On the Eighth Day

Ahhhh! Things look the same around here but they sure feel different after a relatively productive weekend.

TV off. One step in a forward direction. Start. Just start.

Yesterday began with "I'll just clean a blind". One blind led to another. And another. And so on and so forth. Clean blinds led to vacuuming screens and cleaning the inside of the windows.

I stopped for lunch. Most days that would have been the end of me but before I stopped, I parked the vacuum cleaner at the top of the basement stairs.

I'll just vacuum the stairs. Forward momentum didn't take me as far but it took me to the cardboard recycling bins a few times. I picked a few more weeds on my final trip home. 

All I had left to do with the day was to add a few side dishes to go along with the ham I had cooking most of the day (I like my ham dry and overcooked). I think I may have overdid it a little:

I had the mantra "If I make it, they will come" chiming through my head as the aroma of the ham slowly cooking wafted through the day. Please! Let someone drop by and take me out of my misery. I had done enough. I was ready to stop.

Maybe no one likes overdone ham the way I do. I have enough meals to take me through the week and beyond. My future self feels very taken care of.

On the eighth day, after a five day work week and a two day work weekend, I'm ready to head back to work to rest. 

Sludging Through

It is the weekend. A long weekend, at that. And I'm having a tough time tackling my one-thing, one-step at a time laundry list of to-do, should-do and must-do items on my eternal task list. 

Summer. Days are long, weather is warm and there is NO snow. You gotta love it. Right?

Well? I like it. I really do. But I find Summer to be demanding. Lawn to mow. Weeds to tend. Garbage bins of fallen pinecones. Windows. Car. Everything around here needs a good spring cleaning. Everything. The downside of it all is it never ends. Grass and weeds just keep growing. Pinecones keep on falling. Windows? I love them. I really do. They are just so needy.

Winter. Short days, cold weather and snow. Despite its drawbacks, it's more forgiving in some ways.

It may snow a lot for several days running. But there is always a break. Granted, that break may come with ice, wind, unseasonal melting creating more ice ... but there are reprieves. 

Snow is different than grass (yes, I am a rocket scientist, aren't I?). Snow comes in ebbs and flows. Grass just keeps growing until fall when it takes a bit of a break. Grass always needs something. Snow? Once it's shoveled, it's good (unless there is wind - that is another story).

Those short, dull winter days don't focus on your dirty windows and dusty house. Winter says, "Take a break. Relax. Save your energy for the next snowfall." Summer says, "Go while the going's good. Sun is shining! Take a good look at that dirt and DO something about it."

It is barely past the middle of May and I'm looking at this needy yard that surrounds my home. I like it. I really do. But really? I just washed windows. Now you want me to mow the grass and deal with the excessive pinecones too?

I sludged through yesterday. Slowly (and I mean slowly) but surely, I (eventually) washed all the windows on the main floor. Inside AND out. What gratitude do I get? The sun pokes around a new corner of the earth and says, "You missed a spot!!"

Aaaack! Summer? You are so demanding. I'm still glad you are here.

Guest Ready

Preparing for guests is truly a gift to myself. I do little other than ensure bedding, bathrooms and the house in general is fresh, clean and tidied up. Oh, and food. Prepare food. Simple, easy to serve sustenance. I do these things for myself but, more often than not, not all at the same time.

There is a potential I may have overnight guests. The possibility is there but certainty evades me at the moment (darn snow!!).

Thus, I climbed out of bed and directly into a forward momentum this morning. Washing sheets and a load of darks is well underway. I have two beds (out of three) guest-ready.

Meat is thawed for a make-ahead slow cooker meal. That will simmer as I clean bathrooms, dust and vacuum. I may get some soup simmering too.

If my guests opt to come today, I must shovel out a spot on the driveway for them (darn snow!!).

No matter what happens, I am truly the benefactor of this motivational push. I deserve clean sheets, bathrooms & house as much as anyone. I will reap the benefits of having some meals made ahead. It is a win-win situation.

Will clear snow for guests ... personally, "I know a guy (company) with a Bobcat" and I'll wait.

One Tab at a Time

I was making a cup of coffee to bring with me into my cozy little writing spot, wondering what to write about this morning. I had scribbled the words "Multitasking - like a two year old when I ran my daycare". As I thought that thought, instead of pouring milk into my coffee cup, I poured it into the small glass where I keep my daily vitamins (so I had my vitamins with/in milk this morning and several hours ahead of schedule). Apparently, I can't even think and make a cup of coffee at the same time these days. 

Talking? My brain to mouth connection is going. I'm thinking one thing and saying another. I catch myself at times "Did I just say 'chicken'? I meant to say 'kitchen'." Other times someone else catches me, "You put the sheets in the oven? [washer]" As often as I catch myself, I wonder how many times I don't.

