Our guests arrive tomorrow
I checked the TMI website this morning and there was an update on the Samoa team. They all arrived safely and are heading to the coast today to where they will be doing construction work. You can read the update here.
Not much else to report here. I am using the coming weekend house guests as an excuse to do some cleaning and organizing that I have been putting off. The schoolroom and kitchen were yesterday, and the third floor playroom and my bedroom are today. You can tell I'm being a bit pathological about this since my bedroom doesn't really need to be tackled. But the more organized my house is, the more relaxed I am, and I figure a relaxed hostess is a positive thing. Right?
I often joke with my friends that all they have to do is look at the state of my kitchen sink and they will know exactly what my mood is. A clean and organized sink says that I am feeling calm and in control; a messy, stacked and disorganized sink says either I haven't been home all day or I am feeling overwhelmed with life. Often the two (being away from home and feeling disorganized) go hand in hand. The more I am out of the house, the less organized and calm I feel. To run and house and make a home just takes time. And if I'm not home, I don't have the time I need to do it right.
But back to cleaning for our house guests... This is what I have been trying to keep in mind:
"How might we keep house, if by 'keeping house' we mean creating a home that is hospitable, both to those who are members of the household and to those who are neighbors, guests, or strangers? To begin with, I think we will realize that elaborate, spotless perfection is really not the point. The point is the continual re-creation of welcome and nurturance, not in some theoretical or disembodied sense but in simple, practical provision for the needs of the body: food, clothing, a place to sit, a place to sleep."
This is from Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life
by Margaret Kim Peterson. I love this book so much, I'm sure I will be mentioning several more times... at least.
Not much else to report here. I am using the coming weekend house guests as an excuse to do some cleaning and organizing that I have been putting off. The schoolroom and kitchen were yesterday, and the third floor playroom and my bedroom are today. You can tell I'm being a bit pathological about this since my bedroom doesn't really need to be tackled. But the more organized my house is, the more relaxed I am, and I figure a relaxed hostess is a positive thing. Right?
I often joke with my friends that all they have to do is look at the state of my kitchen sink and they will know exactly what my mood is. A clean and organized sink says that I am feeling calm and in control; a messy, stacked and disorganized sink says either I haven't been home all day or I am feeling overwhelmed with life. Often the two (being away from home and feeling disorganized) go hand in hand. The more I am out of the house, the less organized and calm I feel. To run and house and make a home just takes time. And if I'm not home, I don't have the time I need to do it right.
But back to cleaning for our house guests... This is what I have been trying to keep in mind:
"How might we keep house, if by 'keeping house' we mean creating a home that is hospitable, both to those who are members of the household and to those who are neighbors, guests, or strangers? To begin with, I think we will realize that elaborate, spotless perfection is really not the point. The point is the continual re-creation of welcome and nurturance, not in some theoretical or disembodied sense but in simple, practical provision for the needs of the body: food, clothing, a place to sit, a place to sleep."
This is from Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life
by Margaret Kim Peterson. I love this book so much, I'm sure I will be mentioning several more times... at least.
Comments
We're exicted to meet (as my husband says) our "imaginary friends." : )
Sheri