To Dust or Not to Dust is Not the Question...

 

...Which Hand Vac is the Question

 

 

Over the years I've built up a collection of snow globes. The great majority are inexpensive plastic ones that I've bought to remember travel, but there are two -- were two -- that had more meaning. One is from Churchill Downs and represents the Kentucky Derby. The second was a gift from friends at least a decade ago and showed a man with a big frown looking up at the falling snow. It was adapted from a "New Yorker" cover and it was my favorite snow globe. Tragically, on the way to a photo shoot for this blog, the man in the snow globe met a tragic demise and a million little pieces of glass and water, as well as the soapy solution in the globe, ended up on my living room floor. 

 

After some very careful mopping up I was left with a lot of broken glass in very small pieces. I went to my hand vac -- a Dirt Devil -- and remembered why I didn't use it often. The suction was just too strong and it just about sucked up the rug along with the glass. When I bought it I believed I was thinking I need a really strong hand vac, but in actuality, less is more. It's just not right for picking up crumbs now and then. I had had a very functional Dust Buster previously, and I bought the Dirt Devil to replace it, but the replacement doesn't work for my needs.    

 

This model Dirt Devil will be going to a new home and I am looking for a new hand vac. I am leaning to my old friend, Dust Buster, but I am interested in any suggestions about brands and models, before I get it. I'm looking for a simple -- nothing more than one speed -- appliance that will pick up crumbs or maybe a little glass. I've found over the years that the more bells and whistles I get on appliances the less I find those bells and whistles useful. I guess I'm sort of old-fashioned, but I don't have an ice maker in the refrigerator door and I am quite content with that.  

 

And about my snow globe disaster...

 

 

I turned first to Amazon and found that I couldn't simply order a new snow globe. It was the first product I have looked for on Amazon in my years of shopping there that I didn't find. But there were two listed on eBay, and thanks to "Buy it Now," one is scheduled to arrive here in the next few days. 

 

I had a nice day between storms and got to the gym and the grocery. Tomorrow I hope to be out early and do my errands -- library and post office -- before freezing rain arrives. 

 

As ever, thanks so much for your visit. Take good care and keep cozy!

A Few of My Favorite Things...Snow Globes

I'm introducing a new theme, sharing some of my favorite things with my bloggy friends. I have a few collections, some like postcards go back many years. Others, like snow globes are relatively recent. I started collecting right after September 11th with a snow globe of the Twin Towers and it just grew from there. Most of my collection is in the office and I've bought some, but a number have been gifts from colleagues. I have had two mishaps getting them back to New York. The snow globe from the Cayman Islands broke in the suitcase and the snow globe from the Clinton Library in Little Rock was confiscated by airport security for having more than three ounces of liquid.

A close-up of three of my favorites, Park City, Utah -- where I took a hot air balloon ride -- Memphis and Sitka, Alaska.

I keep a few at home, too. Here is one from the Edison home in Fort Myers, one brought as a gift from Barbados and my favorite, a snow globe based on a cartoon in "The New Yorker." The poor soul in the globe is standing with a snow shovel contemplating the endless amount of snow he has to shovel. He stands right by my computer and I never tire of watching him.

Anyone else a snow globe collector? What are your favorite things?

Take good care and hope everyone is having a relaxing and happy weekend.