current state of mind: swamped
Electricity at rest is called static electricity.
Like in the winter, wearing a heavy coat,
You get a shock off the doorknob.
Or you scrape across a carpet
And sneak up on your very best friend,
And zap'em on the ear with a shock of-
Electricity, Electricity
~ “Electricity, Electricity” by Schoolhouse Rocks
Several weeks ago, I bought Elizabeth a very comfortable bean bag chair. It was in perfect condition at a fundraiser rummage sale. Initially, I was going to share it with her; but she loves it so much, I couldn’t bear to keep her from it. Plus, I have a hanging hammock chair in my living room and have no need to sit in a bean bag chair. Every day, as soon as I get home, I let Ebie out of her crate and she runs over and gets comfy in her new bean bag chair. It is adorable. Well, it WAS adorable . . .
Last week, I saw a wet spot on the bean bag chair. Of course, it was on the Lycra part that allows moisture to wick right into the area where all the Styrofoam beads are stored. Against my better judgment, I smelled the spot, in hopes that it was spilled water or a leaky ceiling or anything besides dog pee. My hopes were crushed by Mother Nature. Sometime, during the night, Elizabeth decided to pee on her bean bag chair instead of waking me up to go outside into the snow-covered yard. Grrrrrrrr!
To counteract the scent, I soaked the Lycra portion with Febreze. While it kept the room from smelling, it did not stop the chair from reeking anytime she laid down on it. Bloody hell, dog! On Friday, after work, I attempted to empty the bean bag chair of its hundreds of thousands of pellets. Unfortunately, the static electricity prevented me from actually filling a trash bag with the pellets. Instead, the pellets rolled out, coating anything within 3 feet of the bag. Some of the pellets made it in the trash; but most were on the floor. Elizabeth and Gracie took the opportunity to “investigate”, resulting in both of them being covered in Styrofoam pellets that were stuck to their fur. I cleaned them off the best I could. Looking around the room, I took note of the ocean of pee-scented Styrofoam pellets. Seeing no alternative, I grabbed the shop vac and began vacuuming up the mess. Those pellets are sneaky, and when the shop vac was full (which did not take long) the pellets started coming back out of the hose.
I ended up filling 3 trash bags worth of pellets by the time my doorbell rang. As I ran toward the stairs, I tripped over the trash can and sent a plethora of Styrofoam beads rolling back onto the floor. This action, of course, made Gracie and Elizabeth come running back over to investigate, resulting in both animals getting coated all over again. I groaned, and then ran upstairs to answer the door. I explained to my guest that I was having a major melt down and still wasn’t ready for the holiday party that we were heading to. When he walked down the stairs and saw the sea of pellets, he laughed and told me to get ready while he vacuumed up the mess. I did just that!
Fast forward to yesterday when I bought replacement pellets (which are not at all cheap, mind you). Luckily, they were 50% off and I felt less ripped off than I would have otherwise. As a preventative measure against future pee emergencies, I decided that I would place the beads in sealed trash bags, then stuff them into the bean bag chair, providing a little bit of protection from liquid spills. Of course, brand new clean Styrofoam beads are just as prone to static electricity as pee covered ones. And it took less than two minutes to spill hundreds of beads all over the living room as I filled the trash bags. Not learning their lesson from Friday, both pets came running over to see what was going on. Yes, they were both covered in beads AGAIN. In frustration I started lecturing Elizabeth. She just cocked her head sideways, perked her ears, and stared at me. I do NOT think she understood what I was saying.
The only saving grace (no pun intended) was Gracie. I couldn’t help but laugh at her attempts to get the Styrofoam off of her fur. Every time she would shake her leg to get a bead off, another one would cling to her from the floor. Eventually, I did get 4 garbage bags of beads inside the chair. No, it is not as comfortable as it was before; but it smells clean and Ebie will still lay down in it. A win-win in my book.
Girl Genius Out!
PERSONAL NOTE: I will get the kids’ presents mailed shortly.
CONFIDENTIAL NOTE: Have fun in Guatemala!
