midcentury modern

As I mentioned in a previous post, my husband Chris and I moved into a new house last fall. This shortlist covers four discoveries and one rediscovery made as a result of taking up residence on Freeman Street.

Discovery #1: Neato Robotic Vacuum

Somehow Chris found time while waiting on me hand and foot after knee surgery to research robotic vacuums and purchase the Neato D-9. His mother had bought a Roomba years back when they first came out and promptly returned it because it didn’t do a very good job. I’ve no idea how Roombas do now, but the Neato is NEATO. They sure named it well.

What sets Neato apart from the others is its shape–a D with a flat front and rounded back. That means it gets into corners better than a fully rounded device. It’s also laser-directed, so rather than just bouncing off obstacles, it sweeps a fully articulated pathway. It “learns” the rooms, and if it encounters uncharted obstacles goes fully around them, picking the path back up on the other side. It also switches between hard surfaces, carpet and area rugs without missing a beat.

While some other robotic vacuums also have apps you can use to schedule and direct the device, Chris, who has a technology background, thought the Neato software provided more flexibility without investing in add-on devices. Watch the video for more information.

For the first time in our lives, under the bed and sofa is pristine because the Neato goes everywhere an upright vacuum can’t without moving furniture. It sure has made cleaning our house a lot easier. I can’t even remember the last time we had the old vac out of the closet. NEAT-OOOOOOOOOOO!!

Discovery #2: Palmer’s Cocoa Butter

My physical therapist recommended cocoa butter post-surgery to massage my knee replacement scars. Many products say they contain cocoa butter but it’s way down the ingredient list. We chose Palmer’s because it was more pure and less expensive.

Not only do I use it on my surgery scars, but I’ve started using it as a hand cream. It absorbs well, doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy, and it really softens and soothes. I have a tough time with tears in the skin around my fingernails. For years I found Clinique Dramatically Different body lotion to be the best therapy for preventing and healing those tears. But then, as I used the Palmer’s on my scars, my hands started doing even better. Seems like I keep finding new places to use it–the place on my nose my CPAP mask rubs, the heels of my feet, even my chappend lips.

The Clinique is $35 a bottle. I just bought two jars of Palmer’s on Amazon for $8. And it smells wonderful, too–like vanilla!

PS: It’s Scout-approved!

Discovery #3: Midcentury Modern George Nelson Ball Clock

I’ve always loved this clock style and finally found the perfect place for one in my new home–my sewing room!.

That’s my sewing machine in the foreground, my Ottlite in the middle, and my ball clock on the wall, in perfect viewing distance so I don’t lose track of time while sewing. I smile every time I see it.

The clock style was invented in 1947 and was actually a collaboration between Nelson, Isamu Noguchi and Buckminster Fuller. Thanks, guys, and tick-tock to you, too!

Discovery #4: Museum Wax

I collect micentury modern pottery–mostly West German–often referred to on ebay as “fat lava” for its thick, often colorful glazes. This colorful pottery began being produced after World War II in an explosion of creativity. Some pieces were one-of-a-kind and studio-made, but quite a bit was mass-produced and hand-glazed. It’s collectible not only because of its beauty and the variety of forms, but because West Germany no long exists as a country.

That’s the brief history lesson. Now for RECENT history and a lesson learned by me.

Our new home has nine-foot-ceilings, extra tall kitchen cabinets with crown-moulding and no bulkhead. I thought the top of these cabinets would be the perfect place to display some of my larger vases to great advantage. Visitors would see them as they came in the front door and passed by the open kitchen.

What I wasn’t banking on was Scout, my two-year-old cat (pictured with the Palmer’s_ to find go exploring away up there. Yet indeed he did; I think via countertop to refrigerator and so on. Though I didn’t see him make the jumps, I did HEAR the result from my study: an incredible crash and a terrified Scout scampering away from the kitchen to hide under the bed.

On the kitchen floor was one of my vases, shattered. After I shouted a while at Scout, then cried, then pouted, I put on my big girl panties and ordered some Museum Wax–sometimes called earthquake wax.

You simply scrape some out of the jar, roll it into balls, press the balls onto whatever you want to secure and press that down onto the supporting surface. When you want to remove, simply twist the item and the wax will release. Remove any you can’t get off with your fingers using a plastic pot scraper. It shouldn’t leave any residue or stains on any surfaces.

When I finally found risers to use in my pottery display, I put three dabs of Museum Wax on the bases of each riser to secure it to the cabinet top, pressed down hard, then added three more dabs on the base of each vase and pressed it down hard to its riser. I’m hoping not to lose any more vases to Scout, though he was up on the refrigerator just yesterday, eyeing the cabinet tops as I shooed him down.

(re)Discovery #5: Sunsets

Chris and I used to enjoy watching the summer sunsets from the side yard of the two-storey home we lived in 20 years before moving into a single-level condo. The condo had a terrific patio, but it faced north and blocked any other views. No more sunsets.

But the patio in our new home backs out onto a lake with a western exposure. In fact, we can see sunsets from inside or out year-round because a bank of windows and glass doors spans the entire back of the house.

Granted, there’s a couple hours each afternoon when we have to pull the blinds because of the sun’s direct hit, but once it starts to sink behind the tree line across the lake, the show begins. A show I never tire of, different every evening.