The Kitchen and Dining Room Floors

 One thing I liked about this house was the flooring in the kitchen and dining room. Now you need to know that what I call the back door, the one that comes off the deck into the house, opens into the BIG room that is our dining room and kitchen.   The front door is the off the front porch, the one that runs across the front of the house, and opens into the living room.We never use the front door because there is no sidewalk from the drive to it, one would need to tromp through grass to get to it, there is no step up to the porch from the grass, and there really is no reason to come into the house from that porch area.

Consequently the floor in the kitchen and dining room becomes very dirty.  There is a rug in front of the door.  There are smaller rugs by the door for shoes and boots.  Owen immediately sits when he enters the house and removes whatever is on his feet.  But often people just walk into those rooms with either bags of groceries or to grab a drink out of the fridge or to just chat for a bit and don't remove their shoes first.  So the floor is dirty.

I use the Swiffer mop/ wet jet on the floor frequently.  I admit I could mop it more often than I do, but time gets in the way---or kids---or activities.  There needs to be a window of time for moving the furniture, shaking the rugs, dry mopping the floor to get up the little gritty things, then mopping with the wet-jet and letting it dry.  I try for once a week, but it doesn't always happen.

The first fall we lived in the house, I decided to buy some floor cleaner for multi surfaces. What we have is a laminate of sorts that looks like hardwood but isn't.  It is cracked and will probably need to be replaced in a few years.  I mopped the floor with the floor cleaner and let it dry.  Then I polished it with the 'shine' substance made by the same company as the floor cleaner.  I was pleased with the results.  The floor looked good and it smelled and looked clean. 

The plan was to follow that routine at least every other month.  Well, that didn't happen.  In the fall 2019 I mopped the floor again with the floor cleaner, then applied the polish.  It looked great and the plans were to repeat the process in early November.

That didn't happen.  COVID did.  Instead of my sprucing up the house prior to the Siemens Family Thanksgiving, Gary and I were both recovering from the virus and NOTHING was happening from my to-do list.  Even Thanksgiving had to be cancelled!

The other day I noticed that the floor was really dirty.  When I dry mop it, the pad is covered with dirt and I always mention how dirty the floor is.  But recently, just the way the light was hitting the floor empahsized the dirty shoe/boot marks that were still evident on the flooring.  It was just dirty.

This morning Gary and I moved everything that we could from the dining room/kitchen to the living room or to the bathroom.  I dry mopped the floor and we swept up several piles of dust and dirt.  Then I filled the bucket with water, grabbed the wet squeegy mop, and I went to work. Squirting the cleaner and mopping it onto the floor, cleaning the surface, and rinsing the mop is not a huge chore.  It actually is rather easy.  The only thing is that  the flooring has been in place for a while, and the shininess of the surface is diminishing.  Some areas just look dull.  

After the floor dries, I am debating about mopping it for a second time.  The water that I dumped down the bathtub drain was SO dirty that I am thinking about another bath for the floor.  Since this process doesn't happen very often, I need to be sure it is as clean as it can be while I am doing it, right?  So that may be the next step.

At the end, however, the polish will be applied and it will be given time to dry.  Once again, the porous nature of the flooring plus the amount of wear that has happened over the years could be a deciding factor on my osme areas have spots where no polish will 'stick' to it.

When dinner time rolls around, the floor should be nice and shiny, the chairs polished and returned to their spots around the dining room table, the other furniture re-set in their places, and the kitchen counters polished to perfection.  All will be ready for the next big family gathering on Dec. 23, followed by the BIG Siemens Family Christmas on Dec. 24. 

But I will also be thinking about when we will start looking for new flooring for the kitchen/dining room.  One of these days it will happen....

Shopping with Panic and Anxiety

 Since we were sick for most of November and since I really had no idea how I caught the virus, I was hesitant to be out with other people.  Logically I knew that it might have been a fluke, that maybe I had picked up something from the lady who had come to update our Medicare coverage because she was the only one I had been close to for any amount of time and neither of us were wearing masks while we sat in our dining room.  I also knew that for 90 days I would be less likely to catch it again since the antibodies were still present in my body.  But still...I was nervous.

On Wednesday Gary and I had gone to Hobby Lobby and I was close to a panic attack.  There were just too many people and every aisle I wanted to be in had others there looking for items, just like I wanted to do.  All I wanted was to get out of there----and we couldn't leave quickly enough.

