Wednesday 5 September 2007

Just me, Kate Rusby and a pair of flip flops


Just me at home today. Me and Kate Rusby for company. The girls are back at school and it's so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Very mixed feelings today, in a few days time I'll be relishing the quiet and the calm, but today, no. Today I'd rather be hearing the giggles and shrieks of my two girls filling the rooms. Hence Kate Rusby, it's impossible to be sad for too long with her voice in the room.
There have been times during the holidays when I've stared at this poster next to the kitchen sink and wanted today to come sooner. But, fortunately, those moments were not as frequent as anticipated. Thanks M and you beautiful, beautiful girls for a lovely summer.
Now I'm staring at this poster for different reasons. At the beginning of the holidays I made a conscious decision not to get bogged down with the housework. To let things ride, to turn a blind eye to the mess and not get sucked into the daily routine. And I'm glad I did - We all relaxed so much the more for it. That's not to say that there weren't days when the tripping over of Sylvanians or despair at the amount of clothes lying around the house just got too much!!


I'm paying the price for it today though! I apologise if you've experienced any power difficulties in your area today, I think my washing machine is responsible for power surges and severe depletion of the national grid this morning. My teenage daughter seemed to have kept to a regular timetable, set at hourly intervals, of changing clothes these past few weeks and for some reason, clothes that were merely removed from hangers and held in front of her, discarded and unworn, were deemed dirty and put in the laundry basket. Obviously the energy involved in re-hanging them would have caused severe depletion of her energy too!

So today our home is going back to its roots and resembling the laundry that it once was.


I don't enjoy housework. I derive satisfaction from having completed the tidying and cleaning but the bit in between, ie the sorting and putting away just gets in the way! This was the hall table this morning, a testimony of our summer. We don't really need a scrapbook or photos, all we did was on that table. Although I'm racking my brains as to what we needed the WD40 for! (Can you see the damp patch in the bottom corner? My next job is repainting the hall).


This is the table now, order restored. For the next hour or so this is how it'll look before it becomes submerged under bookbags, school newsletters, keys and mobile phones. Clean and tidy it is but part of me (the part of me that doesn't get niggled by all that mess) prefers the table pre-tidy up. It's a table that says - yes, we've had a good time.
Moving on to the flip flops that were on the hall table. I read ages ago that flip flops were great at removing cat/dog hair from furniture. So, wearing flip flops on each hand I've just emerged from the living room having wiped clean the sofas and it really does work. Listening to Kate, a flip flop on each hand, clean clothes and a tidy table - I'm happy now (ish).

34 comments:

mollycupcakes said...

Oh god your so good, I've still got a mountain of washing to get done a huge order to complete and the vacuumming to do argh! lol
Just a couple of days of fun and it all just appears like magic from thin air.
Oh well back to it, after I've finished my coffee of course! ;)
What are the keys for they just look great with the ribbon on them and so old and vintage. Nice touch of style.
Best wishes sweetie x

Catherine x

Anonymous said...

We LOVE Kate Rusby. She is at The Dome on 15th Dec, with a rousing Christmas finale, so it says! Sounds like fun.

Country Cottage Chic said...

I agree - the pre-tidy table is like a little slice of life....but the tidy version looks so pretty!

Anonymous said...

I have the Keep Calm poster but have not got round to framing it yet, something for the to do list now I have time to actually do things. I tidied up this morning and nobody made it messy again but it was lovely to have the children home again filling the house with tales of their day.

Anonymous said...

Hello! I've just found your blog. It sounds like you've been really busy, your hall table looks lovely:)

Thimbleanna said...

You lucky girl -- it sounds like you've had a wonderful day. I love doing housework -- just never have much time to do it like it should be done -- the way you're doing it. You cracked me up about the flip flops. I was reading along..."So, wearing flip flops..." my mind raced ahead to finish your sentence "...I jumped up on the sofas and danced all over them." Such a lovely picture I had of you dancing on your sofas with your flip flops to Kate Rusby!

julia said...

The post summer hols house looks so much better but feels a bit empty don't you think. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels a bit sad when the kids go back to school, although saying that I did manage 2 hours sewing today - pure bliss!

The last post about the river trip made me howl, our 2 have serious cow phobia and would have been swimming (if they could!) across that river to escape!

Julia x

tea time and roses said...

Busy Busy...and it is never ending so why not sit back and relax a while, because it will surely be there tomorrow...LOL.

Smiles...

Beverly

dottycookie said...

I've been feeling a bit lonely and sad too since school started.

I love love love Kate Rusby - though I've never yet managed to listen to My Young Man without collapsing into a sobbing heap. I had her on last Sunday afternoon while I was ironing and it made it far more bearable!

Your house is looking fab though. Mine isn't - I've been working the lastg couple of days so the grand clearup starts tomorrow. Bin bags, here I come!

Just Original said...

I wish I could of been like you and let my daughter run riot in the holidays, it is not in my nature (I am a control freak).

The keys look interesting, are they for some big treasure chest or just for show!!!!!!!

Vanessa

Ali said...

It wasn't just me feeling the silence today then. Your kitchen is fab, can I move in?

Andylynne said...

I live alone and would love to have some end of summer clutter to clean up (smiles). Your table looks squeaky clean.
I've never heard of Kate Rusby Thank you for the wonderful introduction. Off to Amazon to order ( smiles even more!)

Heidijayhawk said...

lovely photos today. i am coveting your quiet though. its been a day!

Leanne said...

another kate Rusby fan here- I saw her in July and she was wonderful- cant recommend her concerts enough- a great night out!

that poster is fab! can I be cheeky and ask where its from?


