Now, this is going to be weird

We are about to move back into our house after living elsewhere for three years. Wow, that's a long time and it will involve three moves total for the round trip since we left in August 2006.

Some observations:

• The neighborhood hasn't change much except that the curb trees have gotten a lot bigger and now need to be cut down and replaced because the city in all it's wisdom specified the wrong ones in the first place. (Then they want to charge you $75 for a permit to correct their mistake.) All of our close by neighbors are the same, just older.
  
• Lawns don't take care of themselves. Ours is now on life support after three years of renters. The landscape guy said to give it six months to see if it comes back with some TLC (like water!).
• Little things mount up. A loose screw here, lack of cleaning and dusting there. Pretty soon things fall off or turn to very stubborn grime. I've always believe that half of life is showing up and the other half is paying attention. When something doesn't look right or sound right, check it out and have it fixed -- now. Or it'll just get worse and cost you more down the road. Deferred maintenance is a prudent idea only for so long.
  
• The house seems so big compared to where we've lived the past three years and especially while it's empty. The temptation will be to overfill it -- again. We got rid of a ton of stuff when we moved, so hopefully we have a new religion on stuff. It will fill up fast and despite all the stuff we purged when we moved out, we are going to need to purge even more.
  
• We've made enough changes that it will feel like a new old house to us. Familiar, but different. We're moving the rooms around to get more value from our investment (are houses still an investment?). No more living room. That was the room that collected dust and little used furniture. People felt forced to go in there when we had too many house guests. The too-small family room will become the just right dining room. And, the living room/dining room will become the very big and comfortable family room.
  
• We're getting more energy efficient with a new 95% efficient furnace (the old one died a year ago) and considering replacing more windows. Already went for the cordless electric mower to pamper the ailing lawn.
  
• We always hated the white cook top, so it's been replaced with a very sleek black model. Ditto on the refrigerator. Black to replace the disappointing stainless steel version. Stainless steel anything seems like a great idea in the appliance store, but our experience is that it's a disaster in the kitchen. Proceed with caution.
• We've already made some new rules about "stuff." The pantry can only be half full of food. The other half is for non-food items and cooking utensils and appliances. No duplicates. If we've got two of anything, one of them gets given away or goes to Good Will.
• Unclutter. This will be a great test to see if we can cut the clutter for real. If there's no place for something then it goes. We're no longer saving/storing things for "someday." The attic is all cleaned out of packing boxes and carpet remnants and non are going back up there.

Well, this is a start. Once we've lived back in the house for a month or so, I'll report back on how best laid plans are working out.

Change is in the air

Even Republican misrepresentations and scare tactics won't be enough to flaunt the will of the American people and stop the inevitable changes coming in how Americans purchase and receive health care. This is hardly a surprise given how out of touch the GOP has been with the wishes of Americans over the past several years. Those who have had their heads stuck in the sand for years will finally be bowled over by the huge momentum gathering among Americans for health care reform.

A new poll out today and published on the front page of The New York Times shows that Americans overwhelmingly (72%) support a government-run health care option as a prime means of driving down the cost of health care. It's particularly telling that opponents in Congress don't even have a majority of their party behind them as 50% of Republicans favor the option.

We will continue to see the Fear Card played as the primary reason for not reforming health care, but the truth is that the opponents have no solutions or proposals. They just want to stand for the "haves" in an era where they are increasingly endangered species. The "no" option is ringing hallow with most Americans who understand that change is not only needed, but required. We cannot continue to prop up a bloated and out of touch health care system that does not act in the interest of the vast majority of its constituents.

Despite all the arguments about how awful health care is in other countries, there's no denying the data which show that life expectancy in countries with government health care (France, Italy and Canada) is higher than in the US. We are paying more for less and the American people are saying enough. Now it's up to our politicians to put our wishes into action. This is another ticking time bomb for Republicans in particular. Their argument has no clothes since they can hardly say it's not broke. In the end, they're left with their default argument -- be afraid, be very afraid.

Costco to sell only 90+ wines under $15?

Costco is denying a rumor published in Examiner.com that it plans to sell only wine which receives a rating of 90 points or higher and sells for $15 or less. Speculation was based on a recent study of Italian wine drinkers that showed that they maintained the same quality of wine they were drinking in better economic times, just drank less of it. Americans are drinking the same amount, but drop down a step in price.

From discussions I've had with my friends, I would say this is accurate of many American wine drinkers. This does point out one of the dilemmas facing the wine industry since it's also believed that once people trade down, they tend to become comfortable there and don't move back up.

Also interesting speculation on the wine drinking habits of millennials. They don't care about scores, but are focused on value and prefer regional labels.

Shaving the old fasioned way

With Father's Day coming right up, it's a good time to offer my best gift suggestion for Dad. This is something I discovered while living in London and absolutely fell in love with. Shaving the old fashioned way with hard soap and a badger brush.

I'd always shaved with foam or gel -- something that comes out of a can. I'm not even sure what compelled me to give old fashioned shaving a try. I think I was in a store, like Evelyn & Crabtree, one day and started asking questions. One thing led to another and I gave it a try. Shortly after that I bought a kit for my son-in-law and he, too, loved it.

You basically need two things -- shaving soap and a good shaving brush. Not only do I get a much closer, smoother and enjoyable shave using the soap and brush method, but the soap lasts forever. I'm still on the original soap and mug I bought in September 2007 and I use it every day except when traveling! I expect it'll last several more months. So, from a pure cost standpoint, it's a great deal.