When Hilary asked me to go along with her so she could shop for the kids, and so she could help me with selecting the 'something to wear' for the kiddos, I hesitated.  I didn't want to be out with people in stores, especially on a Saturday night when most likely everyone else in Lafayette and the surrounding counties would be shopping too.  Gary finally convinced me that I needed to go, that I would be safe, and that Hilary could use the help.  Please he didn't want her to be out shopping alone later in the evening.  One never knows what might happen to a woman alone on her way to her car in a parking lot.  There are always stories....

Hilary was careful to check the crowds every place we went.  The Target parking lot was full the first time we drove past so we continued to drive.  At Home had a few people, but most of them kept their distance.  The line for the checkout was short and we were in and out without any problems.  Kohls was a little more crowded, but we really didn't encounter too many in the children's clothes area.  The checkout  line moved quickly too. 

Dick's Sporting Goods had a few shoppers but none where we were browsing.  Another cashier was added soon after we were standing in line to check out, so that helped.  Since Hilary was getting a headache from hunger, we decided to find a non-crowded place to grab some food.  McAlisters had blocked off tables so social distancing was easy.  There was no line at the counter.  Once the Chesterton swim team left on  their bus, there were very few people dining.

Finally back to Target, and then Meijer.  We were able to dodge others easily as we looked for toys and clothes.  When we visited the Meijer on the west side, the aisles were nearly empty. One of the perks of living so close to Lafayette/West Lafayette is that we can shop late and NOT have a long drive back home!

As we progressed through the evening, my anxiety lessened. I became more comfortable with wearing my mask and being able to see and hear.   Actually my knee was causing me more grief than my anxiety!  More walking than what I had been doing for the past four weeks was causing more stress on my left leg.

Shopping with panic and anxiety is not fun at all.  But as the evening went on, I did become more comfortable.  Plus I was able to cross many items off my shopping list for Christmas gifts.

Thank you to Hilary for asking me to go along, for checking frequently to see how I was feeling, and for calming my nerves down when needed.  Thank you to Gary for encouraging me to go---he usually knows what is best for me! (don't tell him I said that!).  And thank you to Papaw for taking care of Landon, Tessa, and Owen yesterday evening.  After eating pizza, salad, and breadsticks from Monicals, it was "Christmas Movie Night" and they loved it! Landon spent the night also, so that was fun.  

On to a new day---but I think that if I need to shop again, I will go on a weekday morning with no crowds.  Easier on my anxiety!

New Stylist?

 Since Lindsey had her babies on Tuesday and since I missed my last appointment with her nearly three weeks ago because I was COVID positive, I made an appointment with a hairstylist in Rossville for this afternoon.

I am always leery of going to a new stylist.  I never know what to expect, whether she will understand what I want, if I will be happy with the end result, or if I will be on the search for another stylist once I leave the shop.  

Hilary had made an appointment at the same salon for last Saturday for a haircut and some highlights.  Her hair looked great, and she was very happy. She encouraged me to call her for a haircut appointment; she thought I would like her and be happy with the results.

Today it was just she and I in the shop to start with.  She looked at a few pictures, talked to me about my hair, asked what Lindsey usually did when she cut my hair, and said she would do her best to make me happy with the end result.  

Through the process I talked a lot.  Yes, I know I talk a lot in general, but it seemed easier if she worked and I chatted.  She did ask a few questions, but mostly it was one-sided as Jill worked on texturizing and trimming.

I wasn't quite sure about the end result.  I never liked the finished look when Lindsey cut my hair.  She pulled too much over to the side, and it just didn't look like I wanted it to.  When I came home, I usually re-washed it and most of the time, I was happy with the result.  When I came home this afternoon, I felt the same way.  Not quite sure about the end result.  I re-washed my hair, put in the mousse, dried it, the applied the rough paste.  Perfect.  The sides are shorter and around my ears are not flipping out.  The right side behind my ear is not flipping out as it was the last time.  My bangs are shorter.  The back is fluffing up like I want it to.  So overall----I like it.

My next appointment is after we return from Gatlinburg and will include color and highlights.  She thought she could figure out my formula.  I decided if it isn't quite the same as what Lindsey used, so be it. I might like it better than what Lindsey did!  Who knows?  

Who knows if I will return to the salon in Francesville?  I love Lindsey and her work on my hair. I really do.  And I wouldn't have made not just one, but two baby quilts for anyone's babies if I didn't like that person. However.....cutting two hours off my travel time for each hair appointment is big.  Since I don't stop and visit with people anymore and most of our banking can be done online, there is no other reason to drive to Francesville.   Just hair appointments.

We shall see.  Maybe it will work out.  Maybe it will not.  But I do know I did like the haircut today and the end result.