Floor Care

She still brought her lunch in Rosemary's old school lunch box, a thermos of hot tea (which she said kept her warm in winter and cool in summer), and her own table-model radio, which she carried under her arm and plugged into the wall sockets of the different upstairs rooms as she went about her work.  Starting with the kitchen, she did the downstairs rooms in the morning.  She didn't like to be talked to when she was scrubbing the kitchen floor because she said being on her knees and the rhythm of the arm motions made it the ideal time for going over her life.

(excerpt from "Flora" by Gail Godwin)

That idea of going over my life while scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees seemed like such a good one after reading about the sensible way Mrs. Jones tackled the housework in the book Flora (by Gail Godwin).

With Brett out of town and a good steady rain tapping on the windows, the atmosphere seemed just right for tackling the job.

Nobody would be trying to talk to me and the floors were in need of a good scrub.

Ugh...
What was I thinking?
A bad lower back and many rooms with hardwood flooring are not a match made in heaven.
The pain crème was soon called into action.

 However, I persevered and was pleased with the results.
I wouldn't even want to admit how many hours it took to get the job done or how long it took to straighten up again after standing :/.
The thing I like about washing the floors on my hands and knees is that when I'm down there I can see all of the dust on the baseboards and the drips on the white kitchen cupboards.  I wash them too as I make my way through the rooms.   It's a great sense of accomplishment once the job is done.
With that being said, I think I have just retired from the job.

Mrs. Jones is a bigger woman than I.
Either that or she hasn't got back problems.

Not long after the great floor wash, my son came over with his new Roomba.  It was great entertainment to watch it move from room to room picking up the dust and dog hair as it went. 

Although the dog wasn't too sure about it.
I was especially pleased to hear it humming away under my bed as I laid there watching tv and relaxing.
Too bad I can't figure out a way to attach a mop to the thing.

~~~

If you have a good method for floor washing that doesn't require being on your hands and knees, would you care to share?

I was told to only use vinegar and water on the hardwoods.

In the past I've tried the following methods:

1)  I originally used a sponge mop like my mom always did.

But, it seemed like no matter how well I wrung out the sponge, there were water marks unless I followed along with a towel.

2)  I reluctantly joined the Swiffer Wet Jet craze.  I say reluctantly because I dislike all of the waste they create, not to mention the expense of keeping stocked up on pads and solutions.

3)  I most recently was going to try a steamer that my in-laws gave to us.  I really liked the idea that it had washable pads and required no chemicals.  When I plugged it in it was soon evident that it no longer created steam.  Seems it was one of those "as seen on tv" products that has since been recalled.

If you have any recommendations, my back and I will thank you.

~~~~

A Productive Weekend

Now that the pollen has settled, it was time to take action to make the patio a more desirable place to relax.

Here you see a pile of pollen that I swept from behind the patio chairs in preparation for power washing time.  

Brett in action.

He power washed the patios, all of the patio furniture, the screens and here he is blasting the rocks in the fountain.  They get coated with a black film during the winter.  That is all gone now and everything is looking so fresh and clean.

While he was doing all that, I was inside cleaning.

Dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, laundering and tidying.

Sounds like a fun weekend, doesn't it?  ;D

To lessen the drudgery I started by cutting a little bouquet for the kitchen.  My hydrangeas are just coming into bloom along with the coneflowers.

Before the work began we visited the farmer's market.

The local strawberries are still in season so we purchased a quart along with a delicious cantaloupe.  

I was able to pick a small bowl of blueberries from the garden and snipped a sprig of spearmint while I was out there.

It all came together for a colorful fruit salad.

While at the farmer's market we also purchased a tomato pie.

Filled with eggs, cheese, tomatoes, onion and basil.  Yum!

It paired nicely with the fruit and was a fairly effortless dinner at the end of  a busy day.

The pie was loaded with tomatoes and soooo tasty.