Housecleaning? I prefer to focus on one task at a time but when expecting company, suddenly there are at least sixteen things I want to get done. I flit from one task to the next, leaving a trail like a young child does when they lose interest in a toy. I would smile to myself when I found one toy dropped when a new one was picked up, find the new toy and the same chain reaction. I find the vacuum cleaner, lights left on, rags and cleaning accessories in much the same manner as the two year old who dropped a toy when they found something more interesting. 

Work? My office zone is like nothing I have worked in before. I'm a stickler for organization. A place for everything and everything in its place. If I could stick to one task when I work, I would get so much done. But the phone rings, an incoming text or email or someone dropping off something. All work-related, each requiring my attention. I drop what I'm working on and pick up the new toy piece of paper, work on that distraction and often get distracted again (and again) before I'm back on task. 

I also have a little problem with multi-tabbing while puttering away on my own time. I open one tab on the computer to listen to a podcast; open a second tab to work on word/number puzzles; get stuck on a puzzle so open a third tab to start a new puzzle and go to the one I'm stuck on later; need a clue to figure out an answer to a puzzle and open a fourth tab; then decide to check on my bank and credit card balances; then remember I had some emails to follow up on .... 

Aaack!! At what point does a person wonder if they have a medical condition? Spitting out the wrong words is worrisome. Catching myself in the act is a relief. Finding cleaning tools strewn about the house is exasperating but I do remember how I got pulled off task and eventually it all gets done. I'm getting my work done and meeting deadlines but I almost forgot a deadline this month and we are at the half way mark. Multi-tabbing is something I consciously deal with. I take a deep breath and consciously close the excess tabs. "One tab at a time, girl. One tab at a time."

I used to feel like a multitasker extraordinaire. I prided myself on starting six different tasks, knowing each of those tasks would be done. Now? When I find the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the hall after a day or two? I put it away. I close the tab on that. 

One task at a time. One tab at a time. If only life didn't come with so many distractions ...

Gen-DriveThru

"Gen X"  is where I officially fall within the Baby Boomers, Millennials and the Gen-classifications. But as I wandered through my morning, I began thinking that I belong to the Gen-Instant-Satisfaction era.

Drive-thru restaurants where you don't even have to get out of the car to enjoy a meal you didn't have to make has now been expanded to ordering groceries online and popping the trunk to let someone else load the groceries they have selected, scanned and then deliver/load right into the trunk of the car. Shopping online, where all you have to do is wait for the delivery date of said item. Phone appointments with anyone who doesn't need to physically see you. Instant access to movies, TV series and any number of things you may be interested in seeing are as simple as signing into your video streaming account, YouTube or any number of online videos available. 

Googling anything that has spurred my interest has become my most fascinating diversion. My most recent deep dive into the interwebs has been in search of Jane Fonda's quotes, interviews and books. I love listening to Glennon Doyle's podcast "We Can Do Hard Things" but have longed for a "Glennon" who is older than me. Someone who has experienced what I have, as I hit my Third Act (as per Jane Fonda). Lo and behold, Glennon/Abby/Amanda interviewed Jane Fonda on their podcast last week and I think Jane is the mentor I have been looking for.

The moment Jane spoke of starting over again at age 62, I thought to myself "She gets it!! She has already waded through this phase I've hit!" I immediately reserved her book Prime Time from the library (reserved online, of course, and a quick in/out trip at the library through the self checkout was almost as simple as picking up groceries) and I started thumbing through it last night.

I haven't delved deep into the book yet but as I leafed through some of the chapters that caught my interest, my attention was drawn to the need to move/walk/exercise regularly to maintain one's physical health. Moving a little and continuing to live a sedentary life is not the solution. 

So walking alone is not my answer. Walking is good for my body and good for my soul. I can feel it with every step I take (except when winter walking conditions prevail). What I need to add to that recipe is to come home and continue to do something physical. Clean that room. Organize and cull those piles. Keep busy and moving. But (and here is my excuse) I have a bookkeeping job to do. Then I spend the supper hours sitting idle with a senior who finds it hard to move and walk freely.

I cannot blame my job(s) for my inactivity. It is a pretty good alibi but I am the one who is responsible for sitting idly in front of the TV or computer or couch in my down time.

Thus, I started thinking of my desire for a drive-thru, instant gratification option for my lack of desire and motivation to move and live life in a healthier fashion. Could I hire someone to come in and clean the house and organize my office? If only I could start from a clean slate, certainly I could maintain it.

If only ...

If only came and went three years ago. At the end of our home renewal (reno), "all I had to do" was keep on top of the cleaning/dusting/cat hair. When I started working from home when pandemic recommendations suggested work-from-home alternatives, I started with a perfectly clean and organized office. All I had to do was keep it up to date.

I had my clean slate and now it is all dusty, cat-hairy and the piles of papers in my office make my knees go weak.

Instant satisfaction is what I am craving. The answer is to pull up my socks and just do it. This aligns with Jane's advice to stop living such a sedentary life. All the stars have aligned. The answers are staring me right in the face. 

So why am I craving McDonald's so badly right now? Yes, I am officially one of the Gen-DriveThru era.

