Mama Has a Brand New Bag

Yesterday I took my final exams. The exam in advanced algebra was at 9 a.m., and the exam in business law was at 2 p.m. I finished the algebra exam at 10:30, so I had time to kill until 2. So I went out and bought myself a new vehicle because I figured I deserved a treat. It's sleek, sporty, German engineering, with accessories and horsepower, and it turns on a dime. It handles like a dream.




My new ride--the Dootmobile:


Not a car! I am not excited by cars; I buy one every 7 or 8 years, generally used, and then I drive it until it is ready for the scrap heap. I'm a vacuum cleaner fiend! Well, who wouldn't be with 6 cats and 2 rabbits, all of them shedding, shedding, shedding? Which is probably just an excuse. I love vacuums of all types, but especially the German ones. I literally vacuum some room every day. BF rolled his eyes when he saw it, but even he admits it's pretty cool. And it's not like I came home with a Porsche, is it?

I was shattered by the end of my exams, and came home and had myself a nice four-hour nap. I got up around 9 p.m. and puttered and did needlework until 2 a.m., and then I slept another 8 hours or so. Today I felt almost human, although school starts again in a little under three weeks, and next semester may well be rougher, since I'll be commuting to Maryland on Saturdays. But that's another day. In the meantime, I spent a leisurely day stitching...and vacuuming!

Here's some progress on "Dorothy's Garden," which is done on 34 count Legacy linen in cafe au lait, using Au Ver a Soie silks. The designer of this is A Stitcher's Hand, and I can't say enough good things about the charting. Each page is clear, and it's immediately obvious what part of the design you need next when you finish a page. The symbols are large and clear.

"Yazziebear called me the little dummy sidekick dooter. I am not a dummy!"

Edited to add, because of the question about what kind of vacuum it is: it's a Miele, and it'd be considered a stick vac, although it's heavier duty than most sticks. We have a half-dozen vacuums, and my very favorite for carpet is a big upright Sebo (also a German machine). It's very powerful, very smooth, and relatively quiet, plus it does not have a belt, so there's no belt to break. We have a large Miele canister vac, which has a power head as an attachment, with a beater bar for rugs. It's also quite powerful and relatively quiet and has a long, long retractable cord. I use it mostly for uncarpeted floors. I have been using a Eureka Mini Mite for stairs, bathrooms, little places, because it's light and has pretty good suction. The big cleaners are wonderful, but they're heavy (metal parts instead of plastic ones mean they're not as easy to take from floor to floor). The Mini Mite has a high-pitched scream and a short cord, so it's deafening, plus I constantly have to unplug and replug. The new small Miele stick is to replace the Mini Mite--it is much quieter, has a bigger bag, isn't much heavier, and its cord is about 3 times as long. They're more expensive up front, but they have lasted longer than my U.S. vacuums, and all have been trouble-free. The bags are more expensive too and you need a big vacuum center to stock them (although you can probably get them online), so I don't recommend them in terms of cost, but I do in terms of getting something that does a really good job and will last with daily use on all the hair and tracked cat litter.