Donkee House

Home Inspection Funorama!

These are just a few insanities home inspectors see as part of their job.  Some folks are quite ingenious with their diy…

Above is a bathroom outlet.  Let me see…hair dryer, flat iron, electric toothbrush, waterpik, clock radio…running out of possibilities…at least this person has smooth feet with the pumice stone…

This is how it works…turn the valve on and watch the water drop down a few feet into your poo poo.  Due to the height from which the water falls, you MUST be careful of backsplashes!  You know how sometimes your butt gets the backsplash if you happen to plop down a hard one.  Don’t say you don’t, because you would be lying and no one would believe you anyway!  Well, this would be somewhat like that times a conservative ten.  Meantime, no need to fix up the walls, nor clean the toilet….although the toilet cover looks almost acceptable.  Maybe you can wash your hands in the stream of water heading down toward the bowl?  Two birds, one stone.  Genius DIY!

Even my year old niece knows better than this…

Potato as gas line cap.  Looks like a dehydrated Mr. Potato Head is free floating, turned his back to us and grew feathery ears.

I’m assuming that wherever this roof is, there is never ever ever ever ever any rain, snow nor sleet.  Lucky homeowner!

These are honeybees.  I guess I would prefer to have honeybees in my chimney (if I had one) than killer wasps or africanized honeybees.  Those would be really bad.  Wasps don’t make honey and the africanized honeybees would annihilate you and your family before you ever get close to their honey.

Furry, grey with appendages in a vent.  I wouldn’t want to unscrew that neither.

Homemade urinal in the garage.  I like this one the best.  Uncomplicated and satisfies a natural need.  Not dangerous to others and won’t cause fires.  It’s a winner!

Top 5 Places to Visit – Part 4 – Kenya

Kenya lies along the equator on the east coast of Africa.  Its climate runs the gamut from cool to hot and dry to humid.  When one thinks of Kenya, the first thought that usually comes to mind is wildlife.  The Big Five is the main attraction for many who visit – elephants, buffalo, leopards, rhinos and lions.  Of course, there are many others to see…cheetahs, hippos, giraffe, gazelle, etc.  In order to experience and learn as much as you can, the best bet is to go on a safari.

However, aside from wildlife you will probably never see anywhere else, Kenya is also home to white sand beaches for relaxing and water activities and mountains for climbing. The country is a perfect wrap for fun, adventure and education.

Image 1 via Kenya Odyssey

Images 2, 3 & 4 via Albatros Travel

Image 5 via The Safari Website

Image 6 via Kenya Advsior

Pocket Doors

Pocket doors are great space savers and can disappear and appear in a quick second.  Although hugely popular in the 1800′s and maybe early 1900′s, we no longer see them much anymore in homes.  I hope that changes because there is such a variety to choose from and they give a room much flexibility and stateliness.  Here are a few…

Above pocket doors are made from walnut from Artisans Doors and Millwork.

Modern take from Archi Expo.

Ornate pocket doors via Bedzine.

In a restored Victorian from Old House Journal.

Books and door share the spotlight from Country Living.

All glass lets in a ton of light while connecting the living room and the courtyard from Sunset.

Million to One Apple

This is a real apple – a result of a random genetic mutation.  Experts say it’s a million to one chance that you’ll ever find an apple with as perfect a green and red demarcation as this.  What do you do with this?  Do you eat it?  Do you preserve it?  I’m stumped…

Via Mental Floss.

CB2 Gone Industrial

I haven’t perused a CB2 catalog in the longest time, never mind stepping foot in their store.  This morning, however, while waiting for the husband to cook up some scrambled eggs and corned beef hash, I flopped down on our sorry sofa and started to flip through their catalog.  I was quite amazed at their slight turn to industrial.  Have they always been a bit raw and I’ve been in living under a rock all these years or is this something relatively new for them?  In any case, take a look…

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Sign Translation

Saw this sign while we were in Massachusetts…I couldn’t resist…

Fun Lightbulbs

These lightbulbs are fun and whimsical.  The patterns are sand blasted on and can add a touch of playfulness in any room.