Let the Dominoes Fall Where They May

July 21/22 7:28 a.m.:

One week ago, I wrote the post "Come Walk With Me". I wrote about my decision to take the better of two options as I navigated my early morning. This morning I chose the alternate options.

I woke up early and was eager to jump into the day so I skipped my morning stretches. Bad news: the effects of stretching are immediate. I was much less limber as I moved about and got dressed. Good news: the effects of stretching are immediate. Tomorrow morning, when I DO decide to take the time to stretch, I'll be right back where I was yesterday.

I opted to skip my walk in lieu of jump-starting my podcast/puzzle time with my morning smoothie. No nature stories to divert my attention and get out of my head a little. Straight to the business of puzzling and listening to other people's words before I listened to my own. I missed that space to just "be". 

I have a list of household tasks to accomplish today. Windows, vacuuming, washing floors, de-cat-hairing, a side order of dusting and an errand to run. I have bookkeeping work to tend but hope I can accomplish my home-work tasks while still keeping on my top of work-from-home agenda.

House work. Work from home. It is truly no wonder why I love my little weekend oasis away from home where it feels like real life doesn't exist for a few days.

I wrote these words, walked away and tended to (almost) all of the above.

And it was good. The energy I spend procrastinating is so much better invested just DOING one thing I want to get done.

Once I start something, provided I am not distracted by something that jumps the line, the domino effect of one thing leading to the next, the next, another and yet another little task is how I manage to accomplish what-must-be-done.

I crossed a lot of hard things off my list that particular day. I had one distraction I was able to easily tend to (something that has the ability to completely derail my intentions), but I got back on track. 

It was so much easier to wake up the next morning knowing I had accomplished what I had set out to do. It was easier to WAKE up, not so easy to GET up. Those stretches I neglected before I got out of bed? When my achy body woke me up in the middle of the night, instead of reaching for pain relief in the form of a pill, I did my stretches without leaving the bed. It was all I needed to get back to sleep and live to wake up and stretch another day.

Ahhh! Sometimes those ahhh-some moments find their way into your day in the most unexpected ways. Accomplishing something you have been putting off? Ahhh-some! Finding relief through stretching verses a pain reliever? Ahhhhh. Waking up the next morning with vim and vigor to tend to the few items left on that list? Ahhh! Then tackling your day job with that same vitality and tending to one more of those tasks that have been put on the do-another-day list? Ahhh [said with a huge sigh of relief]!!

What small action can you do today to bring a little bit of that Ahhh-someness into the moment? It doesn't have to be a big thing. Sometimes simply getting out of bed and getting dressed is a feat unto itself. Other times? ONE small step can lead to another and you may amaze yourself. If not today, another day. Let ONE domino fall and see where it takes you.

Baby Steps

I set a goal for myself on Sunday:

To have an "Intentional Day".

A day without TV, computer or cell phone. 

Unplug and set my intentions on "something".

My goal? 

To make these boxes disappear from the living room:

So what did I do?

I took out the pot I use to boil potatoes.

I replied to a few emails.

I picked up a book and read. 

All day.

Until 4:00

I sprung into action when my adult child stepped into the shower

 and forewarned me it would be a long one.

Aha! A goal at last:

See how much I can do for the time it took to shower.

Step 1 - Peel and boil potatoes; start supper preparations

Step 2 - Empty the living room of the wall-full-of-boxes

Step 3 - Vacuum

Step 4 - Assemble supper

Step 5 - Relax and enjoy the meal

I succeeded in my mission:

Next weekend's goal? 

Find a home for and empty a box.

One box at a time.

Baby steps are better than no steps at all.

Here Comes the Sun

Sunrise is coming a lot earlier these days and seems to be kick-starting me into guilt much sooner than has been usual.

With the sun, comes a renewed sense of motivation. Or is it just guilt when one does not act upon it?

As per usual, I am having regular flashbacks to my daycaring days. I remember how the sun shining into the kitchen spurred me into action. Sunlight is not forgiving. Dirt, dust and grime shows up best when the sun is beaming in on it like a laser.

These days, our kitchen collects more dust and cat hair than anything else. Perhaps I should waking up a little earlier so I can utilize that sun superpower to my advantage. Open up doors, windows and blinds and deal with all the dust and cat hair it reveals.

Working from home comes with many advantages. One of them is the ability to make up for lost time on one end of the day or week. As long as the work gets done, it doesn't matter when I do it. 

Maybe I could fool myself into house cleaning if I cleaned on a week day and worked on a weekend. 

Maybe I could vacuum before I start work.

Maybe I could work fifteen minutes worth of dusting into a lunch break.

Maybe I should do something, rather than sit here and write my wish list like some mystical being would come and wave their magic wand and make all my wishes come true.

No matter what way I spin it, I am so happy the sun is waking me up and stirring my thoughts into action. 

Here comes the sun! The rest is up to me.

Weekday Hacks

Why is it that I seem to have the ambition to do the harder, more mundane household tasks on weekdays than I do on weekends? And why in the world would I talk myself out of doing some of those "hard things" when I work from home and can interchange weekday-work with weekend-chores as long as my job gets done?

