Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Oh no, Paparika!

When I came home from the gym on Sunday, I found two ounces of paprika sprinkled on my living room floor. Oh, no. Here's Papa's guilty face when I told her she was naughty.

Although two ounces might not seem like a lot, it is when it’s a bright color on a beige carpet. (She also tried to shake some other spice, too, but didn't get far with it. You can see the container at the top of the second photo.)

On a related note, I saw a video of a talk that Kevin Roberts gave at Wharton. One of my favorite points: Emotion leads to action.

The stain spurred me to action. I vacuumed and used a stiff piece of paper — those blow-in cards are useful — to pick up as much paprika as I could. But here's where I went wrong: I liberally sprayed Resolve and scrubbed. Apparently I was supposed to dab. Oh, if only I had had my usual rational reaction and researched and overanalyzed my options. Alas, my decisive action only intensified the stain.

On to the next step. After borrowing Christa's Little Green carpet cleaner and making several attempts, the stain was slightly faded — but still prominent.

So today I went to Lowe's and explained my situation. A very helpful employee suggested the Capture products. They are enzyme-based cleaners that dissolve stains. I bought the aerosol: you just spray and then repeat if necessary. It's working, but I think I'll need several applications. Another Kevin Roberts principle: Fail fast, learn fast, fix fast. I hope I handle the next stain more effectively.

The bigger problem: I think I overbonded with Papa when I got back from my vacation. Two days of naps and walks and kisses and Frisbee might have been too much. Sigh. I hope I don't need to Papa-proof the house, but her dismantling of spices and pens worries me. She acts up the most when my routine changes. She can handle being alone for hours, but gets into trouble when I leave the house more than once a day. Any ideas to quell her naughtiness, other than me staying at home?

2 comments:

himani said...

I was looking for Paparika images when i came across your dogs photograph- being a dog lover my first thought was -oh the poor dog... so glad nothing had happened to her:-)

Naomi said...

Thanks! Papa always seems to be fine afterward (and ready for the next adventure). :)