Garden of Galadriel

We got a new washing machine several months ago because our old one leaked badly. It ruined the floor in the kitchen so that we had to strip it all off and bear with a concrete floor for about a year. Now we have a new floor and a new machine which is quieter, has lots of neat settings, and doesn't leak. Our dryer is still outdated, though, and squeaks dreadfully, but I hardly ever use it. During the summer the only thing that gets dried in it are sheets, and in the winter it's just sheets and towels. Otherwise it's on the line outside or on the drying rack inside. We have a little closet under the stairs which is our central heating central, and it's lovely and warm in there all day long, even if it's freezing everywhere else, so I can slot the rack inside there if I want. Or I can line it right up to the radiator in the kitchen for some radiation. The only downside to decreasing dryer usage is the sharp uptake in ironing consumption. Figure 1.28a illustrates my careful use of eco-laundry skills. Figure 1.28b shows my proportionate ironing pile growth.

Fig 1.28a

Fig 1.28b

Two of Partner's friends came over for the weekend to visit and play guitar. They told me I could make requests, but every request I made they either didn't know or didn't like. I gave up after about five requests were shot down. When I make requests of Partner, he usually comes up with something good, even if it's not entirely right. He actually listens to music, listens for chords and key changes and riffs, not just lyrics. Which is better than me because when I have the radio on at work I don't even listen to the lyrics...to me it's just background noise. I do concentrate a bit more when it's classical (in the general sense--that is to say, orchestral) music.

Partner's main birthday present, by the way, was a ticket to see Bob Dylan in April. His secondary presents were a dvd and a Calvin and Hobbes anthology. Unfortunately, he did not receive socks.