Well, I bought a shower head with a hose that I figured would work, but there's no place to screw the hose in to get water. I'm wondering if there's some alternate kind of attachment for the really strange antiquated faucet on the tub.

There probably is. Since figuring out adapters can be a bitch, one trick I've used in the past is to press Fimo into the faucet so that I can bring it into the hardware store and show them exactly what size I have and where the thread is.

I lived in a tenement apartment in NYC for two months, with a bathtub in the kitchen and the toilet out in the hall. I got good at washing my hair in the tub by combining putting my head under the faucet as far as I could get it and using a plstic cup to dump water over my head. It is awkward, but can be done. My hair was almost to my waist at the time, too.

SA, there is, but I wouldn't know how to find the right one. You need my dad.

I might suggest, though, that is one of those things where it might be worth going to your parents and seeing about replacing at least the faucet - not like they'd be able to lease it without a shower, and shouldn't be that big an expense.

I'm going to take a picture of the faucet and bring it in to a hardware store. And I will probably suggest to them that they need to make the tub a shower, too. I don't think they have realistic expectations for this house at all.

The smart Bitches have offered the good suggestions so I'll just offer hugs. {{SA}} A shower is a beautiful thing.

Staking out a comfort area and piling stuff in the other places sounds like a workable plan. And of course a trip to the helpful hardware man, perhaps with a picture of the tub faucet. eta: which on xpost I see you will be doing

{{SA}}

I cleaned out the freezer and brought food to the next door neighbor's garage freezer. I have some food cooking in the oven that I'll just freeze again after it is cooked I suppose. I moved the milk, but I'm hoping it's cool enough for the fridge food to keep for a little while.

I called Brandsmart where I bought the thing and they told me someone would be out FRIDAY to fix it. And if it ends up not being an emergency they will charge me $60. I asked her if having all my food spoiled was an emergency by their definition. She claimed that some people call for service and then have no problem. If I didn't have to live with the smell I would leave the fish in the freezer until Friday and see if the repair person thinks it qualifies as an emergency.

I'll just call tomorrow to KitchenAid because there is no real help on the holiday. Now to clean up the melted slop from the bottom of the freezer. sigh

I spent 2 hours in the yard before it got too warm for me to be in direct sun. Made the first part of my to do list for next week . too awake to nap , so I think I will pull out the beads and finish watching X2.

cleaning my fridges is on the list, but not, thank goodness due to Laura's problems.

Both of my cats are napping.

It's kind of sad to feel less bright than something with a brain the size of a walnut.

Perkins, I'll always think of you as brighter than a walnut, never fear.

I've been thinking of a nap all day, but then I tell myself I won't get anything done around the condo. Only....see me doing anything? I don't think so.

Emily, I've lived in SF and LA (albeit in the 80s - though I've visited several times in the last few years) and been to Portland a few times recently.

Honestly, I love all three of them, but they're distinct and it's easy to articulate those differences.

LA is spread out and car-oriented. Though, as noted, there are many neighborhoods which have achieved enough density that you could go to a cafe/bar/restaurant in your neighborhood without moving your car. Still. You need a car and you will be spending a lot of time in that car in LA. Great food, both haute and cheap ethnic. Kat has lived in both SF and LA says the Mexican is better down there. The climate is warm, dry (desert-like, really) and temperate. Much more of a beach culture on the west side. Huge latino influence. Lots of cool music (particularly rock) venues and old Hollywood vibes and areas. LA is edgier, a little more dangerous, a little more rock and roll (to me) than SF. But it's also cozier in some ways, since you can get a snappy bungalow in a neat little neighborhod or side-city (like Scrappy's Burbank). Housing would be cheaper in LA because there are many outlying areas. However, you'd exchange your rent cost for your car expenses so I'm not sure that it'd be a huge difference.

Portland would be the cheapest of the three by far. Easy to find cool housing that's affordable. If I were young and had a lot of freedom, I would've moved to New Orleans pre-Katrina. But Portland would have been my second choice. It's one of those places that has both a lot of cool culture and also a lot of room to grow. Lots of musicians who left SF during the dotcom boom wound up in Portland. There is some excellent public transit, but you'd still really need a car. Very outdoorsy culture there. Lots of active cyclists and hikers and runners. Powell's is there, of course. Many cool restaurants and brewpubs and music venues there. Cool and rainy. Quite wet in the winter and gray. Hard on the allergies in the spring. Still - very fun place to go with a combination of Cool Stuff and Cheap Living.

SF - Don't need a car to live here. Expensive housing. Very temperate. Often sunny and gorgeous even in winter. Many neighborhoods to choose from - each with distinct flavors. The Mission, Haight, Castro, Noe Valley. Berkeley and Stanford nearby offering some academic anchors. Half a day's drive from very beautiful scenery like wine country or Tahoe or Yosemite. Strong economy again and hiring. Tons of cultural offerings. Great theater. Decent music. As Cindy notes, there's a strong Boston plus Cambrige to San Franciso plus Berkeley connection. Lots of Buffistas.