From the The Universal Household Assistant or What Every One Should Know (1884):

Cockroaches — ways to destroy. — 1. The disagreeable odor which the cockroach emits, and which soon permeates all places that it inhabits, proceeds from a dark colored fluid which it discharges from the mouth. The cockroach loves warmth and moisture, hence its populousness in kitchens where fire and water are almost ever present. It is a night prowler, and swarms out from its secret lairs on the departure of daylight.    For the destruction of the cockroach we recommend a mixture containing a tablespoonful of red lead, the same amount of indian meal, with molasses enough to make a thick batter. Set this on a plate at night in places frequented by the insects and all that eat of it will be poisoned. Another preparation is composed of one teaspoonful of powdered arsenic, with a tablespoonful of mashed potato. Crumble this every night at bed-time where the insects will find it, and it is said to be an effectual poison. Great care should be exercised in the use of such dangerous agents. An innocent method of destroying cockroaches is to place a bowl or basin containing a little molasses on the floor at night. A bit of wood, resting one end on the floor and the other on the edge of the vessel, serves as a bridge to conduct the insects to the sweet deposit. Once in the trap its slippery sides prevent retreat, and thus cockroaches may be caught by the thousands.    2. The following i said to be effectual: these vermin are easily destroyed, simply by cutting up green cucumbers at night, and placing them about where roaches commit depredations. What is cut from the cucumbers in preparing them for the table answers the purpose as well, and three applications will destroy all the roaches in the house. Remove the peelings in the morning and renew them at night.    3. Common red wafers, to be found at any stationers, will answer the purpose. The cockroaches eat them and die. Also, sprinkle powdered borax plentifully around where "they most do congregate," and renew it occasionally; in a short time not a roach will be seen. This is a safe and most effectual exterminator.    4. Borax is a very good cockroach exterminator. Take some pieces of board, spread them over with molasses, only sufficient to make the borax when sprinkled upon it stick, and place the boards in their haunts. Gum camphor is a speedy remedy to clear the house of cockroaches.

From the The Universal Household Assistant or What Every One Should Know (1884):

Household Hints. — Do not deposit wood ashes in a wooden vessel or upon a wooden floor.    Never use a light in examining a gas-meter.    Never take a light into a closet.    Never read in bed by candle or lamp light.    Never put kindling wood on top of the stove to dry.    Never leave clothes near a grate or fire-place to dry.    Be careful in making fire with shavings, and never user any kind of oil to kindle a fire.    Keep all lights as far from curtains as possible.    Always fill and trim your lamps by daylight, and never near a fire.    Good nice pie-crust can be made by always observing the following rule. One-quarter of a cup of shortening to every cup of flour used; to be mixed as dry as possible with cold water, and mixed only with a knife.    Take sweet butter only for baking purposes, and never fail to thoroughly beat together your butter and sugar, if you would be sure of good results in cake baking.    Have metal or earthen vessels for matches, and keep them out of reach of children. Wax matches are not safe.    Ground mustard mixing with a little water is an excellent agent for cleansing the hands after handling odorous substances.    Cut hot bread or cake with a hot knife, and it will not be clammy.    Salt extracts the juices of meat in cooking. Steaks ought therefore not be salted until they have been broiled.    In boiling dumplings of any kind, put them in the water one at a time. If they are put in together they will mix with each other.    Do not cut lamp-wicks, but trim them by wiping off with a scrap of paper.    Never boil vegetables with soup stock, for if you do it will certainly become sour in a short time.    Boil your cream for coffee, and see if the coffee will not taste better, as well as keep hot longer.    Pin-cushion covers made of cheese cloth embroidered and trimmed with lace, wear well and keep their looks.    Some one says that leaves of parsley, eaten with a little vinegar, will destroy the odor of breath tainted by onions.    Hot liquid lye is recommended for removing obstructions in waste pipes. Or let the potash dissolve over night in the pipes.    To wipe dust from papered walls, take a clean, soft piece of flannel. Of course it must not be damp, but the dry flannel will remove the dust.    Varnish the soles of your shoes, and it will render them impervious to dampness, and will also make them last longer. This is a good plan.    Clean the mica in stove doors with vinegar. Take clinkers out of stoves by putting a few oyster shells into the grate, when they will become loosened, and may be removed without injuring the lining.    Save the droppings from spermaceti candles, tie them in a cloth, and keep to smooth rough flat-irons.    Never starch napkins.    An old black bunting or cashmere dress may be made to serve a further period of usefulness by being made into a petticoat.    Between two evils choose neither.    Writing a will does not shorten life, and yet many men fear it will.    Save old suspender rings, and sew them on the corners of kitchen holders to hang them by. It will be easy then to flip them on to a nail, and they will not be so likely to get lost.    Powdered borax with a little sugar, blown into the cracks and crevices with a small bellows, will drive away house-ants.    Have a high stool in the kitchen to sit on when tired, to continue your work if necessary. Perched on its top you can wash dishes or iron with ease. A low stool placed on a wooden chair forms a substitute, but a poor one. A soft sheep-skin mat is restful to stand upon.    There is nothing better for cleaning brass or copper than coal ashes. They are also good to scour knives and forks with. For tin, whiting or fine sand is best.    To cleanse jars or jugs or any earthen vessel slaked lime is good, or warmed lye.    To keep a stove smooth, take a coarse and pretty large piece of flannel, roll it hard, and dip it in fine sand. Proceed to rub your stove whenever you are through cooking. Almost any stove will look better for being done the same way occasionally. Boiled starch is also very good to keep a stove looking well; put it on where it will not burn off — around the back and sides where it doesn't get very hot.

