March 2018 Island Trip – Day Three

Having gone to bed at a much more reasonable 12:30 this morning, I was up spontaneously at 7:30, and by 9:30 had:

• Taken a shower.
• Emailed the referred carpenter regarding cabinet doors.
• Reviewed the layout of mom’s apartment over one of those perfect little mangoes.
• Taken photos of the perfectly lit and frosty morning.
• Applied the first coat of paint in the alcove fridge and utility closet. 

After a lovely walk, I returned to the tile guy working on the fireplace surround. I spent the next six hours seemingly bouncing from task to task, but it mostly came together by the end of the day. I’ve decided to clear one small space at a time via packing, and if necessary, moving items to to more appropriate area. The idea is, as I go, all the dishes will end up in the same area etc. This afternoon’s eclectic bouncing about included:

• Getting the second coat of paint applied. This finishes the wall paint in the house. I’d jump for joy if I weren’t so tired.
• I washed, again, the floor areas in the alcove and the closet. I could probably do this 9 more times, but have stopped.
• Returning the reluctant 1970’s fridge back into its alcove. I sincerely hope the person whose bright idea it was to put wheels on refrigerators is a zillionaire. Seriously.
• Washed the shelves for the utility closet, rather than paint them, and reinstalled them. Of course, moved everything back in except the vacuum, which I keep finding urgent needs for.
• Washing the bi-fold door to the utility closet.This involves scrubbing the door on my knees on the grass in front of the house with Spic and Span. In the sun. The door gets rinsed, stood up against the house for a couple of hours, and is now finishing drying behind the oil stove.
• The tile guy got set up to roll on installation, and then found a recoverable measurement error. He was very apologetic, and hopes to continue tomorrow. I sent him home with a jade plant, which, it turns out, his wife really wants one of!
• I spent time moving things around the property… 
• Trash that won’t get heavier if rained on is in the truck.
• A few things went to the upper barn.
• A bunch of things went to the shed.
• Next up was, in the spirit of addressing one area at a time, the cabinet next to the front door. It was a cleaning nightmare comprised of:
• Sticky sooty cobwebs, everywhere and on everything.
• Filthy sheets of plastic, that actually protected the wood finish of the shelves from the soot, now in the garbage.
• Every item that came off the shelves was similarly filthy. There are, probably, very valuable ceramic pieces drying all over the kitchen counters.
• The last of my mom’s canned goods, which I, without emotion, poured into the compost pile.  
• Another large batch of items went to the tool shed.
• A box of LPs that I’ll take home.
• I couldn’t finish this after clearing all the shelves, and cleaning two-thirds of them. They’ll be here tomorrow.
• Packed more books, and cleaned the built-in shelves they lived on.
• Found a home for the Ikea-like dresser that my dad was using on the Island, as so much furniture had been relocated to the Mainland house. 
• Consolidated all the household appliance and systems documents, and was able to throw out a few things, like the copy of the cashiers check dad used to buy the dishwasher in 1996, and paperwork for things that don’t exist anymore.

Time for virtual backgammon with my sweetheart.