Saturday Meanderings
After being out of town for 12 days, I’m feeling a bit lost here at home. The stacks of mail, bills need to be paid and I just don’t feel like doing much of anything in 111 degree heat. Seems like all the good relaxing vibes fly right out the window and are replaced with the foreboding sense of responsibility and chores. So today’s post is about catching up with you!
My time at the Cabin
The good news is that we finally got rain in the mountains and lots of it. When we have such a dry summer, it doesn’t take much for a massive forest fire to start. The one and only day I decided to go do run errands (Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe’s) is when I got caught in a torrential downpour. Given the ground is so dry, the volume of rain couldn’t absorb fast enough.
Here is what I posted on Instagram. The roads were badly flooded within minutes after the first clap of thunder. This felt like my first flash flood and when I was driving through this, escape options raced through my mind.
Perhaps the storm disrupted nature, as it was shortly thereafter that I had a bat(s), mouse and woodpecker experience. A bat, possibly two, flying around inside the bedroom, a mouse in the house and then several woodpeckers.
The next day I searched everywhere and never found the bat(s). Later that evening, Mr. Mouse visited me again. I set a trap, put really good Brie cheese on it and then hoped I didn’t hear it snap shut in the middle of the night. When I woke up the next morning, the trap was still engaged but the cheese was missing. Very smart mouse.
Did you know that a group of woodpeckers is called a descent? Well, that what it felt like. The woodpeckers are relentless in pecking at our cedar siding. All day long….tap..tap..tap. I must have looked like a mad woman running outside scaring them away. Look at the damage they’ve done. The challenge is that they are a protected species and insurance doesn’t cover the repair.
In search of the bats/mouse
The unintended consequence of not finding the bat(s) or mouse resulted in me deep cleaning. Envisioning a dead bat or mouse behind a sofa was impetus enough to get me scrubbing.
So how often do you deep clean? You know, really clean, where you move furniture, roll up the rugs, and wipe down every single surface? Me? Not so much. Maybe once a year?
Sprucing up the furniture
Since we are at 7500 feet in altitude, unless it is raining it is quite dry. And the furniture suffers.
This Howard’s Feed-N-Wax wood polish and conditioner is a good one. See the side that wood that is conditioned and the one that is not? The results are impressive and it smells nice. Click here for the link.
Cleaning all the Vents
If I could re-design something, HVAC vents would be it. These are the most unattractive and dust collecting devices ever created.
Hours were spent moving all the rugs, vacuuming underneath and then cleaning the floors with Bona Floor Cleaner. I use this same cleaner on our 110 year old hardwood floors in Phoenix and prefer it to other wood floor cleaners.
What is out of sight is out of mind, so I climbed on a ladder and looked on top of the curtain rods. Eeek! Lots of cobwebs.
How often do you clean your lampshades? Finally, I did this to all of mine.
This cluttered cord look is disturbing and I really need a system to label each and every cord. But in the meantime, I just vacuumed behind all the various cabinets.
The great room has 3 large sliding doors. The grooves where the doors slide get so dusty and dirty.
After all of this, which literally took me hours, I didn’t find any mice or bats, dead or alive. Which makes me wonder where they went….
The good news now is the cabin is the cleanest it has ever been and then, of course, I had to leave to head home to Phoenix!
Project Update
Now that I’m back home, yesterday I started the actual stenciling of the pool house bathroom floor. To date, the floor has been cleaned, primed and painted with 2 coats of white paint.
This will be a time consuming one. Here’s my progress so far. I do feel like I’ve bitten off a bit much but I can’t stop now.
This room doesn’t get a lot of natural direct light so the photos are a bit dingy with the overhead lights on. A bigger project than anticipated, it will definitely take some time to complete. To see another floor stenciling project I did, click here.
Summer Canning
My friend, Rick asked me if I wanted 50 pounds of tomatoes as he has a farmer resource. Naturally I said yes and now wondering when I’m going to have time to can them. But homemade tomato sauce is so good and worth the effort!
