Spring needs to be here soon...
Hmmph. Seems to be snowing again and likely to continue. Sometimes I think this is the hardest part of winter, when you think it will never end. So many things are so very hard..
Like, say, garbage. What do you do if you can't get up the hill that is your driveway?? One can't PLOW it, and I am sure not shoveling it... At what point (tonight in my case) do you bite the bullet and haul it all down thru the drifts?
And those darn snow parking tickets. My neighbours and I now have a system where we call eachother if we see someone on the wrong side of the street. Way too many tickets.
Sigh. It's truly a hard, hard world....
On the good side, I have been SAVED from the doom that has become my Spookly House, as in " WHO the heck is going to help me clean this place up???" I am not above doing housework, quite the contrary, I like my home to be lovely, but I do not have those skills, and quite frankly, after a day at work, I get home and I am too darn tired, and want some Bengal time, and not to mention, thank you internet, there are many parts of the world just waking up and waiting for answers....
Which need to be answered.
What do you do? I am asking honestly here. I know you all work very hard, very very hard, and then come home and have another job to do. Advice is welcome....
Ok, back to my thought, sorry for the whinning, I am just tired tonight.
Merry Hosekeeprs Spooky Daughter has started coming over each week to help me, hurrah! She has Skills, and knows about things like Floor Wax and Bathrooms, and my stress leval and decreced by 100%. Here is a picture of her cleaning my Spooky House...
Ok. You're onto me.I am still having Camera Trouble. Thanks for listening to a WAY too tired little fiddler and Personal Assistant. Today was a long one....
Love and an end to winter,
Lorraine
posted by FabulousLorraine @ 5:30 PM
24 Comments
24 Comments:
you get snow tonight - i get it tomorrow. ugh, i have had it with winter too. garbage can be a pain - i haul it in my car to the office and put it in our dumpster, but I remember living in Chicago, and wading thru drifts - no fun - as are the tickets for parking on the wrong side of the street. As far as cleaning goes- I am not near as pristine as my sister and sister-in-law, but try to keep the place reasonably decent -and I work two jobs so time is at a premium. i tend to do a bit every day - wash/dust/bathrooms, and am really adamant at not developing any clutter (but my studio is exempt from that rule!). and it is extremely difficult to get my youngest to understand the necessity of "you shall not leave your dance shoes and dirty t-shirts on the coffee table" sigh. I usually do floors/mopping/dusting on Sunday afternoons. I'm very schedule oriented, so that works for me. Of course, these days I am usually shoveling white stuff...
You sound like you are in the same boat and more so.. How does it end??? where is our fairy godmother, hee-hee..
I can keep the place in order, but it is the cleaning that gets me...
Must go now, for some reason the Bengals are into " We must gnaw this leg off" the both of them. It's a bloody mess.
Can I ask a favour? I need people to start commenting on Martin Millar's blog
( WWW.MARTINMILLAR.COM )
I think people are too shy, and don't know what to say. I know that's the way I feel, about writing to people whose books I love. I really really tho want to make this book, The Lonely Werewolf Girl, huge, as it deserves to be.
It truly doesn't matter WHAT you say..Hey, I have built an entire stage career on THAT wisdom, and am the biggest dork ever ( aside from our Malena, hee-hee)
If I, the shyest, kid you not, person in the world, can go and comment to someone I do not know and have never spoken to, you can too.
And besides, you are going to love this book. And everything else he has ever written.
Trust me.
Well I am already loving Good Fairies... actually I have been waiting until I had read some of it before venturing over to Mr. Millar's blog since I too am shy and would prefer to have something useful/relevant/not-too-stupid to say.... but that may be a lost cause (hehe) and I have finally been able to start the book and it is great. I can already see some of what you admire in this author. I have therefore been waiting anxiously to be able to comment on his blog... but you will see me there soon. Thanks for recommending this book.
Don't sweat the white stuff... the snow will melt and spring will uh...spring... and summer will follow. I know this well because spring has hit home here and the last week of working on my house with my friend has been like a summer vacation to me... full of light and good memories (from visiting you) and a good friend. The sun will come to you and she will come soon.
As far as chores go...I can't really help you there, I am a TERRIBLE chore-person... I let things pile up and stress about them. This is part of the reason the gift of a cleaned house was so incredible to me. I find myself unable to do creative things in my time off because I have a nagging guilt about having a messy abode. Yeah for Merry's wonderful spooky daughter. She looks just lovely in that pic.
