Home Sweet Home

Yay, we're back home now. It was so nice to walk into a clean house!! If I can help it, I will never leave a messy house when we go somewhere for an extended stay. We had a little extra motivation this time, having the house on the market. We had to leave the house ready in case a potential buyer came to see it. My mother-in-law keeps her house perfectly tidy (she still had some cobwebs and she never dusts, but there's no clutter.) I kind of watched her this trip, to see how she does it, and it's a constant thing. She doesn't let things sit around "to take care of later" like I do. FIL teases her about "painting the kitchen" when we're trying to get out the door, because she's always finishing up last minute stuff in the kitchen. We used to get grumpy that she'd start the dishwasher before coming over to the couch to watch a movie (we lived with them for a year), but I understand, now, why she would do that. (The dishwasher they had in their old house didn't have a timer feature, so if she didn't start it, she might forget to run it before going to bed. This new dishwasher has a timer, but she hasn't adjusted her routine.) Anyway, the lesson was to be constantly vigilant about keeping surfaces clear. As I type this, the island in our kitchen, which was perfectly cleared off when we got home, has already got clutter a foot deep on it. Hmmm. I have my work cut out for me!

Clean house aside, it was such a relief to get home! Not just because traveling with a little one is tough, but being a guest in other people's houses, sleeping in a different bed every three nights, and living out of a suitcase is tough. And our kitties are here!!! I missed them. Of course they left surprises for us, which are not pleasant, but they wouldn't be cats if they didn't, so I try not to mind too much.

Did you catch that bit about sleeping in a different bed every three nights? I'm not kidding. We were gone for 2 1/2 weeks, stayed in three different houses, and slept in 5 different beds. Glad to be home!