I know What You What For Christmas.....
I have some things to say this morning.
You see, I know what you want for Christmas.
Yesterday Spooky Teen came and cleaned the Spooky House for me, which is the BEST thing ever. I try and be here when she is, as I get really motivated to DO things for the house when she is and I noticed a lot of Tweets and Comments after mentioning that on the subject of Housework.
I'm here to help. Let me give you some ides, and thoughts, which might forever change your lives for the better.
First of all, things have changed and maybe you didn't get the memo. In the Olden Days (no, no idea WHEN they were) there was a concept called "Keeping House" where women stayed home, and well, kept the house clean. Men went to work. If the man lived alone, someone would "Come in" and "do" for him once a week or so, or kind women friends would come over and straighten up clucking their tongues and saying "Oh poor man, living alone.." and tidy up the place.
There seems to be a bit of a hold over from this. NOT, guys, that I am saying you aren't helping, on the contrary, I am sure you ARE. I am sure that all parties are trying their best to keep the place clean, working long hours at "work" then coming home and trying to get the chores done, and clean the house. Or saying whatever, and living in a mess.
What ever your arrangement is, what I am saying is, get some help.
Why are you trying to work all week, AND take on another job trying to keep your house clean? It can't be DONE. And why are you wasting those way too few hours trying to do it? Or arguing about who should be doing what? Unless cleaning is something you LIKE, then why are you, man or women, sitting there wishing your house was clean and either hating doing it, or feeling just a little bit sadder because it is not getting done?
Well, Fabulous Lorraine, because we can't afford a Housekeeper, Cleaning Service or whatever. DUH!!!
I know, I can't either. But there are things you can do.
First off, Cleaning is a SKILL. I don't have it. I am the worst housekeeper on the planet. I watch people like Merry Housekeeper and her Spooky Teen clean, and I don't have their skill. I recall once cleaning with them, and doing a room on my own, and I very proudly told Merry no, don't worry, I've done that room, she sort of smiled, and went in, and 20 minutes later, the place GLOWED.
Spooky Teen does more in three hours than I could in a day. And it looks a whole lot better.
The idea that House Cleaning is menial labor went out with the notion that it was the Womens Job to keep the place clean.
Don't look into the commercial cleaning services. They pay their people min and charge you hugely. And treat them badly (Everyone go read "Nickel and Dimed, On Not Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich)
Look for a local only business, generally started by someone who likes to clean, needs the work, and wants to work independently. They will do a great job for you because they want your business, they care about it and it is THEIR business. They will not be "Managing a franchise" for someone unknown, hiring whomever is desperate. They may be a couple of people who have gone in together, and they know word of mouth is their best advertisement.
Have them come in once a month for a few hours.
Hire a teenager. No, I am NOT saying exploit our youth, I am saying, look at the jobs available for Teenagers our there right now. Fast food? Minimum wage hell? Trust me when I tell you if you say look, here's double the min in cash, please come help me for a couple hours, they will jump at that.
And double the min wage is Not. Very. Much.
Look at your budget. It doesn't take much. And right now, Stop with any guilt that you ought to be doing it all yourself or "maids" are only for the snobby rich. That would be more olden days notions. The people you hire are happy to help. More than that, they want to and know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much you love and appreciate what they do. (Merry and Spooky Teen, in case I haven't said it in the last 24 hours, Thank you. I can't do it. You make my life so much better, and I love you both so for it.)
Coming home to more work is not what you need in your life, trust me. It only adds to the stress.
Give yourself the gift of Time. More time with your family, more time for yourself to do what you WANT to do.
There are people out there who know this. And will help you.
What are you spending on Presents for each other? How long would that pay for some help? What one-more-useless gift are you buying for someone? How about paying for a Clean instead?
The feeling of coming home after all the chaos, stress and madness of the world, to your HOME feeling like the best place in the world, instead of one more job, is the best feeling ever.