There were some somewhat shriveled grape tomatoes in the refrigerator. Still technically edible, but too shriveled for purpleglitter to eat and I detest eating tomatoes whole.

I know there are plenty of animals around that would love them, so I went out to the fence at the end of the driveway and threw them into the backyard sometime after 2am. I didn't throw them all at once so as not to make a loud noise.

After one throw that reached the trees near the back fence, I heard high pitched yellings and hissings of complaint. I'm guessing the opossum I've previously seen skulking about was in the brush and got nailed by a tomatoe. Grape tomatoes are small and are unlikely to have actually injured the opossum, so the interaction was simply humorous. Maybe eating the tomatoes will make up for getting nailed.

Tonight, not knowing what to cook that purpleglitter would also like, I looked at the available ingredients and decided to attempt to make Spaghetti O's from scratch. I took a can of puréed tomatoes, some oregano, some garlic, some Mrs. Dash, some pepper, and for smoothness of flavour – smart balance spread. Dropped in mozzarella cheese and a few slices of american. Of course, the bag of ring pasta in the cupboard came in handy. It turned out quite good and more american cheese gave it a more Spaghetti O's flavor.

Still going strong.

I made the birds a new mix this morning: beak appétit, mashed organic peas, organic spring salad mix, crumbed Ezekiel 4:9 bread, seed mix, and fruit and veggie mix. Not as fancy as some of my other bird mixes, but they still love it.

mazzycat is always a joy to spend time with, and she seems to prefer the regular scheduled playtimes over the more haphazard playtimes of the past.

I did much cleaning. I did a load of dishes downstairs, took out my air conditioner which hasn't been used for over a month, worked my altar, organized my desk, did some other decorating, and did quite a bit of cleaning and organizing. The octagonal table is now the only one non-floor surface in my room containing anything that shouldn't go there. It has been years since it has been in this state. In fact, my room is rapidly and finally approaching that magic word: CLEAN. If I continue this for the rest of the week, it may just reach that point.

I also hung a sign above the door to my room which reads: "If you find yourself in a hole... STOP DIGGING!". Perhaps some might think it cheesy, but I think it a good message for me to keep mindful of.

