Easter. A time for family gatherings.
And in this house it's no different.
Today we are expecting Kelly and Rena for a few days, and Bex too.
Tomorrow we are having Stew's sister Khady and Lacy arriving for dinner too.
So, it will be a full house.
Sadly, Amanda, Andrew and kids won't be here. They have prior plans.
Not that the boys can be here while Steve is here anyway. (long story, not gunna go there).
So, we will have a lovely weekend, I will no doubt get stressed out and crabby... I invariably do.
It's the MESS I can't bear for long. Things out of place. Things all over the place. It just gets under my skin.
Nothing I can do about it. It's just something I can't control.
I love having visitors. And I love it when they go so I can tidy my house! I'm a pain. For everyone! But mostly, for myself.
Is it a problem that I can't stand mess?
Anyone like me?
I'm quite sure my aversion to mess is due to my upbringing! My parents were not exactly tidy! My Dad was the worst though. He never, ever threw away a newspaper, JUST in case he needed to find something in the classifieds again. And he was always dumping bits of machinery, chainsaws and the like on the pool table or couch in the family room... where they could stay for YEARS. One time he bought a PINK BATHTUB in an auction, because he thought it might look good 'somewhere'.... but it sat on the couch for about 10 years... and got filled with chainsaw blades, newspapers, socks, you name it!
He was a bit of a magpie. If he thought he might be able to use it 'one day' he would buy it. One time he saw a Holden Commodore on the side of the road for sale. Well he already had a Holden Commodore, so he bought the 2nd one cos ONE DAY he might just need the motor from it.
He went to the pub in Tokoroa and had a few drinks with his mates.
Next day a bloke arrives at our house, dumps an aluminium dinghy on the front lawn and drives away in me Mother's car!
Apparently Dad had swapped Mum's car for the dinghy... cos he wanted a dinghy!
Mum was a bit cross, and kinda screamed at me Dad "What the hell! Am I supposed to ROW to the bloody supermarket am I?" .... it was rather funny!
Needless to say, Dad bought her a better car within days.
Actually, he had a lot of cars. And bulldozers. And machinery. All over the place. We had to move out of town to a 30 acre block of land... cos he couldn't park a bulldozer on the front lawn in town.
So.. our home was a bit... chaotic. I have only scrapped the tip of the iceberg with just how chaotic it was!
Hence my aversion to mess. Inside and out.
It is going to be a nice day today. I am sure of it. My pills should kick in fairly quickly, so the hot flushes will dissipate. My mood will get better. I will stop being quite so miserable. Yaaaaa.
ONWARD!...
Hee hee... finally Teddy got ZAPPED! He's been so naughty lately that I put the anit-bark collar back on him. But he hasn't done much barking cos he just KNOWS what will happen.
Well that was, until this morning.
We were all upstairs when someone knocked on the front door... and Teddy went ballistic like he does, next thing we hear... Teddy screeching in PAIN! And he ran upstairs and jumped up on Stew and shut up pronto! He got zapped finally! I know it sounds mean, but it had to be done. His behaviour is diabolical, he barks at everything and anything.
Oh and who was knocking on our door first thing this morning? Bex. She's here for Easter.
Because it is such an amazingly beautiful day, we went for a walk in The Botanic Gardens... along with hundreds of other people...
Home again now and it's almost time to prepare dinner. It's Spaghetti Bologniese tonight. YUM.
End of Day: Kelly and Rena arrived... and just in time for dinner. Which was really nice. I do a mean Spag Bog.
ON TRACK: I'd like to say YES... but I'm off to play Foo (card game) and enjoy a wee tipple or two.
nite nite.
Have a lovely Easter, I will have no family around me except David, Easter to me is just a holiday or in my case a few days of study lol....