That's what you want for Christmas.
Love and Order,
Lorraine
You see, I know what you want for Christmas.
Yesterday Spooky Teen came and cleaned the Spooky House for me, which is the BEST thing ever. I try and be here when she is, as I get really motivated to DO things for the house when she is and I noticed a lot of Tweets and Comments after mentioning that on the subject of Housework.
I'm here to help. Let me give you some ides, and thoughts, which might forever change your lives for the better.
First of all, things have changed and maybe you didn't get the memo. In the Olden Days (no, no idea WHEN they were) there was a concept called "Keeping House" where women stayed home, and well, kept the house clean. Men went to work. If the man lived alone, someone would "Come in" and "do" for him once a week or so, or kind women friends would come over and straighten up clucking their tongues and saying "Oh poor man, living alone.." and tidy up the place.
There seems to be a bit of a hold over from this. NOT, guys, that I am saying you aren't helping, on the contrary, I am sure you ARE. I am sure that all parties are trying their best to keep the place clean, working long hours at "work" then coming home and trying to get the chores done, and clean the house. Or saying whatever, and living in a mess.
What ever your arrangement is, what I am saying is, get some help.
Why are you trying to work all week, AND take on another job trying to keep your house clean? It can't be DONE. And why are you wasting those way too few hours trying to do it? Or arguing about who should be doing what? Unless cleaning is something you LIKE, then why are you, man or women, sitting there wishing your house was clean and either hating doing it, or feeling just a little bit sadder because it is not getting done?
Well, Fabulous Lorraine, because we can't afford a Housekeeper, Cleaning Service or whatever. DUH!!!
I know, I can't either. But there are things you can do.
First off, Cleaning is a SKILL. I don't have it. I am the worst housekeeper on the planet. I watch people like Merry Housekeeper and her Spooky Teen clean, and I don't have their skill. I recall once cleaning with them, and doing a room on my own, and I very proudly told Merry no, don't worry, I've done that room, she sort of smiled, and went in, and 20 minutes later, the place GLOWED.
Spooky Teen does more in three hours than I could in a day. And it looks a whole lot better.
The idea that House Cleaning is menial labor went out with the notion that it was the Womens Job to keep the place clean.
Don't look into the commercial cleaning services. They pay their people min and charge you hugely. And treat them badly (Everyone go read "Nickel and Dimed, On Not Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich)
Look for a local only business, generally started by someone who likes to clean, needs the work, and wants to work independently. They will do a great job for you because they want your business, they care about it and it is THEIR business. They will not be "Managing a franchise" for someone unknown, hiring whomever is desperate. They may be a couple of people who have gone in together, and they know word of mouth is their best advertisement.
Have them come in once a month for a few hours.
Hire a teenager. No, I am NOT saying exploit our youth, I am saying, look at the jobs available for Teenagers our there right now. Fast food? Minimum wage hell? Trust me when I tell you if you say look, here's double the min in cash, please come help me for a couple hours, they will jump at that.
And double the min wage is Not. Very. Much.
Look at your budget. It doesn't take much. And right now, Stop with any guilt that you ought to be doing it all yourself or "maids" are only for the snobby rich. That would be more olden days notions. The people you hire are happy to help. More than that, they want to and know beyond a shadow of a doubt how much you love and appreciate what they do. (Merry and Spooky Teen, in case I haven't said it in the last 24 hours, Thank you. I can't do it. You make my life so much better, and I love you both so for it.)
Coming home to more work is not what you need in your life, trust me. It only adds to the stress.
Give yourself the gift of Time. More time with your family, more time for yourself to do what you WANT to do.
There are people out there who know this. And will help you.
What are you spending on Presents for each other? How long would that pay for some help? What one-more-useless gift are you buying for someone? How about paying for a Clean instead?
The feeling of coming home after all the chaos, stress and madness of the world, to your HOME feeling like the best place in the world, instead of one more job, is the best feeling ever.
