But on the really, REALLY sticky days, I hole myself up in my “office” – our breakfast nook that I’ve taken over as a home office. There’s a tiny air conditioner in the window and it is my salvation. Today isn’t hot so much as it’s sticky. Brushing against the wall is like handling flypaper. All of my paperback books are curling up, and my hair is wild. These are the days when a bandana is called for!

In 15 minutes a woman is coming to our house to look it over and tell me how much she’ll charge to clean it every two weeks. She works for our neighbor across the street, so it would be nice for her to have two houses to “do” nearby on the same day. The last time I had cleaning help was when I was working full time and had a baby. Now I guess I’m working full time again (plus…) and, although I have no babies, I do have kids with dirty hands and feet and a penchant for touching EVERY surface in the house when they come in from playing in the mud.

Also, I’ve noticed that every time I go away for a week or so, I come home to appreciably more deep level – well – dirt. Gerry’s a terrific guy, but it’s a rare man who sees the same things that need to be cleaned that I see. Also, being a Virgo I’m a little insane about little, tiny, insignificant stuff. This deadens the effect when I begin railing about the condition of the house in general. As I ponder going away at the end of this month then again in Mid August, I begin to fear what the house will look like by September…