The neti pot trick for me was getting the right amount of salt and baking soda; I mix 2 parts salt to 1 part soda and of that put about 3/4 of a teaspoon into a cup of warm water that is poured into the pot half at a time. It was a lifesaver during that last head cold, soothing and washing out the usual cold kind of gunk.

Walking the dogs this afternoon was a nice stroll around the neighborhood and a loop of the park; the only person we saw was the jerk who came through a gate in the fence at the side of the park and he proceeded to let his dog take a dump, that he didn't scoop. There's another small wild spot on our walk that has similar evidence of similar disregard of the polite thing to do when walking one's dogs. In a state with no rules about who can carry a gun, it just doesn't pay to shout over to the guy to scoop the poop. Get your brains blown out.

This evening I tackled a job I've put off for ages. Months. Possibly years. The little fridge that came from a friend's house (he lost the house to the bank, we moved out a lot of stuff to empty it when the bank offered to pay him to do that) and has sat as the overflow fridge in my kitchen since then. I shift shelves every year and use it for brining the Thanksgiving turkey in a large stock pot. It's an old fashioned type with the little freezer compartment on top and the fridge below, and ice was built up in the freezer and at the top of the fridge area. About 30 minutes of pointing the hair dryer at the small glaciers finally dislodged three very large chunks (and a half-gallon of melt water). I had a large mid-century upright freezer I used to defrost once a year, it was a huge project (it has been replaced with a new frost-free unit). This job wasn't so bad, I only use the fridge part and all of those contents fit into the regular kitchen fridge for the duration. When I look at this little fridge I remember the life that my friend had with his (late) partner and how much fun it was to visit them over there (I took my kids over one Christmas to see the huge decorated Victorian dollhouse on the dining room table - it was magical!) Before his partner became ill and then died, they had a really had a wonderful life, and this little fridge that sat in the interesting bar in their living room is a reminder of those charming days. Who knew; a fridge as memento.