That's what you want for Christmas.
Love and Order,
Lorraine
107 Comments:
I read somewhere that dust was not invented until gas lighting came into use and dust could be seen for the first time.
I like dim lighting. ;) But your idea is also a good one - if I could convince myself that I wouldn't spend days cleaning up in anticipation of the cleaners coming.
When I was a Baby-Sitter (and only a BS), the couple I worked for paid me $10 for a half hour of cleaning once a week. I did it while the kids were down for their naps, or during snack/lunch time. They run their own business and didn't have time to keep the house as 'nice' as they wanted it to be. I appreciated the extra cash (and the cleaning wasn't too much, given the time frame), and they appreciated coming home to happy kiddos and a freshly mopped kitchen.
once i get a place clean, then i stop doing anything in that room lest i make it dirty, lol.
Yup. I hired someone starting a year ago, on Lorraine's advice. Love it. She comes every other week, more or less and is ridiculously ridiculously cheap
Local woman, likes to clean. No really.
And it's amazing.
When Nick cleans something, you can usually tell that someone tried.
When I clean something, it's clean.
When she cleans something, all the dirt you didn't even know was there is gone.
Phiala, my cleaning falls into the "you can usually tell someone tried" category.
What do the clean people do exactly? Floor sweeping and mopping? The Dreaded Dusting? Other things?
I used to have a system where I would clean one room per day, and everything would thus get cleaned once a week. It worked for a while... but I haven't been able to get back to it.
What I'm worst at is "tidying". I don't so much have a place for everything... and everything is certainly not in its place.
You're right. This is what I want for christmas.
My goodness! I totally agree. Not everyone can clean and certainly not everyone wants to clean. I like to clean and have time, so that is not an issue around here.
Doing the cleaning yourself is not, however, a virtuous activity, IMO. Old habits are hard to break for some.
I have cleaned houses for others and paid for others to have clean houses. It IS a gift, and what a great idea :-)
I would like to have a clean house any day of the year. Our place isn't really dirty, just extremely messy. Two small children, no storage space, and a clutterbug husband don't help much, though. I do have a friend that keeps saying she'll come help organize my kitchen, so, I really should take her up on that.
Anna Banana - my person dusts, vacuums, cleans bathrooms, scrubs floors every time she comes. After that she will do whatever else fits in the time left. She's washed the windows, shampooed the carpet, wiped down the kitchen cabinets, cleaned the refrigerator...
It varies, though, and if you hire someone independent you get to negotiate time, tasks, money.
I'll have to keep this in mind for my new dream apartment!
Totally worth it, and one of those things I never seriously look into, because that part of me which is my dad says I can do it myself for nothing. If I give up several hours every day, that is, and don't mind feeling too tired to do anything else afterward. My house stays dirty a lot.
It was funny, when I had the junk guys here last week: it felt weird just sitting there while they did their job. I kept holding doors open, and carrying last bits of things down the stairs so they wouldn't have to go back up. When they offered to run the vacuum cleaner on the stairs, it was a real struggle to refrain from saying, Never mind, I'll do it. What is the matter with me? :D
But I can't have for anything else for Christmas this year: I have it on good authority that I'm getting an Eee, and that's plenty. Meanwhile Mr. Jess Won't Get Anything at All, Oh No, Nothing is Coming in the Mail From This Place, Not That He Knows About, No Sir.
But what I really want is a box of ticks.
We found two sisters a while back who came over to babysit and cleaned the house nearly top to bottom after the kids went down to sleep, even washed and folded laundry! Needless to say we've found many other excuses to have them "babysit" and my wife even hires them to travel with her sometimes.
I have a woman who comes and cleans every other tuesday. I love her dearly. We hired her when i hurt my wrists and vacuuming and scrubbing couldn't happen. We also had her work the dinner party saturday night and she just cleaned everything I dirtied. She worked for 5 hours non-stop. She is my angel. We sent her home with cash and food and she was happy too :)
Excellent advice.
