Inanimate objects playing hide and seek
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Many years ago, I posted about a missing step-stool, and the sneaky ways inanimate objects like to hide from us when we need them, even resorting to camouflage if necessary.
Similar bouts of objects hiding have occurred over the years, but not that egregious; I mostly brush it off as a fact of life. But now...
Short form: Now I need a couple of buckets, but can't find them.
Long form: I live in what is officially a semi-desert. I use water when I need it, but I'm always aware of not wasting it. I don't leave the water running when I'm soaping my hands or brushing my teeth. In my old trailer, the water heater was literally on the other side of the wall from my bathtub/shower; it took about three seconds to get hot water, so I didn't worry about wasting water while waiting for the hot shower to start. In my new house, the water heater is close -- about 10 feet away, across the hall -- but it still takes a minute to get hot water at the shower. I don't like wasting that water, so I have a couple of 2-gallon buckets. I stick one under the tub faucet, let the water run till it's 3/4ths full, then lift it out and step into the tub for a nice, hot shower. Later I'll use the bucket water to water my house plants and honeysuckles on the porch, or fill the cat water-bowls outside, or flush the toilet. Those buckets are not the problem; they're where they should be.
But those 2-gallon buckets are too big to fit under the bathroom sink faucet before I wash my hands. In the summer, I don't care; cold water is no big deal if it's only on my hands. But in the winter, I want warm water. I have some 1-gallon buckets -- 2 white, 3 red -- that are just the right size to save the warm-up water and use later. Fortunately, my bathroom is large enough to tuck several buckets full of water to the side until I use their water where necessary.
So the past couple of days, it's getting cold enough that I don't want to wash my hands in cold water. This morning I went looking for the 1-gallon buckets. I thought they'd be fairly easy to find; I'm almost finished with my "organize the workroom" project that I've been tackling off and on since Dad died. But notice the qualification of "almost"; there are still areas of stuff thrown in a cluster, waiting for me to decide where they'll be stored.
And somewhere in that disorganization, 5 buckets are nestled, sneakily hiding and demurely waiting for me to find them. I've looked under and around stuff in the workroom, under and around stuff in the spare room, and under and around stuff in the living room. (My bedroom is also cluttered, but that's clothes and books; no buckets.) I actually have a sense memory of holding them in my hands, and looking around while deciding where to store them... but no memory of where that magical spot is.
I'll do a more thorough search tomorrow; maybe if I do a little more of the organizing in the workroom, I'll stumble over them. And when if I find them, I'll document it here so you can laugh with me.
Do you suppose that they're pissed because I haven't used them in several months? Maybe.
. Comment at Dreamwidth by Name, Anonymous, or Open Id -
Many years ago, I posted about a missing step-stool, and the sneaky ways inanimate objects like to hide from us when we need them, even resorting to camouflage if necessary.
Similar bouts of objects hiding have occurred over the years, but not that egregious; I mostly brush it off as a fact of life. But now...
Short form: Now I need a couple of buckets, but can't find them.
Long form: I live in what is officially a semi-desert. I use water when I need it, but I'm always aware of not wasting it. I don't leave the water running when I'm soaping my hands or brushing my teeth. In my old trailer, the water heater was literally on the other side of the wall from my bathtub/shower; it took about three seconds to get hot water, so I didn't worry about wasting water while waiting for the hot shower to start. In my new house, the water heater is close -- about 10 feet away, across the hall -- but it still takes a minute to get hot water at the shower. I don't like wasting that water, so I have a couple of 2-gallon buckets. I stick one under the tub faucet, let the water run till it's 3/4ths full, then lift it out and step into the tub for a nice, hot shower. Later I'll use the bucket water to water my house plants and honeysuckles on the porch, or fill the cat water-bowls outside, or flush the toilet. Those buckets are not the problem; they're where they should be.
But those 2-gallon buckets are too big to fit under the bathroom sink faucet before I wash my hands. In the summer, I don't care; cold water is no big deal if it's only on my hands. But in the winter, I want warm water. I have some 1-gallon buckets -- 2 white, 3 red -- that are just the right size to save the warm-up water and use later. Fortunately, my bathroom is large enough to tuck several buckets full of water to the side until I use their water where necessary.
So the past couple of days, it's getting cold enough that I don't want to wash my hands in cold water. This morning I went looking for the 1-gallon buckets. I thought they'd be fairly easy to find; I'm almost finished with my "organize the workroom" project that I've been tackling off and on since Dad died. But notice the qualification of "almost"; there are still areas of stuff thrown in a cluster, waiting for me to decide where they'll be stored.
And somewhere in that disorganization, 5 buckets are nestled, sneakily hiding and demurely waiting for me to find them. I've looked under and around stuff in the workroom, under and around stuff in the spare room, and under and around stuff in the living room. (My bedroom is also cluttered, but that's clothes and books; no buckets.) I actually have a sense memory of holding them in my hands, and looking around while deciding where to store them... but no memory of where that magical spot is.
I'll do a more thorough search tomorrow; maybe if I do a little more of the organizing in the workroom, I'll stumble over them. And when if I find them, I'll document it here so you can laugh with me.
Do you suppose that they're pissed because I haven't used them in several months? Maybe.
. Comment at Dreamwidth by Name, Anonymous, or Open Id -