It´s another one of those catholic holidays here, and the first blissfully rainy day. Time to do all this tidbit stuff I´ve been happily and successfully trying to avoid.
One of those tidbit tasks was to flat iron a bunch of t-shirts. I don´t normally do this. In fact, a flat iron was one the household appliances it has been our utmost pleasure not to possess for the past couple of years. But, since we have started to sort out our lives, which among other things means getting all the stuff we have been dragging along with us, without actually needing it, on eBay, and since crumpled t-shirts make for lousy photo motives, which in turn makes it harder to get them sold, we got ourselves a travel flat iron. And today finally was the day to try it out.
Prior to ironing, I had to dust the table on which I was going to get those t-shirts unwrinkled. The table was undusted in about 20 seconds. After that, I decided that while I was at it, I might as well wipe over the window frames with the cloth. Hadn´t done that for a while, so after I´d started, I noticed that the window frame needed some more in-depth treatment. So I decided to go for it and got the proper agent for cleaning windows and window frames. The window, as I´d noticed in the process, was also in desperate need for some cleaning, as it looked as if it was about to go blind. I don´t even remember when I´d cleaned it for the last time (that is, not how many months ago, but how many years ago - call me a slob, if you want!).
Anyway, after the first window was done, I decided I´d do the second one in the main room as well. Our windows are wonderfully large, which makes for light-flooded rooms. On the other hand, it takes a while to clean them, especially when a lot of dust and rain has been going down on them from the outside, not to mention the amounts of nicotine on the inside (I´ll spare you the gory details here!).
The first window I´d treated faces the balcony, so no need for high anxiety there. I´d be falling down half a meter (or about two feet) at the max. However, that second window is always a bit of a challenge, since we live in the fourth floor, and that one goes out to the street, leaving only a thin line, or, in this case, a mosquito net between life and death, should I lose my balance and decide to lose it to the wrong side, which I never do, but, you know, it could just happen.
When your number´s up, it´s up, as it says in Final Destination (the wrong movie to watch prior to engaging in a dangerous task like taking a shower, or cleaning a window facing an abyss, or using a flat iron). As you can see from the fact that I survived to compose this blog entry, I managed to not trip and fall, and actually, the window cleaning turned out to be a pretty satisfying task. Much as I loathe this cleaning and clearing up work, when I finally force myself to get the essentials done, I find that they make for quick rewards - you actually see what you´ve been doing instantly.
After which, of course, I was left with this heap of t-shirts and a travel flat iron with which I had to familiarize myself with first by reading through the instructions, just to make sure I knew which button was which, and I´d fill the water into the correct spot, and would not electrocute myself, or set the house on fire. Or any of those precious t-shirts.
That turned out to be a minor challenge as well, and after a while, I found myself happily ironing away, letting my thoughts wander. Housework, as rarely as I do it, is great for this kind of getting lost in thought. My thoughts tend to take entirely different turns from when I am running. Running is great for getting entire books written (in my head, anyway), and for getting ready for the challenges of the day. Steam ...
