Oh dear, you've heard that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions? Eh, yep, I need to pack for warm climates it seems.
Last night I told Dave I was going to spend "tomorrow" cleaning the house. Christmas decorations could be taken down, carefully packed and boxes moved back to storage. The Christmas tree would be hauled out to become the foundation for the Hugelkulture garden I plan to start in the Spring. All the leftover Christmas treats we received from friends and family could be wrapped up and popped in the freezer to sooth future sweet tooth cravings and prevent my teeth from rotting and my stomach from rolling anymore as I've been gorging on them!
I intended to start in one room and work my way systematically through our main floor. I intended to make each room dust/cat hair free, properly arranged and ready for the start of a fresh new year. And, I intended for it all to happen in an orderly fashion to be accomplished during my 16 hours of being awake. Those do not seem to be unreasonable intentions!
Eh....so....this is how the day went instead.....(insert the sound of a needle scraping across the ridges of an album)
I am currently studying for the national exam I need to pass to be a massage therapist here in Ohio. While I have been a therapist for 20+ years that was in Indiana, in order to work in Ohio I have to pass the MBLEX (Massage & Bodywork Licensing Exam). I have always suffered from test anxiety so, to be more confident in taking the test, I have given myself 2 months of prep studying. My plan is to study for 45 minutes every day and I've been very good in following that intention. I have a study chair, my cup of tea, my study materials and paper to take notes. I even have the book I bought 20+ years ago when I thought I'd take the test after finishing massage school. I didn't follow through with that as it wasn't required in Indiana. BIG MISTAKE!
But, I digress. This blog is about good intentions and my house not getting cleaned today.
My intention for this morning was to get my studying done then jump head first into my cleaning. I DID get my studying done and was semi-pleased with the results and have identified areas I need to refresh on. Then I stepped into the kitchen and the slippery slope grabbed my ankles and chuckled evilly. I'll wear non-skid shoes next time.
I assess the kitchen to determine where I should begin.
Notice the jar of sprouted grains that should go out to the chickens and decided that would clear counter space so, rubber boots on, light jacket found and out I go.....
Oh, it is so warm, I should re-fill the water while I am here....
Eewww......the chicken outdoor area floor needs to be raked so off I go to find those tools
Hmm....as I pass a flower bed....it wouldn't take long to empty the 4 bags of mulch I've left out on the garden for THREE months so lets just stop there on my way to the shed for the rake and shovel.
Mulch down, rake and shovel found in the garden shed but, passing by the vegetable garden I notice the beds are soft enough to pull some weeds so I spent 25 minutes tending to that.
Rake and shovel in hand I head back to the chicken run, tidy the floor and decide to try integrating 2 hens that are separated from the others as they are the bottom of the pecking order. Oh, everyone seems to be doing well so I'll just make room outdoors for their water with heated base.
Back into the house where I find the large pot of ginger I was trying to root until a cat decided it looked like a litter box. Does ginger cover the smell of urine? NOPE. My potting bench is just outside on the porch so out to it I go with my stinky pot of ginger. All polluted potting soil went out to the compost, little sprouted ginger knobs carefully brushed off, fresh soil and knobs nicely snuggled back into their new bedding.
One of the bedrooms upstairs has beautiful light and stays warm so it has become site of over-Wintering outdoor plants. A bit of rearranging to make room for the ginger pot but then the carpet needed vacuuming as I spilled a bit of dirt.
Back to the main floor and the Christmas tree is calling my attention. I set a timer for 45 minutes to denude the tree of ornaments and lights, find all the correct boxes that each ornament belongs in, wrap the 7 strings of lights up nice and tidy, toss the tree skirt into the laundry and step out onto the porch to take down the outdoor lights as it only makes sense that they should be packed away also.
Ohhh....look at how pretty the Fall colored leaves look in the bird baths that I didn't get around to taking apart for the winter. I always empty the water out of them to prevent them from being damaged with the repeated freezes and thaws we get here in the Midwest. I put out other containers with water for the birds that won't crack in the cold weather. Bird baths are now empty of leaves and water and safely resting against the porch.
Back into the house. I trimmed several good sized branches from the tree to perfume the chicken coup with the delightful, clean smell of pine. I might as well take those out now so back to the coup I go. CRAP! So much for my plan to have the flock all together. Poor Mama Hen has been reminded of her lowly status in the flock and is bloody and bruised. This may be how things happen in nature but it hurts my heart and I will do all I can to provide a happy, healthy life for all of my animals.
Back to the house I go but this time with my poor battered hen. The wounds are carefully examined, cleaned and treated. She accepted some treats and a bit of lap time and quietly shared her pitiful story. If you take the time to be with your flock you may pick up on their individual personalities and even vocalizations. Mama makes a lovely trilling purr when I am near and enjoys being held. After tending her wounds and reassuring her that I would create a safe space for her we went back out to the coup, cleaned her pen and added fresh bedding, food and water. I found her companion hen who readily joined her and all is well in the coup again. They will continue to get preferential treatment from me including the choicest bit of sprouted seeds and time outdoors with me as the weather allows. Another wing off the coup has been planned for next Spring to welcome the downtrodden and elderly girls that no longer appreciate Octavious' overtures nor have the strength to put up with the shenanigans for the bullying girls.
My 45 minute timer went off 53 minutes ago. So much for my idea of setting time frames to accomplish tasks. Back to the house for me.
The Christmas tree was wrestled from the stand and toted out to Bo (Kubota UTV) for delivery near the garden shed for future use as the base for my HugelKulture garden.
So, that is the saga of "Why My House Will Never Be Clean." It is a slight exaggeration as I do, eventually, get around to tidying up each room....just not often all at the same time.
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