Now to finish writing up the recipe/photo/menu from saturday for FoodPorn.
ticky box.
holy good-blogs.
i want a Spooky Teen for my very own.
i pay well and am so nice n' sweet, she/he may get cavities.
please recommend in the LA/Hollywood area.
flying home from Chicago, and all is well, i got my snowfall this morning. the weary may rest.
ps Gollum aka Magic is walking upright??!
From @DoubleEdgeFilms Attn: Midwest - INK will be screening in St. Paul, MN on December 29th and 30th at 7:00pm at Mounds Theatere. http://bit.ly/56VnVB
I keep wishing I still lived in MN. :(
I'm afraid I'd be the person who has to clean before the cleaner comes, lest I whither away in shame. I know that's stupid, but...
Looking forward to seeing best friend tonight!
OSS, I got over that remarkably quickly.
How can it only be midafternoon? I've been at my desk for days since I got here this morning.
Jess, I have an EEE and love it - well except for the fact that it is an entirelessly unupgradeable linux.
I have someone who will clean, I just need to get off my ass and get her over here to negotiate and set a schedule. Nothing like having a nearby college and students who want a few extra bucks.
Procrastination, thy name is Toni!
I have an EEE too, and it is a very useful contraption. I put Ubuntu netbook version on it, and can upgrade as needed. (Very easy to install, too.)
It will run other OSes besides Linux, I'm told. I think the one we're getting comes with Windows XP on.
I'm looking forward to being able to work in my living room, where it is warmer, and there's a big table to spread out on. I like my office, but it's cold up here in winter! And the cat just stole my foot warmer.
don't lie jess, you just want portable fiends...lol!
I never denied it. I want to be warm and portable!
Omg, Twitter is down! How will I survive?!
And I am happy to report that I have been having that type of Christmas ever since I started working. I've always hated cleaning (which I had to do for my parents) and thought there were so many more interesting things to do with my spare time. Of which there isn't much. Why should I torture myself when there are people happy to hep me with this (not the torture, although I am pretty sure that you could ALSO find some people to help with that should you so feel inclined. which I am not. Just in case you wondered.).
But it's better with linux!
Seriously - I have an EEE running Ubuntu, and my officemate has one running Windows XP, and linux copes a lot better with the hardware limitations.
I considered going Linux. System familiarity won out, though. I'm not doing anything fancy with it, anyway-- just word processing and interwebs.
I have always been jealous of people running Ubuntu. I've been too scared to take the leap myself.
But Jess, that's perfect for linux!
Wendy, if you want to try it without any scary commitment, you can download a LiveCD that will let your computer boot Ubuntu. That way you can try it out without actually installing anything. Very slick.
I just edited/read a biography about a French-Canadian woman whose parents were pioneers in Ottawa. And there's quite a detailed description in these pages of what a woman's entire education consisted of, prior to more recent decades, and I find it a little harrowing from the perspective of our modern Western lifestyle: for the family she's raised in or raising, all cleaning, all meal preparations, making clothes, repairing clothes, birthing, all childcare, etc. Every waking hour, from the moment a girl can hold a cleaning implement or has the coordination to sew something, until illness or advanced age removes those abilities.
I know this idea of "it's women's work" was supposed to go out, as you say Q, with other aspects of modern life. Like women becoming the breadwinnners. Or being free to live independently of male Providers. But the idea (ma)lingers on in our society's subconscious (at least), or so I suspect. And my guess, Jess, is that's where that internal struggle comes from.
Partly that, Na, but more that my parents raised me with ideas about self-sufficiency which had roots in their parents' Depression-Era experience. The-rich-don't-get-rich-by-spending-money, style of fing, or the idea that no self-respecting woman sends her family's laundry out to the dry cleaner when she's got a perfectly servicable washer and dryer down in the basement.
