Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Time is Disappearing

The last two weeks have been busy with farewell parties and meals out.  Many people have headed back NOB and it won't be long before we do the same.

We are down to our final two weeks and as usual, are frantically trying to summerize the house.  That includes having the termite guy in to give the house a prevention injection and we need to paint the flat roof with a rubberized mastic to prevent water from leaking in during the rainy season.

We need to clean everything out of the cupboards, down to the last crumb.  Much of the food goes to Chuyita, our housekeeper, but some we do take home.  We probably take too much as the vehicles are always packed solid.

We always scramble the last few days changing curtains so the intense summer heat doesn't ruin our good ones and packing away the bedding.  We have learned to do little things like moving all the furniture and beds away from the walls and to lift up the bed skirts in case of a flood, like a few years ago.

We turn the blades of the fans upside down so that when the heat causes them to sag, it will be the wrong way.  All batteries come out of the AC remotes, the stove and microwave must be spotless to keep the ants away.

Probably one of the more time consuming things we have to do is the removal of all pictures and ornaments.  We don't leave any outside decorations up as they somehow have a way of disappearing.  We move our outside patio furniture into the house for that reason, along with wanting to keep it out of the direct sun.  Some of our upstairs furniture is too big so we just chain them together and dare anyone to carry them away!

We have already arranged with Chuyita to check and clean the house during the summer.  It needs to be aired out to keep the humidity down and also she needs to flush the toilets and run water in all the sinks.  They can't dry out or the cockroaches may find that route and enter the house that way.  A baggie filled with water and placed over the shower drain works great.

The BBQ needs be cleaned thoroughly to keep the bugs away and WD 40 will be rubbed on it to prevent rusting that comes with the humidity.

The list goes on and on...I think getting the house in Eatonia winterized is far easier than summerizing this house.

I guess I should be working rather than complaining, but complaining is more fun!  Plus, I am one of the world's best procrastinators!





3 comments:

ars said...

Well, you've certainly learnt all the tricks of the trade (or lessons learned!) Good luck getting everything done. And you will have the spring clean-up to look forward to when you get back home!

colleen said...

Looking forward to that!

alijimpip said...

do you want to stop at our house on your way home and give a workshop on all of this ?