Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Never-Ending Story


That is the view from what we call the mud room (for lack of a better word) into Mr. Moon's bathroom. While I have the most beautiful bathroom in the North Florida/South Georgia area, Mr. Moon has a bathroom which is the room most in need of just ripping off the house and replacing. It was probably the original indoor bathroom to the house. The tub has very little enamel left on it and no matter what I do, I can never get it quite clean so mostly I just pretend it's not there. Sometimes, however, I do open the shower curtain and gasp in horror and today was one of those days and I even found a spider web in the corner of where the tub is and I am not kidding you. Oh wait- not just a spider- a spider in a web. 
Why does the man never say anything?
I started out just scrubbing toilets but after I looked at that tub, I decided it was time to try and do a little bit of mildew removal in there, a little soap-scum reduction. And so I did. And then I cleaned the sink and swept and mopped the floor. I love that old linoleum. It was here when we got here and there are no rips or tears in it and I see no reason to replace it. I think it looks just dandy.

I also scrubbed the mildew off the kitchen porch steps with bleach water. I should have done the front porch steps too because when I was watering out there, I slipped on some and in those eternal moments when you realize that you no longer are in control of your feet, legs, or body I realized that "slippery when wet" does indeed apply to mildewed wood and cement surfaces. I ended up sitting rather abruptly on my butt and did not actually fall and thank god for that. I am old and would probably have broken my hip. And we all know where that leads, which is a slow and painful death for the elderly and I am going to be sixty a week from tomorrow.
But no, I didn't scrub the front porch steps.
I guess I was just born to be fucking wild, risking life and limb or limb and then life, to be more specific.

I took all the garbage and recycle. I rearranged some shit and despaired at how much crap I have and need to get rid of. Much of it is stuff that would go in a family museum (or mausoleum, perhaps) if there was such a thing. I guess my house is the family museum and dear god, I'm tired of holding on to these sacred relics. My mother's purse, for example, with her wallet and all of her cards and ID's in it. Her pictures. Her...I don't know what. I can't bring myself to actually go through it. I did find a beautiful ruby red velvet jewelry box that said, "Helzerg Diamonds" but all it contained was a few yellowing blank index cards.

Gee Dee, as David Sedaris's father would say.

Here's a butterfly I saw on the not-yet-blooming red passionflower vine.


And here's what the old farm produced today.


See those beans? There are five of them. Turns out the beans I planted a month or so ago are yard-longs which of course I'd already forgotten. Maybe I'll get twenty before the season's over.

Mr. Moon is home and I've got the brown rice cooked for the stuffed peppers I'm going to make. I am very excited about this but then again, food does generally excite me.

I have no ending for this because it never does end. Not garbage or mildew or laundry or the need to eat.

And so...





16 comments:

  1. It all sounds good to me. We feasted on beans from the garden last night. And grilled eggplant. Delicious! I have been so tired today--still the miasma of viral bronchitis must have made me so tired. Ready to feel energetic again.

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  2. Why does the man never say anything?

    The man can build a chicken coop condo in under eight minutes but he can't clean his own damned tub?

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  3. Those beans a effing cool! I made a bunch of deviled eggs with my smaller ladies eggs, I think one may be a banty but the other two are just slender polish hens, you know the ones with the fluffy head dresses??! I do love them, and one loves me back...I have to be careful not to step on her in the bird yard, she sticks so close. The eggs were for a very enjoyable garden party at my mom's house, for her 68th birthday. It was a perfect day today. Be well

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  4. Syd- To everything there is a season. Rest now when you need to and your strength and energy will gather and build once again. I promise.

    Rebecca- Well of course he could. I could also go out and get a job that pays money. Theoretically. We have our roles. it works for us. And I couldn't build a chicken coop in twenty years if I had to.

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  5. Big Mamabird- I hope that when I turn 68, someone makes me deviled eggs. How much do we love our chickens? Probably too much. But nah, never.

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  6. That linoleum looks new. If you were to replace it you would have to replace it again is 10 years because everything made these days is garbage.

    60? 60? Yep, don't fell. Or get hip protectors. http://www.hiprotector.com/safehipw.html

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  7. Somebody needs to write a book about mildew, i.e. how to clean it. It's stunned me completely. I just spray the whole bathroom with bleach and shut the door. Our plastic patio furniture has mildew. Bless my heart. Your garden offerings look lovely.

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  8. We had a bathroom that kept getting mildew on the walls and finally the painter I called told me about anti mildew paint and scrubbed the walls with a bleach solution then dried then then primed and finished off with the bright white anti mildew paint and it's been almost a year and it still looks as if he painted yesterday whereas before it would have been once again covered in mildew from my son's hour long showers with all that trapped steam and a vent that doesn't quite do it's job. So after years of fighting mildew I think that is the secret: anti mildew paint! Who knew?

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  9. I need a wife, I believe! I have the spiders and the mildew and oh, a carpenter ant infestation and they carry their little larvae around. I know! I just cover my eyes and say LA LA LA LA when I see that shit. Maggots being carted around. Yikes.
    So, I'm amazed and in awe that you did all that cleaning and growing things and now, cooking it. Rock on!

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  10. Ok. You're a master of your domain, for sure. Or mistress. Tell me this: how does one get the black yuck out of the gray rubber tubing that lines the front loader washing machine? This plagues me. Perhaps I'll make it a post. You inspire me, in every single way.

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  11. The never ending beauty of Mrs. Moon's blog!

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  12. Yay for the farm! That's a pretty great-looking assortment of food, even with just five beans.

    We have the same problem with our bathtub in our new place. The enamel is pretty much gone and it stains instantaneously. I am envisioning a heroic effort to keep it clean.

    (We have a spider living in the kitchen on the windowsill but I've just let him be.)

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  13. I'm in charge of cleaning too, thank god because my husband is color blind and often proclaims that he "can't see dirt." Which is a good thing for when I've let things slide a bit. :)
    I love the offerings that your land has given you!

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  14. I thought I was well and surely fucked when that mat flew out from under me and I landed hard on by thigh and heel of my hand. so painful. and I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis though I haven't had a bone density test in probably 7 years. but I lucked out. no broken wrist or broken hip.

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  15. Birdie- I think I'll just start going barefoot everywhere. My toes have good gripability. You are right about the linoleum.

    Ms. Vesuvius- Yep. Mildew. We got it. In spades. And mold. The south is such a great place to live.

    Angella- Yes, we have that stuff here too. Unfortunately, it doesn't work very long for the virulent strains of mold and mildew we have. Plus, this mildew was on the tile. And quite honestly, a lot of it still is.

    Betsy- Yes. But you do flying yoga and make flower quizzes. Maybe we'd be the perfect couple, you and me.

    Elizabeth- I heard a woman on NPR talking about getting mold and mildew out of towels. She said that mildew LOVES laundry detergent and that vinegar is the answer. So I'd say run a load with a hell of a lot of white vinegar in it, no detergent. See if that helps.
    Master of my domain. Haha!

    Denise- You are too sweet, my dear.
    Thank you.

    Steve Reed- The best thing I've found is to coat the damn tub with Clorox toilet cleaner gel. Sort of strong but hey- it sort of works. Good luck.

    Heartinhand- At least my husband never complains. Maybe he can't see dirt either. Yeah. Probably not the case.

    Ellen Abbott- Weird how what was once just a pain in the ass (or leg or arm or whatever) is now becoming sort of a really big deal. Gah.

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