I used to think it was a three-day holiday designed especially so we could go take a hike. We've ended up at
the top of this mountain for the past couple years.
It takes some honest sweat to stand on the summit, but it's worth the dirty socks and aching muscles to eat lunch with a view from Virginia City to Donner Lake and beyond.
This year we hosted a very special guest at our house instead. The Rug Doctor came to rescue us from our dirty carpet on Friday.
Two puppies, a moribund lawn, four years of muddy springtimes, snowy winters and leafy falls, someone who manages to track dogsicles and chicken blessings inside (I'm much better at remembering to remove my shoes now)--you know, all the stuff from Everyday Life--had left a mark or two, a trail, a walking pattern and a general grubbiness that's been bothering me for way too long.
You'd think a rug would dry quickly in ninety-four degree heat. (I guess I might have gone over the dirtiest sections a few times too many.)
We walked on towel paths, kept the windows open and eventually turned on the box fan.
This as empty as our house is ever going to look.
And possibly as clean as it'll ever look too. The room arrangement leaves something to be desired if anyone wanted to actually sit on a sofa while things dried, but I heart those Rug Doctor tracks on the nice clean carpet. If there was ONE thing that I wanted to accomplish this summer, this is it! Twenty-four hours plus twenty-seven bucks equals a happy pogonip. A happy but tyrannical pogonip who won't let the dogs in until they've been bathed and rudely reminds people to remove their shoes
If it was just Labor Day, we could have stopped there. But since it was a long weekend, we had enough time to scrape, sand, caulk, prime and paint windowsills and porch railings. And cement a post for the chickens' gate. Along with mowing the lawn, clipping plants, harvesting our spuds and soon-to-be pickles. And spending an afternoon in the Queen Mother's garage.
It's amazing how many tools you can use in four days when a deadline is staring you in the face! I'm not sure whether to be excited about school beginning again or sad for the summer's end.
Hoping you had the Holiday without the Labor,
You continue to amaze me with how much you accomplish in so short an amount of time. It has taken my husband four days to put up a shelf for me. Mostly because he get distracted by movies on TV. He says he has to let paint dray but I say that's bull. :)
ReplyDeleteYay for clean carpet!!
ah, me and the rug doctor had a date not that long ago, too. I thought we had fleas (we didn't, thank god) but on the plus side, a lot of things got steam cleaned that surely needed it. Love a nice clean carpet!
ReplyDeleteOmg we used to rent those rug doctors cleaners from the supermarket. They work amazingly but are so darn heavy... We rent a house with white carpet so its never ending the spills and stains we find. We finally went out and bought a steam cleaner... now I clean the carpet all the time!!! It's a blessing and a nightmare all in one!!
ReplyDeleteWe finally pulled all the carpet up and installed diy wood floors... much better.
ReplyDeleteYour mountain vista looks beautiful; I'm not sure I could have traded it for carpet cleaning but the carpet sure does look pretty:)
I love your new background on your blog. It's gorgeous. Enjoy that lovely clean carpet :P
ReplyDeleteGoodness it really was a day of labour for you wasn't it?
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