I do sometimes wish I knew how to repair clothes, and sew stuff. Then I wouldn't have to sacrifice so many things to the rag pile just because they've got holes in awkward places.
Fortunately, my mom didn't raise me with the "You're a woman, so clean" mentality. I'm the girl equivalent of a gamer. Sometimes there are Dr. Pepper forts surrounding my bed from all of the old cans....
:/
My mom raised me to find someone to mother me...
ticky box -- back later with thoughts on woman's work and such. Good stuff here!
ticky box
For those not on twitter, I just put up the writeup of the big dinner on saturday night. Drool if you must. :)
I love our wonderful Brazilian cleaners. They do all the stuff I hate, especially the things that involve chemicals and scrubbing, like in the bathrooms and such. I know some folks in group households who have it as part of the rent ,40$ or so, required contribution to pay for a cleaning service. Makes everyone much happier.
oh Jon HAS to do anything involving bleach, and has to do it when i'm at work and leave the venting fan on all day. and even with all of that, it still bothers me and my migraines.
Lady Q, you have either been reading my mind or (as they say) reading my mail. Thanks though- I want this on a regular basis- more than you can believe- but I am all full of the panicky "I can't afford it"s. I need to find a way to make it possible.
Jess, I think I got the same attitude that you did from my dad, the "I can do it myself" thing.
Mom was a clean freak. One of the only humans I knew who could have a white couch and carpeting! I still am not quite sure how that works. It must skip generations or sumpin'.
*ponders Spawn*
No, THAT'S not it....
Good post! Thank you!
I like to clean and especially to tidy. One of the few things I can do and have a visible result.
But it's a great idea for a friend of mine who has no time and three kids. Wonder if I can find someone north of Boston for her.
Amen, sister, Amen.
I took this advice years ago and love it. I neaten up the messes I make, but someone else CLEANS.
You do deserve it. Really you do.
Oh! Well! I feel so exploited!
Have just been alerted by a new friend that there's a Jonathan Coulton/Paul and Storm show here on Wednesday. I haven't actually heard them... but I've heard you all talk about them so much I'm thinking of spontaneously going. Busy week, though, so I dunno...
We are honored Fabulous Lorraine!
We love you too & Boss & all the chaos! It makes us very happy bringing clean cozy warmth into your life :)
Couldn't agree more with this one, Q. Your time has value, and if you add up dollars (time) spent cleaning (possibly less efficiently than the skilled and experienced experts, too)--that should definitely buy some outside focused assistance.
Having said that....I'm a student. Right now, my time doesn't, in fact, have much value. And my mother trusts me to do what she wants. So.... I am in fact the housekeeper. But believe you me, the minute I graduate and get that totally awesome job, she's getting a weekly housekeeper she can train herself :)
SO....why I'm really ditching my studying and hijacking your thread....
I just got in to my final class of the Spring semester. and.....drum roll please....
INTRO TO EXPLOSIVES ENGINEERING!!
Taught by rockstar explosives dude Dr. Van Romero, who NEVER lectures undergrad classes. Yippee. Skippee. YAY!! I actually managed to tag the last seat, when they released the course to the general college population.
sigh.
I'm going to be up all night with excitement.
Yep, we got some thrills around these parts.:)
Lys -you have all the fun!
DS--do my best :)
Seriously....I was fortunate overseas; although I saw much evidence of explosive devices and even saw quite a few explosions occur at a distance, very little happened to immediately and directly impact ME at a hazardous level. (well, aside from the shrapnel tearing up my hooch walls--luckily,I wasn't there at the time!)
But I had friends, you know?
And this is my chance to see if the field (as a minor to my degree) might suit me..to see if there is some contribution I can make towards ensuring my brothers and sisters in uniform are just a little safer outside the wire.
