My Dirty House

Mahalo


It has been a whirlwind of a week, but now the dust is settling and I am looking forward to a quiet weekend, re grouping and cleaning up.


Firstly, Segundo son, Gabe and his pregnant wife were scheduled to visit us on the Delaware Shore during their trip to Baltimore sometime around the July 4th holiday. I decided it would be an ideal time for a baby shower as most of their friends are from the Balto/Wash.DC area. and they are currently living in Atlanta. I E-mailed Sue, my sister in law, who lives in Annnapolis and expressed my desire, and then asked if we could do it at her house which would be much more convenient. She was delighted, so we, along with Trin's bestest friend Namu, and Gabe started our last minute invitations. We planned a brunch on the 4th as that seemed to be the only time it would work for all concerned.


Primo Son, Zak called about 12 days ago and announced that he and his Wife, Tessa decided to come for a few days to see Gabe and Trin while they were here so that we could all be together, which is a rare occasion since they live in Missouri. Unfortunately they were unaware of the shower plans and had to fly back before it.


Meanwhile back at the ranch, I am feeling poorly, running a 103 temp (Kinda high for an adult), finally get to my Dr. and am diagnosed with strep. Oh boy...now I have 2 bedrooms to clean,( never got there) meals to plan and shop for, Thank God for Jim, my husband, and Brunch dishes to prepare. After a 5 day course of antibiotics, I got somewhat back on my feet... enough to wash towels and sheets for everyone and point them in the direction of their respective rooms.


Zak and Tessa opted for the blow up bed in the room where the odd furniture goes to die, and off season clothes and future Good will Donations are bagged and stacked, and early Christmas presents are stowed with no bathroom, out of courtesy for Trin as we know how much you pee when you are in that condition.


Segundo, however, was not pleased with his room, which is our bedroom, REALLY wanted the one I was in downstairs ,which used to be the guest room until I broke my leg last year (but that is another story). So, he got the Dyson THE BEST VACUUM EVER, some furniture duster, opened the windows for an *airing out* and proceeded to clean his room to his liking.


I had thought about getting Evelyn to come and clean. She is an 80 yr. old black woman who used to clean for Jim's parents after she retired as a housekeeper from Stokely Facility which is a home for chronically disfigured, mentally disabled, abandoned persons. She has her own way of cleaning and you can't change it. Even if I had called her and said, clean the upstairs, she would still start in the dining room working from the outside in. It takes her an entire day to do my downstairs as she has to touch everything, and you have to go behind her and straighten up the picture frames. By the time she gets to the bathroom, she is really slipping. She has to end up in the kitchen where she insists on washing whatever is in the sink and putting all the drain board stuff away which i have a hard time finding afterwards. Most electrical things, like the TV and stereo have to be readjusted as she always has to clean the knobs. She really has no finesse, just a rote system. It always scares me when I hear glasses falling over, as she also breaks things on occasion, like windows. She also mumbles to herself the entire day. You also have to get one room ahead of her because she just cleans around what is there. She will stack things but not ask where you want something put away. Whenever she comes, I feel like I've done a days work as well. I was just too ill to deal with her last week, Sorry Guys.


Still, in her defense, she is the last of a breed of homeworkers. She usually starts the day with coffee.( we always get her some *sweets*), and chit chat. Then she starts off her work with a roll of paper towels, a bucket of pine sol, a trash bag and various rags and sprays. We have a lunch break, sometimes a sub, always chips and regular soda , no diet, more chit chat, she still thinks OJ is innocent, and that Condolezza Rice, gets the world all straightened out and the THEY go ans mess it up again Obviously I avoid those topics, and we talk about family and such. She was very fond of Jim's Dad Lou, and she considers him one of her own. He gave her advice from time to time, and was probably the first Black person, aside from Charles, that he ever really knew one on one.


Anyway, the visit was short and sweet and hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves. We saw a Movie, went to lunch, had Snowballs and celebrated Gabe's B day in style with a bushel of crabs, corn on the cob and brownies , sans nuts and frosting as requested in lieu of a cake.


After a minor relapse of my fever, and getting a second course of antibiotics, I started feeling much more normal by the time everyone left. The next day I spent a full nine hours in the kitchen getting the brunch together.


More about the shower later, which was a really fun event and quite a mixer. Thank you Sue and Namu for helping us pull this off.


Ciao, Mema