One Thing Begets Another...

I could have sworn that I did a blog yesterday... Guess my mind is going!

So much to do! The kitchen floor project starts tomorrow morning, so I have been "lightening" the load on kitchen furniture and appliances so stuff doesn't get broken...china cabinet...buffet...washer/dryer...stove. Um...the refrigerator is another deal. Don't know WHAT to do about that! Of course, one job begets another. As I have done laundry, I have moved clothing around. Kids winter clothes pile. Kids outgrown clothes pile. Clothes on hangers. Folded clothes. I usually at least get them to the appropriate bedroom, even if they aren't put away properly there. (Since the children aren't here right now, their bedrooms are taking the kitchen overflow. As always, things get MORE messed up in the process of trying to get things right!) You can't believe how nice the refrigerator looks without all of the magnets, calendars, and cereal boxes on it! I'm not anywhere ready for the guys tomorrow, but I have made a big dent.

"Grandpa" Phil came over on Friday to clean out my maple-farm gutters. Since the shrubs that usually make that difficult have been removed, it wasn't a hard job...just tedious. Clean out gutter, put rotting leaves and seedlings in a bucket, dump the bucket into a garbage bag, move the ladder. Repeat. It took a couple of hours in decent temperatures. Whatever would I do without people like Phil and Judy?! Thanks, Phil! I owe you one!

My best plan was to have all of the laundry caught up so that there wouldn't be problems over the two kitchen floor days. This morning, I re-tumbled a load in the dryer in order to get it unwrinkled to put away...and noticed that there was no heat. Hmmmm.... I put it on a different setting. Again, no heat. The dryer is electric and about 18-years-old. To my remembrance, I've never had service on it. (I keep records on that stuff. Should look it up.) I shot "feelers" out to some of my radio friends. All three agreed that it was worth fixing...and cheaper than buying new. One volunteered to come over this afternoon and move it out to check on the electrical stuff, but another said he would come over tomorrow (after the floor guys move it out) to fix it. I'm not supposed to say who he is because he's afraid others will want him to do their work, too. Let me just put it this way: this fellow has been a good friend through many years and has always helped me through the rough spots. Even Meg feels guilty that we always seem to call on him when things go a-foul here. God bless Mr. Clumsyhawk!

This is going to sound stupid. I have an inside broom and an outside broom. The inside broom never gets used outside...and usually never vice-versa. Today, I wanted to clear a space on the patio, so I brought the outside broom through the house, set it in the kitchen...then grabbed it to sweep something in the utility area...and earwigs went everywhere! There must have been 15 of them hiding in the broom!! I couldn't grab the Raid fast enough! Ugh! I HATE those things! We have had a bit of an infestation of them over the last 3-4 years outside. Too many places to hide, I guess. Once everything is cleaned up, once and for all (I hope), there will be fewer places for them. It will probably take all summer to get done. Double ugh!

My health hasn't been all that great. I feel better today than I have in awhile. I will probably turn myself in to a doctor on Wednesday, just to get things checked out. My weight is down, but I still have a long way to go before I am not considered overweight. At least 30 pounds. I can do this. It's just a long, slow process!

More later. I need a nap!