This spring has been very unusual in Texas. It has been ultra hot for almost two months (8o's and 90's) about 10 degrees or more above average. The worst of it, though, is that we have had almost no rain for months and it has been very windy most days here, so the fire danger has been very high. Warnings and alerts have been issued reminding people to be careful. Some have still carelessly ignited infernos that have destroyed many houses.
A major fire in west Texas still blazes but is under control, last I heard. Many houses were lost. Lately, last Sunday, a fire down in Austin, near the edge of town blazed and destroyed 100 acres and 11 houses went up! A homeless man decided to cook his breakfast behind or near a convenience store and left it unwatched to go in and buy beer. Terrible tragedy!
That same afternoon, just north of Austin, around the corner from my house at the next street,(one house kitty-corner from ours) a fire started right next to the road, likely from a cigarette, which burned into that neighbor's yard and along the border of the street up to the fence. The fire engine arrived quickly and put it out so there is just a small burned area as a stark reminder that the danger is everywhere.
Firemen were not so handy out in another county just south of Austin this week. Someone was barbecueing on the second story porch in a neighborhood and embers blew and ignited a home next door, plus another caught fire also. It takes longer to respond when the trucks have to travel farther. Everything is like tinder in Texas is seems. When rain finally arrives, lightning may spark more fires.
The fire near my house has prompted me to consider more carefully what we should do in case of a dreaded fire. So once again, I discussed with the children what to do in case of fire, how to get out, and where to meet, etc. For those of you in Texas, it might be wise to have certain things that you value ready to take should your worst fear happen. Important papers here are already in a fireproof safe, so ideally I can think to grab such things as my Bible and purse. One friend and I had an idea to put all favorite family pictures on a CD to be ready to take so they would be replaceable. Another copy could also be buried in a waterproof container in the yard somewhere as an extra precaution.
To anyone in Texas reading this, I urge you to have a fire emergency talk with your children just to be on the safe side. It may save your lives.
Blessings,
Melanie
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Spring-cleaning
The sunny days and blooming of flowers here in Texas always remind me of the fresh start of spring, and it always puts me in the mood to purge the old and make more beauty bloom in my home. This year, I decided to start with the worst tasks of all: the refrigerator and the bathroom. I just do a room every few days so I don't become over-exhausted. What a relief to have them finished so the rest of the house will now be a breeze to clean.
Earlier this week, I first tackled deep cleaning both the bathrooms and won that battle alone in less than two hours. The weekly cleaning only takes about 20 minutes, so this seemed like a lot of work. The shower curtains took the longest even with my trusty squirt bottle. Such a sense of accomplishment to have it finished after I put the freshly laundered blue rugs back in place.
Last night I found some free time to clean the dreaded fridge, and I could hardly believe that my two youngest boys were begging to help me do the back and bottom of the fridge, until I realized it mainly meant that they could stay up late. I do a regular cleaning and wiping every two weeks usually, but some spills that go behind and under the shelves are harder to get to, hence the need to take everything out, including the drawers and shelves, just to reach that. To get the drawers out, we had to pull the fridge all the way out, so Dad and the older two boys did that for me.
After getting the shelves out, even when the boys saw the mess of hardened strawberry juice and picante sauce, they were eager to help. So we spelled each other in reaching in and softening the mess with the squirt bottle and then scrubbing. Even found the missing Twix bar unopened that one son was missing since his birthday(threw that out!). Now, it looks so very clean and they were well rewarded by me for their efforts to help old mom reach and scrub. I was more tired from that workout this morning than they!
Next week, it looks like the laundry room and organizing kitchen shelves and pantry will take priority after school and chores. This job of organizing is more fun. I also need to start yard sale boxes at the same time as well as decide on my homeschooling needs for next year because the used book sale is just weeks away here.
Doing the boys room always proves interesting , too, if time permits. Organizing it is worth the challenge though. Since they "faithfully" do their beds and floor and no food is allowed in there, their room is never really dirty, just gets massively cluttered to me. It is always nice to have neater closets and shelves and dressers. Plus,when I do it, they want to try rearranging soon, but I have to think out how it would work best before starting.
Hope all of you are eagerly enjoying the added exercise of making your rooms pretty and neat.
Joyfully,
Melanie
Earlier this week, I first tackled deep cleaning both the bathrooms and won that battle alone in less than two hours. The weekly cleaning only takes about 20 minutes, so this seemed like a lot of work. The shower curtains took the longest even with my trusty squirt bottle. Such a sense of accomplishment to have it finished after I put the freshly laundered blue rugs back in place.
Last night I found some free time to clean the dreaded fridge, and I could hardly believe that my two youngest boys were begging to help me do the back and bottom of the fridge, until I realized it mainly meant that they could stay up late. I do a regular cleaning and wiping every two weeks usually, but some spills that go behind and under the shelves are harder to get to, hence the need to take everything out, including the drawers and shelves, just to reach that. To get the drawers out, we had to pull the fridge all the way out, so Dad and the older two boys did that for me.
After getting the shelves out, even when the boys saw the mess of hardened strawberry juice and picante sauce, they were eager to help. So we spelled each other in reaching in and softening the mess with the squirt bottle and then scrubbing. Even found the missing Twix bar unopened that one son was missing since his birthday(threw that out!). Now, it looks so very clean and they were well rewarded by me for their efforts to help old mom reach and scrub. I was more tired from that workout this morning than they!
Next week, it looks like the laundry room and organizing kitchen shelves and pantry will take priority after school and chores. This job of organizing is more fun. I also need to start yard sale boxes at the same time as well as decide on my homeschooling needs for next year because the used book sale is just weeks away here.
Doing the boys room always proves interesting , too, if time permits. Organizing it is worth the challenge though. Since they "faithfully" do their beds and floor and no food is allowed in there, their room is never really dirty, just gets massively cluttered to me. It is always nice to have neater closets and shelves and dressers. Plus,when I do it, they want to try rearranging soon, but I have to think out how it would work best before starting.
Hope all of you are eagerly enjoying the added exercise of making your rooms pretty and neat.
Joyfully,
Melanie
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