Sad Today

R.I.P Suzi, aka, Snoozie Kitty, you were a loving, snuggly kitty, we'll all miss you!

Hard Wood Floors Can Just Suck A$$ And Die

Several years ago, before I was a home owner, when I yearned and dreamed of owning and decorating my own home, the title of this post would not have been possible. I had visions of beautiful, shiny, well-maintained oak or cherry floors, gleaming in the sunlight. I saw myself lazing about on those beautiful floors, maybe with a big, fluffy floor cushion, a magazine, and a cup of tea. I did not, however, envision cleaning those floors. Everyday.

Now I own a home that is filled with these floors. Not the handsome floors of my daydreams. No, these hard wood (and really, do we always need the disclaimer that they are "hard" wood? I mean, who doesn't want to giggle a little in a dirty way every time I say that? I think a man must have devised that particular descriptive term. Yes, there was definitely a man behind hard wood floors, the more I think about it. It all makes sense. I digress...continue on) that "grace" my home have seen the worst of it. Kids, animals, water damage, years of wear and tear. They are battle scarred. I should probably think of them in more charitable ways, given all they have seen and withstood in their 72 years. But, alas, I cannot.

For the benefit of those of you who have not been in my home, let me describe for you our flooring layout. We have one strip of carpeting in the whole house, the stairs and upstairs hallway, which finds itself just as abused as the hard wood. This carpet is routinely called upon by my animals to be subjected to their various gastrointestinal woes. I mean, John has gastroinestinal woes, but HE doesn't see a need to spread it all over the only carpet in the house. In any event, the rest of the house is either tired, old linoleum (kitchen and bath, nat.) or tired, old hard wood. The downstairs floors have had a little more love in their lives than the upstairs. The downstairs was at one time (way prior to us) covered in carpeting of its own, which protected the wood. Then, when the carpeting came up, I'm sure in some 80's reno project, the floors were sanded and resealed, as they deserved. The upstairs floors, they have never seen the love of a wood sander or an oil treatment. They have been left to their own pathetic devices over the years and have turned dry, tired and bitter.

Enter my furry family. By that, I mean, two cats and a rather large dog. Enter spring. Oh, spring. You two-faced back-stabber. You bring flowers and birdsong and sunny skies. And you bring shedding and mud all over the freakin' place. And this is where I have come to loathe my hard wood floors. For, unlike carpeting, they do not quietly suck up the dust and dander and let you peacefully imagine that you have a clean home. No, they announce to everyone that no matter how dutifully I sweep and vacuum and even get down on my freakin' hands and knees and wipe up all the cat hair/dog hair/tracked in dirt, etc....it is STILL there, 2 seconds later, as someone walks by and the hairs fly. It's ALWAYS there.

My next house will be carpeted in dull, industrial strength, grey heaven. And yes, I just completed a 1000+ word essay on my floors.

A Little Help From Our Friends

As a lot of you know, my family has been going through a difficult time lately. John has this crazy pain in his abdomen that brings him to his knees many times a day, and leaves a lingering pain 24/7. He finds it hard to do almost anything, though he tries and tries and it leaves him in even more pain. His doctor finally put him on disability on Thursday for at least 4 weeks. Luckily, we both work at an amazing agency that just so happens to work with people with disabilities, so, there's a lot of sympathy and good benefits. He will continue to receive full pay while on disability, as he did the last 3 times he has been on disability in the last 18 months (3 hospitalizations).

I have been trying to keep up on my own, but, man, it's hard. I had an insane month at work due to changing jobs. I haven't seen much of my daughter because of working so much. I have been so exhausted that I have just basically let all housework go. Now, I grant you, for me, that still means my house is pretty clean. I am fastidious, I admit it. "Hi, my name is Kami, and I'm obsessively organized." I manage to keep all of G's toy picked up most of the time, or at least picked up enough so they don't take over the house. I literally can't sit down until any and all "piles" of stuff have been put away. I HATE! piles. They do not exist in my house. And I straighten furniture, knick knacks, etc in my sleep. I can't help it. But...there is a fine layer of dust, cat hair and dog hair on top of EVERYTHING in my house. I have 3 baskets of laundry in the basement that haven't been sorted, folded or put away in 2 weeks. I have a big pile of sheets, towels also in the basement waiting to be washed, and 2 overflowing hampers upstairs. I haven't truly cleaned my bathroom in weeks (ewwww). I haven't vacuumed possibly since Christmas, I can't remember. I haven't even swept my hardwood floors in a few weeks. I did finally break down yesterday and wipe up all the sticky spots on my kitchen floor, but it hasn't seen a mop in quite a while. And my little backyard? Where the dog is let out? Let's just call that a disgusting, vile, biohazard and not talk about it anymore. Now that I have you thoroughly grossed out, let's move on.

I put out a call, both on my blog and in person, last week to any and all friends and family who might be able to help us out a little bit. And I just want to say a HUMONGOUS THANK YOU! to all the people who have responded with their help, their time, their love and support. Dan and Colleen came over the other night and brought a big, yummy lasagna that we have been enjoying ever since (read: I don't have to cook). Rose and Jason came over last week and took our dog for a very much needed walk (read: less jumping on G). Kate and Nick came over today and played with G (read: I took a nap!). And then there are all the people at work who have offered me a shoulder to (literally) cry on, advice, and help actually getting sh*t done, too. And my parents who have been there whenever we needed any extra help with G. And all my bloggy friends who have been there with loving words and thoughts. Thank you, thank you.

I don't know where the next few weeks will lead us. We have a lot of important doctors' appointments coming up. I sincerly hope that we will find some answers. Hey, a diagnosis would be nice. It is so much easier to go down this road with all of you behind my back, propping my exhausted self up.