From Finnish Design Shop.

Deepness in the Sky

A Deepness in the Sky is a prequel to A Fire Upon the Deep, although it was written after it.  You don’t need to have read one in order to read the other – one character (Pham Nuwen) ties the books together rather than a plotline.

Ok, so you might be wondering why I would read this after having had a very tepid reaction to A Fire Upon the Deep.  Well, the answer is really simple…I bought the two books together and in my heart of hearts, I was hoping that Vinge would get me this time.  I wanted him to drag me in and not let go.  I wanted him to entrall me, stab me in the guts, make my mind race and show me what an idiot I was for not seeing the light with A Fire Upon the Deep.  Alas, it was just not meant to be.

Although I did not have as tough a time as the other book, I was not invested and was not excited until the last two hundred or so pages.  For a book with almost eight hundred pages, that’s a lot of lost pages for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I liked the Spiders, especially Sherkaner Underhill.  Who wouldn’t love a mad scientist?  But it stopped there for me in terms of characters.  Even Pham was meh for me.

What I did like were the interstellar travel and commerce and other intelligent life ideas.  Other intelligent life with radically different genetic and cultural makeup.  But those are broad ideas that many others have written about.

I’m not knocking Vinge.  I know he’s greatly admired and well respected – my husband who is much more of a sci-fi reader than I am loved his books.  I think I gave it a fair go – just not my cup of tea.

Shopping with Coupons

Browsing through The New York Times today, I came across an article about coupons.  It reminded me of another recent article from Reuters about coupons also.  Basically, more and more households are utilizing coupons for items ranging from everyday groceries to non necessities like apparel.  It seems like a good bunch of us are in a savings state of mind stemming from the current recession.

As for my husband and myself, we too, have been more cognizant about using coupons when we can or when we remember to.  We’re not hardcore and we have yet to try it with groceries.  That’s because our grocery shopping is usually an impromptu exercise on our way home from work or if we are already out doing some other things.

However, we do always look for coupons if we are making online purchases.  My husband purchases a ton of tech stuff online and he’s pretty much an expert on finding the best deals.  I always love to find and use online coupons for apparel and such.  Just this past weekend, I had my eye exam at Cohen’s Fashion Optical and before going, knew I will need to get a pair of glasses.  Their website had a $100 off the 1st pair and free 2nd pair coupon.  I printed it and got myself a pair of glasses and a free pair of sunglasses for $650.  Considering I won’t need new frames for another 5 years or so, it was worth it.

In addition, I also use Upromise and Big Crumbs – pretty effortless ways to save money (I am in no way affiliated with them).

Upromise is a great way to help pay down student loans.  All you have to do is register your credit/debit card(s), then go about doing your usual business like you normally would with participating retailers (there is a ton of them) and you get a percentage of your purchase back.   Online shopping, brick and mortar shopping, restaurants, etc.  Whatever you get back is then transferred as payment to your student loan on a quarterly basis.  Best of all, your friends and family can help you out by registering their cards too.

Big Crumbs has the same premise except they transfer what you earn to your Paypal and the transfers are done monthly. No friends and family, though.

With both of these programs and any other like them, the trick is to shop only when you need to, not because you get a bit of savings – treat it as more of nice surprise rather than a reason to go shopping.

Are you using more coupons too?  If so, where do you go to look for them and what tips can you offer on shopping with coupons?

Image by Fred R. Conrad for the New York Times

Entryway Ideas

I have been battling our entryway for one and a half years.  Although I already have a home for the umbrellas and all my various scarfs, I still desperately need some kind of narrow table with drawer storage, a mirror or two (or three), a chair for my bag, a place to sit to strap on those sandals, tie those sneakers or pull on those boots.  Here are some that I really love…

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