A Dusting
It is the middle of March and it is only 50 degrees outside...in California...Sunny California...in March. There is a dusting of snow on the mountain outside my window. There is never snow on that mountain. Ok maybe twice in the past 20 years, there has been snow on that mountain. It's not even very high. But it is March. This is supposed to be spring, not the coldest winter day that I can remember...
My house is a mess. I got very industrious this weekend and even though I babysat all of the kids, I vowed to make some headway at cleaning my house. I made a list. Caitlyn loves lists and she quickly got on board. First was dishes. Check. (Caitlyn's checks involve a lot of hearts). Then take out garbage, check. Then was Toys. I had forgotten that I put toys on the list and I was starting to pick them up and apoligize to Caitlyn for going off list, but she spelled out toys as the next item on the list and I was still on target. Then came vacuum. I was going to let Caitlyn vacuum. I have one of those dyson vacuum cleaners and they are kindof nifty to operate. She tried for a second, but then it was my turn. I have used it so infrequently (never, now that I think about it) that I wasn't sure how to make it turn on, or release the handle to manuver or anything. I have now got it down, but I only got as far as the bedroom and then I was stopped by...Dusting.
For some reason, I don't notice any dust in the living room. I guess that the dust is even on the piano and tv and there are just no other surfaces that are not full of stuff. But the bedroom has nice large dressers and the dust is very noticable. I can't vacuum and then dust and dusting will take a long time. [Ok, I've seen that commercial where the dusting is done quickly and then you have time to read a book, but dusting involves doing something with the thirty dollars in pennys laying all over the place and all the little nick nacks that haven't found their real home yet and moving furniture--I don't know how to explain that one--suffice it to say, you'd agree with me if you saw it. But I digress.] By the time I got to the bedroom, it was nap time. I thought--three kids take a nap, Kathy has lots of free time to dust (and empty cups for all those pennys). But alas, it was three kids noisily fighting sleep and frequently coming out of the guest room to find Aunt Kathy (Matthew was very clingie) and drag her into the room with them over and over and no spare moment for dusting.
My new plan, was to take my nice Sunday evening and dust before my shows came on. [Somehow I am adicted to Amazing Race. I don't even like any of the teams this time, but I have to watch that dumb show anyway. But I digress.] So the prospect of a free Sunday evening had me stopping at the grocery store to pick up something for dinner. It was only a little after 6 when I dropped the kids off, so I had plenty of time. The grocery store could be it's very own blog post, but long story short, it took me over an hour in the grocery store and then I missed the freeway connection going home forming the blog post in my head on the way home. I got home at 7:45. That's 15 minutes before my show starts.
But still I was very industrious. I cooked my dinner (set off the smoke detector because I like my meat burnt--query is there anything short of having every door and window open in 50 degree weather to keep that darn alarm from going off?? I got the exhaust fan fixed, but I still live in fear of that darn shrill alarm every time I turn on the stove. Big digression) and started spagettii sauce for dinners for the next couple of weeks. Believe me, very industrious. And I was in my seat at 8 for my show. I paused the show at the first commercial and continue to cook and straighten the kitchen as I went. I was back to the show in real time (man, they show a lot of commercials). So all in all a very busy and industrious evening, BUT no dusting got done. I am afraid that the vacuum cleaner is going to live in my room for several weeks. At least that is what over 50 years of experience of being me leads me to believe.
[As an aside, I put out the money to hire the housekeeper which is obviously called for in this situation. The fact that I didn't know how to turn on the vacuum cleaner was very telling. Then I was driving to work and realized that I am going to have to buy gas this week. I use cash for both and I don't like to go to the cash machine (it costs $3--what a rip off). The conflict and drama in my life...]
My house is a mess. I got very industrious this weekend and even though I babysat all of the kids, I vowed to make some headway at cleaning my house. I made a list. Caitlyn loves lists and she quickly got on board. First was dishes. Check. (Caitlyn's checks involve a lot of hearts). Then take out garbage, check. Then was Toys. I had forgotten that I put toys on the list and I was starting to pick them up and apoligize to Caitlyn for going off list, but she spelled out toys as the next item on the list and I was still on target. Then came vacuum. I was going to let Caitlyn vacuum. I have one of those dyson vacuum cleaners and they are kindof nifty to operate. She tried for a second, but then it was my turn. I have used it so infrequently (never, now that I think about it) that I wasn't sure how to make it turn on, or release the handle to manuver or anything. I have now got it down, but I only got as far as the bedroom and then I was stopped by...Dusting.
