nixtress's Diaryland Diary

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Empty house= mad house cleaning

My house feels incredibly empty.
The boys have gone on an overnight camping trip with their Scout group and it's just me here. I'm taking advantage of the situation by cleaning like a crazy woman. All the cabinets that need emptied, the junk that needs tossed---it's done. The problem I run into during the days when the boys are at school is that I have limited amounts of time. Who wants to start a big job knowing they'll have to stop in an hour to run to Gramps, to the store, to pick up the kids? It just doesn't work. SO. I have a 24 hour period to deep clean as long as I can stand it and I'm loving it.
I know. I should have taken the night off and gotten out of this house, right? What can I say? I'm a homebody through and through and how can you enjoy time out when there's always so much to do? It never ends and it's not like anyone else is going to do it. Music on the stereo, not a television on in the house (YES!!), just me and the furry beasties jamming away and de-cluttering.
Bliss.
***
Speaking of furry beasties, I took the Grace-meister to get her sharp little nails trimmed yesterday. That's always a trip because she freaks out. Not minimally, either. It's a big ole freak out, complete with yipping, scrabbling, scratching and biting---if she isn't muzzled. We get to the grooming place the first time and the lady's not there yet. Grace proceeds to dig her little paws into the gravel and refuses to go within three feet of the front of the building, even. She just knows what's going to happen.
We then go home, only to return half an hour later. I have smartened up and just carry her through the door. The fun then begins.
The groomer sets Grace on a table, clips her lead up high so she's held tight and then clips another smaller lead to her collar to try and keep her front half still. Rigghhhtt. With the muzzle on, she makes these strange horse-like noises and literally foams at the mouth. Her tail end is going nuts, scrabbling for a hold that'll break her loose and every time the groomer holds Gracie's paw to begin clipping, the poor dog nearly tips the table in her efforts to dislodge her. She jerks so badly that one of her nails is clipped too short and it bleeds. First time that's happened.
She also flips out so badly that she's gouged chunks of skin out of my forearms and manages to jam my arm into the frame of the table hard enough to not only bruise it, but also slices it open and makes me bleed too.
By the time it's all said and done, my poor pooch is shaking, we're both bleeding and ready to just go home.
I realize, as we're finally outside and heading for the nearest grassy knoll so she can relieve her nervous bladder, that I'm covered in fur, blood and dog slobber.
Good thing I hadn't showered yet.
I haven't a clue how to make this less traumatic for her. The only other grooming place in town sands down doggie nails and I can't help but think that would freak her out too. It's not the clipping so much as having her feet restrained that flips her out. Before our home, she'd never had her nails clipped, ever.
Poor thing.
***
The boys' school parties went off without too much trouble. The PTO changed things up this year by insisting that games and crafts go to the wayside. Instead, each classroom had to create a scarecrow to be displayed in the courtyard and judged.
Overall, I think the idea sucked. The kids didn't enjoy their parties near as much as they have in past years and it was difficult to keep 26 kids on a task like creating a scarecrow. The scarecrow just wasn't invented to occupy that many children at one time.
The other room mothers and I agreed that we need to call a meeting and tell the PTO this isn't working and we want our regular parties back.
***
Okay. Enough time on here. Back to cleaning up the PS2 games and emptying the entertainment center.
Happy Saturday!
N.

8:59 p.m. - 2005-10-29

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