I stumbled onto this hidden treasure trove of energy on "Friday mornings". Anything I must do that will result in sweating or getting dirty is done Friday morning before I wash my hair. My scope of work is not large and anything I choose to do has time limitations. 

Eureka! Having to complete a task before a set time is a game changer. Long gone are the days when I devoted entire weekends to house cleaning, organizing, de-junking and basic "seasonal cleaning". I do much better with time constraints.

The addition of a new filing cabinet spurred on a flurry of ambition this past Sunday afternoon. I cleaned and organized until I was satisfied, then even put in several hours of work Sunday night. Getting to work in my office Monday morning was almost fun. 

Except, I still had ONE shelf in the closet to empty out so I could utilize it for office storage. The "clearing out" part was simple. The hard part was making space for the bedding I had stored on the shelf.

I woke up yesterday morning, looked up at the shelf and thought "There is no better time than 'now' to clear space for all this shelf holds". I went straight downstairs and started to work. I couldn't take on the entirety of emptying our wall full of shelving in the laundry room but I DID empty, clean and sort through at least one third of it.

I emptied and washed down the shelf in my office closet, moved the contents downstairs into the storage space I created, then came back upstairs to find this:

As soon as I started loading the shelving with items not related to cats, my furry friend ran off. And this was the final result:

In the other corner, my new filing cabinet:

Atop the filing cabinet sits the only personal touch within my home office business space. A quote from Glennon Doyle, reminding me to just keep going. One foot in front of the other. Forward steps. Do not let perfectionism stop me in my tracks. 

Setting foot in my office brings me joy. Yes, I continue to feel overwhelmed at times but having a semblance of control over my environment has made a vast difference in the way my days roll.

I woke up this morning and decided I didn't "have" to get up at 6:00 a.m. I wasn't trying to squeeze in a hair color before my day began so there was no need to get a head start on the day. Instead, I slept in until 7:00 a.m. What a rebellious act. Sleeping in on a weekday! 

Two weekday mornings in a row, I tossed in a side order of "weekend" and my load feels a lot lighter.

That said, my lost hour has caught up with me. I must head into my most excellent office space and get the day started.

May you too, find "weekday hacks" to make your journey to the weekend just a little easier to bear. 

Cooking and Housework

I have stumbled upon a very valid justification as to why "cooking and housework" fall to the bottom of my to-do-list more often than ever before. My excuse? Working from home.

Having my job move in with me is a perfect diversion from cleaning the fridge, culling and shredding obsolete paperwork and a bazillion other little tasks I could and should be doing. I do what has to be done. Our home is quite presentable and the untrained eye would say it is just fine. Only I know what deep dark chores lurk within the nooks and crannies of our humble abode. 

Then there is this household task called "cooking". Any cooking must be done before I step into my home office for the day. Once my head is work-mode, cooking is the furthest thing from my mind. Lunch consists of food of the grab 'n go variety. The closest thing I come to cooking during a work day, is toasting a bagel. I must know in advance what I'm going to pack for my supper meal otherwise I'm in trouble as I race out the door to my second job. 

One would think I would make up for lost cooking time on the weekends. One would be wrong. I tend to go to one of two extremes - a complete and total catatonic state OR I do some extra bookkeeping work. 

Yes, working from home has become a perfect alibi for me to get away with murder (or in my case, it absolves me of cooking and housekeeping duties).

Yesterday morning, I woke up to the onerous task of making spaghetti and meat sauce from the hamburger I had thawing in the fridge. I was supposed to cook this the day prior. But I worked instead. Working and cooking cannot co-exist within the same 24 hour period UNLESS I only work a half day (my rules - don't question them).

Plus, a can of tuna was sitting on the counter beside the tomato paste for the meat sauce, begging to be made into tuna salad for my favorite lunch of all time - toasted tuna sandwiches.

You can only imagine my angst as I looked at all this work taunting me before I stepped into my work day. I did not back down from the challenge. I took on the job before me. An hour (maybe an hour and a half?) later, the kitchen was back in its pre-cooking state. My lunch and supper meals were ready to eat and grab on the fly. And spaghetti & meat sauce was sitting in a ready-to-eat state within the fridge. 

All evidence of the work I had just accomplished was swept clean and I went on to live another work day.

Mom once reminded me of a comment I made when I was a child. I wished there was a pill I could take instead of having to eat. I was not a big fan of eating in those days. 

Then I grew up to be a mom myself and wished I could just go to the store and buy a huge bag of Kid Chow, the way I could buy Purina Cat and Dog Chow for our pets. 

Now? I could exist on a rinse and repeat menu of the same meals day in and day out. No thinking required. Smoothie and coffee for breakfast; toasted tuna sandwich for lunch; chili & rice for supper; Pringles, something sweet and Diet Coke for snacks. Oh! And my newest delectable find of all? Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies from Walmart's bakery section. 

