I use the baking powder and boiling water method: half a cup or so of baking powder and a teakettle of boiling water.

if you have any drain that clogs regularly - baking soda and vinegar down the drain once a month helps keep them clean

We had breakfast a the fancier cafe in town - with my sister and BIL - cherry pancakes or eggs Benedict on crab cakes....mmmm. The we went to the art and wine festival in ton. Every year it is broilingly hot. not this year. I think my sister brought the fog from Pacifica

I've used bleach in my drains ever since a plumber told me that commercial drain cleaners eat your pipes. He says they eat away at his snake when he's called in after the commercial product fails!

grape nuts: I was scared by a puppy this morning. I didn't know she was in the house and I was typing on the puter when this fluffy white shape trundled into my field of view. Pua (our resident dog) was quite shocked as well and seemed about to attack and drive off the intruder when she realized it was a puppy and softened up. Still we had already told the roomie that we can't have another dog (Pua has a history of reacting with fear and anger to other dogs) so I'm a bit perturbed he brought her home anyway. Especially since this really weakens the argument I was poised to have with both em boyos about why we should take in a little black and white kitten who is looking for a home. harrumph.

I've just poured the boiling water down the drain. You know the last thing my apartment needs is additional humidity. (And I think I'm going to have to repeat the process because the water really didn't go right down.)

Storm passed over, now it's back to being really sunny and hot.

"Come Monday, no more Indiana University searches will be powered by computer-driven Google. Only by people-powered ChaCha.

So, I went to check out ChaCha, because I hadn't for a while. Turns out, not only does it sound like IU is requiring their librarians to volunteer for ChaCha, but the search engine also sucks. It either sucks because it is so dumb that it thinks car loans and house loans have anything to do with interlibrary loan (one of my standard test searches), or (more likely) it sucks because it interweaves undifferentiated advertising. Grrrrr.

There's a product called a Zip-It. I get them at Lowes or Home Depot, can't remember which carries it. It's basically a long thin strip of plastic with sawteeth on both edges. You stick it down the clogged or slow drain as far as it will go, and pull it back out. It brings out the most disgusting stuff. I've used them to unclog a couple drains that were too clogged for the baking-soda-and-vinegar to get through.

edited for correct name of product. As seen on TV!

t screws Spike silly

"Oh no, not again."

Unclogging drains makes Spike horny?