• Where our electricity comes from

Why do electrical wires look so messy and dangerous? An unvarnished pole of treated wood rises like a mast against the sky, a pole strung with taut wire, with slack wire that mysteriously loops, strung with cylinders like industrial beads, wires stitching the neighborhood as far as the eye can see.

I do not want to live without electricity, so I aestheticize the wires that deliver it in order to find beauty in the power that heats my shower, illuminates the darkness, and runs the appliances I rely upon. Electricity toasts my daily bread to perfection even when it’s raining. I love my old toaster, cheap and made in China. Its label also reads, “Fabriqué en Chine,” which suggests the same Black and Decker toaster is sold in Paris, an artifact of the global cosmopolitan economy.

• Used small appliances

I shined up the beloved toaster for a photo op, but it’s not a photogenic small kitchen appliance. I am selectively impressed by kitchen appliances, especially pieces with bright enamel finishes. Many small appliances are not in the least attractive.

I particularly despise hotel hair dryers that are mounted on the wall, and wouldn’t you know it? The house we currently live in came with such a hair dryer.  I’ve investigated removing it, but it seems like a project. I try to gloss the wall-mounted hair dryer’s existence, but I’m terrible at ignoring things that bother me. It takes so much effort to maintain an unencumbered life.

• Pictures of myself/yourself

Taking photos of the wall-mounted hair dryer, I caught my image in the vanity mirror. I don’t know about the majority of people, but I generally don’t want to see pictures of myself. I feel about as photogenic as my old toaster, though I love myself just as much. Then again, maybe the majority of people don’t like their own pictures, and that’s why filters and digital editing are so popular. I’ve never felt like my exterior matches my interior, and maybe other people feel it too.

• Garbage

I don’t know which is worse, pictures of garbage OR pictures of people’s wounds, scars, stitches, pink eye, funguses, boils, warts, etc. I am not in denial concerning the frailties of the body and what can assault its orifices and skin, nor am I in denial about the amount of garbage we produce weekly in our house. Both are just so REAL, I don’t want to see the pics.

• Weeds

Not all weeds are equal, and some are particularly nasty.

Prickly weeds that spring up on the lawn to stab and jab my bare feet have to go. The prickly weeds have deep roots like anemic turnips that can only be unearthed with a sharp trowel. No one wants to find prickly weeds in the grass. And I cannot stand the invasive vine that strangles the flower beds with its woody root system. I can pull out the vine all day, and the next day, it’s sprouting again.

Some people think dandelions are weeds. For me, they’re genius bursts of sunshine that nourish the air we breathe. The bright blossoms lift my spirit and are nectar for honeybees. Dandelions grow all over the world, and humans throughout known time have used the plant for nourishment and an array of medicinal purposes. The dandelion is a royal plant; the word “dandelion” comes from French and means “tooth of the lion.” Whenever I see a lawn of dandelions, I don’t think “weed.” I think praise be for what’s in the world that is beautiful, useful, and REAL.