So, what have I been up to? Basically, I am living the life of a housewife. I kind of like it. I clean a lot, I read a lot. I would also be watching copious amounts of Oprah, except Oprah's suck levels have been exceedingly high lately. My biggest accomplishment so far is that I finally took control of our increasingly desperate book situation. You all know that I am a compulsive book buyer. It had gotten to the point where there were little stacks of books on every free surface. Also, poor Bob's library has been stuck out in the garage. We've lived together a year now (!), and it was certainly time to invite his books in.
Now here was the hard part. I am incapable of just putting books on shelves. They must be alphabetized, damn it. I have been like this since I was a kid; it's one of my bigger obsessions. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to merge and alphabetize books??? Let me tell you, it took me around four hours and it was not fun. I did succeed in getting everything on a shelf. The bad news is that Bob and I can either only buy about three more books total, or we have to move. My Edith Sitwell and Walt Whitman have already been relegated to shelf-top "decorative accessories." Desperate, indeed.
I had a few other points to share with you. First, my desire to be more natural, more environment-friendly a
round the house has directed me to a few new techniques. I've started using Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap for lots of cleaning, and also for laundry (with a little baking soda thrown in). A little goes a long way, and it really cuts dirt. I've also been using vinegar to do some basic cleaning. It takes me back to Ireland, where each Saturday I'd clean the entire house with vinegar and newspaper. And of course I have continued devotion to Mrs. Meyers. I feel good about not spraying weird chemicals all over the apartment, especially since Lucie has a need to lick everything.We've also finally completely stopped using paper towels. This one has been a little hard. It's so easy to just grab a paper towel for a quick clean up. I have to keep telling myself that it's just as easy to use a rag. It's also provided some comedy around the apartment: I had to pause and laugh at myself as I explained to Bob the difference between my
"nice" rags and my "whatever" rags. Ridiculous. Okay, okay, I'm high maintenance.One of the fun things about being more Earth-conscious, though, is that I get to look for new solutions to problems. For example, our basil plant in the kitchen keeps attracting fruit flies. The solution? I bought a Venus fly trap. It has been happily munching on flies all day.
Oh! I keep forgetting to talk about my new hobby. It's not that new, actually, but I haven't taken pictures. Ladies and gentlemen, I present ironic embroidery:
Call me Little Susie Homemaker and die.
And finally, a gratuitous picture of Lucie:
2 comments:
oh my god i totally forgot you had a dog! I will ignore the housewife comment since you have a legit job where you "make a difference" and stuff. I mean aside from my occasional ass busting and 2 hours of class here and there I"m kind of like a housewife too except that i don't cook or clean but instead sit around watching hours of bachelorette episodes.
I have never taken a summer off and the only way I can ameliorate my guilt is by cleaning like crazy. Also, as we discussed today, I just really like to clean.
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