Spooky Daughter won my heart ,once again when she showed up to clean wearing PJ's and slippers. Reminds me so of myself as ayoung lady.....This is a girl who is GOING places...
Don'y be shy, doesn't pay. Doesn't matter what you feel inside, you have things to say, say them.
My nearly first gig was opening for Warren Zevon, and people kelt tellinge me, you are so calm, and all I could think, was ' i am holding onto this pole so I don't fall over and don't throw up...."
Hrm. Well, being an LA native, I have no idea how to cope with snow. But, as far as how to manage housework -- I have two main tactics.
1- I find that a deadline to procrastinate over is an awesome motivator. Like tonight, when I need to be doing about oh, 50 thumbnails, and 14 more sketches; I am instead doing all my laundry, and am about to do the dishes, then my nails. I sit down to work, and then think, 'Ooh, I should really do Chore X -- then I could focus on this like it deserves!' and I go and do that.
2- Once I do get the house in relative order, I then try to spend 15 minutes a day cleaning, before I go to bed. That way it doesn't pile up and get overwhelming.
I leave for work at 5:30 a.m., and get back home after 7 p.m., so trying to keep on top of the mess a house generates -- dude, I feel you. Actually, if only someone could make an entropy power plant, and hook up my house to it, America could at last shake its dependence on oil.
Can't you just tie up the garbage in multiple bags and let it roll down the snowdrifts to the street? ;) Is snow slippery enough? Ooh, you could wet the snow with water, and make a slick chute of ice for the garbage bags!
Pantagruel, not sure if that counts, hee-hee, writers will do Anything, but write....
I did sort of make a system for getting thru the drifts...but don't like it....
Please. Spring!
you know Pantagruel... #1 is exactly what I do but in reverse... I have an art thing to do (that I want to do) on my time off (which is limited) and find that I can't concentrate because I think of how much nicer would it be if I had a cleaner home to do that in... it's like I treat my art as a deadline... and procrastinate by cleaning until I run out of time for art... it's reversed from what you do because it is the things I am supposedly doing for fun that I tend to run away from. hmmm... that could tell me something about myself... but I don't know what.
I know I would prefer to be schedule oriented like you Ivenotime, instead I fear I am chaos oriented... in many ways.
I like the sliding idea... that might work... wouldn't it?
I was going to suggest to have somebody else do those impossible house chores for you (I have always found that life was way too short to spend it cleaning a house so am gladly paying somebody to do it for me). But you are lucky to have Merry Housekeeper. Who seems actually ENJOYING doing this (now THAT for me is one hell of a mind boggler).
As for the now... Have you tried sprinkling your driveway with salt?
(mind you don't spray it on the lawn though)
I had not ventured again on Martin Millar's blog but I see he has updated it so shall drop comments (he'll soon be banning me from his site, no doubt...).
oh yes, Spacedlaw, you are such a terrible influence here... knitted bondage and all... hahaha
fortunately I have a small place so there is not too much to clean yet it still seems to get overwhelming sometimes, however with this new 'everything has it's place' theme going... I think I will have a fair chance at keeping this place clean.
Ooooh ! I like the idea of being a bad influence!
:)
Lorraine, what we need are Personal Assistants. Where oh where are OUR personal assistants???? The snow is coming - 6 inches today, and I have to go fire the kiln, so no excuses for me to stay home today. Why do ceramic students need to fire their work? WHY? Why must I grade tests? WHY? Why does Rubuis have spring and we dont?? sob. And Pantagruel is in LA, and not familiar with snow? Oh honey come to the midwest, we will get you VERY familiar with it...(cked your website, your work is really impressive!)
Enough sobbing and whining. I will ck out Martin's website and try to comment, but this is really the only one I comment on because i feel comfortable being silly, and also being shy find it hard to break into a new club as it were. Also will ck into getting a copy of his book too - sounds interesting.
(Oh and Spacedlaw - so glad Microbe turned up!!!)
Thank you all for your concern regarding Microbe. I swear the little devil did it on purpose to get extra cuddles. That guy had us sized up for the suckers we are as from day one and knows how to manipulate us...