Enough soap-boxing...I'm actually pretty liberal, in truth. But keeping me and my friends alive has had a surprisingly high priority for me these last few years:)
And besides..the lecturer? This is the guy they go to for making diamonds :) I am SO fortunate, and recognize this lagniappe from the gods/goddesses for what it is!
" But keeping me and my friends alive has had a surprisingly high priority for me these last few years:)"
Yeah, well, I can totally understand that. Apart from that, it just sounds so exciting and fun.
It does, doesn't it. Thank you for understanding my thrill level, DS. I just HAD to come on here and share...I still can't believe I got the fifteenth seat (oh yeah, REALLY small lecture class.)
Even my toes are happy. :) And I'm trying to learn how to just accept and totally revel in these sorts of happy moments, without looking for that other shoe to drop :)
Happy Toes!
That is awesome.
Happy Bounce for Lysandwr! It does sound very exciting, as well as potentially useful and relevent.
Happy Lys.
At first I though "How fun!" and then realized what a good in-a-more-serious-way thing this is. You have to know explosives before you can protect from them.
Lys is pretty darn amazing. I mean, really amazing. You don't know exactly WHAT is going to happen next, but you know you will want to hear about it.
And in a good way.
I love that women.
And just THINK what a hit Lys will be at next years Fireworks Party!!!!
Maddy's first day of drivers ed. I don't think they actually get to DRIVE, so don't worry about the roads.
Actually, I am pretty proud of my little girl!
Yay Maddy! Though I'd hope they wouldn't send her out today. Not a good day for practical.
(Back when I took driver's ed the first six weeks was all theory, no driving. If that's still the case, she won't have to worry about winter roads for a while yet.)
Have just learned that putzfimmel is a German word meaning "mania for cleaning", which seems apropos to the previous discussion.
Storm coming. 8-11 inches. WIndchill 19-29 below zero (that's WAY cold you C degreee people)
If you are a TEENAGER and this storm is HERE and no one has yet bought you a WINTER COAT, especially if you live nearly an hour from the closest source of cool winter coats, and both your parents are gone, mention it. Do not say you are sure you will be fine in your light jacket and proceed to think it is simply not your fault you don't have one..
That is all I have to say this morning.
Indeed. You could seriously die of such exposure. Good thing there is a super Lorraine with a warm heart checking...
Sigh, you are indeed a wise woman Lorraine! We have agreed we will get a cleaner when we buy our own house next year.
House cleanliness is the only thing we really argue about, and I really stress about it whereas my bf doesn't really notice the state of the house! I don't want to turn into his mother nagging about the state of the bathroom or doing everything myself & feeling like Cinderella without a fairy godmother!!
Every time I've visited my mom in the past month or so, she's said "You're moving. Do you have a winter coat yet?"
Sunday, my stepfather decided to just give me his giant, toasty leather winter jacket. It's quite fashionable and goes all the way down to my ankles (because I am short). And, it has a belt!
The penalty for no cool winter coat is borrowing and wearing an uncool one from a parental unit type.....Much better lesson than freezing...and curative!
Bought Little COats for the Bengals. About to take pics.
There's a special kind of Hell for people like me, and I am truly going there.
For those not on Twitter, here's an amazing video from New Zealand, promoting reading.
Every year I want to buy Serious a lobster costume for Halloween, but I do not. :(
Twitpic's the Little Coats if anyone wants to link.
Off to horsie before the Storm hits for real...
Everyone needs winter coats when there's a windchill like that!
My sister dressed her kitties up for halloween. She had a cowgirl: http://bit.ly/5LNDaN
And a clown:
http://bit.ly/88EEym
I think a lobster costume would be awesome. My girls wouldn't stand for it if I tried.
Serious might. He lets the women in his life push him around.
Oh Lorraine, I can't believe your cats let you do that to them!!!
Here's the tweets/pics:
Venus's coat is too small, sadly....
So she consoles Mim , who is wearing her Bomber Jacket....
