I have a soaker hose running in the back yard, and am hoping Cookie has reached the age where she ignores new things. She chewed up the ends of a few hoses when she first arrived as a 7-month-old puppy. Now she's about 2 1/2. Time flies! We forgot to celebrate "gotcha" days this year for Cookie and Pepper (September and June).

Every so often I go through a cleaning phase for small things. I use a couple of stainless steel strainers for loose tea that sit over the tops of cups and boiling water is poured through. Last night I added bleach to a cup that needed cleaning anyway and water and dropped the strainers and their steel cups into the mix. I scrubbed the little Japanese condiment bowls that they always sit on, and worked from there to clear the whole tea-making zone. It's a small declutter but it looked so bright and welcoming this morning!

Other cleaning (scrubbing) is due in a few places around the house, like a sponge and Formula 409 along the walls where the dogs always seem to rub and there is a darker zone. The paint is washable and needs it. This is in particularly needed in the bedroom wing of the house.

In my bedroom closet I've been looking at my shoes again. I'm thinking this is the time to look into the Dr. Scholl's shoe inserts or go ahead and donate a couple of pairs of shoes with absolutely no arch support. A woman at DSW told me she swears by them, and when she saw how much less the men's cost vs women's she buys the men's insoles and cuts them to size. And I see tips on the Dr. Scholl's site about cutting these things, so I guess that isn't a big deal. Have any of you used those various products? What do you think?