Four dogs, one cat, one fairly unhygienic slob (me) and Chris, all crammed into a tiny cottage in winter means just one thing! Smells! The whole family is coming round this evening for supper, so today I will stretching my stress neurones to the limit by fighting the tide of country living ( in true King Canute style) in trying to rid the place of muddy paws, animal hair and doggy farts. It never quite works! and the cottage although homely never looks like those wonderfull staged country homes I love to look at from Home and Antiques and Country Home Magazine! The carelessly picked ( yeah right!) bunch of flowers from the garden ( not in season) will be positioned casually on the kitchen table with a loaf of home made scones and a tiny pot of jam! An open bottle of Pinot can be seen on the rustic sideboard with two sparkling glasses and the fruit in the bowl looks as though it has been painted by some great master. And the home owner!!! ( who always looks like a psychotherapist) has the open mouth smile of a woman who has just paid the cleaning lady to scrub the floor and wash the dogs bottoms before the camera clicks!. Me! I aint no Jane Asher! Ok I have polished the silver, and I have "arranged a couple of blooms" in an art deco vase and there IS fruit in the bowl, but what we don't see is the merry half hours I have already spent chipping a stubborn Scottish terrier skid mark (poo not paw) from the floor lino and the sweaty few minutes retrieving putrid cat litter grains from under the cooker! I have not even steeled myself for the scrubbing of the loo basin yet.(I may need a large cup of coffee and a scented candle before I face that little job)
It's good that family visit, I thought as I wiped cat snot from the living room windows.....at least the cottage gets a clean
"as I wiped cat snot from the living room windows."
ReplyDeleteI know about that! I try to have company every once in a while, just so the house gets cleaned. Life is too full of really important things to worry about having a constantly pristine house.
I have seasonal guests. Like in the garden wine and cheese. With three dogs that shed, I would have to entertain with a hoover in one hand. And there is always the hidden vomit in a corner that is over looked, not to mention the dogs running thru the house with underwear in their mouths showing off with an impromptu pull toy.
ReplyDeleteyes I think I may have touched a nerve!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were trying to sell our house, it was quite the ordeal keeping the house spotless and perfectly staged and oh yeah, "ordorless" too--Especially when we had 6 dogs. But we did it--the people who bought our house had no idea we had dogs...I go through the same thing for anyone that comes to visit us and for repairman...Thankfully no one comes that often! Enjoy your weekend John!
ReplyDeleteYou are very brave to even try. I am sure even Martha Stewart pays people to present the perceived perfection. Hope you have fun with your family! peace
ReplyDeleteHouse cleaning is for sure one of the major benefits of having company.
ReplyDeleteI hate having people over. I try to keep the place spotless, but come on, we have 2 dogs. I do keep my Ionic Breeze going at all times and I've got the Wall Flowers plugged in. That's just for me though. If company comes (& they do, like it or not)what you see is what you get.
ReplyDeleteNow,I have to admit that when I returned to Phx after being in Idaho 8 months there was some minor cleanup that needed done.For Patrick batching it that long it wasn't tooooo bad. He does have this awful habit of clossing doors with his hands and not the latches. Oh, and there's the ever present coffee dribblings on various walls.HOW does he do that??