Bank hol, and where's the sun?

The Belles are in the Isle of Wight with their grandparents for the week. I have the joyful task of cleaning out their rooms before they come home and preparing for this open day party at the day job on Saturday. Did I mention I have this book to write too? Plus, Mr Nell is making me go to Derbyshire for a few days in the tourer. Something about me needing time off.
I've now cleared a path so I can walk into the eldest and middle belles rooms. I haven't even attempted Miss La's room yet. So far I've retrieved 14 glasses and 4 mugs. Their bathroom is now all scrubbed and shiny and the mats washed and toothpaste and makeup splatters gone from the mirror. I've done three loads of washing and filled one and a half bin bags with rubbish. The joy of teenagers!

Clearing and cleaning

Tomorrow we're having a new carpet in our bedroom so today Mr Nell and I have been emptying cupboards and drawers ready to move the furniture for the fitters. Isn't it amazing what you find? I found pictures of me and Mr Nell on our honeymoon which caused Boo to roll around the floor laughing, belts that Mr Nell would certainly never wear again and various vintage items including my storm cap that formed part of my uniform when I was a student nurse.
I moved all the belles christening clothes and shawls and the handmade quilts that I stitched for each of them when I was pregnant. I also discovered four brand new white cotton pillowcases in their wrappers that we'd been given as wedding gifts (twenty four years ago)
I thinned out my book collection which had been spilling out onto the floor with Mr Nell shaking his head in disbelief at the amount of books I manage to fit on two quite small shelves (he didn't realise I'd double stacked them)
Next step will be moving the furniture tomorrow and taking up the old carpet - can't wait to see the new one down. It's really nice and a different colour so the room will look totally different.

Cleaning

Well, we hired the Rug doctor cleaner from Focus and have now cleaned the dining room carpert and all the chairs, the lounge carpet, the hall carpet and five rugs. I think Mr Nell has now run out of flat oblects to clean and has taken the cleaner back. I think if the belles had stood still long enough he may have tried to clean them too. Actually, Miss La may have benefitted from it - she always reminds us of 'Pigpen' the Peanuts character by Charles Schultz.
Tomorrow the new furniture is due to arrive and I have to put everything back - cue more cleaning. Did I mention cleaning is not number one on my list of things to do?

It's oh so quiet

Shaggy has still got no voice, so she's at home - sigh. I put her to work wrapping some of the presents for family and friends. I've been doing one of my least favourite jobs - cleaning windows. I'm rubbish at it. They always look smeary even if I try all the tips from Anthea Turner or the how clean is your house people. Cleaning windows effectively is not one of my gifts. Actually, I'm not over brill at cleaning the oven or ironing or well, actually most kinds of housewifey type things.
I make a great roast dinner though and know lots of different ways of getting stains out of stuff. (The last one is because I'm clumsy and I have three kids)
At least you can see through the windows now, in fact, in a rush of blood to my head I even cleaned the brass on the front door ready to hang the Christmas wreath that I haven't got yet.
Now if I can just dig out the lounge and the family room and move the mountain of fossilised laundry in the utility, we might be able to put the decorations up at the weekend.

Shiny

I abandoned the cleaning for a few hours to finish another chapter of Crystal Clear. I've decided that the problem with making one room nice is that all the other rooms now need deep cleaning too. Before they all looked scruffy so I didn't notice - I am so not cut out to be a housewife. I have finally managed to stick a whole load of stuff into my scrapbook.I'd got a little heap of press cuttings, congratulations cards and nice things to do with my writing that I wanted to keep. It's good to look at on those days when the crows descend and you decide that everything you write is crap.
Next job looming on the horizon when the cleaning jag is finished is that time of the year I hate most - Taxes - sigh.

Feeling accomplished

Today has been my day for tackling some of my chores around the house. It's much easier to do these when Mr Nell and the belles aren't around, otherwise nothing much seems to get done. My bedroom is now shiny and so is the ensuite bathroom. I've done four loads of washing and drying so far thanks to the sun finally shining. Anyone I owe a parcel too, I went to the post office so watch your letterboxes.
I shopped and bought food that might help me lose some weight. Mr Nell took some very unflattering pics of me while we were away - I look like a weeble on most of them. Do you remember Weebles? They were a kids toy advertised with the song - Weebles wobble but they don't fall down. That's me - Mrs Weeble.
So now I'm tackling the laundry mountain and the belles rooms. If I don't reappear by tommorrow send a search party.

Cleaning is bad for you.

Yes, I'm still cleaning and clearing. I found a drawer full of my diaries last night, one for every year going back to 1983. Wow! It was like a journey back in time - sadly some years were much to painful to look at and I wondered why I kept them. I still can't bring myself to throw them away which seems crazy.
The other sad part was looking back I realise my weight is unaltered since 2003 - put some on, lost a little - sigh. Guess I'd better keep up with weightwatchers in the hope that this might be the one that works. I'm also three and a half stones heavier now than I was back in 1983.
The overall effect of this is very depressing. I know now why I don't have these mass clearouts very often. 1} I don't usually have time and 2} It makes me miserable. Why do I never find good stuff - like money?
In better news though I've started writing Animal Instincts. I know I'll chop and change the opening a bit but I quite like what I have so far. My aim is to finish the first chapter this week and I might write a short story too.

I hate cleaning...

I'm not a natural Mrs housewife type person. I love the house to look clean and tidy but with a husband who thinks the floor is a suitable place to store his stuff and three very messy daughters, I'm on a hiding to nothing. I spent most of this weekend digging out my middle daughters room and I'm nowhere near done. I think she has the market cornered in odd socks, handbags and Bratz doll bits.
I treated myself to Liz Fielding's latest book, The Valentine Bride yesterday whilst I was at Asda. I'd like to get Natasha Oakleys latest too but I bought the dvd of Muriel's Wedding and The Runaway Bride to watch with my eldest dd instead. I'll have to check my bank balance for next weekend and see if I can manage it then instead.