For some reason, I don't notice any dust in the living room. I guess that the dust is even on the piano and tv and there are just no other surfaces that are not full of stuff. But the bedroom has nice large dressers and the dust is very noticable. I can't vacuum and then dust and dusting will take a long time. [Ok, I've seen that commercial where the dusting is done quickly and then you have time to read a book, but dusting involves doing something with the thirty dollars in pennys laying all over the place and all the little nick nacks that haven't found their real home yet and moving furniture--I don't know how to explain that one--suffice it to say, you'd agree with me if you saw it. But I digress.] By the time I got to the bedroom, it was nap time. I thought--three kids take a nap, Kathy has lots of free time to dust (and empty cups for all those pennys). But alas, it was three kids noisily fighting sleep and frequently coming out of the guest room to find Aunt Kathy (Matthew was very clingie) and drag her into the room with them over and over and no spare moment for dusting.
My new plan, was to take my nice Sunday evening and dust before my shows came on. [Somehow I am adicted to Amazing Race. I don't even like any of the teams this time, but I have to watch that dumb show anyway. But I digress.] So the prospect of a free Sunday evening had me stopping at the grocery store to pick up something for dinner. It was only a little after 6 when I dropped the kids off, so I had plenty of time. The grocery store could be it's very own blog post, but long story short, it took me over an hour in the grocery store and then I missed the freeway connection going home forming the blog post in my head on the way home. I got home at 7:45. That's 15 minutes before my show starts.
But still I was very industrious. I cooked my dinner (set off the smoke detector because I like my meat burnt--query is there anything short of having every door and window open in 50 degree weather to keep that darn alarm from going off?? I got the exhaust fan fixed, but I still live in fear of that darn shrill alarm every time I turn on the stove. Big digression) and started spagettii sauce for dinners for the next couple of weeks. Believe me, very industrious. And I was in my seat at 8 for my show. I paused the show at the first commercial and continue to cook and straighten the kitchen as I went. I was back to the show in real time (man, they show a lot of commercials). So all in all a very busy and industrious evening, BUT no dusting got done. I am afraid that the vacuum cleaner is going to live in my room for several weeks. At least that is what over 50 years of experience of being me leads me to believe.
[As an aside, I put out the money to hire the housekeeper which is obviously called for in this situation. The fact that I didn't know how to turn on the vacuum cleaner was very telling. Then I was driving to work and realized that I am going to have to buy gas this week. I use cash for both and I don't like to go to the cash machine (it costs $3--what a rip off). The conflict and drama in my life...]
posted by KathrynVH @ 1:45 PM
4 Comments:
At March 19, 2012 at 1:57 PM,
EZ Travel said…
I have never understood dusting. Any surface I give a rat's behind about gets enough traffic to never gather any dust. Jackson regularly sits on our very sturdy IKEA coffee table--dusting done. I suppose those knick knacks on the upper shelves of the bookcase are dusty, but so what. If they don't bother me, I won't bother them.
At March 20, 2012 at 5:14 PM,
KathrynVH said…
I woke up this morning to a "lightbulb" as the guy in Dispicable Me says. There's no law that says you have to dust--just that if you do, you would vacuum after. So I could just vacuum. I still haven't, but it is always fun to think outside of the box.
At March 21, 2012 at 6:51 AM,
EZ Travel said…
Exactly!
At March 21, 2012 at 10:23 AM,
Marcel said…
Dusting?? I had an appartment in Columbus, Mississippi for five years and I recall only dusting twice. This was because the TV screen had acquired some dust from static attraction. During the time I lived there the windows were never opened. I think I vacuumed once a year, just don't like to do that. Even then, there was very little difference between the before and after. Note: there was no nap on the carpet that would show wind rows.
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