Welcome!

I've finally decided that I am a writer - all the other things I do just pay the bills. Someone eloquent once said that if you do what you love, the money will follow. Well, let's just see about that.

RIP Aggie

RIP Aggie
Aggie was my fifteen-year-old cairn terrier - or maybe I should say I was her 55-year-old person! She was my faithful companion, spoiled rotten and I am still trying to figure out what to do without her.

Peter the Cat...

Peter the Cat...
This is Peter the gingersnap tabby! He's seven years old and has just been promoted to Peter the Very, Very Good. He is working his way up to Peter the Great...

Bee - the Cat Who Came From Somewhere Else...

Bee - the Cat Who Came From Somewhere Else...
Bee is Peter's buddy. He's eight years old and has made himself right at home. I guess cats really do come in pairs or sets of three!

And Jasper makes three!

And Jasper makes three!
Jasper is our new guy - the Cat From Another Place. He's four years old and we think he likes it here - so far, so good!

Buzz about...

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Holy crap...

was my carpet dirty!  I had it steam-cleaned today for several reasons.  One: Aggie has accidents.  But she's twelve and I love her, so big deal - it's just a rug.  Two: the carpet by the front door was especially dirty and I wanted it to be presentable for tax season since that area is, in a manner of speaking, my lobby.  And three - the main reason for the big rush - was the notice I got stating that all units would be inspected between January 3 and 5!  I about had a heart attack - I've never lived in a rented space before (except my college dorm) and I didn't know that inspections were something the management company did in the real world.  I flew into panic mode - I had a lot of stuff to dust and scrub to my normal standard of clean before this inspection looming large on my horizon.  I rang the carpet cleaners who did a magnificent job on the old apartment when I moved to this one and they couldn't come until today.  Yikes!  I called the condo office and told Mark that I couldn't be ready for any inspection until Wednesday.  No problem, he assured me, since lots of people had scheduling conflicts as well.  That little wrinkle having been take care of, the procrastinator part of my perfectionist personality took over and I put everything off until this morning.  So I'm up early, frantically scrubbing the bathroom and vacuuming the floor in anticipation of the carpet cleaners' arrival at eleven.  I waited.  And I waited.  I waited some more.  They finally appeared at one-thirty and in the space of twenty minutes, my carpet went from grunge to glorious - and I really had no idea it was quite that grimy.  Anyhow, I paid the miracle workers and they went on their merry way to bring joy throughout the land.  I waited.  And I waited.  I waited some more.  At about five-thirty I rang the condo office and asked if they forgot me.  No, Mark assured me, they inspected all the apartments they wanted to see and the new owners of the complex were apparently satisfied with what they saw.  Aha!  So that's what this was all about - and regular unit inspections are only the hobgoblins of my overactive imagination.  Thank you, Jesus!  In my week long state of panic, I thought I'd somehow been transported back to college, where (and my old roommate Anne Estelle Davis can verify this) I vacuumed compulsively, straightened the wayward clothing in both her closet and mine while continually keeping watch on the bathroom because I lived in fear of the resident director's white glove tests.  Her "watch for lint on the floor" comment on our first room inspection just about undid me.  Anne didn't care.  People called us Felix and Oscar for good reason.  While I love Anne to death and she continues to be an inspiration to me after almost thirty-five years, this girl did not concern herself with housekeeping, laundry or making her bed.  We made a good team, though.  She kept me on a straight and narrow spiritual path and I made sure she had clean sheets on a regular basis.  Anne used to say, "I love when you make my bed; it's like sleeping in a rubber band."  High praise indeed.
I don't think I'll tell her how dirty my carpet was.

3 comments:

  1. As I was reading your post I couldn't believe any management company would have the right/audacity to inspect tenents homes!!! After all, you're paying to live there! I was relieved to see that wasn't quite the case. But hey, you've got a spanking clean house/carpet now, so enjoy!
    Best,
    Susan

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  2. Well at least the panic mode got you some good clean carpet.
    Great story about your college roommate.
    ♥ Joy

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  3. I need to clean my carpets! Louis Dean has a carpet cleaner but the last time he did it I could not tell much difference. He spills drinks as he comes around the kitchen cutting through a corner of the dining room (new carpet!) and through the sitting room to the gazebo! Coffee, tea, wine....my gray carpet is even GRAYER in spots! I have a Rainbow vacuum cleaner and MAN! when I vacuum the water is pure mud!! (he tracks in a lot, too!)
    Congratulations on passing the white glove test!!! Even if it was YOUR white glove!

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