Just think how easy it would be to buy groceries if the need for variety within one's menu didn't exist? I may have more energy for housework if I didn't have to cook. 

Housework Hurts

I took on domestic chores in a very selective and time limited way this weekend.

Day #1 - I cooked. Egg salad, mashed potatoes and Stove Top Stuffing. I thought I would never get out of the kitchen. 

I love boiling eggs. They are the best food to cook. No fussing required. They were so easy I almost forgot I had boiled them. Then came the peeling part. The shells came off in a bazillion pieces. Why in the world did I boil so many eggs? Eventually I completed the task and knew it would be worth it when I sat down to enjoy a egg salad sandwich later. It was a little crunchier than usual. Some egg shells must have got by me. 

Then I peeled potatoes. Boiling eggs is so much more fun. I used up the remainder of a ten pound bag of potatoes. I swear I must have peeled seven of the ten pounds. It felt like the bag would never run empty. I knew there was a finite amount of potatoes in the bag so I forged on. It took forever but eventually I completed the mission.

Once the potatoes were cooked, all I had to do was mash them, clean up the kitchen and I could move on with my day. I went about the task like I always do, plugged in the mix master and whirrrrrr!!! The power switch was on and I counted my lucky stars that my finger tips just missed the whirling beaters. If I hadn't cut my fingernails, I'm pretty sure I would have got tangled up in them. I'm not a big fan of cooking but I've never considered it dangerous until yesterday.

I survived the first day.

Day #2 - I vacuumed. I've already written about this (see below) so I will say no more. Except I caught the tips of my toes in the beater bar of the vacuum cleaner. Not only is cooking dangerous, so is vacuuming. 

There is a reason cooking and housework have fallen to the bottom of my to-do-list. They are death defying feats for the inexperienced. Domestic duties should come with a warning label.

I barely survived the weekend with my fingers and toes intact. 

To Infinity and Beyond

I know the definition of infinite. I look at our cats and I know there is a finite amount of hair on them. But when it comes to vacuuming said hair? There is no end.

I vacuumed for three hours today. Then I sat down at the computer table in the kitchen and there are black cat hairs violating the space I just vacuumed. 

This all started because I washed my sheets this morning. My morning ritual of using the lint brush to rid the bedding of excess cat hair was topped up with vacuuming the quilt, then throwing it in the dryer to "fluff" and collect any cat hair that remained. There was lots.

I proceeded to vacuum every most of the nooks and crannies in my room. At one point I was standing still and a tuft of black hair wafted right into my line of sight. I vacuumed the air around me.

I vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed some more. I vacuumed the baseboards, some walls that had stray cat hair on them, doors, tops of the door frames, the foot pads on the chairs, end tables, couches, the stove (yes, the stove top too) and so much more. 

Cat hair was everywhere.

I started dreaming of owning hairless cats then admonished myself for being so racist when it comes to cats. I like cats with fur. I have a tendency to prefer black cats. I like short haired cats. Male cats. If the cat kingdom knew my thoughts, our front yard would be littered with cats protesting "ALL cats matter".

Racist or not, I like my cats with hair. To infinity and beyond!

Observations

Is it just me? Or are others noticing things they have never seen before as we navigate our course through this coronavirus era?

I have never had dry wrists before. Apparently I've been washing my hands wrong all these years. Moisturizing my hands up and beyond my wrists is becoming my new normal.

All the added hand washing has led to much more time in front of the mirror. I have decided to wear eyeliner "just for me". I don't like the look of myself much to start with, but the lack of "eyes" makes it harder to accept my appearance as it is.

Speaking of my appearance, all this mirror-gazing has led me to the decision to dye my roots after all. There is a LOT of gray throughout my head of hair. Vanity swoops in for the save.

I've been battling a sore eye for three weeks now. I sleep with eye drops at my side so I can hydrate my eyes when they wake up dry and sore in the middle of the night. I finally thought I was on the other side of the sore-eye-syndrome until I decided to put on eye liner after the weekend. My eye soreness resumed almost immediately. Is there a connection? I'll experiment another day. I have the time.

I have started dressing up for my day job. Primarily because not only have I outgrown my jeans (this was prior to self isolating), but my yoga pants are even tight! My new exercise regimen of walking to the printer numerous times throughout the day may make a difference in the long run. But for now? My dress pants are the only comfortable attire I own. The bonus is, I feel better about the way I look when I find myself in front of the mirror (again), washing my hands.

I find myself gazing out the living room window throughout my days, which has actually created some excitement about making time for window washing this weekend. I have disciplined myself to work within my allotted work hours, otherwise I may be tempted to squeeze this task into my work day like I used to putter at little household and yard tasks during my Daycare Days.

There is no multitasking in the bookkeeping world. You work or you don't. I choose to work. I am so very grateful for the job I have. In fact, I can honestly say I LIKE what I am doing. I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize this. Chores can wait. I am so pleased to actually be looking forward to tackling something outside of my home office.