I use the hard soap that often comes in a mug, but you can buy the soap and mug separately. Soap refills are relatively inexpensive and can be ordered online. I've not used Amazing Shaving, but plan to give it a try. I recommend the hard soap because it'll last much longer. But, you can also get a soft soap that is more like a lotion. I like creating the lather from really hot water. I just use a normal Gillette razor.

Here's what Amazing Shaving says about shaving soap:

Shaving soaps provide a longer lasting lather, warm the face and are hygienic; they improve skin circulation; they’re 100 percent biodegradable; and most important, they just smell so darn good.

Shaving soap cakes are generally easier to use and provide consistently good results. They also typically cost less than shaving creams.

A good quality shaving soap will have the ingredients necessary to produce a rich moist lather to soften the beard, moisturize the skin and lubricate the face to make it easier to slide the razor across your skin.

The brush is the key piece and the most expensive. You can pay hundreds of dollars for a really good or fancy one. The best ones are made from badger hair. I paid about $50 for mine and bought it at Portland Cutlery on SW Broadway near Pioneer Place. It seems to work well, but there are probably better ones. You'll also need a stand for the brush since it should hang to dry properly. They come in all sizes, shapes and materials.

So, before you get Dad one of those electric shavers, consider stepping back in time when men where men and they used real soap and straight razors. I can almost guarantee you he'll be delighted with his gift.

Chardonnay search

Still in search of the great American chardonnay. The Wall Street Journal last week did its annualish survey of affordable US chards and they liked Newton Red Label, Chalone, Clos du Bois (get it cheap at Costco), Heller Estate and Simi. Overall, they felt that while chards have improved some from their last tasting, the 2007s still leave a lot to be desired.

I'm going to try Costco's Kirkland Chardonnay and will report back. It's currently in stock at our Costco for $8.99. May pick up the Clos du Bois as a comparison as well.

New Costco discoveries

After being missing from the shelves for a month or more, Costco finally has Purell hand sanitizer back in stock. This is the waterless hand wash that is so wonderful when you can’t get to a bathroom or the one you can get to is so disgusting you refuse to use it. For $10.99 you get three pump containers and three small personal sizes to fit in a purse or briefcase.

My guess is that there was a huge run on Purell during the Swine Flu panic. Now, Purell seem to have caught up with demand. This stuff works great and is a must for traveling.

With Fathers Day, anniversaries and graduations cramming the calendar this month, don’t forget about Costco’s restaurant gift cards. They’ve got a bunch, but I picked up two $50 certificates for McCormick & Schmick’s for $80.

Costco also has a nice selection of designer ties and ballistic pinpoint button-down dress shirts for $16.99. This is another Kirkland brand item that simply can’t be beat for quality and value at a great price. Everybody should have a blue one and a white one. They are classic in any wardrobe.

Also, look for Kirkland Napa Chardonnay. I’ve tried this before and it was what I call interesting and worth every penny at $8.99. I’ll report back after trying again.

Finally, the shelves were nearly bare of notebook computers, very unusual for Costco. So, I asked the salesman why and he said they will be fully stocked on June 26 when new computers arrive with Windows 7 upgrade coupons. They will come with Windows Vista installed, but you’ll get a free copy of Windows 7, Microsoft’s new operating system, when it’s available in October. This may finally be the “buy” sign new computer purchasers have been waiting for. I’ve been using Win7 for about a month now and can vouch for what a solid product it is. If you’ve been holding back on a new computer, now is the time to buy.

Latest gadget, but it may be the best

Since I decided to take the plunge and sign up for Sirius satellite radio, I've truly fallen down the Internet radio rabbit hole. And, I'm loving every minute of it. About a month ago, I took the next big step and bought a Sonos player primarily so I could get my Sirius service off the Internet and not have to worry about the quirkiness of the temperamental antenna.

So, I should first explain exactly what Sonos is and how it works. It's been around for a few years and I had always thought of it as a solid though expensive way to share music around your house and certainly cheaper than wiring the whole place. Believe me, I've been there, done that and it's a giant pain in the rump and the wallet. But, what I didn't realize is that Sonos is so much more than just a way to distribute music. It's also a gateway to Internet music and if you've not experience it, you are in for a real treat.

The Sonos device (I have a ZonePlayer 90) connects to the Internet via your wireless router. Just plug and play, no passwords, user names, etc. It then sends its output through my AV receiver. But that's just the half of it. You can buy additional ZonePlayers, with and without amps, that you can put in other rooms and connect to speakers. The music is transmitted wirelessly and it's great quality. But, there's more. You can play different music in every room and indpendently control the volume in each room. You can put together a system like this for around $1k.

The Sonos comes with its own hand-held controller or you can download a desktop controller that runs on your computer or you can download the controller app to an iPhone or iPod Touch free. The controllers are all excellent and give you vast control over a massive music library.

So, enough with the equipment. It's all about the music. Not only can I access Sirius and my iTunes library, but Internet radio and Internet music services such as Pandora (free), Napster, last.fm and Rhapsody. I sometimes wonder why I even bother with the iTunes anymore. I can literally find anything I want and play it instantly online. Or, you can build your own stations with the artists and songs you love most. Just put them together, tailor them and play them. You can even pass your playlists along to others on Pandora. Sonos also lets you build custom playlists drawing from all your music sources. Amazing.

My guess is that a music snob with amazing equipment would find fault with the quality of the music over the Internet. Most services are at 128kbps. Rhapsody is at 192kbps. But for relaxing background music while you're entertaining or just hanging out, it's more than just fine. If you're a music lover and if you like all kinds of music as I do, this really can't be beat.