The great spring clean

There were so many things to do this last week I haven't realised that my last post was a full week ago. After last weekend's orienteering we decided to come down to the village on Monday to get on with the many things planned. It was quite lucky that we did, on account of the lodgers still being in residence. We could settle all matters with them and lock the Bunkhouse up safely ourselves. Attila, our gardener, has cut the grass so nicely that the garden looked like a park. Juci, our new cleaner, came on Tuesday to start on cleaning all three buildings after what seemed an interminable time. After my illness two years ago we haven't managed to catch ourselves up and all the rooms needed a thorough going over. She started upstairs and in 8 and half hours she just managed to get the three rooms upstairs done, there was so much to do. All curtains came off to be washed, all carpets were soundly beaten and then vacuumed, floor scrubbed, furniture polished and all cobwebs thoroughly eradicated. There were corners where a veritable forest of them hung in artistic dangles, worthy to be photographed. In the morning Roy took the car to the panel beaters to mend both the damage done the other day by somebody hitting the front of the car and the dents from some road debris caused way back at the beginning of the winter. Still on Tuesday I rang the tinman to come sometime in the week to mend the rainwater gutter as promised. He said he would come on Wednesday, which he didn't. It is now Saturday, but no sight of him whatsoever, so I will have to chase him up. On Wednesday I washed all the curtains and did some reading and worked on the computer. Thursday was spent in much the same way, but Friday was very different.

I got up at 5am to catch the 5.40am bus into town. I went to see the Ferenczy retrospective exhibition with two friends at the National Gallery. It was really good and I felt that I got to know the artist a lot better. Afterwards I had lunch and a good chinwag with one of my friends, then caught the bus to the panel beaters, paid him for the work, picked the car up and drove home. That was a long, but fruitful day.

And that takes us to Saturday, when Juci came again, this time to attack the ground floor. Due to upwards 200 pieces of pottery, china, glass and other nick nacks we possess on a variety of shelves she only managed to do two rooms, so the kitchen was left to another day. Roy and I washed, dried and replaced all the displayed stuff ourselves, while Juci carried on cleaning. I do hope that after this thorough going over, when she starts coming once or twice a month, she will finish quicker, or this will be an expensive exercise.

While she was still cleaning I had a call from my favourite little monster from across the seas and he was in fine form today. Very happy, chatty and friendly. Said hallo and we actually had real conversation together. He was showing off at times, but otherwise acted entirely normal and talkative. I also managed to take some amazing snapshots, some of which you can see here. I must go to bed now before I fall asleep by the computer. Night, night!!