This is just about as seasonal as I get.
I’ve moved in. I’ve repainted. I’ve unpacked 98% of my stuff, shuffled some items off to Craigslist (empty boxes, the leftover giant-sized carpet remnant, the unused pots and pans, the garish chandelier in the dining room), and gotten my rooms in order…except for the kitchen, which is still in a “that’s good enough for now” state and will probably remain that way for at least another month. Or year. Whatever.
But today is “cleaning day”. (Why I didn’t do this yesterday when I had no power but enough light to see to wipe off the windowsills, I’ll never know. I think I was too busy sulking.) Many windows need wiped down to get rid of accumulated dust. Some holes in walls need to be patch-plastered. I need to hang that damned mug tree in the kitchen. And I need to vacuum the stairs. The living room got a full going-over, the library likewise. I even lugged a vacuum cleaner upstairs and gave the bedroom a cursory swipe. But I didn’t do the stairs. They’re not hideously grody - but I’d like to keep it that way. Besides, they’re now covered in a fine layer of cat fur.
According to the cats, the stairs are the Best Cat Jungle Gym Ever. They can climb up them. They can perch on them, claiming “their” territory at different levels (so as not to earn the wrath of the other cats, of course.) They can drag themselves along one step, then either climb up or roll down and drag themselves along another step. And they can play games on them: one will pounce from higher up, or one will sneak-attack from a lower stair, and then the two involved cats will whap at each other claws-pulled (most of the time - which yields tiny bits of fur all over the stairs) until they get tired of that particular game…or until I have to use the stairs, thus disrupting the game. I have to watch whenever I walk down the stairs because at least one of them will be there, the hallway sphinx, watching to make sure that those other cats don’t infringe on their temporarily-claimed kingdom. The stairs, I can see, are going to not only need regular vacuuming, but the carpet will probably be worn out faster.
I have the mini-tree sitting on the dining room table, and two strings of Christmas lights hung out on the porch. (Though I will probably go out at some point and do a much better job of hanging. And add my other string, as well, so that I have more lights.) I had tried hanging the stockings above the fireplace, but even without the blower working, that thing puts out too much heat for me to hang those stockings without a mantel. I’d be afraid that they’d burst into flames one day…which is not the way I wanted to check how extensive my home-insurance policy was. I can’t hang them all in my window, or folks will wonder why I’m hanging *four* when I only have two cats and myself. Maybe I’ll hang them in the kitchen window - it faces the back fence, the neighbors don’t see that window unless they’re walking around in my backyard, and I’ll see them every morning when I go down to make my coffee.
And now I have to go. Not only does the cleaning await, but Ursa just came in and brought his toy mouse. Either he wants praise for being a good hunter, or he wants to play, or both.
