Nugget

The Nugget play couch comes in four pieces, base, cushion, and two triangle pillows, and can be configured as anything from a fort to a sofa.  It is perfect for small children, allowing them to use their imaginations, and toddlers, as they learn to scoot around.  For an adult, it can be a nice addition to their home workout room, bring a little comfort to a hard floor.  The Pinterest link below shows a number of ways the Nugget can be arranged.

Shout out to Emma for this cool idea!

https://www.pinterest.com/chodges1029/nugget-ideas

Important Display Message

The most current iOS upgrade turned on a feature to tell you if a part was detected that the phone could not verify as a genuine Apple part.  Since this iPhone 11 had its cracked display replaced at Batteries+Bulbs a while back, I guess they don't use genuine Apple parts.  That might be more important to some and less to others, and while it's nice that Apple is letting you know in case you didn't know, it's also self-serving as they want you to have your phone serviced at one of their stores.

Regardless of the merits of the above, the wrong thing Apple did was make this notification stick around without an option to dismiss it.  It might sound a bit picky, but we're annoyed with those red bubble counts hanging around as shown on the Settings app icon on the righthand picture below.  Fortunately, it should go away in 15 days, trusting the ZDNET article at the link below.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/apple-youll-be-warned-if-your-iphone-11-uses-a-non-genuine-replacement-screen

Knives Up

Yet another example of me doing things wrong for my whole life was recently brought to my attention.  I have always stored my knives, those that go in the vertical slots, with the sharp edge on the bottom, not ever thinking as I slid the knives into place that I was dragging them against the wood.  Guess what that does?  Yep, dulls them.  Duh!  They are now sharp-side up.  A few more tips are listed at the link below.

Big shout out to Deborah K. for this sharp tip!

https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/how-to-store-your-knives-the-right-way

 

Bushnell Wingman

If you're still looking for a Christmas gift for your music-loving, distance-impaired golfer, the Bushnell Wingman will solve both.  It's a high-quality Bluetooth speaker that at a push of a button delivers audible front, center, and back distances on tens of thousands of golf courses.  It's held to the cart with magnets, making mounting and dismounting a snap.  What will they think of next?

https://www.bushnellgolf.com/products/gps/wingman-speaker

Cooluli

Our B&B room in Saint Augustine, Florida came with a Cooluli tabletop mini-fridge.  It was perfect for keeping a few bottles of water chilled without a large footprint.  The Classic series, shown below, comes in three different sizes (4, 10, and 15 liters), and there are a number of other models, none cooler (pun intended) than the two retro Coca-Cola versions, which you can see at the link below.   

https://cooluli.com/collections/all-products/coca-cola-series

Market Square

Last Saturday was a beautiful day to visit the Market Square area in downtown Pittsburgh (or "dahntahn" in Pittsburghese).  Busy day with the Pitt Panthers taking on Wake Forest for the ACC football title, followed Sunday with a home game for the Steelers against their rival, the Baltimore Ravens (or the dirty birds as I like to call them).  The skaters were out in force, circling the monstrous Christmas tree seen below.  Not shown are all the people, like me, that hold on to the railing and drag themselves around the rink.

https://www.marketsquarepgh.com

 

Opening And Closing Days

As pictured below from the Orchid Island Golf Club in Vero Beach, Florida, ladies' opening day was October 28, followed by the men's opener the next day.  Compare that with Walnut Grove Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, which had their ladies' closing day on October 1st and their men's closer on October 12th, and the message is clear.  The time to migrate south for the winter is right in the middle of October.  When one door is closed, another one opens.

A Quart

We all know that a quarter is 25 cents or a quarter of a dollar, but it took 66 years for me to understand, thanks to my son-in-law, that a quart, like milk, is one-fourth of a gallon and that's why it's called a quart.  Short for "quarter", get it?  I am such a dope.

Big shout out to Rodney for opening my eyes!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quart

At Journey's End

Our lodging at a recent stay in downtown St. Augustine, Florida was "At Journey's End", an adorable, and reasonably priced, B&B a few blocks walk to all the area has to offer.  The owners, Mike and Robin, were very helpful in getting us settled in and offering advice on new restaurants and activities.  The breakfasts, or brunches as Robin likes better, were over-the-top delicious.  A parking space was available in the back, a welcome amenity in a parking-constrained area.  

https://atjourneysend.com

 

Transition Strips

After the new carpet on the stairs was installed, it was up to me to add the transition strips to complete the project.  After a lot of thinking on how best to get the tightest seam, I decided to cut the track to the width I needed, cut 1-foot pieces of T-moulding and end-molding, and pushed them on the middle of the track.  I then pushed that firmly against the carpet and marked the holes with a Sharpie.  I drilled the pilot holes and screwed down the track, as seen in the first picture below.  I cut the molding to the proper width and pushed them into the track, shown in the second picture.  Totally happy with how it turned out.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/PERFORMANCE-ACCESSORIES-Saddle-3-4-in-T-x-2-1-8-in-W-x-78-3-4-in-L-Laminate-4-in-1-Molding-M4IN1-05059/316754914