May 7, 2017

Want to get the house whipped into a semblance of normalcy relatively quickly?

Invite people over at the last minute.

No, seriously.  In the midst of all the projects that we wanted to get done this weekend (which,sadly, we did not accomplish BUT we did make progress...and the weather was gorgeous - so no complaints here) we were also invited to a "dedication" service for our friends with the new baby.

I had no idea what we were wandering into - and truthfully, she didn't seem to know what to expect either, as when they had their older children they weren't attending this church.  We've been to christenings and baptisms but had never even heard of a dedication.

It was lovely - a little out of my comfort zone - but beautiful.  The basic premise was that of a christening but with more audience participation.  What the new parents had to say about why they had invited the guests they had moved many of us to tears.  I, especially teared up, when the grandmother, who is from out of town, called us surrogate grandparents - not that I am ANY where near being old enough to be a grandparent (quit giggling), I loved the comment and the fact that she was overjoyed that we are here when she can't be, I loved even more.  Yes, these friends have become family.

But back to the purpose of this post....

She had wanted to host a small get together after the service but the older children had a make up soccer game, plus she just had a baby, plus she had just moved.  So basically, it wasn't happening.

The Husband felt that "something" should be done to commemorate the day; so he invited the family over for dinner tonight at the last minute.

And that was all the motivation that was needed to clean off the dining room table and the counter tops and anywhere else that clutter seems to gravitate.  Both bathrooms were given a good scrubbing, laundry was completely finished, and most surfaces were met with a dust cloth and....ta-da!  The house is now ready for company.

Is it perfect?  No.  Is it ready enough for me to throw open the doors and welcome our friends?  Yes.  Yes, it is.

And really, that's all that matters.  Spending time with those with love and not worrying whether or not the house is "perfectly ready" for company.



May 5, 2017

I had big plans for today...I should have known....

The Husband and I took today off in a valiant attempt to tackle some of those pesky projects.  Our thinking was that during the weekends we usually have to deal with errands, laundry, cleaning, etc.  Today was supposed to be all about projects.  No laundry, no errands, no cleaning.  Nothing but focusing on the list and getting stuff done.

As of now, not one thing on the list of projects was touched.

My phone, which has been giving me grief for about a month and then magically fixed itself, reared it's ugly head and started acting up again.

My garage door, which we JUST had repaired, also decided to break a spring.

So instead of spending the day working on projects, The Husband and I found ourselves dealing with those issues.  Which, while these issues have been dealt with, meant that the entire day was wasted.

It's so frustrating.  Yes, I know.  I can't actually expect that in ONE day we could have gotten through the list, but I expected to have at least made headway.  That the backyard would be ONE step closer to being finished, the porch - while it couldn't have been painted today, could have been cleaned off and ready to go should the weather cooperate tomorrow.  One or more doors could have been sanded.  SO much could have been accomplished but wasn't.

I keep reminding myself that it could be worse.  Friends a little north of us had a tornado touch down last night (they are all okay and no damage to the house) and are now dealing with a GIANT tree down in front of their home.  And, as they just discovered, their homeowner's insurance will not cover the cost of removing it.  Unbelievable.

So here's to tomorrow.  Hopefully dawning cool and with no humidity.  Maybe then we can start to make headway on that list.  But, to be honest, at this point, I'm not counting my chickens...