I am seeing life through a new filter. Since I'm home so much, the incentive to tackle the yard work and housework is higher than usual. It is less of an item to stroke off my eternal to-do-list and more of an incentive in improving my daily scenery.

It's going to be a busy weekend. Hair coloring, window washing and raking. The trick will be to do this in the right order. I'm not so bored that I choose to deal with the aftermath of washing my hair more than one time during my days off.

What is coming into focus for you as you make your way through this time of self-isolation, social distancing and extra-curricular hand washing?

I am grateful for a life that is so unaffected by all that is going on within this world of ours, that I can waste my energy pondering such inane thoughts. I've always appreciated living within this safe little bubble I call my life. As we walk further into the days of COVID-19 pandemic, I am grateful. So grateful for what I have.

Best of Intentions

This has been sitting idle in the hallway for the past five days:

I hereby dub this scene "Best of Intentions"

Housecleaning 101

One of the best parts about our main floor renovation was that after the dust settled long enough to vacuum it all up, for one hot second the entire main floor felt clean.

New flooring, fresh paint, new light fixtures, baseboards, window coverings ... you name it. It was new and fresh out of the package.

It was such a good feeling to know everything was clean.

Enter ... the cats. And dust. And life in general.

It has been almost four months since the completion of our renovations. I have vacuumed, swiped down and washed these new surfaces more times than I can remember. Then last night I looked up at the kitchen blinds and noticed they needed to be washed.

I bought this handy dandy little item when I was all excited about amassing cleaning tools to keep our renewed home all clean and shiny. It sat unused until last night:

It works like a charm. It isn't perfect. It needs a little assistance from a wet cloth and I used the dust buster to clean my cleaner.

I only "cleaned" a few slats last night before putting aside this little gadget for another time. The time was this morning.

I decided to clean a blind while I made myself a cup of coffee. I stepped upon a little step stool we have in the kitchen to reach the top blind and raced with the kettle to see who could complete their task first.

I was doing well. I needed to grab the bottom of the blinds to keep them from moving while I was cleaning. Cleaning tool in one hand. Blinds in the other hand. Then "WHOOSH!" ... my step stool slid out from underneath me on my newly cleaned laminate flooring.

Luckily, I caught myself with my elbows on the counter top and simply resumed cleaning. 

Then I thought of the other option in the "choose your own adventure" fork in the road in this morning's life events.

What if I hadn't caught myself and I had conked myself on the head while tumbling to the floor with a blind and cleaning tool in my hands. The irony of sustaining a life altering or ending injury while CLEANING is not lost on me.

See?! House cleaning can be dangerous! Especially when you are out of practise. 

Crying Over Spilled Coffee

I know there is earth shattering news going on in the world around us and I go on here about cats, birds, renovations and the mundane natterings within my mind. But do you mind if I get one more minor rant off my mind? It will take your mind off your troubles for a minute.

I just need to carry on a little bit more about this thing called "laminate flooring".

I know laminate, hardwood flooring, leather furniture and anything/everything that can be cleaned up with a little elbow grease is all the rage right now. I have read very little about the downside to all of the above.

I could go on and on about wafting cat hair and the need to install a vacuum cleaner that sucks up whatever is floating in the air as well as what is accumulating on the floor, baseboards, walls and doors. But I've done all that before. Enough said.

This one is about spilling coffee.

I was heading into our most enjoyable, comfortable and cozy living room with a cup of coffee, a plate of toast and my cell phone in my hands. I don't know what or how it happened but I ended up spilling the top quarter of my cup of coffee as I walked into the living room.

We have an area carpet in the living room and as luck would have it, my coffee spillage overflowed onto the carpet. Thankfully the majority of the liquid was on the laminate and I reminded myself of the benefits of laminate over carpeting. Had I spilled coffee on brand new carpeting I would have been thoroughly disgusted with myself.

Score one for laminate flooring. I sopped up my mess, dabbed the excess coffee out of the carpeting, washed down the carpet area, then laid a towel under and above the carpet to absorb any excess moisture. I wiped up the coffee that had splattered from here to eternity on the laminate, then washed the floor. Each time I moved the mop, I was more and more amazed at the expansive area this minor amount of coffee covered.

Fifteen minutes after the spilled coffee incident, I was back where I started. My toast was cool, my coffee was warm and I was wearing the scent "Eau de Café" on my sleeve. I was annoyed I had spilled coffee on our new carpeting but I forgave myself and carried on with my day. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are more serious issues going on in the world these days. I was the better man and let it go.

Fast forward to three mornings later. I finally decided it was time to cross the picket line on my self induced ten day vacuuming strike. I pulled out the vacuum cleaner and set about my merry way, vacuuming the endless cat hair we have been inhaling, drinking, eating, wearing and sleeping with lately.

I was feeling a tad miffed about the whole ordeal. Vacuuming is time consuming. The hair was everywhere. I had finally made my way out of the kitchen and into the living room when I spotted some splatters on the wall. "What got spilled here?!" I muttered wordlessly. The tone of my inner voice is a snarky one. I was a tad bitter.

