Thursday, October 11, 2007

On tidiness

In my last post, I mentioned how I strive to keep the farmyard tidy. It's a hangover from my city-house-owning days; you gotta be spic and span if you live on a major thoroughfare, you know. And it's also a counteraction to the sloppy farmyards around me (including this one when we moved in) where piles of "stuff" just seem to happen.

But inside the house? Forget it! Tidiness is a lower priority to the great outdoors and the kitchen, and I will do it only when I have time. This point was driven home with me this morning when I saw the chaos wrought by our kid yesterday. She was sick, so she stayed home from school. I worked a full day and was very proud of myself that I didn't put in a DVD for her all day. Instead, she played, as she will, with any and everything.

And Tom wasn't here to put order to the chaos.

I guess I take for granted that he acts very much like the Cat in the Hat when the Cat sweeps in to the messy house atop that machine, putting everything back in place while the kids' mother walks up the sidewalk.

5 comments:

Robin (Bumblebee) said...

Hi El,

Well, you have to set priorities. I find I cannot think unless everything is in its place. It drives my family crazy sometimes--but at least they know where to find things!

I hope you write more soon about your guinea hens. I am thinking about chickens too, but guinea hens seem to be a less labor and equipment intensive place to start.

--Robin (Bumblebee)

El said...

Hey Robin, yeah, I have had a guinea post floating around in my head for months now. So I will put one up in the next few days. (My money is on the chickens in the guinea-chicken debate, though, just to tip my hand.)

muffintop said...

Tidiness, *snicker* .
We moved into our house five months ago, and just the other day, I wondered if it was time to dust yet.

Carol Michel said...

What, no pictures? I like a bit of order around me, too.

Carol at May Dreams Gardens

El said...

Carol, I know, isn't it boring without pictures? I will look into my old files to see if I can find a "tidy farm" photo.

And MT, my house is only completely spotless once the snow is on the ground for good! (You've got time; you need to plant that garlic first...)