Tidy Husband

Eligible for the seniors discount and the Happy Meal deal at the same time.

  1. The Green Machine

    And it wouldn’t be another post if I were not writing about BW’s idea of the day:

    This is not joke. This time it’s serious. This time she’s playing with fire..

    She’s put a spell on our refrigerator.

    Let me tell you about this refrigerator. It is the most boring fridge ever known to man. It is the lowest maintenance thing in the house – even the dog takes more effort.

    This thing keeps on running and running. It has no regular service and has only had a few good cleans when that lid on the jar of maraschino cherries that’s been in the back pops off and now you have cherry juice dripping down the back so you have to do something that resembles cleaning the thing.

    So very, very gently you get a warm cloth and wipe up the mess and tell it that it’s doing a good job and that you’re very grateful for every day of service it has provided.

    I’ve named her Amanda.

    She’s so good. She never complains and keeps my OJ and Eggs and leftover milk at just the right temperature. And there’s been some abuse over the years with forgotten cherries and she’s missing a drawer but she’s a trooper and has never let us down through many sudden cuts of power and pounds and pounds of magnets hanging off her sturdy frame.

    Amanda was happy just being herself. She’s an old girl of at least 20 years if we had to guess. That’s a lot of days keeping your cheese at the right temperature. Every time BW has opened the door in the wee hours Amanda patiently waits while BW decides what she wants. It’s as if the inspiration will come to her the longer the door is held open, but Amanda is always there for all us patiently cooling her heels while she waits.

    It’s safe to say we love Amanda. She’s not the svelte figure she was twenty years ago, but then who is? Despite her age she runs every day and that’s something that nobody else in this household does.

    But BW likes to tempt fate and take chances. Heck, she married me.

    The chance she’s decided to take on is to fuck with the fridge.

    “Leave Amanda Alone’, I tell BW.

    BW does not listen. BW thinks that Amanda could use a little external makeover. Amanda moved in when Acid Wash was in fashion so in BW’s mind Amanda could use a makeover and it was going to happen today(or, whenever the UPS guy showed up)

    I tried to get Amanda used to the idea. I gently removed the 39 magnets that had attached to her body along with the appointment cards of dentist appointments long ago missed and set them aside.

    I will miss the photos of my family on her, I whispered to her as I gave her wrinkled skin a quick wipe before the procedure, but now the time was here. It was time for the makeover to begin.

    This won’t hurt a bit – I told Amanda as I prepared the ingredients and then told her to close her eyes and think of the Queen.

    The UPS Man had arrived. It was time.

    We took the makeover kit out and removed Amanda’s handles. We had to do a bit of grafting here and there to get the look we wanted and her handles needed a complete makeover to the the 20 years of fingerprints off but in the end Amanda woke up from her little beauty nap looking better than ever!

    Don’t fail me now, Amanda

    Then the dishwasher got word of makeovers happening so she got a little spruce up too!

    a matching set!

    Amanda, don’t fail me now.

    BW won’t tell me what this cost so if that’s the case then it’s not cheap and it’s best I don’t know what she paid for your custom-made makeover.

    Please keep serving us for years to come Amanda. You look great!

    📄

    The shorter version: BW found custom color magnets on the internet that stick to your fridge and allow you spruce up the color of your fridge.

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  2. An Afternoon at the Movies

    After yesterday pretty much ignoring the child as i was trying to get my kitchen renovation done , today we promised to go to the movies and see Moana 2 and we did.

    It was touch and go this morning as she was tired and the struggle was real to get some teeth brushed before we went but we made it there.

    Going to the movies has changed a bit since I used to go “back in the day” as my child likes to say.

    The movie experience is actually quite nice. The seats in the theater were powered recliners and were huge and comfortable. Both BW and I were shocked at how LOUD the volume was. I know the sound is part of the experience, but man was it loud.

    Speaking of loud: this is the first successful movie she has been to. The first time was a couple years ago now and when they started the trailers she started screaming at the top of her lungs as the movie was just too loud for her.

    She’s very sensitive to loud noises and so it’s not uncommon to see her to go bed in these ear muffs to cut out the ambient noise.

    We were prepared for a a repeat performance of it being too loud, but I looked over halfway through the movie and had doffed the ear mugs and was happily working through a bag of gummy worms.

    “This was the best” she told me when we left. Of course it was. You just had two hours of allowed – and even encouraged screen time in addition to the tablet time you’ve had this weekend. Oh, and then you washed it all down with half a bag of gummy bears and most of my M+M’s and I think you even snuck some of BW’s popcorn too.

    We all had lots of greens at dinner to make up for decadent afternoon of overpriced goodies.

    I was going to go on a diatribe about how much the concessions are but really nothing’s changed – if you want popcorn, you will pay. As you were.

    Oh – the actual movie was the usual Disney fare. Add a few jokes for the adults and then at the end the princess saves the day mixed with some singing.

    She ate it up. Literally.

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  3. Never Agree to Anything

    I had forgotten about this project.

    A few weeks back BW had one of those ideas where she wants to decorate and then I get busy. I cam into the house and I get “Hey Jimmy – what do you think about this idea?”