Hee hee heee! I think Venus may be whispering into Mim's ear just how they should get their revenge ......
What a great Chinese rap song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ1pe3j8ko4
Oh ... let me try the link again so that if you want to listen to the kewl Chinese rap song you don't have to copy and paste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ1pe3j8ko4
Darn. Sorry.
This, you meant?
Emily, I see your Phat Chinese Rhymes and raise you Jackie Chan singing a song from Mulan. He sings, he dances, he kicks ass!
I can't believe you got fuzzy coats on the girls, Q. :D The bomber jacket is particularly stylish.
Spending the day cleaning house for small dinner party tomorrow - annual tree decorating party with between 8-10 people. It started the year I couldn't seem to get the tree decorated, even though it was up. Donna from work came home with me, Steve did food and we drank a lot of wine and decorated the tree. In the yrs after, people invited themselves, we invited some andit's been about 12 yrs and we haven't decorated a tree without a group in all that time.
I love you too, sweetie!
Jane that sounds like a lovely tradition!! One of the best parts of Christmas is putting the decorations up, whilst drinking plenty of mulled wine of course. Yum. Made lots of gingerbread on Sunday to take over to our friends for a late thanksgiving celebration. Feel properly festive now (and still full)
For all the C temp Fiends like me...Lorraine is talking about temps around -30c according to my trusty little thermometer. Damn, I feel frozen just thinking about it.
Bengals Not Impressed. I'd be shredded in a second if I tried that with Tys!
And to think I was feeling cold overnight at 9C. Admittedly I have the summer bedding on nightwear on!
HA! Upgrade from a puny Winter Storm Warning to a full on BLIZZARD WARNING!
Now this is a Weather Event!!!!!!!!!
Sleep tomorrow too, no school will be happening. I think Maddy is having a party.
The way below zero windchill is not til tomorrow night...
Yes yes, Nathalie, that is the one!
Off to look at Jess's link.
WHOA, fantastic Chan.
Haven't looked at Chinese links, as currently using a computer with no sound (don't ask, not interesting a bit...) but OSS that book link video is brilliant...am stealing to post on Facebook...
Bah to blizzard warnings - we have 10.5" on the ground so far, and expect another 3-5" by morning - then the wind starts.
I'm taking a MUD.
MUD = Mandatory Unpaid Day. Yup, the furloughs have begun. At least I don't have to drive in the morning.
Any fiends in the Oberlin, or Wooster area of Ohio? DD and I will be heading out there mid-January for her to do a couple of college interviews.... I'd love a chance to meet up with a fiend or so for a cup (choose your own poison...)
Ah, yes. Minnesota--how I miss your weather. NOT!!
My first winter, shoveling snow in 90 BELOW windchill. Todd said "you're not homesick, Lys, you're California-sick" (did I mention that I'd moved from Santa Barbara to Mpls?)
He continued "everyone here gets California-sick once in a while....."
But actually, I don't think that is true. Y'all who stay in that weather decade after decade are made of hardier stuff then the rest of us mere humans !!!!
party?
Snow. Cold. Happy that I don't have a commute any more!
The cleaning blog made me think of a story. My Mom cleaned houses and offices and I started working with her when I was 9. When I was 12 or 13 we had an office that had a shop attached. I don't remember what they did there but all of the employees were men. There were a lot of images of women around the office that made me uncomfortable and I hated going there to clean. The bathroom was the worst. They seemed to think the toilet was optional. The floor was always a MESS. If you understand me. My, very religious Mother who never swore or said anything "coarse" finally decided to leave a note taped to the wall behind the toilet. It said: "If your dick it too short to pee in the bowl, lean over!"
The bathroom was just fine after that.
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Oh s..
I've been designated a "critical employee" (why? COFFEE is somehow critical?) and if they shut stuff down I'm still supposed to report to Coffman Union.
They forgot to say how I'm supposed to get there.
Right now I want one of Siri's MUDs.
