BBBC 2016 #2 – Everyday Things

Today’s prompt BBBC 2016 is “an everyday item in your house.” That prompt can be interpreted in so many different ways. I’m anxious to see how other participants incorporate that prompt into their posts.

Speaking of which… Thanks to David of Life on Two Wheels, the blogger who joined BBBC most recently, for the idea to include links to each participant’s prompt-specific post when I publish my daily entry. There’ll be a list at the bottom of each of my daily posts, which I will try to update regularly. Not everyone posts first thing in the morning you know.

Anyhoo.

I think most bloggers will agree it’s not always easy coming up with things to share one one’s blog. Not to mention finding the time to create a proper post. It’s not as easy as you think, trust me.

Everyone sees the world differently, right? We think about things differently, too. Even the most ordinary, seemingly mundane things can set the brain into overdrive. Depending on the time of day. In the wee morning hours, I’m lucky if a sight even triggers a spark.

Hubby's Stuff
Hubby’s Stuff

There’s nothing artistic about that shot. It’s not even visually appealing. But it’s a sight that warms my heart.

Seeing scenes like that periodically transport me quite a few years back to the day a girlfriend’s father died. His death was sudden and unexpected. After leaving the hospital, we went back to her parents’ house. I was standing in the kitchen, looking at her father’s multi-day pill container. The kind with little compartments that have flip-top lids stamped with a label for each day of the week. The lids were raised over empty compartments for the first few days of the week. The rest of his meds were still in their sealed, marked spaces, ready and waiting for him to ingest.

That morning, when he’d taken his meds, he had no idea he’d never stand there to take his pills again. He had no idea he wouldn’t be needing his pills after that day. Imagining that one final fleeting moment, the briefest of instances that probably seemed so ordinary and insignificant to him at the time, moved my friend and I to tears.

So, yes, seeing Hubby’s wallet and iPod, on the counter where he leaves it every day makes me happy. It reminds me of how lucky I am. I have a husband who loves me. He’s a good man. He treats me well (most days, anyway), and he makes me laugh. He likes to cook. We take turns cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, etc. He’s a live-in riding partner, travel companion, dinner date, etc.

I’ll stop. I’m guessing everyone gets it by now. But I really AM lucky.

Teaching Opportunity
Teaching Opportunity

What can one learn from a bowl of raw eggs sitting on my kitchen counter? A tip we learned from our son, which Hubby has been using A LOT lately. You’ll like this, too, especially if you like hard-boiled eggs, but hate peeling the little bastards.

Set some eggs on the counter the evening before you plan to boil them. Sitting at room temperature does something to the eggs — I don’t remember all the details — essentially changing them from Grade A to Grade B. Boil them as you usually would. You’ll see, when it’s time to peel them, that the shell comes right off. Really. This is apparently common practice in commercial kitchens when Grade B eggs aren’t available for purchase (Eric is working his way toward becoming a chef).

Faces in Places
Faces in Places

Our toothbrush holder, which we’ve had for MANY years, was sitting empty the other day when I saw it and realized it looks like a face. I’ve seen that thing thousands of times and never saw a face before. Why is that? And now, every time I see the thing, I see a face.

You know how once you see something, you can’t unsee it? Of course, I’m not usually seeing the happy face as shown in the picture, but a poor, unfortunate dude with a toothbrush sticking out of each eye socket.

image1
Office Decor

Yes, I like frogs (and toads). And yes, I like quirky stuff. So I have quite an assortment of frog and toad stuff in my office. It’s concentrated here in this room because Hubby can be a bit short-sighted at times and doesn’t share my affinity for kitschy amphibian decor. Silly man.

Oh, and I do realize the big yellow guy is not a frog. It’s an M&Ms candy jar. I just happen to love his happy, yellow color.

The long skinny thing is a string of ceramic angels I bought in Bassano del Grappa, a picturesque town in Italy we visited in 2012 about a month after my Mom died. She loves angels. It was one of those moments where, as soon as I saw it, I thought, “Ooohhh, Mom would love that. I have to buy it for her.”

But then I remembered.

So I bought them for myself, instead. Both to remind me of her and that life is fleeting.

We never know how long we have on this Earth, do we? Or how long our family, friends, and other people we love will be here.

It’s important to appreciate the little things. Don’t fret over small stuff, but take time to smell the roses, too. It’s a delicate dance. And that’s all I have to say for now.


See how other BBBC 2016 participants interpreted today’s prompt.

How did the other brave, bold bloggers respond and/or interpret this daily challenge? See for yourself!

If there’s no link in the above list, that blogger hadn’t yet posted at the time of my writing. I’ll do an update as soon as I can. You can always use the link to each blogger’s home page in the list provided below.


This Year’s Brave, Bold Bloggers…

Be sure to visit their blogs to see how each interpreted this challenge.

11 Replies to “BBBC 2016 #2 – Everyday Things”

  1. Ha-haa! I love it: “…a poor, unfortunate dude with a toothbrush sticking out of each eye socket…” No doubt an unsettling scene to stumble upon when shuffling off to brush and gargle first thing in the morning. Pert near as bad as waking up to a severed horse head in your bed…

    “Don Corleone sends his best wishes. Capisce?”

  2. I always buy eggs weeks in advance of needing to boil them. Fresh eggs are hard to peel when boiled but old ones have lost some of their moisture through the shell. Or at least that’s the explanation I’ve heard.

  3. What a great tip. What a shame that I don’t like hard boiled eggs.

    Nice post Kathy.

    Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but I am never short of stuff to write, it’s only time to write that always seems in short supply.

    1. David, I don’t like hard-boiled eggs either, but do use them in recipes and salads. I also eat them when pickled with red beets, which Pennsylvanians call “red beet eggs” as opposed to pickled eggs.

      Lack of time is an issue for me, too. I hope I am still blogging when I retire. I may never shut up!

  4. Thanks for the tip about the eggs! For some reason, we have been discuss hard boiled eggs a lot lately but hadn’t gotten around to actually boiling them, so we will try this now. 🙂

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