Riffday: cleaning, unplugged week, and frigidity

Yesterday my mind was teeming with ideas for blog posts.  I dutifully jotted them down so I would have ideas in the future when it was MWF.  But of course now none of them appeals to me.  So I will just riff and see where this goes.  Maybe Mondays will be Riffday.

We're cleaning here.  We don't clean well together.  We have different ideas of what clean means.  If we each cleaned the bathroom, Dh would leave it with the counters clear of clutter, no dirty clothes on the floor, and each towel hung or folded up in its correct place.  But he wouldn't notice that there was still toothpaste in the sink, or that that yucky orange-y slime was accumulating under the shampoo bottle in the shower.  I would leave the sink and the chrome fixtures sparkling, the tile in the shower gleaming, the grout scrubbed down, but there would still be eight different kinds of hair product, three face lotions and two types of toner ranged around the sink, and I might not notice that my pajamas were still on the floor next to the shower.  (and to be entirely honest, it would probably only happen about once a month.)  You see the problem.

After twenty-six years, we've learned to appreciate each other, but we haven't learned to clean well together.  (I used the bathroom as an example, but in 26 years I don't think we've ever cleaned a bathroom together.  It was just a theoretical example.)  What works best, in my opinion, is for him to do his thing first, and then I come along after him and do mine.  Minimum of fuss, end result=whatever we cleaned is the kind of clean that works for both of us.  You'll have to ask him what works best in his opinion.  This is not something we discuss well.

So maybe you can predict that tensions have been a little high the last few days.  But-- that 26 years again-- we've kind of figured out how to manage this.  He lets me gripe at him for getting all snooty about how much neater he is than I am, and I acknowledge that he really is neater than I am and don't add under my breath "eventhoughitsreallyjustadifferentkindofneat."  And we're still married, so it must work OK.

Key change.  (we're riffing here, remember?)  We tried out "unplugged" week around here last week.  We borrowed the idea from our neighbors.  One week out of the month, no XBox.  Computer time is limited (for the kiddo) to fifteen minutes so that he can check his e-mail and Facebook.  No TV shows--although we do allow movies.  Since he's seen all the movies we own, he doesn't get sucked into them that much, and also there are no commercials, which drive me crazy.  So MadMax spent the week learning how to tie knots while working his way through the Harry Potter movies, also did a little reading, ran errands with me, etc.  He and his dad went skiing on Saturday.  I liked it.  He didn't seem to mind it as much as we thought he would.  Success.

Bridge.  After a couple of weeks of what amounts to "mild" winter weather (for us), we're back in the deep freeze again.  It was -4 when we got up this morning, and it's supposed to get down to -12 tonight.  The payoff is that we finally get blue sky and sunshine.  That's always the way around here-- it's reasonable winter temps and cloudy/overcast, or it's bitterly cold and perfectly clear.  It was nice to see the sun, but I hate those below zero temps.

What do you call the recap after the bridge?  Third verse?  we haven't had a chorus yet.  I don't know.  I borrowed the language without really knowing what I was talking about.  Oh, gee, really?  Well, on that note (ark), here's something you didn't know about me (well, unless you're one of the half dozen readers that I know irl):  I play the flute.  I love it.  I don't do it often enough.  There are few things as soothing to me as pulling out my flute and playing through some of my old pieces.

So what about you?  any musicians out there?  what do you play?  do you sing?