Well I am sorry for you Bezz but yes, coffee is critical. Be safe, dear! I wish you had the day off!!
BEEZ!! Coffee IS critical!! But still, they have to be reasonable. Or at least should be.........
Sorry about the deleted comments - I got irritated with my sloppy proofing. :)
Anyways, I'm very impressed with those who can deal with blizzards. I whinge when the southerly blows through here (southerly as in from the Southern Alps/Antarctica).
And Beez - coffee is critical! You should see the sad little emails that circulate around here at the beginning of January as all the addicts try to work out which cafes are open so they can get their fix. (A lot of folks, including cafe owners, take their summer holidays around the beginning of January.)
I shall be thinking of you all as I brew, yes I will.
Gayle et al.- stay safe and warm
Good night.
Thanks, Beez. Good night and good luck.
it's time again to type that i just don't understand that temp. it's numbers, but i have no base of reference. i was complaining because i needed to wear a sweater today...socal has spoiled me.
why are boys so pitiful when sick? boy has some sort of stomach bug. he's trying to drink some gatorade, "electrolytes, it's what plants crave"
*sigh* why isn't there a button to make people well immediately?
Beez:
Don't feel too bad. At my current job, I've had to drive to work during hurricanes, because everyone else in the office had kids, and as the one kidless person I was the one who was supposed to drive through downed powerlines, standing water, high winds, etc. This is for an office job, not my reporting for the newspaper I freelance for. Then, the one time I evacuated, I got to hear about how inconvenient it was for me to leave during the HURRICANE.
Oh, and I got a 191 on my Praxis test. Out of 200. I needed a 160 to pass. Now I can bug my financial aid guy tomorrow!
And, I found out one of my childhood friends died over the weekend. Today has been a rollercoaster day.
Oh Wendy - a rollercoaster indeed.
Congratulations on your test results (that's just wonderful), but commiserations on the loss of your friend.
Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui, e kare.
(Which translates into something like - be strong, be brave, and be stout of heart.)
Goodnight fiendish ones. Stay warm!!!
Gayle, that story is priceless.
Seems to me that Merryhousekeeper might be a tad worried about the party bit...
Ahhh, Ms T...you're in NZ? I've been trying to remember. We need an ANZAC alliance here *grin*
Wendy, many hugs, for the good and the bad.
Hey Quiche - just saw Lady Gaga and The Queen.
Wendy, Congratulations on your results - Very impressive. And so sorry to hear about your friend. ((Wendy))
All of you in cold places, wrap up warm, and drive safely!
I think I would like to visit, to see such snowy coldness, and to play at freezing bbbles and the like, but I am not convinced I'd like to live there - so much cold fo so long would be tricky to cope with, I think.
RI has snow that just turned to rain. Mom is like, "Yay, we won't be shoveling," but I say snow-turned-rain is rather sad.
Most interesting tale, Gayle.
Snowed. Fucking. In!!!!!!!!!
Sorry. Need tea.
Back soon.
Wendy, I'm sorry about your friend.
Q - hooray for snowed in! With Doctor Who - what could be better?
I spent 40 minutes shoveling in the rain this morning. Yes, it will all melt, but 5 inches of slush is far too much to leave sitting on the sidewalk until it does.
Then I waded to work. Most people hadn't shoveled, and the heavy wet snow was enough to back up a lot of the street drains. Ick.
And there are no donuts here.
And I'm still working on the Evil Equations.
But my house might be getting cleaned this morning. :)
{{Wendy}}
A colleague just got back from a vacation in NZ. I am so envious. I've wanted to see it since I read the novel Naigo Marsh set there (Vintage Murder, I think). And Ashford spinning wheels come from there. Maybe someday...
Gayle, I love that story. I always dreaded cleaning the men's room at the various fast food places I worked for. I wish I had thought of a sign like that. Though I doubt management would have let me.
BIGASS Snow blog is UP.....
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