Bill discovered a new brush at the Pet Smart last weekend. With 3 cats and a dog, I have my fair share (and probably yours too!) worth of animal hair in my house. One of my cats is particularly hairy. She’s full-figured and has trouble cleaning herself so her hair is greasy and has more dander than the other cats. She does love to be brushed but I am most allergic to her so I don’t do it often. Bill tries, but he’s busy and so it just doesn’t get done. Anyhoo, at the pet store, Bill saw a new tool and decided to give it a try: The Furminator. It’s available on amazon for $22 (for the small, more for the medium and large) and change which is less than we paid, admitedly a lot for a brush for a pet. But let me tell you. The amount of hair that came off of her, and the other cats which we didn’t really think of as big shedders, was amazing. AMAZING, I tell you. That’s a picture of CJ and her hair, after only half of her had been brushed. We do have other brushes we use on CJ and get a lot of hair off, but I think this does a better job. For the cats, hands down it is better than anything we’ve used. For the dog it is as good but probably better, than other tools.
Let me show you a picture of what we now call The Widowmaker. Originally named The Divorcemaker, this little organizing tool let to a few arguments in my house. We bought it a few years ago because we didn’t have a good place for our foil, saran wrap and wax paper. (We need to stock up on parchment paper.) It’s one of those relatively easy jobs that never gets done. The roadblock was probably the disorganization of the garage which made it difficult, or at least very frustrating, to get to Bill’s tools, and I believe he did need a drill and a screwdriver. When we cleaned the garage last week, we came across The Divorcemaker. I asked Bill if we should just get rid of it. I joked about it’s name and we laughed and then he came up with the new name. He also said that he would put it up and I think we both knew if it didn’t end up in a cabinet soon, I would be a single woman. Good news, he’s still alive, and our little organizer is up. Isn’t it doing a good job?
Lastly, I thought I would share one of my favorite meals with you. Last week, on Admin’s Day, we had a special breakfast for our secretaries. Donuts. Bagels. Cinnamon Rolls. Fruit salad. Donut holes. Ugh. Of course I showed no resistance and came home from work feeling like garbage. I needed something nutritious and light. Perfect time for my tomato-mozzarella-basil salad. It’s very easy, simply spiced and tastes very “fresh” to me. I once ate this at a little cafe in Switzerland so when I have it at home, it takes me back. I get a container of cherry or grape tomatoes and slice them in half and put them in a big bowl. Slice up a hunk of fresh mozzarella cheese and put it in with the tomatoes. Chop up some fresh basil, add to the bowl. Coat with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors set. I serve it with a hunk of crusty bread. It’s all to taste, there are no measurements. An optional ingredient is balsamic vinegar, but I usually don’t put it in. It’s got calcium, vegetables, good fats. It would probably be healthier without the bread, or with a whole grain bread.
Well, that’s all I have for today. Hope you enjoyed your weekends and that you have a good Monday!
Tags: recipe, kids, organization