Really Crunch Time

I am taking a breather here. With the exception of stuff that's out because it belongs in other rooms of the house, the office is really clean. O Heaven! O sweet rapture! The vacuum is defnitely on its last life, though. O phoey! There was a loud buzzing noise coming from the rotary brush, and I noticed there were pretty normal-size pieces of cat fuzz still on the carpet after I'd made several passes. Closer inspection showed me that (1) the plastic housing of the vacuum is very loose and (2) there was a stray bracket banging around above the brush, and this loose bracket was keeping the brush from spinning. Presumably, this bracket normally sits above the brush and guides it...But no more. It's sitting on the footstool now, and the vacuum seems to be running okay without it. At least for now. ::sigh:: I hate unexpected expenses.

One the other hand, I love getting a new gadget, even if it is a vacuum cleaner. Maybe I'll be more motivated to clean, right, Naomi? ;) I am going to get a bagless one, maybe the new Eureka they advertise with the little dust wand that has its own nifty de-dusting tube on the vacuum. I'll have to scout around Epinions and see which vacuums have the best ratings. By the way, I saw on Eureka's site that they have a new Pet Stain and Odor Remover...It says it's non-enzyme based, so I wonder just how effective it could be on odors, really.

Well, break's up. I'm sure this is thrilling reading for you all. I just didn't want to start surfing the forums at Dave's Garden or checking my e-mail or I'd never get back to work!

Crunch Time

We leave for Louisiana in less than two days. Man, oh, man...I've been cleaning, finally. Even with our departure looming, it's been so hard to get motivated to clean and get ready. I hate cleaning, anyway (at least until I get started, then it's okay), but this has been bad. Some of this has to do with sinus headaches verging on migraines early this week, some has to do with the shorter days having me a little blue, and some is just plain old procrastination.

Tonight I tackled the worst of the cleaning first, knowing the rest would be easy once this was done. The bathroom? No. The kitchen? No. The office. I started with the ceiling fan, using that wonder of wonders, the ceiling fan blade attachment for the ShopVac. I was set. I doubt if Angie or any of our friends know the Lucite wasn't supposed to look frosted. Boy, are they in for a surprise next time they visit:

Next to be conquered was my desk. Once I recovered from the initial shock of seeing the surface again, I was motivated. I've been working my way around the office's perimeter, alternating between the ShopVac's handy attachements and a nifty dust-clinging dust rag. I'm maybe half way done, and I have the rest of the house to go tomorrow. At least I have the laundry done so packing won't be a crazy-making thing. But the last-minute cleaning and details...Aaaaaaaargh!

But at least the fan looks pretty! I'm tired, though, so the rest is waiting until tomorrow. I have 12 hours to kick some house cleaning butt! If I'm smart, I will power down the PC as soon as I post this tidbit, and I won't reboot until I'm done with what I need to do!