More than nothing

The wonderful woman who cleaned my house had to quit because of health problems.  I miss her.

In her absence I have decided to be my own house cleaner.

All well and good but there is a  factor in retirement  ---  the thought that  “I can do that tomorrow”.

 Retirement is a friend of procrastinators!

On the upside  I  have decided that I should not procrastinate on house cleaning. So I am tackling one room a day. That makes it easy.

On the downside, now that I am the cleaner my “house proud tendencies” and perfectionism is  re-emerging.

Some of that is O.K. 

 I decided on Tuesday last to wash my bedroom, bathroom and kitchen cabinet doors.  I hadn't realised how dirty they had become (they were not part of my house cleaner’s responsibilities).

Murphy’s Oil Soap did the trick.

On the other hand I tend to see dust and dirt everywhere, and I have “to keep a nice house” after all!

I have large glass sliding doors between my sitting/dining room and the lanai.  Damn it’s hard to keep them smear free. “Windex” is fairly useless.  Today I tried a mixture of white vinegar and water, spraying that onto the glass doors, and wiping it down with newspaper. ‘Tis an old and fairly effective trick which worked quite well.

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In one of my peregrinations (I love that word) with Penne today I came across my dear octogenarian friend Betty.  She is an ex-marine, and retains a feisty spirit.

After mutual greetings Betty said “Michael, I am on top of the world”. “How so?” I asked.  “The election” she said, “President Obama!”

Well, ya never know, and since Betty and I have never discussed politics (though we have chatted about sex, and religion) I had no idea of her political leanings.

She is so happy that our President has been re-elected, and we share the conviction that Michelle Obama and Barack Obama are a class act”.

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If I’d been a father I would have been one of those “helicopter parents” -  the ones that always hover over their children, checking on their progress and encouraging them on.

I know that because I have helicopterish tendencies about my dog. I worry about her too much. I don’t like to leave her alone for much more than four hours.

If I have to be out of my home for longer than that I leave her with a neighbour (for pay).

I am to be out of town for a while next Tuesday (visiting family members who will be in the St. Petersburg FL area on vacation).

Alas my dog sitting neighbour will be on vacation next week.

What to do?

“Kill two birds with one stone” is the answer.

So I booked Penne in for a much needed bath and nail trimming next Tuesday.

She’ll be safe and sound at the vet’s office whilst I am out of town.

The poor creature shakes and trembles when I take her into the vet’s office.  Even worse, she “freaks out” when her nails have to be trimmed. So I will have to give her a sedative before I leave the house and take her to the vet.

That’s helicopter parenting for you.

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There is another lump on my brow, right next to the place where a Squamous cell carcinoma was surgically removed a few weeks ago.

I am sure that I now face more surgery.

Fortunately I have a routine appointment with my Dermatologist on Nov 12th.  I will insist that she takes a sample of this lump for biopsy.  Better to be safe than sorry.

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Bill is a pal who lives in the adjoining community called “Glen Oaks Manor”.  He is a rabid liberal (yeah!) and a good photographer.

He took the picture early last Wednesday, and titled it “The Morning After”.

It’s taken from his side of the two communities. It depicts the pond behind my home, with “Old Glory” (at the Bobby Jones Golf Complex) in the background.

Bill and I rejoice that on “the morning after” Barak Obama was re-elected as our President.