eyes. If you google Ron Wise Bread Pudding, you'll see what I mean---that many google entries can't be wrong!

I confess, I have a yogurt maker. But mine doesn't have the cool plastic containers. It's no big deal; you heat milk to scalding, then let it cool down to the right level of warm (that's what the thermometer is for), mix in some fresh yogurt (with live culture) and let it sit in the little jars overnight. Voila! Yogurt. Save a few tablespoons as culture for the next batch. You get a quart of yogurt for the price of a quart of milk plus a wee bit of electricity.

I NEED bread pudding! So, if we are ever in CinCin, Tudor, we are stepping out for pudding!

Aud--The white cups are kind of a heavy glass...do you think it would make pudding? Because, wow, the ability to make yogurt AND pudding in one maker would be so heavenly...