I started wiping down the wall, then hit the baseboard where cat hair is now sticking to the caulking between the wall and the baseboard. What cleaner cleans cat hair that is adhered to caulking? The tone of voice in my mind was getting harder to listen to. "Grrr ... laminate. Grrr ... cats! Grrr ... I hate vacuuming!"

Then I noticed more splatters on the wall. And more. It was three day old coffee!! Not only does spilled liquid splatter far and wide horizontally when it gets spilled on laminate, it splatters upwards as well. The walls, the baseboards, the table legs ....

Yes, all of the above is washable. Yes, I should have thought to look upwards as I cleaned up my mess initially. Yes, this is honestly not a real problem in the whole scheme of things. "First world problem", my brother would gently remind me.

I am so very grateful for our new flooring. I truly am. I love our cats. I really do. I'm glad to have an easily washable house. I am! But cat hair + laminate flooring = excessive need to clean.That is the formula I'm not loving at this moment in time.

I thought maintaining that-which-is-new would be so easy. I would wash down the cupboards, the baseboards, the doors and dust the cat hair off the walls on a weekly basis. I would pick one chore per day and just do it as regularly as I make my bed every morning. But the need for bi-daily vacuuming has zapped the little energy I have in me these days.

I am done. I am going to stop ranting now and appreciate the little things ... like listening to the birds who have moved into our attic.

Best Before Dates

In an archaeological dig within the remnants of a life I have a feeling a lot can be learned about a person based on the "best before" dates within their kitchen.

This seed of an idea was planted this past weekend when I went to assemble several consecutive meals. As I tried to cover all food and beverage basics and provide options, I dug into the archives of our kitchen cupboards and without even trying, I unearthed one great truth I know to be true. Life as we knew it stopped in and around 2016. The year my daycare closed.

Within one meal, I found a can of iced tea crystals, a can of corn and a bottle of salad dressing, all of which expired in 2016.

In one quick glance of a cupboard, while researching this post (a few moments ago) I found another batch of dry food items which either were created before "best before dates" were the norm or else expired in the years 2016 through 2018.

The expiry dates reveal food preferences, dates of life changing events, free food items, coupon availability, the lack of clearing out the cupboards and the inclination to believe "expiry dates are for wimps (see previous research here).

I amassed different groceries for different ages and stages of my life, my children and who came to visit.

Dry food and canned food items are a preference of mine, as each of these items withstand the test of time better than fresh food. In case of an unforeseen emergency, these are good food items to have on standby.

My inclination towards thriftiness is yet another reason I hold onto things longer than the date the retailer recommends.

Plus? I'm kinda lazy when it comes to culling old food items.

Our freshly renewed kitchen is holding onto many great secrets of mine. All of which can be discovered by digging deeper than the recommended "best before date".

Marie Kondo, I need to sit down with you and continue the process we started at the onset of this new year. I started your process, went through an entire main floor renovation with your inspirational words "Does this spark joy?" running through my mind on repeat and I still have a kitchen that holds onto expired food items. Even after the culling process was (supposedly) complete.

My one true wish is that I do not live beyond my own personal best before date. Yet my kitchen is the graveyard of many such items. It is no secret that I have a hard time letting go and moving on. Armed with this realization and seeing the words written before me don't hold the impact they should.

I would prefer to utilize that which we have before throwing it away. I vow to ensure everything passes the smell test and that nothing within the dry ingredients moves independently before I use them. This is all I can promise for now. Baby steps...

Meandering Thoughts

Nothing too terribly deep or thought provoking has been tumbling through my mind this extra-long-weekend.

I have woken up to four glorious days of "I Get to Stay Home Today!!" and it has been completely and totally amazing. I love being home. I adore mornings when I awake to the knowledge I don't have to pry myself out the door. It has been nothing special but everything wonderful all wrapped up in one small package.

Yesterday, Jet (cat) & I woke up and watched Planet Earth together. This morning Ray (second cat, technically the First Cat) hopped off the bed, threw up on the floor, hopped back into his sleeping spot and continued to rest like nothing ever happened (yes, I need these gentle reminders to nudge me into remembering why I LOVE our laminate flooring). There is truly nothing like waking up to these two black kitties resting on opposite corners of our king size bed.

I issued several invitations into the world. Some worked, some didn't, some were delayed yeses, some resulted in a deep and meaningful telephone conversation instead and ALL of the invitations resulted in me cooking meals this weekend.

I don't do much when I stay home but I DO try to cook (or provide food in some capacity - sometimes it is frozen; other times it is ordered in). Some people may have done yard work and cleaned the garage. Me? I cooked. Twice. Plus, I barbequed hot dogs one night. I feel like a super hero.

I am coming out the end of four days off and I have little to show for it except for leftovers in the fridge. I have a calm and happy heart too. Does that count for anything?