I am feeling for you girls who are snowed in. It was fun to take pictures of it when I visited Lorraine because of snow's exotic value (to me) but I can appreciate that you have LONG winters to deal with. Whereas here, spring has been in full swing for a full three weeks and almond and mimosa blossoms already on their way out.
Admittedly, I'd get a lot more done if I turned off the computer. Which is what I did in December. The entire house didn't get clean, but some of the clutter disappeared. My problem is that in a house of four, I'm the only one that does any cleaning.
See, Ms. Fabulous, you're not the only one that can whine. ;)
ivenotime, thanks for the kind words about my site. ;) And yes, this 'snow' thing... I see it on the mountains, occasionally.
Lorraine -- you sure nailed it! Writers (and artists) will do anything to avoid writing, painting, drawing, or designing. I am both, which just means I have a metric butt-ton of stuff to procrastinate over. And that I'm perpetually ink-stained.
Rubius, the most you resist doing something, the more important to your creative growth it is that you do it.
Spacedlaw -- glad Microbe is back!
My day is NOT starting out well. Besides the new snow, (UGH!! I am DONE with winter!) I fell bak asleep instead of getting up to feed the Feinds from HELL, and one of them expressed her dissaproval of this by PEEING on my bed!!!!!!!!
I could kill them. I am sure they talked about it first...
"Hmmm..whyfor she sleeping...we hungry...don't like the dry food she has out all the time....you have any pee in you.."
"Yes...have lots of pee, we will pee on her.....that will get her up..."
Arggghhh.
oh...my...gawd...that is truly a horrible horrible start to your day, I sure hope it gets better. You need to plan a retaliation.
Yucks!
But they were right: it did get you out of bed...
After such a start, the day can only get better.
oh.... what a miserable start to the day. I lived with a friend who had 3 cats once and they resented the fact that I had moved into what had been their 'playroom' so to show me their disdain they proceeded to piss on my beanbag (cat pee does NOT come out of pleather beanbag chairs, let me tell you) and in my closet and on my bed... I once even caught one of them doing it right in front of me... my solution was to rub their faces in it as punishment and explain to them how very disappointed I was in their poor manners.
I tend to hiss at cats when they do something bad. Most cats I know understand this response very well. Hissing while putting kitties faces in their own mess worked fairly well for me, they quit most of their bad behaviour.
LaMie has gotten to the point, I am happy to say, that when I have explained the badness she understands that the punishment is over and she comes right back to me to make up. She is an excellent and VERY smart cat. My friend and I are of the opinion she understands way more words than should be expected.
Ack! Oh man, what a start to the day. :(
I hope your day improves. Hopefully you can get the smell out quickly.
It's all about vinegar in the wash... vinegar, vinegar, vinegar.
Bad kitties!
On cleaning: 1) 15 minutes a day devoted to heavy duty cleaning, beyond the day to day stuff you usually do. 2) (my favourite) Clean up party. Acts on the same principal as when you have people over to help you move. Can't do it very often, but inviting your friends over to help you clean for a day (pizza and beer or other appropriate compensation, natch). You may not get everything cleaned up, you may wind up with only one friend showing up, but it beats doing it all alone.
On dorkery: As fellow dorks, you'll have to appreciate this. Kurt, at a recent show, asked the crowd "Are you ready to rock?" The crowd played nice and cheered in response, then Kurt said "Well, that's a problem, because we came here to PAPER!" (complete with rock/paper/scissor gesturing of paper covering rock). You may groan now.
Best of luck dealing with snow. It will go away eventually - hopefully very soon!
I am SO using that tonight at my gig!!!!! That's totally as bad as my jokes!
OH YES!
I'm off to rock...Or paper. Or scissor...
I think the Spooky Daughter will help with the House. I feel I owe it to the teenagers of the wold to do my part by employing them!
I am up early today, as my friend is coming to help me CLEAN this place up, ah Spring!!!!! Of course, I can't whine as much as Fablo can, it's sunny and 70 here! Fablo! You should be here!!!!!
I have been giving serious thought lately to hiring a laundry service. I work hard and then I come home and relieve Lori and play hard with the kids and help Xander with his schoolwork. There is some daily maintenance that I enjoy -- like sweeping, I love to sweep -- but I can't stand laundry. With six of us in this house there is just *too* *freaking* *much of it*.
I need someone to come by once a week, pick up bags of clothes, and return them freshly laundered, folded, and sorted.
I just may do it. If I can find it offered reasonably.
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