Sept. 15 - Lisa's Musings (on cleaning) and Every Day Life

I'm sorry, but I just can't get into this cleaning thing. I know lots of people are into spotless homes but I promise you, they don't have dogs.

And they do it every day. And like it -- or so I'm told.

My idea of it's-time-to-do-some cleaning is when the dog's rub their head's on the carpet and come up with more red hair on their muzzles then they started. It's theirs, of course, but they've shed it long ago. And apparently, it's my job to rid the house of it.

And I do. Sometimes. When I can actually see it. Or when my socks are covered in it. Or when company's coming. My friends are dog people -- for the most part, anyway, so dog fur isn't something they even notice.

Even when it gets really bad. And I, in turn, don't mention it to them if I see it in their houses.

It's one of those unwritten dog-owner rules.

Or something.

She who lives in a glass house and all that.

But my little brother is coming here Friday-Sunday for the U-M game, And, he's agreed to take up where my dad left off -- helping me with two-person tasks I can't do alone. Yucky stuff like cleaning the gutters and cutting down tree branches and replacing burned out light bulbs in high places.

My dad worked for food. My little brother works for beer.

So, I plan to buy a bunch of it because, if he's in a slightly buzzed daze, perhaps, he won't notice all the dog fur. Or if he does, he won't mention it.

Yeah, I cleaned the guest room and vacuumed and will do some dusting, but it's going to take a whole lot more than that to get rid of all the dog fur, and spider webs, and dust bunnies and dust and dirt.

There's way more of it than there is of me. I'm out numbered, out roomed, out "every-thinged."

And as longtime readers know, I haven't had a lot of spare time to deal with it.

But my little brother's still in his 20's and I'm hoping he hasn't grown up all that much. He's got his mother and his wife to clean up after him.

All I have are the dogs and they aren't helping much.

I'm always amazed at the mess two dogs and one person can make.