For breakfast yesterday I had a veggie burger with basil mozzarella cheese and barbecue sauce; for lunch I had pizza balls with basil mozzarella, faux ham, and faux turkey topped with parmesan cheese; for dinner I had spaghetti in pizza sauce with parmesan cheese; for my healthy snack I had cashews.

Food went well, but I only got half of my half hour of exercise in with a walk up to Arlington Center and back in last evening's thunderstorm. Getting in my exercise is going to be hard right now because I've been having lots of wobbly/dizzy/fally/seizurey/whatever-the-hell-who-knows-the-doctors-apparently-don't episodes, but I will not let that be an excuse. I will continue to try to make Project Three Meals work. I refuse to let this crap control my life.

For breakfast I had spaghetti in tomatoe sauce with peppers and parmesan cheese, for lunch I had paneer butter masala with rice, for dinner I had two slices of faux chipotle sausage pizza with basil mozzarella baked on a garlic and herb crust, and for my healthy snack I had pumpkin seeds.

I was sitting on my desk, spaced out, and before I could realizes what I was doing I had eaten a significant number of peanut chews. Having already foiled my day, I opted to have cookies later on when offered and I didn't get any exercise.

I know the reasoning "I already screwed up, what the hell?" isn't the best and that I should strive to get as close as I can regardless of how well the rest of the day went. But I had already screwed up, so what the hell. Great "logic', eh? I'll do better and I intend to win the wager.

As I stated in an earlier post: the old house_of_clocks, which due to its dilapidated condition was sometimes called the Crackhouse of Clocks, was completely renovated and turned into a condo a couple years after we moved out. purpleglitter and I went to the open house today to check the place out. The layout of the place was virtually the only thing that was familiar. The place is astounding, wonderful. I'd love to move back in if I could afford it. Even if I could afford it, however, the housing market is poised on the verge of a giant bubble burst and now would definitely not the time to be buying.


( tour of the renovated old house of clocks )

I cleaned out the old fridge today. It wasn't properly cleaned out when we unplugged it in favour of the new one and had begun to seriously mould. There was a large standing puddle of disgusting water in the bottom of the freezer side. The odor was so pungent that I literally almost vomited, but it needed to be cleaned as it was rapidly becoming a health hazard. I washed the entire thing out with Comet cleanser, threw all of the cleaning waste out of the house immediately, then covered the interior of the refrigerator with baking soda. I left the room briefly just in case there was a bleach-baking soda reaction. There wasn't and the job was done.

Next big task is cleaning my room. My room has been improving slowly, but the pace is not near good enough. I want to get the entire thing cleaned out by the time I leave for Missouri next Monday.

Out of curiosity yesterday, I did a search on Google for the address of the old house_of_clocks. First I tried "1261 Mass Ave". Nothing. I tried "1261 Massachusetts Avenue" and found the building. Finally, trying a combination of both approaches with "1261 Massachusetts Ave" I found the old house_of_clocks being listed for sale as a condominium. Having passed by the old house_of_clocks in Arlington Heights many times recently, I knew that the old apartment was being sold as a condominium, however it was interesting to read the description given of the place:

Arlington – $409,900 Spectacular renovation in 2004. This top floor 3 bedroom unit features new kitchen with granite, stainless appliances, ceramic tile floor, and new baths with ceramic tile floor. Hardwood floors throughout, spacious living room, private W/d, rear porch, large storage area, and deeded parking for 2. Windows, heat and hot water systems new in 2004. Steps to the "t" & shops. Don't miss this one! Listing Information Amenities and Features Listing ID 70332410 Near Public Transportation Price $409,900 Swimming Pool Bedrooms 3 Tennis Court Type Condo Walk/jog Trails Sq. Ft. 1,256 Baths 2

The apartment I remember is quite different. It was billed as a 4 bedroom with 1 bathroom. It definitely didn't have anything like stainless appliances, ceramic tile floors, or a granite kitchen. The building had neither and still has neither tennis courts and swimming pools, I imagine that the references to those in the listing are meant as "nearby" as is with the bike trail and public transit.

