Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Range hood as a metaphor for life

Woke up in a cleaning mood today. Not having that happen very often motivates me to "use it or lose it." Tackled the stove first. Ran the burners and drip pans through the dishwasher,  wiped down the top and back. Turned my attention to the underside of the range hood. EE-yuck.
 Now I do not claim to be a good cook. I am proud, however, to call myself a messy one. I figure that what I lack in creativity and taste can be compensated for with volume and distance traveled. When I cook something, you  KNOW I've been there.

So it came as no surprise to find enough raw materials under the range hood to reconstitute into a passable campfire meal.  I sprayed everything down, and left it to soak.  There is something in cleaning supplies that triggers introspection in me.

I thought about why it is that I don't clean under there more often. I realized that it really is a metaphor for life. The places I am busiest, messiest, are those places I don't often contemplate. Most of living goes on in my mind and soul, but the externals, the burners and dials, get the most attention.  The filter for yuck, the fan filter, in this case, catches all the crud and keeps it there.

Do I spend more time on my body, my outward activities and belongings than I do to the filters in my mind and soul? Do they need cleaning?

Hmm.. Something to ponder.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Everyone's shedding!

My friends have been talking about "shedding" ie. decluttering and simplifying their lives. That's all well and good, but why does my family think they need to join in. It's not the same thing, anyway. Their "shedding" involves their stuff, draped over chairs, spread across the carpet, dragged in from the yard and left on the kitchen counter.

I vacuum; ds comes in and kicks off his shoes in the hallway, spreading sand across the newly vacuumed and mopped floor. Hubby hangs hats, coats and shirts on any available post, usually the kitchen chairs or the newel on the stairs. An attractive look, really. The dishes get done, and as soon as the sink is empty someone dumps more dirty dishes in. Do they not see the empty sink and think'Hmm, maybe I can just put this in the dishwasher?' No! Of course not!

I wash clothes; leave the clean ones folded nicely in the basket, ready to be put away. do they get put away?No, just more dirty clothes get piled on.

Then the cats. Puffs of hair everywhere.

I give up. Does nobody notice what I do around here?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Global warming...

We could use some. It's been the coldest, snowiest winter we've had since I was a kid. Out heat bill is astronomical. I can't see out one window due to drifted snow.

Greenhouse gas? I'll give you greenhouse gas. I had to make a pot of chili with red pepper just to warm us up. There's your greenhouse gas! Feeling better already?

Summer Iris

Summer Iris