Animals in the Kitchen

My grandmother was a stickler for cleanliness. Vegetables were usually homegrown, but washed in soap and water anyway. Dishes were done with bleach as well as detergent. Her floors were cleaned multiple times a week–when she lived alone. She never allowed her pets in the main house, housing them in a cooled “Florida room” instead. She was a wonderful, kind, generous woman who drove us crazy when she lived with us.

My cat has free reign over the house, which I keep pretty clean, if not visit-from-Grandma ready. I have adopted some of her compulsions and aversions, however. He’s only allowed on the beds and living room furniture, no desks or kitchen surfaces. If I know someone keeps a dirty house or lets their animal on the table, I avoid their food at potlucks and barbecues.

But I’m kind of a hypocrite because my favorite YouTube channel is Cooking with Dog, in which a Japanese woman demonstrates recipes while her poodle Francis snoozes beside her on the counter. Or dances beside her, if he’s really into the dish being prepared. Many of their videos have comments from viewers expressing dismay at this. But the relationship between the two of them and her high skill level are enough to keep me from being too grossed out by the potential germs in her kitchen.

Keeping animals off of work surfaces might be a minority view, however. I did a pretty unscientific poll of my friends and found that most of us allow our pets on furniture, including kitchen furniture. I even received a note from a friend of a friend telling me that people who don’t keep their pets clean enough to have on the counter top shouldn’t have pets at all. I can hear my grandma screaming now.

Now for some cozy things I liked today:

DIY of the day: Hanging water garden

Cleaning tip of the day: Use rubbing alcohol to shine and remove water droplet stains from bathroom fixtures. If you have hard water the stains will come back after a few showers, but your weekend guests won’t know that.

Good news of the day: In a trial, 8 paralyzed patients have regained some movement using VR technology