Dream: Single Mom with Precocious Child

[I had this dream several days ago, but it still stays with me.]

I'm in a large department store or supermarket. I ask myself out loud, "Where am I?"

I hear a little voice answer, "If you pay me, I'll tell you."

I see a small girl, so small she appears as a toddler. She's adorable, with a cute smile. I smile back and say, "What expense would you incur that you'd need to be reimbursed for?" But that's clearly way too advanced, because I find myself explaining the concept of getting reimbursement and receipts and invoices.

An attractive woman shows up with an older, teen/tween girl. I presume she's the girl's mother and the teen the sister. She's got short brown hair and a very friendly smile, very much like Maggie O'Connell of Northern Exposure.

Somehow I find out that her husband died recently. I feel an overwhelming attraction to this woman, but I remember that I am married and don't try to flirt or otherwise engage her.

Then we're outside in a park-like setting, but on the edge of a parking lot. She is sticking out of the open hood of a car that's parked there. Only her head a shoulders are visible. I decide to kiss her, but she is weak and dizzy. I presume it's from carbon monoxide from the car engine. She swoons and sinks into the car.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20110824

Allergy season is upon me. This motivates me to avoid dairy, ice cream in particular. Little amounts (like in chocolate) don't seem to bother me too much, though.

Also, I'm starting to pick off a leaf of kale from our garden each morning. I cut it up and add it raw to my Romaine lettuce salad for lunch. The leaves are fairly small (wallet-sized) and very tender.

Waist = 38.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20110817

I've been drinking herbal tea at night after supper in response to cravings for ice cream or other snacks.

Waist = 38.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20110811

Drop in weight and reduced waist size. Could that be because we ran out of bananas, so I didn't eat the usual two per day for a few days? Or is it because I've been adding carob powder to my breakfast? Or maybe it was just the stress from my wife's recent pain crisis?

Waist = 38.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20110803

My weight and fat are the same this week, but my waist is a half inch larger!

Waist = 38.75"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Weak Dishwasher Detergent

About a year ago I noticed that our dishwasher wasn't cleaning very well. My white ceramic mug was the canary in the coalmine. It would always come out gleaming white. But when the "after" tea stains were indistinguishable from the "before," I figured something was wrong.

First, I suspected the water temperature. It was early fall with summertime weather, and the boiler temperature runs lower in the summer. I tried adding boiling water after each drain cycle a couple of nights in a row. I was amazed that that did not help.

I then suspected the dishwasher. First I made sure the little door for the detergent was opening. In fact, I actually ran it once without closing it just to be sure. When that didn't help, I took out the lower spray arm and checked that the filter was not clogged. It was not clogged.

I had resigned myself to calling an appliance repair shop when I heard NPR do a story about how dishwashing detergents were reformulated to remove phosphates. As a result, a lot of people's dishes and glasses were not getting clean.

So I did like Sandra Young and bought TSP from the hardware store. After I started adding about 1 teaspoon to the regular detergent, things returned to normal.

I really don't like to fool around with the dishwasher. We wash our cats' food dishes in it. We also rely on it to clean our cutting boards, mixing bowls (coated with the residue of batter and dough that was made with raw eggs). We do use the "Accu Temp" feature that heats the water if it's too cool, but I like having a good detergent that will get everything off of everything.