NO GLAMOUR TODAY

There was an email that made the rounds a few years ago about a woman who starts out to change the water in a flower vase and gets waylaid when she sees a pop can on a table and as she picks it up she realizes that the mail has arrived and she needs to find her check book to pay bills…………… The punch line is that by the end of the day she has accomplished nothing. That is a bit like my day today.

I decided that since I am leaving on Sunday for Wyoming I decided to put the lounge chairs into the truck. They needed to be wiped down so out came the bucket and clothes and cleaner. After I got them cleaned, I also wash the small table and the bin that holds the BBQ. With those clean I pulled out the ladder to get into the back of the truck. The ladder was dirty so I cleaned it and then flipped back the tonneau cover on the truck and climbed up. I pulled up the loungers but had to make room in the back so back down they went and I reorganized the bins. I got the lounge chairs and table into the area I had cleared. I then realized that the extra sewer hoses needed a good cleaning. I pulled put the garden hose and detached the drinking water hose and attached the garden hose. The knob on the water connection fell off so I had to get out my tool kit and find the nut to hold the knob on. I attached the washer wand to the other end of the garden hose and turned on the water.

I started to wash out the 20’ sewer hose but I did not have the wand in far enough so I got wet. Turned off the wand and got paper towels from the trailer and cleaned my glasses so I could see again. Back to cleaning the 20’ hose by dumping a bunch of baking soda in the hose and then pouring in the white vinegar. Great little science experiment except that I didn’t have enough of the hose in the bin so the foam backed up onto me. More paper towels from the trailer and I was ready for round 2. I got that hose cleaned and smelling so much better after I rinsed it with the wand (this time with the wand well into the hose) and then laid the hose out on the grass to dry out. I have a back up 10’ hose which I had not used so after draining the black and gray water holding tanks, I disconnected the used 10’ and was about the attach the backup hose when I noticed that that thingy that holds the connector to the hose was loose so I got out my tool kit again (this time I am leaving it out until I am done) and proceeded to tighten the thingy. I had the use the screw driver to loosen the thingy but I had the wrong bit in the screw driver so around the trailer and got the right size bit and proceeded to get the thing attached. I then hooked up the new 10’ hose and took the other one to wash it out with the wand and mixture of baking soda and vinegar. It was much smoother this time as I learned my lesson from the first attempt. Once both sewer hoses were dry, I disconnected the garden hose and reconnected the water hose.

Next project was to wash the foam interlocking pads that I use to put the lounge chairs on. Got them wiped clean (would have been easier if I had the garden hose still connected but I spent 10 minutes getting it untangled and into the storage bin so I was not pulling it out again). I laid the 6 squares out on the truck cover to dry and looked around for the next project (and secretly hoping that I couldn’t find one).

I decided that the windows on the truck needed to be cleaned both inside and out. Lots of paper towels and the window cleaner (by Martha Stewart if you please) and got the windows done. My God, the front window of the truck is huge!!!!! I then pulled out the Amoral and cleaned the dash and doors. I took the lint roller to the seats and the truck as looking great.

I am now on a roll but it was time for a union break so I emailed Lauren with the list of projects I was working on. She replied that I was probably soaking wet and my hair was scary sticking up and I had my MP3 on my arm but the earphones kept getting in my way. She has seen the manic side of her mother often.

Union break over, it was time to clean the floors in the trailer. Took the rugs outside to clean later and "swiffered" the trailer and then started to clean the rugs again with the lint roller. Time for lunch but first I had to fill the salt and pepper mills. The extra S&P was in the storage under the bed. Lifted the platform, got the S&P and then noticed that the trim was lose on one side and the side had pulled away. Good thing I left out the tool box. Got my hammer and nails and was ready to use brute force to fix the problem but I did not have the right size of nails. Plan B is this glue that I had ordered from The Shopping Channel before I left so it was time to see if their promise of the glum to fix anything was true. I put the glue on the base and then held the trim on. Yeah, that didn’t work so well so I read the instructions. It stated that I needed to remove any old glue and then clean the area with nail polish remover. I removed the old glue and cleaned the area and then tried again. Worked great and decided that since I didn’t have the right size nail, I would use the same glue to fix the side. WORKED GREAT expect I had made a mess and needed the clean the floor and rug again but I did fix the problem.

I then went back to make lunch (got waylaid with the glue repair) but before I made my sandwich I wiped the area where the dish soap container is and there was soap that had leaked from the bottom of the dispenser. I emptied the dispenser and then cleaned the bottom really well and let it dry and then, wait for it, used the glue to seal up the 2 holes and let that dry. I then refilled the dispenser and gave myself a pat on the back for being so creative. Just checked the dispenser and the glue thing didn’t quite fix the problem. I will tackle it again later. DAMN!!!!

So the truck was sparking, the trailer was clean and I decided that it was time for a cold drink and opened the freezer and – now it needs defrosting. CRAP! Threw everything out (a couple of frozen dinners and 2 popsicles) and get out the electric kettle to boil water. While the water was boiling I put a pot in the empty freezer and it stuck the freezer. Got the pot unstuck and after 6 kettles of boiling water into the pot the freezer is beautiful and frost free!

I just took a break from writing to get a glass of Crystal Light. Filled the glass with water, added ice and the RED Crystal Light and was stirring it and watching The Office and the glass broke and there was RED everywhere. I am now officially out of paper towels, my tea towels are RED and it is hard to see what is ice and what is broken glass. I have it cleaned up now and STICK A FORK IN ME I AM DONE!!!!!