Kitchen sinks and dishwashers forum

Slumberjack wrote:

skdadl wrote:

Domestic discussions have historically been marked in gender terms, and to many women they remain marked, however co-operative and kindly many FABULOUS men have become.

Why do we rate 'kindly and fab' apart from anyone else for attending to practical matters that are no one's designated task?

I quite agree!  But it's an evolution, I think.  My father was willing to do housework, but had a sort of task blindness - he was never sure where to begin and there was always critique on his efforts, so he tended to stay out of it until help was requested.  The blond guy, on the other hand, pulls his weight without being asked - which is unusual given that he grew up in a house where the wife and mother would dive for that dirty dish before you could clear it from the table.  He had never made his own bed until he left home.  A lot of my female friends are still in charge of the majority of housework simply because we girls were conditioned to notice and take care of it and our male counterparts were not.  Change is slow.

Kitchen and bathrooms need to be spotless for our own health. We may have been able to survive outhouses and camping when we were younger, but germs are not an advantage for us as we get older. Mining companies used to pay me to camp out and in filthy conditions most of the time with non-union jobs in the bush. And so I don't camp much now as I tend to associate it with damn hard work.

I sometimes let the dusting and vacuuming go "a few days" behind schedule. I think it was comedienne Phylis Diller who said she left the vacuum cleaner out in full view all the time so as give the appearance of intention to clean, or something like that. I guess that's me sometimes.

Skdadl for what it's worth I think you're a noble and splendid human bean.

The Smoker has a runny eye and is underweight. $200 bucks.

bump

I just saw Unionist, a few weeks back, commending the spirit of this thread.

agreed

Well since this thread has reappeared I thought I'd report on the the little mutt I posted about upthread.  She just over since months old now and is far from little.  She's almost the size of my shepherd.  She going to be one massive dog.  She's utterly fearless and is quite a handful.  She has the trait of 'cooperates,not obey" in spades so it's been interesting working with her. She's one of the most intelligent and independent dogs I've ever come across which is both a blessing and a pain in the butt.  

  She spends the day outside in a big pen beside the chicken and duck yard and the weather doesn't seem to bug her at all.  When the first winter storm of the season came I was feeling awfully guilty and spent a good amount of time outside in the freezing snow making her shelter even better then it was.  Complete waste of time!  She just ignores it and lies out in the snow, or rain as if it isn't even happening.  I don't think she has used her day time shelter at all yet.  One day I thought she'd gotten out because I couldn't see her.  She was completely nestled into and covered in snow, just like a husky.    I still can't let her out during the day unless I'm out with her to correct her puppy playfulness.  Unfortunately chickens and especially the ducks don't appreciate her attempts to rough and tumble and she gets frustrated when they won't play with her.  

A few weeks ago we figured she was big enough to be let out to roam free at night once the chicks were locked up.  The first night I didn't get a whole lot of sleep as I was constantly checking on where she was and what she was doing.  She's fine though and is settling into exactly what she is supposed to do.  She sleeps in spurts in the front of the coop and then patrols.  The great thing about having snow on the ground is I can see exactly what she's been up too.  I spent a bunch of time border training and she's minding them with no problems.  She basically circles the house and chicken yard and has a few spots she's designated as resting outposts.   The other night she was barking on and off quite a bit and the next day I could see by the tracks why.   She chased of either a coyote or another dog (most likely a coyote).  I could see where it came onto the the property, her tracks and it's tracks as it turned around and ran back the way it came.  Cool thing was she stopped right at the edge of her boundry line.   

So so far she's been a great dog and it's been a really interesting experience working with her and having her around.  She quite unlike any dog I've ever had before. 

Kitchen sinks and dogs.

I have a very good sense of direction. Both in cities and on the land.

Years ago I was walking with my dog going from one place to another, overland. I did not know the route super well, but had been on it a few times.

So I'm walking along and get to a fork in the trail and without any doubt head down the left fork. After a few steps I realize my dog isnt following. So I look back, and call her.

She stays at the fork. So I turn arond and look at her. Thinking, I've never seen her do this. Not to mention, that as far as I know, she doesnt know where we are headed.

On the other hand, while my sense of direction is very good, she is the dog.

So we went her way. And she was right of course.

I have a good sense of direction as long as I know where I am and I am someplace familiar to me, and I have a map and compass. Otherwise, I'm lost.