Foreplay, the Redux

I posted an entry last year called "Foreplay." Forgot to check the stats for it, I wonder if I got a surge in traffic that day?

As I alluded to then, foreplay is a very different exercise for women than it is for men. Men think it's all about candles and soft music and … well, you know. Women? It starts with not leaving coffee rings on the furniture and ends with my husband cleaning the sliding glass doors around our house. Each room in our home, except the bathrooms, has an outside entrance. I'm not sure why that was considered important when the house was built, but there you go.

He was so damned proud of himself. Getting him to

• understand that housework needs to be done and 
• do it without being prompted 

is a Big Deal around here.

And if that's our biggest deal, then we're gonna be just fine. Heh.

The house is so shiny and bright and clean. I did the kitchen yesterday. A clean stove is a beautiful thing.

Every time I do this kind of major domestic overhaul, I think to myself (á la Flylady) that it only takes a few minutes each day, and a couple hours once a week, to keep it this way. (Speaking of Flylady, boy could she use a web designer! On the other hand, she's figured out how to support her family as a housework coach, so more power to her.) But when The Day comes to spend the two hours on upkeep, something else comes up or I don't feel like it or I know there will always be tomorrow.

If there's a downside to being retired, it's that you'll have as much time tomorrow to do stuff as you have today. Without a deadline, such as the arrival of guests, keeping the house tidy is definitely not my number-one priority. I'm not sure what is Job One, but it ain't dusting.

I have a meeting this morning, and it's raining, so the almost-daily walk will have to be postponed for later. Later looks to be a great time to get outdoors, according to weather.com.

The best part of having company is the cooking (does anyone wonder why I have issues with my weight? Anyone?). I stewed a couple whole chickens in the crockpot, which will become soup for lunch on Saturday, and then I baked some little meringue cookies last night. My cooking list isn't too long, but of course I want to get as much done early as possible. (There are, I'll admit, some occasions where I don't mind being stuck in the kitchen for the duration. This isn't one of them. Heh.)

This visit marks the end of one of the busiest months we've had since, well, since last September. Last weekend was the only free one all month. (We took advantage of it by going to the local one-screen theatre to see The Help. Loved it! And loved seeing so many people downtown going to a movie.) October is filling up already. Then it's the holidays and then we'll be wishing we had a condo in Florida we could rent for the winter.

Like sand in an hourglass …