Saturday, February 2, 2008

I Don't Mean to Whine...

But it's really hard to clean your house from top to bottom in preparation for your parents' arrival when there's no water. I've been doing little things all week - organizing and hiding our junk - and figured I'd do all the hard core cleaning today. That way everything would still be sparkling for them.

Well, it's almost 2pm and I'm still in the same clothes I wore on my 7:30am run. I've done everything but mop and clean the kitchen and bathroom so basically I'm covered in two inches of dirt that's slowly hardening into my pores. I know mud packs are supposed to be very cleansing but I don't think the bits of cement and dead bugs are doing much for my complexion.

I'm sure my parents will overlook a sinkfull of dirty dishes and a less than clean floor but I dread welcoming them in after their flight and offering a bucket bath. I've learned to adapt but I don't want to inflict that upon them, at least not on their first night. Lucky for me they're somewhere over Oklahoma at the moment and have no idea the surprise in store for them this evening.

For reasons that I still don't understand there's water in the other building of our development. A long hose stretches from the roof so the workers can use water throughout the day. When our water vanishes we fill buckets from that hose, then haul them up four flights of stairs. I've gone through two so far - one that Ibis brought up before he left for work and one that I got myself. I'm not as adept as he is (it's kind of complicated) and sprayed water all over myself in the process. Instead of cooling me off, the water mixed with the dirt all over my legs and feet and made a mudpack.

That mud is now all over my floor. *sigh*

So anyway, that's how my day's gone so far. I'm hearing a trickle from the kitchen which proves a theory I've pondered since I've had this blog. Seems that every time I write about not having water it returns as soon as I'm about to hit "Publish Post". My parents aren't due for another five hours - just enough time to scrub the grime off me and the floor.

5 comments:

Janna Leadbetter said...

Pesky water problems.

I hope your parents' visit goes swimmingly!

Doreen Orion said...

Saw your comment on John Robison's blog post where he reviewed my upcoming book. Thank you!

I'll tell you my 2-part secret to not cleaning at all when my parents visit: They think I'm a pig. I endeavor not to disappoint them.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Yeah... but I've set a precedent for being a neat freak!

Doreen Orion said...

I feel for you, then. Untraining parents can be even more work than cleaning the house.

Janna Leadbetter said...

Okay, I've tagged you again. But this one is fun and unique. See my post, Page 123.