When we lived there, the entire three decker was completely run down and neglected by an elderly landlord that was in over her head trying to manage her many properties. Due to the dilapidated condition, we used to jokingly refer to our place as "the Crackhouse of Clocks". purpleglitter is making arrangements for us to look at the place as "potential buyers". I'd really love to see the changes. I doubt I'll recognise it at all. Just from the times I've passed it, I can see how much it's changed. The white picket fence in the neatly trimmed front yard advertises the new nature of the place. Time moves on.

IN THE OLD HOUSE OF CLOCKS

photo by purpleglitter

After she got off work, purpleglitter met me at the house_of_clocks. From there we went to Walgreens and noticed a smoky smell. Then we noticed the smoky smell was coming from the smoke that was coming from the trashcan by the entrance. Someone had apparently thrown some sort of ignited tobacco product in the trashcan, which is just plain stupid as the Walgreens trashcans are equipped with a disposal unit on top of them specifically for ignited tobacco products. I stuck my hand in the can to try to put it out as purpleglitter squawked at me that I'd set my clothes on fire. Very shortly after I took my hand out the smoldering turned into sizable flames.

A couple Walgreens employees attempted to douse the flame with water, however they simply lessened its magnitude. Within a few minutes, the fire department arrived and put the fire out properly. No damage to anything but the trashcan, which is trashed.

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Upon arriving back at purpleglitter's apartment, I decided to make us pizza in the oven. The heating element of the oven fell down while the pizza was cooking and started burning the cheese. This produced much smoke but no real flame. We had to open the doors and air out the apartment. Luckily the oven suffered no real damage and the heating element can be easily reattached.

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Later in the evening, the toaster decided to completely burn our bagels. I would probably not mention the occurrence otherwise, but it seemed to top off the evening of burning.

I'm back home. Finally. I've was elated when I got out, but my mood has slipped back down. There were cups in my room with inches of mold in them. It smelt bad. purpleglitter is downstairs cleaning the kitchen. She's been so helpful with everything. She always has been. I've been so awful and grumpy with her at times, but she's been so awsome. I wish I could learn to be a nice person. I can't figure things out. I feel lucky and cursed at the same time. When I was at Bournewood many years ago another patient called me a contradiction, and I am. I should not exist, but I do. I do not wish to continue, but I do. My room is completely trashed and I don't want purpleglitter to clean it. I already feel guilty enough she's doing the cleaning in the kitchen that I should be doing. I'm a dysfunctional mess, and I can't understand why people put up with me.

I just found a letter from the Cambridge Health Alliance on the kitchen table telling me that my primary care nurse set up the neurology appointment for me. Unfortunately it is the day before Thanksgiving and I'll be in Missouri. I guess I'll have to reschedule the appointment. I need to remember to call Monday. While I'm at it, maybe I can actually set up that long overdue endocrinology appointment.

I forgot to mention last night that Project Three Meals also includes 30 minutes of exercise. It's just a simply healthy plan with a simple yet somewhat fun name.

So, how did today go?

For breakfast, I had rotini and sauce. For lunch I had rotini with tomatoe sauce. For dinner, I had... well I didn't eat dinner. For my healthy snack I had a cliff bar. In addition to that I had one of merryperseis's mom's chocolate chip cookies. Shouldn't have had the cookie, but should have had dinner.

I did get in 30 minutes of exercise. In fact I got well over three hours in my walk to Lexington Center from purpleglitter's house. I didn't really have any particular reason for the walk. I didn't even do it for the exercise. I just needed to keep moving. I kept singing that to myself along the way, "Gotta keep move'n".

purpleglitter picked me up in Lexington Center and drove me back home.

I'd stay up and make the dinner I didn't eat today, but I'm not doing to well tonight. I'm quite twitchy and dizzy and I've already ended up on the kitchen floor twice this evening, and I don't trust myself handling a hot pot or pan. So I'm off to bed and I'll try to do better tomorrow.