Monday, February 7, 2011

Spring cleaning.... or not....

Ah... the first breath of spring on the West Coast, and my thoughts turn to the garden.  Left untended for much too long, it has taken on a life of it's own over the last two winters, and requires MASSIVE taming!  With the thawing of the lily pond I know it's time to get on with it, and a plan is really required to get everything done on schedule, but as I've said " the best laid plans....", and the roly-poly hamsters (aka. Penny's latest puppies) have decided the yard it their "it" spot.

After checking to make sure the fences are still in place and there are no escape routes for creatures that weigh less than three pounds I dug myself into it.  My first big job was, of course, removing all the trash and the recycling from the move.  Two very smelly trips in my van loaded to the nines to the transfer station, one very loaded trip with a trailer to recycling, and then just the sweep up.... still took a week.  I included cleaning the "damper" in the steel stove my Dad built, changing the stove pipe, and piling up some hardwood cuttings for burning.  Well, the patio area is covered with dirt, puppy poop, doggie poop, sawdust (from various house improvement projects), the hose has kinked over on itself and will need to be replaced, and I still need to wash everything down as best I can.  I continue to find piles of junk in corners, and to top it off my evil cat, Xena, still thinks the living room rug is a good place for a catbox so I  keep her captive in the bathroom at night and throw her outside in the day time.  However, I am on my second "Rug Doctor" rental... on the first clear day we've had in ages... and it's my day off... and I don't get to put it off as the puppies have "interviews" this week and I certainly don't want THAT smell to put people off.

So, now I am trying vainly to forge ahead on cleaning while the day slips further away;  I have misplaced my car keys, torn my finger nails, had a puppy "sneak" into the bathtub to raid the catbox and proceed to "barf" the ill gotten goods onto my bedroom carpet; the Rug Doctor is already late for returning so I'll call them and let them know I have it for another day; there is a load of laundry in the washer, one in the dryer, one on the floor ready to load, and about three on the dining table awaiting sorting and folding, only I haven't figured out where to put the kitchen linen yet and I'm out of drawer space; my African Violets got dumped and now they need repotting; and the gift I so cleverly purchased months ago for my best friend's birthday is probably in the storage locker, and as stated before I have misplaced my keys so you can guess where the key for THAT lock is....  Chaos once more...  I sense a pattern here.

I still dream sometimes that I am in my old bedroom, or coming home to my house with my family, that everything is where I left it the last time;  the gift is sitting in the spare bedroom in the dresser drawer; my favorite painting hangs on the wall over my bed; the linen fits in the drawer in the kitchen; the bathtub is wonderfully deep and none of the dogs want to jump in...   Funny thing is I'm more fit, more trim, more emotionally balanced, more energetic, and yet I keep myself stuck with lists I'm not staying on track with.  I have  called my daughter more times in the last week than I did in the previous two months; spent more time with my sons as well; cooked myself more meals and spent less time sleeping.  I haven't napped for days and I don't really feel like I need one.  But life is completely different in a way that keeps me off balance.  I have to keep moving forward so I won't fall flat on my face.  I think the real difference is that one thing in me has finally changed;  I actually care about things because at last the fight is over; the most important of the paperwork has finally been signed and  I get to go on with my life.  I can really make something new without feeling as if I am rudderless.  From here on in if I fail - and I expect I will a time or two - it is on my own merit.  If it doesn't get done it's because I didn't do it!  The acceptance of that has made me feel immeasurably younger and I'm ready to take on the next step.... I just have to remember "you can only do one thing at a time, so do it well and ON time, because waiting for someone else to do it for you will make you fail EVERY time..."

So for now it's back to feeling Spring course through my veins, wake up my spirit and put a smile on my face.  I'll be cleaning my carpets tonight and taking care of all those other things in an orderly and TIMELY fashion...  Perhaps a walk to the storage locker will clear my head and give my doggies a nice break.  Who knows;  I may even unearth that gift... I may remember where I put it during my exposure to fresh air and sunshine.... but first I have to find my keys..........

2 comments:

  1. I'm a bit confused. I thought you moved in to a new place. And hopefully when you talk about spring cleaning you're like the rest of us and you are referring to finally getting around to your 2010 spring cleaning. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I moved to my basement suite... same address, same phone number, less square footage to have to clean, so downsizing big time! From a full fledged kitchen to a "kitchenette", smaller bedrooms and only two instead of three... Carpets for the first time in about 15 years, and I'm not loving it! I have access to the yard from my bedroom door, though... very nice!

    ReplyDelete