    The idea is she wants to buy peel and stick foam tiles and stick ’em up in the kitchen. In a moment of weakness, I agree to this idea and then the day continues and I forget all about this.

    Until yesterday when the stupid tiles arrived and there they were at the front hall with BW saying to me “Guess what you’re doing tomorrow?”

    This should be easy, I said. How little did I know.

    Installing backsplash tiles is what I am doing and how I spent my entire day today doing just that. This project – like all projects – took twice – if not 3 times as long as I had thought.

    I thought I would be done by lunch. I was done by bedtime.

    Things I have learned:

    1. Math is hard. It’s tricky with all the measuring and straight lines and angles and stuff.
    2. Start with the big chunks and then fill in the rest. Don’t do like I did and work left to right and then realize the one wall is slanting and it’s a good inch out from left to right and then you have to pull them all down and start over
    3. Buy extra. You will need it. (See no.2 above)

    I’m tired and I hurt. This was a much bigger job than I expected. This job looked fairly easy but it really took a long time for me to get right. I’ve been getting handier over the years but this being a first time for me it was tricky work.

    Guys, if your wife sees this post and wants to do the same – hire this job out. You will thank me.

    But. And this is a big But:

    This is all worth it as it spruces up our kitchen and most importantly BW is happy.

    And as we all know – a happy wife is a happy life.

    Oh. I may have accidently agreed to repainting the kitchen cabinets later this spring.

    Lord give me the strength…

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  4. KID News

    On the eve of the 2nd coming , I thought this post would be kind of relevant.

    Today’s lesson: Don’t believe all you see on the internet, or TV or even news from your friends. Most news is skewed inone way or another.

    Especially if your source of news is from another five year old!

    Folks, take this news with a grain of salt. It might not be “fake” but it’s sure is questionable. If there’s one thing I want to teach the child is to ask questions before you decide. Also, consider the source.

    Take today for example:

    Example One:

    She tells us that there is a final number. We say no, not really – you can count to the end of time if you want.

    “Oh, no!” there is!! “It’s true and I know” she exclaimed with eyes as big as quarters.

    We ask who told her this?

    “Ethel!”. The source was another friend of the same age.

    “Ethel says the number is INFINITY!“

    Well…she’s not wrong… I guess.

    Example Two

    “Hey Mom” she says,

    “Yes?”, replies mom.

    “My friends at school say because we live in Buffalo we have to be Buffalo bills fans and we can’t be Philadelphia Eagles Fans”, the child states.

    “Oh, no. Your friends are wrong” mom tells her. “You don’t have to be a fan of any thing or any team. You and only you decide what you like or don’t like”.

    “But friend 1 and friend 2 say…” BW cuts her off mid sentence.

    “Your friends are wrong” BW states.

    Okay then. End of conversation.


    Consider this your reminder to consider the source before you believe what you read or hear. It’s easy in this climate to only read – or even see – due to algorithms and like: only one side of the story.

    Use that thing between your ears and get your news from a variety of sources so you can make informed decisions.

    Now back to our regular programming..

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  5. On Boo-Boos and Band-aids

    What is it with kids and bandages? If they (or you) have even the tiniest cut or imperfection of any kind then there must be Band-Aids. We need all the Band-Aids.

    NOW.

    that time she thought it would be a good idea to run into a bookcase

    Take today for example. I broke a coffee cup on the floor. It wasn’t a big deal, and just the usual statements I had to make because now this is the most interesting thing that’s ever happened.

    “Nobody Move!” I exclaim. “It’s all right. Let me get this cleaned up”

    Of course, while I am trying to clean up t here is a lot of movement. She’s trying to calm down the dog by trying to herd the dog upstairs into her crate. Of course, the dog is freaked out because what the hell was that big noise? And also why are you trying to herd me upstairs?

    To summarize so far: I dropped a mug, everybody tried to get as close as possible to the broken glass while in bare feet and the dog is freaking scared to death. So, just another morning here, really.

    Crisis is over. Coffee Mug is cleaned up and we’re back to the regularly scheduled program of getting ready to go to school. When I am putting her shoes on – she still needs help due to the AFO’s she’s wearing getting shoes on her is tricky and she needs a hand – I notice I cut myself. This is a very small cut. We’re talking paper cut here.

    “What!?” She exclaims. “Are you okay?” and most importantly:

    Do you need a Band-Aid?!!

    Before you can say the word “Band-Aid” the child has bounded up the stairs and opened the hall closet and is frantically searching for a Band-Aid. You can see the fear in her eyes. I have a cut on my finger and nobody is paying any attention. DAD is injured. He’s bleeding for crying out loud!

    He Needs a Band-Aid!!!

    We found a Band-Aid and it got carefully applied. I was offered more than one but I declined. “I’m good” I told her.

    We then proceeded to put on her boots and coat and I sent her off to school on the bus.

    After I waved her off on the bus, I turned around and walked inside and quickly tore off the not-really-needed Band-Aid because that’s the only way to remove a Band-Aid.

    Today’s lesson: If you find yourself hurt and in need of a Band-Aid: Ask a kid – they’ll know where they are.

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