Maintaining a Home

What a job it is to maintain a home! I'm not complaining because I know how blessed I am to have a lovely place in which to reside. Daily chores just keep the dust and dirt at bay for a short while. No matter how careful you are ... not matter how many times you wipe your feet before entering, the dirt and dust quickly accumulate. With Paul being here during the day, the problem is worse. I'm not blaming him! Houses are meant to be lived in. Besides Paul is neat and tidy, cleans up after himself, and pitches in with the chores. I once had a fantasy about having all of the laundry done and the house spotless, so much so that not one germ could reproduce itself. The only way to achieve such a goal would be to sit naked and not move. Why naked? Because if you want ALL of the laundry to be done, you can't be in the process of dirtying anything. Silly pipe dream, eh?

In many ways, exterior maintenance is worse. Paul is out there now cleaning the patio, front sidewalk, porch, etc. In this heat it is a killer job and Paul drips with sweat while he works. Eastern North Carolina is humid with a lot of pine trees. We also have some hardwood trees, but pines abound. My house is surrounded by trees which keeps it much cooler in the inferno that has been the order of the day this week. However, copious amounts of pine needles rain down each day. In addition, the crazy squirrels chew the ends off the branches of the deciduous trees so large curled up leaves also come down. Each day, the sidewalk and patio are totally littered and require sweeping. I have, on occasion, let it go for a few weeks and then the job is so awful I almost weep trying to dig it all out. The peskiest thing of all, in my opinion, is weird cobweb type material that forms on everything over night. It is as if some night stalking creature walks along with a device that sprays gray filmy matter all over everything. It is creepy to behold, nasty to touch, and worse to remove. If you don't get rid of it each day, it just piles up and grows worse and worse. My porch light is up a bit high and there have been times when it was so coated that it interfered with the amount of light that could shine through. I have oft wondered just what it is that leaves that mess behind; I really don't think it's spiders because I don't see very many of them. Besides, it appears that it would take an army of spiders to create that much "gray stuff" every day.

Paul made jambalaya on Tuesday and there was plenty for a few meals. He did an excellent job and the flavorful stew was rich and hearty. I have to confess when I look at a recipe and see more than eight ingredients, I quickly move on to something less intimidating. Not Paul. He doesn't care if a recipe has 50 ingredients; he'll tackle anything that looks good. The Jambalaya had about fifteen different ingredients--sausage, shrimp, ham, celery, tomatoes, rice, etc. It was a tad bit spicy for me, but it tasted so good I just drank copious amounts of iced tea. Neighbor Greg came by to return a few dishes just as we were preparing to eat leftovers and we talked him into staying. Racing next door, he fetched a bottle of white wine and a lovely repast ensued.

This morning I made a recipe of maple-almond scones. They are fairly easy to make and taste divine. This evening I'll do the cooking. I'm making Capellini with Salmon and Lemon-Dill-Vodka Sauce. It has eleven ingredients but I can't wimp out after Paul tackled Jambalaya all by himself while I was at work.

I'm taking it easy today ... I've been emotionally upset about a lot of things lately and I just need some time to "get over it" all. I feel somewhat guilty about just being "around the house" but I am attending to several job-related things that need to get done. My job is such that often I can do the work from my home office rather than waste gas slogging all the way downtown. Many of my colleagues are also choosing this route; I know because I generally can find a parking spot on campus without too much trouble. If I get everything done, I'm going to begin a biography about Theodate Pope Riddle that I've had tucked away. Why I feel guilty is a mystery to me. After all, I am not teaching any classes until June 26th though I still am working every day (without pay, of course).

Father's Day is this weekend and I will greatly miss being with Dad. He'll soon be 89 and I know he loves to have company. The drive is ten hours each way and I have work commitments on Friday and Monday so cannot get away. I feel like a bit of a heel for not being able to go. I knew when I took this job that the distance it would put me from much of my family would be a big negative and it certainly has turned out to be the case. My sister, Susan, has made the trek here a few times and she knows what a drive it is. I go to Tennessee when I can get off four days in a row which isn't very often. Mostly I go to Williamsburg to spend time with Rachael and family as I NEED to feel connected to my child who has suffered the worst kind of tragedy possible. I also try to check on my Blacksburg house at least once every three months. That isn't nearly often enough, but it's a five-and-a-half-hour drive to Blacksburg from here and it's hard to get away. Another factor is that the quickest route is almost always via interstate but it is also the most stressful. On my recent trip to New England, we avoided the interstate at all costs. What a difference driving on uncrowded country roads is when it comes to stress. Interstates today are like NASCAR races with people who do not know how to drive. I always arrive feeling beaten up and frazzled.

Okay, I have rambled enough. I need to write a letter to Dad, something I do every week. He told me he loves to get letters because he can read them again and again. I generally cut and paste my daughters' blogs for the week at the end of my letter and he loves that. Call me old fashioned but I much prefer letters to phone calls ... phone conversations are ephemeral ... letters can last forever.