Today I shall be Mainly...

[chinatyke]

This afternoon I’ll be with a friend on a high-speed train travelling eastwards across southern China on our way to Guangzhou. Guangzhou was formerly called Canton. We will submit applications for the renewal of our passports on Wednesday morning and then travel home in the afternoon.

[Stanley]

How far is that China?
Sue and Maz. Reading about you Two has exhausted me.



I have a nice clean shed and a clean tablecloth. Today I scrub up and go to be poked by the pre-op nurses at Airedale.

[LizG]

Sue and Maz I thought you would appreciate this. At a sewing class a couple of weeks ago friends asked what were we all doing in the afternoon. I replied that at the very least I had to dust and vacuum. One women said "why, is someone visiting this afternoon? I only dust if someone is coming."

I have to admit I'm nowhere near as organised as you two though. No set days for me to do stuff.

[Stanley]

I sympathise with that lady!

[Wendyf]

That's what Colin says if he finds me cleaning, "Are we expecting visitors?" I have tried to be organised and have regular cleaning days but it has never worked, I just clean when I feel the need. We have had visitors for the last 2 weekends and the house is still looking quite clean..... should last till Xmas when I'll clean up for Santa!

[Marilyn]

My problem is, that hubby designs homes and display homes. So he is used to wandering about in beautifully pristine spaces.
( and me with my slight OCD...well...you can guess the rest!)
But I do enjoy other people's mess. I love going to my son's and seeing the couch with the shape of the dog's body in it, wall to wall dog's hair floating about, a layer of dust everywhere, and the smell that is a mixture of dog kennel and aftershave! It is kind of nice!
I get upset if hubby suggests we live in a mess because we don't...he just had "new house" syndrome.

[Marilyn]

He is worse in the car! I'm not even allowed to leave my sunglasses in the car!!!!

[Sue]

There are only two of us and these days we have no pets. Both of us are fairly tidy but Bob less than me. Rather like my Dad was he leaves piles of paperwork in different places which rather annoys me. When Bob worked away and lived away he kept his little home immaculate far more so than here. As for gardening I think our division is much the same as you Maz, Bob does the heavy jobs I prune weed and plant, although we are lawn free here in England as we seemed to grow moss more than grass and most plants are perennial and take care of themselves.

In France I tend to do all the cleaning and its a big place. Cleaning is minimal. A throrough do when we leave , and another when we arrive to clear spiders webs and dust that has accumulated. Then its a clean before and after visitors. I hate dusting so have a trusty feather duster on a stick, its so much quicker. I love ironing and like home here my ironing board is always up. In both places I have a room where I can do that with no impingement on the rest of the house.

Today is yoga this morning but I will leave early as I am at a pre Christmas meal with friends from my old sewing club. This evening I am at a carol service at a local church.

[Marilyn]

Things are much more relaxed in our van. I clean it before every trip. Everything has a place and we need to maintain a sense of some order. This means a five minute tidy up every morning, but otherwise we just relax. It is nice. I tend to gather a pile of books and bits and bobs on my bed..the newspaper etc. I tidy up and do a rubbish run to the bin every morning and make the beds. Apart from that...we veg out. I am on holiday!

[Stanley]

No shed today, I have a bit of arranging to do for next Tuesday and will address that. Apart from that, reading about waterwheels I think!

[Wendyf]

Reading about Maz and Sue's housekeeping experiences has made me realise where I've gone wrong. I think I'm on holiday all the time!

[Stanley]

Just right Wendy, thank God you aren't a compulsive cleaner. I can live with a reasonable amount of muck quite happily and I suspect you can as well. Mind you I admit to OCD with my workshop, sink and lavatory, that makes sense!

[Sue]

I am not a compulsive cleaner. It all gets done once a week here as described, except bathroom which I do everyday, but I do like it tidy, well tidyish. My Mum used to hoover and dust every morning including skirting boards. We are outdoors most of the time in France so apart from leaves and petals blowing in the permanently open doors there is not a lot of regular cleaning to do. Retirement I think, is about doing the things you want to do rather than need to do.

Bob is out most of the day today, and with the rain as well there will be no long walk today. I have to pick up a prescription for a new asthma inhaler and buy some pate for a Jacob’s join at craft on friday. Then I have pilates at 6.30pm. Otherwise I shall plod on with my sewing projects. The meal yesterday was good as was the very pleasant carol service.

[Marilyn]

I am not as bad as I used to be. I've spent too many hours of my life on useless housework. I may morph into a mouldy old woman, surrounded in piles of books, and have frizzy grey hair tied in a headscarf. A faint smell of moth balls and lavender...

[Wendyf]

That's me! Only smelling of dogs and cats and stables rather than mothballs and lavender.

[Marilyn]

Wendy...so long as we don't smell of urine...any other smell is quite acceptable.
(Apart from Garlic!)

[chinatyke]

How far is that China?

About 700km/450miles approx. High-speed trains all the way, the Chinese high-speed railway system is fabulous. About 4 hours running time.
I'm back again now but will need to go again in January to collect my new passport in person. It is possible to do the return journey in one day.

[Marilyn]

It certainly pays not to clean your windows too far out from Christmas!, 39C here today and new(ish) neighbour has diggers and machinery in both front and back yards, doing landscaping. There has been much scraping and moving dirt about, and soil and rock delivery. Dust everywhere. We have the windows shut and are following quiet pursuits today...hubby working as usual and I am having my first attempt at pop art. I had an old picture I was going to take to the Goodwill, but I've decided to use it for my first try at this painting technique. Now I wish I had chosen a new canvas, because painting over an old artwork is more difficult.

[Stanley]

That's fast China.
Quiet day and another blood test at Park Road surgery. At least I have remembered!

[Marilyn]

I abandoned the art work. I need a new canvas. Might buy one tomorrow. Too difficult to paint over an existing art work...

[Sue]

No plans today. Art and writing have finished till January. No yoga as ots the Christmas party which I am not going to, instead we are visiting friends whose son broke his ankle in September. Next Monday he goes to hospital tohave the pins out and he can attempt to walk again. During the day I shall carry on with my sewing, but I also have to pop to the shops to get a secret Santa gift for my craft class tomorrow.

I am one of the millions of people affected by a facebook problem. At lunchtime yesterday my account closed with so e sort of error message. I cannot reopen it, or change my password. My story is the same as all the others that have been described on the i ternet, that I found by a google search. I had hoped it would have been remedied by this morning but it has not

I think it might have stopped raining. It rained non stop yesterday, the day before was foggy all day. It seems ages since I saw proper daylight.

[Marilyn]

Well we are still in bright sunshine and 36C at 6.45 pm. Ceiling fans on...feet on the coffee table...cool drinks ( watching Corrie)
No bedding needed tonight.
I've drunk that much water today my tummy is making sloshing noises when I walk!

[Sue]

Still raining. Our empty garden pond is nearly full again despite the leak

[Stanley]

Your sodium levels will be down Maz!
Butcher's and shopping today. Apart from that I'm pursuing a policy of no extra work apart from normal exercise, marshalling my resources for next week!
36C is unimaginable here at the moment as is any dry weather or sight of the currant bun.

[Sue]

Yes we are entering another dark wet day. I finished yet another sewing project yesterday, at the present rate and with this weather I will be able to set up a market stall selling clothes soon

Craft this morning then lunchout.