ReplyDeleteI am just like you. I love a tidy house and that means both hubby and the dog get nagged. Hubby has a garage and it is a mess, junk all over the place. I am forever following him around putting his crap away and I do vocalise my annoyance, he is better but still not perfect. The dog, despite being short haired drops hair all over the wooden floor and on the couch and don't get me started about the slobber on the ranch-slider which gets cleaned twice a day. But I guess to enjoy the weekend you accept it is going to be messy and wait til the leave so you can resume "tidy living". At least the weather is better than they had forecasted earlier in the week.
ReplyDeleteToday I need to pack my suitcase for my trip to Melbourne... I can only hope the house is tidy when I return in a week, but I shall not hold my breath. ;-)
A bathtub on the couch? Yeah that would do it!
ReplyDeleteBad memories tinged with humour are good.
ReplyDeleteBad memories coloured with humour make them bearable. Hard to imagine that out of chaos a man can be successful in business but I know it's possible.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful morning here and gardening on my agenda.
Blessings
Love the stories about your father. lol....He must have been a real character.
ReplyDeletePeople would kill to be as house proud as you! I am a bit of a hoarder but my problem is pretty things, ornaments, etc. At least I will be able to sell them in a garage sale! Have a great easter and try not to stress to much! WOMBAT
ReplyDeletehave a great weekend with the family chris and yes i can understand your need to be tidy hmmmm pink tub and bulldozers good mix lol
ReplyDeleteI hope your family visit goes as smoothly as possible. Try to enjoy yourself as much as you can.
ReplyDeleteYour issue with cleanliness and your Dad's with hoarding are the same thing. They can both come from being obsessive/compulsive. Just opposite ways of soothing the anxiety.
I've seen it have a negative impact on peoples enjoyment of life. You deserve to be able to enjoy the life you have made xx
What a hoot those stories are your Dad sounds a cad, and a bet no 2 days were alike.
ReplyDeleteOHHH I shouldn't have laughed at your stories of your dad. But you tell them so well! :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great get-together and that you can see Amanda and the boys some other day soon.
I too, hope that you have a wonderful Easter.
ReplyDeleteI am a "Chris-wanta be"! I would wish, wish, wish I could have your nack for a clean house. That would be wonderful and I did start out that way-but- over the years when DH "retrained" my way of dealing with things(like a motor in the center of the living room floor -being fixed. Well, I could understand -we needed the vehicle fixed and it was below freezing outdoors -his hands would freeze off before he got the motor fixed. LOL So, I have learned to "chill-out" a lot -but still WISH I could get to that point. Now that we are older DH seems to "shed" things everywhere he goes- shoes in the living room floor-shirts in the bedroom floor- dishes anywhere he ends up at . ECT, ECT! I can have one room neat and turn my head and well - it is destroyed.
I do try to keep my sewing room tidy. I almost have to because with this new talent for :Forgetting: I would lose my tools if I did not attempt to keep them in one place.
That old saying : A place for everything and everything in its place is my idea of perfection, so I do understand how that the mess hurts you-it does me too. There are so many times that I wished I was that little witch on tv that could wiggle her nose and fix anything-wouldn't that be a neat talent to have! I bet I would keep a sore NOSE all the time! LOL
always a lot of Easter Weddings such glorious weather here today for it and looks like there too. my Anthony is in Chch this weekend for a mates wedding wonder if I'll see him not holding my breath
ReplyDeleteMy home is pretty messy as I'm the only one who cleans up and I'm usually busy doing other stuff. I do the basic housework everyday and when I'm free, I do an overhaul. Like today. I spent the whole day throwing away clutter and mopping and son helped with the vacuuming. The other 2 are just plain lazy.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Easter with the family. Don't stress about the mess, you will get to it once everyone leaves. Fingers crossed all goes well. Enjoy the moment.
ReplyDeleteI asked my brother to bring over his shock collar for the dog. He's been so horrible lately and doesn't listen. I will have to push a button to make it go off though. He only had to shock his dog ONE TIME and then after that he just got the warning noise and would be fine. Let's hope it works.
ReplyDelete