Mamie arrives from France on Friday. Thus I'm making grand efforts to bring the house up to an acceptable level of sale. Mamie, who always comes armed with every reasonably priced cooking magazine to be had in Charles de Gaulle airport, spends a lot of time in the kitchen. I thought I would start cleaning in there today. I won't have my grimy kitchen being the weekly topic of the Ladies Bridge Club of Compiegne*.

Let us be up front about one thing: I don't really have a problem with dirt, unless it's on the floor, blackening my socks. Oddly, I'm actually very organized - everything must be in place, or I get anxious. But dirt, ehhh... it keeps our immune systems entertained, in my view. I'm particularly good at ignoring dirt that builds up in the hidden places, like the refrigerator, or under the sink. And certainly, in those spill plates on the stove - ugh. I cleaned out all of the above today. It took hours. I know, disgusting.

The timing of this necessary cleaning overhaul is poor. On Monday, I received my monthly Amazon order, and I've been avidly reading since (if you must know: On Writing by Stephen King, and a L.M. Montgomery anthology), to the neglect of even the daily, must-do housework. So the day-to-day been piling up since Monday, and this morning, as I was about to take a shower, I realized that I didn't have any clean clothes. Laundry needed to be done first. Dammit. Thus began a very hectic day of cleaning insanity. At one point, I very nearly had an anxiety attack because the shop vac had been sitting on the front porch for two weeks. Thank God I had the good sense to calm down before I told Cedric that he should really bring the shop vac in RIGHT NOW because it's pouring rain and did he really want to ruin a perfectly good $40 shop vac because of his neglect?** No, thankfully, I waited and said something like "Honey, are you aware that the shop vac is getting wet sitting on the porch?"

Anyway, all this rambling to say it's been a helluva lot of work, but the kitchen is clean, and the housework is mostly caught up. And we're excited that Mamie will be here so soon.

* My mother in law does not actually play bridge.


** I blame everyone but myself when the housework gets out of control.

Les poussières ne peuvent dénouer les rubans de joie qui attachent le bonheur au cœur d’une mère !

Poussières
Poussières bleues
Qui poussent sous les chaises.
Poussières d'or
qui poussent sous les lits.
Un coup de balai venteux
qui vient du Nord
blizzarde les moutons.
Les meubles de garde
n'y peuvent rien.
L'araignée en perd son chemin
ses échasses fines
s'enchâssent
dans le tapis de soie
verte.
C'est l'araignée qui est verte.
Le tapis, lui
a perdu toutes ses couleurs.
Elles ont disparu la nuit dernière.
Elles ne sont pas sous les chaises,
elles ne sont pas sous les lits.
Alors on a mis un avis de recherche
sur le réveille-matin.
Le matin a réveillé le soleil
mais les couleurs du tapis
sont restées accrochées
dans l'arc-en-ciel !!!

Your child let's you clean???

Tiens, on dirait chez moi, ahem.

C'est quoi, un shop vac ?

It's a kind of vacuum cleaner that can pick up most anything, including water.

Nina, I appreciate the poetry you share.

Sara, It got easier at about the same time he got over the separation anxiety. He can entertain himself pretty well. I find TV helpful in that respect too.

Merci, Jessica !

Mes enfants sont au loin, et les rares fois où je leur rends visite, je me moque des poussières !
Je goûte ces moments merveilleux avec émotion.
La poésie m’aide à garder intacts ces instants joyaux et me rapproche d’eux.

Agde ( 84)

Agde, était tremblante
Posée là
A peine éveillée
En déséquilibre sur fond bleu.
Un bleu comme innocent
Qui s’invente et se perd dans la mer.

Les voix mêlées de mes enfants m’interpellaient
Rythmant nos pas joyeux
Ensoleillant ce qui me restait d’ombres.
Leurs mots n’avaient plus d’importance,
Ils étaient là
Et c’était bien.

L’instant lui-même
Etait de ceux que l’on a presque hâte de quitter
Tant ils troublent par leur perfection.

Pour protéger ces minutes-cadeaux
Ces minutes joyaux
Si fragiles
Je les ai glissées avec précaution
Entre les méandres du passé
Pour pouvoir les retrouver
Intactes
Encore enveloppées d’un amour si soyeux
Qu’il soupire quand on le froisse.