The trouble is I was feeling 'hassled' because I didn't have a spare few hours to spring clean the house in readiness for a Kay's visit. Normally when we have visitors I whizz through like a dervish with the feather duster, the polish, vacuum cleaner, oven cleaner and leather for the windows. By the time I've finished the books are in regimented order on shelves, magazines are no longer a slithering pile on coffee tables. All paperwork and mail is filed, or hidden, away. The house gleams, sparkles and smells like an aromatherapist's waiting room. I like to pretend we always live in this clean and tidy palace which somehow manages to be homely and warmly welcoming. A cake baking in the oven is the final touch.At the moment I think all I can say is it is 'homely and welcoming'. Gleaming it is not. Clean enough is the only expression I can use. I've the ingredients for a cake but think they'll not be put together until after our visitor has gone back to Norwich. I do have flowers. Several bunches have been thrust into various vases and pots. I had the choice - sweep up fallen leaves, pot up winter flowering cyclamen or housework. Today was lovely and sunny so the garden won.
I'm working on the theory that all of us whoosh around cleaning before a visitor. Maybe if I just concentrate on hygienically clean enough; ignore the cobwebs - call them conservation corners - then maybe I'll be starting a new relaxed trend. After all - do we go to see our friends to judge how clean their oven is or to chat with them, relax and laugh with a glass of wine. If I died tomorrow would they all come to my funeral and talk about what a great, intelligent, lively friend and wit I was; or would they all stand around saying 'and did you see the state of her oven?'.
I'm trying to get my priorities right. I'd rather blog than do housework so that's what I'm doing.
At least now I've no cats to walk behind the settee and emerge trailing dusty, fluffy cobwebs from their whiskery faces. So no embarrassment there then. I think I'm becoming less houseproud. I remind myself of the saying that "Dull Women Have Immaculate Houses".
12 comments:
I'm obviously still in a bit of a dither as I meant this post for my other blog - oh well never mind...
Car is going a bit better now with an oil change but needs more work - hopefully under an 'extended' guarantee ... as it's only just over 3yrs old. I'm trusting that Honda will want to protect their high reputation. I collect a quote from the builder tomorrow ... so all problems are getting sorted.
Trust me, parts of my house could be declared SSSI's (sites of specific scientific interest!). I'll spend hours in preparation for a visit, only to then apologise profusely for the mess and how terrible it is.
My ex-mother-in-law - despite being on the wrong side ( vertically speaking ) of 5 foot - managed to find dust on the wooden skirtings bits above the doors. It genuinely never occured to me to clean there. She used to say in praise of someone's house cleaniness that you could 'eat yer dinner aff the flair'. Now just exactly why ?
Put down that duster, pick up a mag or a wee sudoko and welcome to the comfy lived-in side!
You should have seen my spare bedroom two days ago
It wasnt a spare bedroom it was a junk and box room
Some of the junk has gone to the attic, some to the bin, some to the shed and some under the bed( this is where having a pine bedstead is useful.
But my house is full of paper that has come through the door in the last six months and I have to chuck it all out but I havent had time to keep up with it every day
Perhaps I should do a blog post on Musings about this. I'm in real panic mode as something terrible is happening to me tomorrow.
The dog isnt even home and I spent 40 minutes in the garden trying to prune what I could of the roses Im a mess and the house shows it. Im beginning to wonder if I'll ever get well
I cracked up laughing at the cat behind the sofa story. My old boy Hamish did exactly the same thing many years ago and came out looking like something out of a halloween movie - covered in cob web and sneezing his snotty nose off! My husband can't understand that before we go on holiday I have to clean and tidy all of the house. I can't bear coming home to a dirty house and there is nothing better than getting into a bed with fresh bedding on it - makes coming home a paradise and a great way to end the holiday - good or bad. Also, I have a nosy neighbour who feeds the cat whilst we are away and I even clean the oven especially for her nosy wee shinanigans whilst she is in the house alone and so she thinks that I always have a spotlessly clean house. The rest of the time it can look like we got burgled but she'll never know that!
You menopausal old bag you - I expect you leave your neighbour a quivering wreck thinking her house is not up to your standard - I think we should rebel - and relax into our less than perfectly clean homes. Nice to hear from you.
Henry - you'll start to feel better when you've Ria back home - meanwhile carry on de-clutter and get tidy - enough to feel virtuous. I've cleaned more today than I did last week for my visitor - but this felt good becasue it was for me - I even cleared and cleaned the cupboard under the kitchne sink. So much spare space!!
Maximum - I like it - SSi's they'll be from now on - thank you.
Penny,
You couldn't be a generous lady thinker and explain to me in non-technical language how I might go about producing a links section, could you? Oh, and how I could then go about collecting and listing the links of people who have commented on my page, like your good self?
Snivelling Billy ><
I left my computer in a hurry last night to catch the kick-off of Newcastle's match on TV, but determined to get back into the hot seat this morning and tell you the good news.
I had another go at your instructions and succeeded in producing a My Links section with 8 links transferred into it.
However, this morning I find that the links don't work (for me from here) and all I get is a notice
"Profile not available".
I have done something wrong but I will find it. Perhaps I am not supposed to use my own links? I just wanted you to know that I have risen from the dead.
Penny,
You lovely, lovely woman. Try out my links next time you come over and you will find that everything is now AOkay. I was able to work between Manage Posts and Edit Layout from just the one tab and it was a lot easier.
I feel almost technical!
Well Done, Billy Boy - You're a Winner. x
How nice of you to drop in and see me and thank you for saying you will link to my site. Hope all is well on the home front.
Friends are friends not because of the state of your home, but because of the state of your heart. I just made that up but it makes a lot of sense, doesn't it? ;) No sense in worrying so much about cleanliness - it's more important to enjoy the company of a good friend when you can. You can always clean the house later. I have to work on the opposite problem - I've got to start tearing away from my blogging and get some housework done or the hubby is going to come home from work one day and not be able to find me under all the cobwebs! -Eeep! (I keep forgetting you have this blog here also since I normally visit the other, but since I find it every so often I need to drop in and say hello. So, "Hello!" Thanks for the wonderful views you posted!!!!!!!!!! Hugs to you!
Teeni - I like that as a saying - you should copyright it - i can see it selling very well as fridge magnets. Thanks for stopping by this side of my bloggings.
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