Leanne x

Ginny Gibson said...

Oh that sign 'keep calm and carry on' I could do with that in my kitchen right now!

So Apt with ref to my latest post. Added to that the kitchen is in a state of derelict and the rest of the house covered in dust. Ooops I'm off again.

best wishes Ginny

Amanda and Tim said...

Hehe you're not the only one washing loads - my parents are away this week and I understand now why my mum complains about my sister so much - in one week I have washed 4 loads of washing which were 90% her clothes and I just looked in the laundry basket and it's full again and I haven't put anything in it since I last emptied it... seriously how many clothes does one girl need??

I also share you dislike of tidying - I love things being tidy and I love getting started on something but I hate that bit inbetween when everything really is just a mess and you don't seem to get anywhere!!

Samantha said...

Hi Kim,
you are a scream. I cam just imagine you swooshing away the hairs with the flip dlops!

x

Curlew Country said...

Hurrah for Kate Rusby - isn't she fab. I am itching to get our house back into some sort of shape too but still haven't found the time and with moving soon there hardly seems any point. I'll remember the flip flop tip too - brilliant!
Stephx

The Honourable Billy Blunt said...

Oh I know just how you feel.I love the poster please tell me where i can get one from.
I always feel that if I don't keep on top of things it will become an insurmountable task.I get so stressed with it all and can't sit down till it's all done.
Love the image of you with the flip flops,
Kat x

Anonymous said...

Hi Kim, can you pop round and clean my house, oh and do a bit of decorating at the same time, perhaps a loft extenstion erm........ oh and if you could just nip up to the allotment and dig over a few brambles!!!!! Oh cheeky me! Glad to see you had a gorgeous holiday. Sorry we didn't get to meet up. Catch up soon. Thanks for your comment x

Cape Cod Washashore said...

You've just reflected my thoughts perfectly! I've spent the last two days doing load after load of laundry... packing up outgrown clothes... listening to the "silence" in the house... happy for my "me time" again, but sad at the same time.

Totty Teabag said...

My girls are now approaching middle age, but from the age of 11 I made them completely responsible for the washing and ironing of their own clothes, apart from their school uniforms. The straw that broke this camel's back was finding clean laundry (that I had ironed and folded, and left on their bed's to be put away) scrunched up under the bed after I had asked them to tidy their room. They might have got away with it if they hadn't left their door open, giving me an eye-level view under the bed as I came up the stairs...

Claire said...

I have just found your blog and I think you made my day with the flip flop to get rid of pet hair. I am going home to utilise my absent housemate's pair!

Love the blog - will pop back again soon

Claire

Sophie Honeysuckle said...

I LOVE these photos!! P.S. I hate housework too!!!

Niki Fretwell said...

Sorry to hear that you have one of those teenagers too - the sort that throws clean clothes in the laundry to save hanging them back up....Grrr I know your frustration! We love em' dearly though, don't we?!!

The little grey painted table that you de-cluttered is so pretty....hope it didn't get too messy later on!
Niki

Britt- Sparkled Vintage Charm said...

I love the "keep calm and carry on" sign. cute pics :-)

weirdbunny said...

I'm such a useless cleaner, I let things slide constanly, then we have to wade through the mess. Our children have been in school for a few days now, but I had to do some embroidery for a friend so it's been hectic. Tommorow however I must clean as we have friends for lunch on saturday ! Oh and a mass of camping stuff littered across the louge, kitchen and bathroom !

Anonymous said...

It's nice to get things back to order every so often ~ even if it is just temporary! Your hall table is so pretty retored to order but much more "home-y" under all the clutter. Enjoy a well-deserved break! ♥

meggie said...

The older I've got, the more relaxed I seem to be, about tidiness. When I lived alone I was a 'neat freak'.

Vintage to Victorian said...

Hi Kim

I can't believe I've just had a fortnight's worth of your posts to catch up on. I know I've been busy, and haven't been visiting blogs as much as usual, but that's far too long!

You had a lovely time during M's break from work by the look of it. Love the escapades on the river, the apple and fig jam, the day at the sea and now your super, tidy (albeit quiet) home.

Thanks for some fun posts which have brightened this rather dull-looking Somerset day!

Sue x

AC said...

Hi Kim,
Thanks for visiting my new blog the other day. I was just getting use to the security settings and pressed the wrong button and you had gone before I could get you back.
Take care,
Alison x

Anonymous said...

Oh dear now I feel guilty we are still under piles of debri and probably still will be when the Christmas hols start! Must try harder.

Gill said...

Hi Kim, thanks for visiting, I'm just catching up with my favourite blogs after returning to work last week. I've got so many lovely posts to read! V. nice pictures, I love seeing glimpses of your home, the table looks fab and I'll be looking out for some old keys myself now.....
I'm not familiar with Kate Rusby, (or maybe I've heard her on the radio but didn't know her name),I'll go and have a listen this weekend.
LIke you I don't enjoy housework, it's a necessary evil and I enjoy the end result but I find it a bit soul-destroyin 'cos I know I'm going to have to do the same thing all over again. Oh, and the clothes.....my daughter has so many, most seem to be draped all over her bedroom. My two are responsible for cleaning their own bedrooms now so I have to just close the doors and ignore the squalor in their rooms. And I nag. And nag. And Nag. I'm sick of my own voice so I'm sure they must be! "Jack and Lucy, tidy your bedrooms this weekend". It's my mantra.

Estelle said...

How I adore those old fashioned keys!!! :)