It seems to me that a meal tastes especially good after a productive day, particularly if most of the ingredients are fresh and seasonal.

Tiny Words of Thanks

Have you ever gotten excited over a new floor mop?

It would seem as though this is an issue I have been pondering for years.

My most recent issue has been to find a mop for the laminate floors in the laundry room/office.  Apparently the thing you don't want to use on this type of flooring is a mop that leaves too much water behind.  I've tried a few choices since moving here and none have been too great. Either they did leave the floor too wet and/or were hard on the old back.

The other day I moved it up on my priority list and got serious about finding thee one.

Sometimes I avoid doing this as it can be time consuming and a bit overwhelming.  Easier to just plug along with the less than ideal situation.  Anyhow, after checking out the options, I decided on Bob Vila's top choice.  I figured he ought to know what he's talking about and it did receive rave reviews.

While this post is really not a mop review, I must say I LOVE everything about this system.  Perhaps most of all I like the simplicity of the instructions and the simplicity of operation.

You know a product is a success when you look forward to washing your floors.

You may be wondering what this post is about if not to promote a microfiber mop.  

I guess it is more about those small unexpected words of thanks.

When I selected the mop I had no idea I was supporting a small family business.  

The handwritten thank you note included in the box let me know.

Some might think it was just in there to garner favorable reviews.

I'm not one of those people.  In this case I will be happy to leave a highly favorable review.  After all those reviews helped me make an informed decision before purchasing.

As I've begun my Christmas shopping I am making a concentrated effort to support small businesses.  

My husband has been a small business owner for over 30 years and we surely appreciate our loyal customers.

He is in the business of selling and servicing a very specialized type of machinery.  Most of his customers are machine or tool & die shops.  Kind of a man's world to my way of thinking. I guess if I had my own small business it would be selling something different than machines.  Maybe home decor, flowers or books ;).  Anyhow, machinery is our business life as I have worked alongside him in one capacity or another all of those years.

When this tiny note fell out of the envelope with a customer's payment, Brett read it out loud and then dropped it in the trash.  I promptly removed it from the trash and tucked it into my desk drawer.  Something about a man in his machine shop taking the time to pencil out this note makes me smile.  That was many months ago and I still find it smile worthy every time I open the desk drawer.

Have you received any unexpected notes of thanks recently?

Let me take a moment to say a big

Thank You

to all who stop by and visit here.

In The December Garden

The directions said to place it a cool room with indirect light.

That proved to be good advice.

Not sure that it will still have blooms on Christmas Day, but it sure is a beautiful sight to enjoy in the days leading up to Christmas.

  

 The beauty of the amaryllis is still waiting to be revealed.

I've been lightly misting the soil every day and watching as it slowly grows taller and plumper.

I think this one will be blooming on Christmas Day.  At least that's the plan.

When the springtime rolls around I transplant the amaryllis bulb into the garden and then the following summer we have this:

 Pretty in any season.

How are your Christmas preparations coming along?

Today I'll be putting the finishing touches on the decorating followed by a whole house vacuuming, which may be followed by a washing of the hardwood floors ... or not.  Instead I may decide to visit blogland where the Christmas preparations are so pretty and inspiring.  I've gotten pretty good at that lately ;-).  But, hey, we have to stop every now and then for a break, don't we?  We don't want to get burned out yet.

In my recent blog hopping, I somehow stumbled upon (funny how that happens) a beautiful Swedish gardening blog.  I was completely fascinated by the creative and beautiful way that she gardens.  If you're in need of a little break any time soon, I think a visit to Sweden is just what the doctor ordered.  Very pretty and calming.  In fact she has just made a gorgeous advent wreath that is well worth the visit.  Hitting the translate button helps (a bit) to read the words.  It can also be quite entertaining.  However, with such beautiful photos, I'm not sure the words are even necessary.   Anyhoo, if you're interested, the link is here . 

Happy December girls.

deep breaths ... we can do this.