Our Laundry Fairy's Tale

When we moved a couple weeks ago, the washer came with us. The gas dryer did not because the house doesn't have gas.

It's no big deal - we have been back-and-forth enough to carry a load over to dry and/or carry a dried load home every other day or so. And the Laundry Fairy has done remarkably well at keeping the laundry caught up, and folding the clothes as soon as they came home.  I've been pretty proud of her, actually.

On Friday, Mr. Official decided it was time to quit dallying and get a new dryer, so we ordered one and it was delivered yesterday.  Good call - now we can wash and dry clothes much easier.

Yesterday - for the first time since we moved in - I realized the iron did not make the trip.  Some linen napkins came through that absolutely positively must be pressed before they can be put away.

Now that I think about it, the Downy Wrinkle Release (magical stuff) is still at the old place, too.  So for 16 days, not a single blessed piece of clothing we've worn has been touched with an iron.  And thinking back, I'm not sure anything got ironed during the two week paint-and-move-a-thon.

I'm still trying to figure out how the Laundry Fairy has managed to totally avoid ironing for the better part of a month.  If you have seen us with wrinkled clothes and were simply too kind to say anything, thanks.

Happy Monday!

It's the little things.

Our shower saga continues. Every day we pass by our gorgeous new shower, which has yet to be used.  Because it has no door.  The door is ordered, and is promised (pinky promised) for delivery next Tuesday.  (I'm holding you to that, Mr. Shower Door Guy!)

So in the meantime, we have used the upstairs shower (nothing like feeling like a houseguest in your own home, shlepping towel and toiletries in and out of someone else's bathroom...) On workout mornings, we have availed ourselves of the YMCA's showers.

The Y's showers are like most public showers:  hit or miss. Some have broken knobs or drippy showerheads, some have skimpy shower curtains, some don't get much water pressure or much hot water, or both.  I think I've personally identified all the sub-par showers on the women's side.  But a few mornings ago, as I turned off my shower, I heard another one going. Full blast.  And lots of steam rolling out, like it was a nice HOT shower.  I made a mental note of the location and checked myself into that shower stall yesterday morning after a 5K run.  I counted it pure joy.  It blasted me with hot water, and lots of it. And a shower curtain that didn't gap and flap in the breeze.

When we were driving home I mentioned my happy discovery to Mr. Official.  His response? 

"I bet our new shower will have great pressure and lots of hot water too...if we ever get to use it."

Here's to showers of blessings, and lessons of patience.  And to nice hot showers.

Happy day!

Has anyone seen last week? I can't find it.

We closed on our new home (it's no longer a house but it is now home!) four weeks ago yesterday. We spent that afternoon mowing the knee-high grass and pulling weeds from the flower beds, and the next day tearing out the shower in the master bath.  That's just how we celebrate home ownership, I guess.

Week 1, the "real" work began - painting five rooms in five days. Mid-week an early morning storm cut a swath about a half-mile from the house and tore out power lines, so our five days were squeezed into four. But we (middle son, swimmer girl and I) finished on time.

Week 2 saw a frenzy of cleaning and moving in. From crown molding to quarter round, everything got a good wiping down. Mirrors and pictures were hung, dishes were transported, washed and put away. On Friday morning, the movers came and carefully carted our furniture and placed it just-so. Best of all, it all fit exactly where we needed it to go.  We were in!

But week 3 (last week) is blurry. I was supposed to finish cleaning out the old house and get it ready for painting. It didn't happen.  One week overdue and I'm barely halfway to that goal (and that's being generous.)

Somewhere I lost last week.

I know I was busy, but I don't have anything to show for it. I'd like to think I consciously chose a week of downtime to recharge, but I fear I didn't.

It's a muddle, I tell ya.

Week 4 has been another whirlwind of activity, trying to make up for last week's sub-par productivity. In spare moments, I've been cleaning the old house bit by bit and we finally put some trim in place that should have been down several years ago. As Mr. Official said when we left there a few nights ago,  "We've done nothing but work on that house. We worked on it before we moved in, we worked on it after we moved in, and we're still working on it after we moved out." Which is one of the reasons we were careful to choose a turnkey house this time around.

Word to the wise: you do not double your joy when you double your home ownership. We hope this situation is very temporary. (June 1 is our date to have it ready to be shown - and hopefully sold quickly. The sooner, the better.)  And if you see my lost week, will you send it to me?  I could really use that time next week.

Happy Friday,