Friday, February 17, 2012

Must Be the Weather!

We've been enjoying mild afternoons that feel spring-like.  The overnight lows are still well below freezing.  This morning the thermometer registered -14ºC, which corresponds to +10F.  Not exactly balmy!  But this afternoon we're up to +7ºC, or +44ºF, which in Alberta in February qualifies for a great day!  And that's not the first afternoon this week in that territory.

That must be why I've been on a "spring-cleaning" binge this past week.  It started when I saw a neighbour doing some deep cleaning, came home and got down on my hands and knees and started scrubbing the linoleum.  Well, that felt good!  I really, really enjoy a clean house.  So I did some more scrubbing on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday are teaching days, so no big cleaning projects happen.  But yesterday was the day for it to happen!

First thing in the morning I hauled everything out of the back hall, including the shelf and rack for hanging jackets and the rack for setting up shoes and boots.  Jim helped me move the washer and dryer away from the wall.  I took down the shelves and quilt racks that are up for decoration.  But I couldn't find any paint roller handles, so I went to the Home Hardware at 9 a.m., bought some paint, tray liners and rollers and got to work.

First I painted the ceiling.  What a difference!  How encouraging!  Fresh, pure white.  Then I washed the walls with TSP and painted them.  Somewhere along in here I cooked dinner and took off enough time to sit with the Dear One and eat it.  Then I scrubbed the floors and painted the baseboards.

Poor Dickens had to stay outside all day because if I let him in he would surely put his paws in the paint, if not his nose or tail.

Late in the evening I put his food and water dishes back, put his kitty litter where it usually is and his pink cushion on top of the washer.  He's confined to the back hall every night, and settles right down until breakfast time.

This morning I worked at putting everything back: rehanging the shelves (something of a hassle), carefully cleaning the racks for coats and shoes, rehanging the coats and arranging the shoes and boots, screwing the outlet covers back onto the walls, and cleaning the cupboard underneath the sink.

Everything in there is as clean as possible.  What a treat!  Now let's see, which room is next?

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