Thursday, February 23, 2012

Do you worry what people think?

G'day. Hot, hot, hot here in my little corner of Australia at the moment and I shouldn't be complaining because we are after all in summer and we have had it much hotter than this in the past. But, at heart I am a winter girl and always will be.

I have watered the garden early this morning and have prettied the house up, by that I mean all those jobs that have to be done, like vacuuming, mopping the floors and just generally having a tidy up.

Hubby and I are going on a weeks holiday to Tasmania soon and the other day I went and asked the next door neighbour, would she mind doing a bit of watering for me while we are away. As fortune would have it, I knew this neighbour before moving here, though our friendship was only fleeting, because she applied for a job at my place of employment, but found after a few weeks, that she was not cut out for it. When I knocked on her door to ask this favour, she graciously invited me in to see her home. This was at around ten o'clock in the morning and there was not a thing out of place, beds were made, no dishes in view. In other words it just looked beautiful.She even opened up her linen cupboard to show me and believe me, it was so neat that I was thinking that I must attack mine when time allowed. After having a chat for a while, she walked outside with me and before we knew it we were standing in front of my home discussing what plans hubby and I have for the front garden and I asked her would she like to come inside. Now, mentally I am thinking of all the things I hadn't done, though I knew the bed was made and the bathroom was clean and the kitchen was reasonably tidy, but then I remembered the newspapers scattered across the kitchen table, the pile of washing in the laundry waiting to be ironed and a million other things.  Am I the only one that feels as though when a surprise visitor comes, the house is never up to scratch? After all, she didn't know that I was going to come a knocking on her door at that time in the morning, yet her home was immaculate. I was concious that the floors hadn't been done and that in the light coming through the sliding doors in the kitchen, it showed the floorboards to be dusty. I am sure she took no notice whatsoever of any of this, but instead told me what a lovely home I had and what an improvement it was from the last owners. Funny thing is that after she left, I got the vacuum out and did that dusty floor and then did the ironing and a few other things to boot. 

The photo is of a rose called Marie Attoinette. I was given this rose by my son some years ago and when we moved from the farm I took numerous cuttings of it with me. Only this one cutting took and it is still sitting happily in the pot. I must find a nice spot in the garden for it at some stage. Instead of sitting at this computer, I think I had better go and clean my window ledges,maybe wash a few windows while I am at it, then there is the glass kitchen door to remove those smudges from. Oh, and I am sure that I could write "I love you" in the dust that is on the coffee table !!!! But, wait, I have a better idea. I may just sit in a nice shady spot in the garden and read the great book that I started a few nights ago. Now, that sounds more like it. Take care. Liz...

8 comments:

  1. No, I don't worry. With a recovering husband and two dogs, this busy quilter has other things to do besides worry. It's hot here, for Feb., this is our winter, and it's 80 degrees. Hope you enjoy your book.

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  2. The book and the shade sound a much more civilised idea! I have a friend whose house is always immaculate and whenever we visit I feel I'd be embarrassed to have her see my house -- even though I know she has someone in to clean twice a week!

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  3. I used to be a worry wart as I am quite often in chaos....it's always clean chaos but chaos nevertheless until a friend pointed out a saying to me. I don't know who said it but it goes like this.."those that care what your house looks like don't matter" and those that matter are those who will not care"! So that's my motto now. If you come to see me you're very welcome. If you come to see if I win the Martha Stewart "Domestic Goddess" award you're in the wrong place.
    I say enjoy your book!

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  4. Enjoy your vacation! Looking forward to your pictures.

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  5. Liz, you really MUST come to my house! But don't bring your neighbour - she might never recover!

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  6. I am sure if you visited my home you would find that yours looks pretty good! I used to be very neat and tidy-- and I used to get annoyed if things were out of place and very grumpy with anyone who dared leave things everywhere. I realised all I did was clean the house and was a thorough grump. I decided that I did not want my family to remember me as a grump-- so I slackened off and slackened off further............the house is messy-- but it is a "clean"mess. So join the club and enjoy life.

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  7. A favorite book, a shady corner of the garden, an ice cold drink in hand...housework to be done? Nah... Enjoy your vacation in Tassie Liz.
    Smiles - A

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  8. I'm thinking we may live in the same house! Minus the fabulous weather! Minus the ability to do all you did in one morning rather than one week!

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