So between stenciling, canning and paying bills, that’s my exciting weekend! Please tell me you are doing something fun and exciting so I can live vicariously through you!!!
Happy Saturday, my friends.
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Wait, did I miss it? Did you ever find the bats and get them out? Bats can be a nightmare inside the house. It doesn’t look like you relaxed at the cabin, it looks like you worked non-stop! Everything looks clean and shiny! Try and take some time to put your feet up and relax! You are reminding me why I am not sad to see our second home go! It will be nice to only have to keep up with one!
Never found the bats…..I’m up here again this weekend and will get my husband to double check on areas of opportunity of getting in and out. Eek.
2 things–
We like Scott’s Liquid gold for rejuvenating wood. Had to go buy some recently & they now have a spray. Smells like almonds….
Could you freeze your tomato sauce? My mom used to make a huge batch & then just freeze it. The kind where you simmer it w/stew beef & herbs, etc all day to make spaghetti sauce….or i like Marcella Hazan’s https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015178-marcella-hazans-tomato-sauce, for just plain tomato sauce. Less work than canning, I think.
Just a thought.
Looks like you had fun in the mountains; nice & cool. It was 105+ here in So Cal yesterday…
ps I love your blog…
Wow – what a clean cabin! You’re inspiring me to wax my furniture! 🙂 Plus your tile project is turning out to be GORGEOUS! I can’t wait to see it all done! Good luck with the bills. Alas, you are not able to live vicariously through my weekend – unless you like moving furniture and trying to make a dent in all the packing boxes and “stuff” in my home office! Stay cool my friend!
Good morning to you and yours. I love the story about the woodpeckers. We have been through the same thing. We cut down a dead rotting tree and we don’t get them anymore. Thank heavens since I thought I was under attack while they were pecking at our house.
Have a fun week,
Kippi
HI Mary, The title looks so beautiful. I may need to replicate that process soon. I hope the mouse and bat get out the house safely.
My fear is that if they got out, they can also come back in….Well it made for some exciting moments!
Hi Mary,
If you want to catch a mouse, peanut butter is a perfect bait. Try it!
I hope to get up there next week as it is supposed to be over 111 degrees here. I will definitely try peanut butter….Thanks for the mouse catching tip!
So nice to think of another part of the world, gain a few helpful tips, products & hints, & “visit” with you on your blog. Also appreciate discretion, that not everything is a link!
As summer winds down I am furiously nesting & doing some training before school starts in three weeks, online (in person mid-Sept). Worn out already from all the changes, updates, and strategies we will need to follow, & the great challenges & disappointments our students are having to face.
Your projects, appreciation of beauty & reality (cobwebs!) will be appreciated this year!
Andrea, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be a teacher or a parent with small children at home now. School is so important on many levels~academics, sports, socialization, discipline, friendships. I wonder when we look back on these times, what we will discover? It is exhausting, all of it. But we must soldier on somehow and how incredibly important your role is to so many at this time. Sending hugs and if there is anything I can ever do, please reach out.
Thanks for the furniture polish suggestion. It looks great and I’ve got some old pieces that could use some love. Thanks for the weekend inspiration. Your tile looks a AMAZING!
Andrea, this polish/conditioner really works well. I need to buy some for our Phoenix house too. So far, I am happy with the tile. My body, not so much. I’m off to paint another 10 tiles! Happy Saturday!
Mary you are so inspiring! We had to have all our trees and palms trimmed so the work continued into the backyard pool area. A bit of a clean up, but all worth it. Now, off to a “staycation” with my dear friend Cathy- This is our 3rd “diversion/excursion/remembrance as her wonderful husband died 6/9/18, and this weekend is their wedding anniversary. I think it would have been 46 this year. Anyway, we are checking out Mountain Shadows and hoping for a bit of walking, poolside, eating and talking talking talking!
Stay cool neighbor! Love the stenciling,
Karleen
Karleen, your staycation sounds wonderful with your friend, Cathy. It’s nice that you will be with her on her anniversary. Grieving takes time. I’ve been working so hard around here that I may check out one of the hotels and do a staycation….what fun! Enjoy!