Weekends such as these make me wonder what retirement may look and feel like in my small little world. On one hand, I would hate to create a life where I didn't fully appreciate these wonderful, glorious "small nothings" that mean so much to me. On the other, I totally want to create a world where these extra-long-weekends came about on a somewhat regular basis.

I am lucky enough to have some flexibility within my work world. Maybe I can recreate this four-day-weekend from time to time. Maybe I already have done this (I just checked my calendar to find I have created extra long weekends the past three months).

I do live a charmed life. My wishes are granted on a fairly regular basis. I hope I never get to greedy and hope for more than is attainable. This is a pretty good balance of work/play/family/down-time. I honestly don't believe I could hope for more.

The Quiet Before the Company

My siblings are coming! My siblings are coming!!

Yes, a spur of the moment email suggesting we try to get together has resulted in our upcoming weekend plans.

We are a very fortunate family of four. We enjoy each other's company. We gather in good times and bad and anything in between. We haven't been together as a family for six months and the dawn of spring seemed like a very good time to invite everyone over.

We can be a little wishy washy with planning at times. So in the spirit of "Mom", rather than vaguely invite everyone saying "Any time is good with me", I suggested we try to pick a date around either Mom's birthday or Mother's Day. 

Mom's birthday was yesterday and we shall all be together tomorrow. Although Mom won't be the sole focus of our gathering, I'm sure both her and Dad will be present in spirit and mentioned often. 

I ended up with the day off from my bookkeeping job today, so I have the luxury (?!?) of six extra hours to prepare. 

My to-do-list consists of:

• make ice (freshly made ice especially for my sisters)
• vacuum "Mom's room" (the bedrooms have been sealed off from the cats since I washed all the bedding)
• wipe down mirrors
• wash couch cushions 

The list grows by the moment as I sit here with far too many extra hours at my disposal. What is my excuse not to:

• rake the yard?
• try to fix the gate latch (I miss my handy dandy handyson!)
• tidy the freezer (who really cares?!)
• prepare food?
• dust the baseboards?
• wash the kitchen cupboards?
• and the list goes on and on ...

When I had a house that was "clean enough", I had so much less to do. Now that the main floor of our home is new and basically clean, the bar has been raised. I must not only KEEP it clean, now that it IS clean, I can see so very much that has been ignored in the past (I have literally no memory of washing the outside of our tub but I'm sure it has been done in the past).

No one is coming to judge me. But with these excess hours on my hands, I feel like I should cook or something. Heaven forbid.

I tried rerouting my day so I could work this afternoon instead of this evening but that was not meant to be. I organized myself so I would have all my chores done before I left for my 8 a.m. dentist appointment this morning, thus I have created an excess of time I am trying not to feel guilty about wasting.

Sigh ...

I am a master of wasting time, so I shall fritter the hours away and revel in this sunny spring day I have all to myself. Maybe I will end up outside and things may happen. Or they may not. 

I'm grateful for the quiet before the company. I don't think I'll waste the time cleaning after all.

Rinse and Repeat

Life. Rinse and repeat daily. Maintenance. Redo what you just did yesterday. Routine. Same old, same old. I have a love/hate relationship with each of the above.

On one hand, I thrive on routine. I love my little ruts and I feel a little resentful when I'm forced to carve out a new one. I love the "known". I crave the little reward system I have created within my small little world.

It has been over two years since I started leaving our home to earn a living. The shock of that change of life was softened by a year of running out to Mom's. The drive, the solitude and knowing Mom was there saved me from myself during that year of transition.

The second year? Not so great. I missed Mom. I missed my regular road trips. I missed everything the prior year brought into my world. I had to create a new rut and I didn't like it. Not one little bit.

I'm well into my third year of change and I'm finally rolling with it. I'm sad to say, at the ripe old age of 58, I live for my weekends. But I do. I like what I do but I love being home more. I'm doing this. And it's okay.

I allowed myself a weekend to recreate the past. I literally packed my suitcase as I got dressed one Friday morning and brought it upstairs with me. I sent out a few messages into the universe and was urged to move forward with my last minute plan to flee the city. Breaking out of the deep rut I had carved out for myself was life affirming.

I tossed my suitcase into the trunk of my car and didn't come home from work that day. I felt slightly rebellious but mostly, I felt liberated and free.

Maintenance. Whew! That word is a paragraph unto itself.

We have created a home that requires daily maintenance. Not only do I have to wake up, dehair/make my bed and clean cat litter every morning, we now have a house that requires a daily mopping up of said cat hair.

I have a love/hate relationship with this cat hair. I love the cats it belongs to. I hate having it floating about the house aimlessly, without wall-to-wall carpeting to attract and hold onto it for a later date. BUT (now, this is the surprising part), I DO like waking up to a clean house each morning. I despise the cleaning aspect of this job but I do appreciate its rewards.

Speaking of which, if I plan to de-hair the house of cat hair which has accumulated on the laminate floors before I head off to work, I must stop writing.

I have to hop out of my writing rut, into my cleaning rut, then head off to a day at the office, so I can come home, rinse and repeat, then do it all over again tomorrow.