Home Again...

~Home Sweet Home...

~Well...the time finally came. We headed back home last weekend. Weather on the space coast was still beautiful, but we could feel the heat looming. Once we had to close the doors and windows and run the noisy air conditioning, we were outa there! Packing up, cleaning, all that stuff was exhausting. Not sure what's wrong with us that we cart so much stuff back and forth every year.
~This trip we only stopped one night before we hit hubby's sister's house in NY. It was a long drive the first day. No stopping here and there like we usually do. Not sure why, but that is what we decided.
~The space coast skies were active this winter. We saw 4 or 5 launches including two shuttles. It's heartening to see how many folks still line the beaches, even in the middle of the night, to see the space center do its thing. This year was special because it's the end of the shuttle program. A lot of mixed feelings about that. But...I won't get political.
~I decided to sew up one more apron before we leave. It's called Chocolate and Teal (pictured here) and has just a touch of old fashioned cotton at the bib and pocket edges. Check out the details at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/
~As I began the task of packing up and cleaning before we left, I couldn't help but think about how different people live differently. I have a few friends whose homes are always "company ready." Anyone can walk in at any time unexpectedly and their abodes look just as they do when they're expecting guests. Nothing is ever out of place. There's never anything lying around to give an indication as to what they've been doing. It's a mystery to me. These friends are not idle folks who do nothing all day long. Nor are they people who can be seen fussing around, cleaning all the time. Matter of fact, I've never seen any of them cleaning, sweeping, wiping, etc. On the other hand, I have a damp cloth permanently attached to my hand all the time. And there's always a bottle of Windex in sight at our house 24/7. I just don't get it.
~Neither hubby or I are particularly fussy but I'm more interested in things being neat and clean than he is. At least in the so called, "public rooms" that someone stopping by on short notice would likely see. I try to keep things in order and dust free for the most part. But when I look at our bedroom and private bath area, I feel as though we are living in a college dormitory. Towels hanging on hooks, hair dryer hanging over a mirror, shampoos and hair products out in the open on the dresser. Hubby always has his allergy spray, Rolaids and eye drops out in broad daylight on his night stand. I always have tissues and a back scratcher lying on mine. There are often newly ironed clothes hanging on hangers over the bedroom door. I hate putting them in the closet for fear my nice ironing job will be for naught when they get squished in between all the other clothes. The bottom of our closet has piles of shoes in no particular order. And hubby's baseball caps surround the window that looks out onto our back yard. If that doesn't say 'college dorm', I don't know what does.
~Our TV area off the kitchen looks nice now that it's been remodeled. But the little coffee table in front of the sofa always sports a coffee cup, a pen and paper, a napkin left over from breakfast or lunch, and a few magazines in no particular order. The pillows on the sofa and chair are always smushed and flattened speaking loud and clear about the recent occupant. The tv remotes can be found just about anywhere; all depends on who used them and for what. Our living room stays pretty neat. That is, unless one of us decides to go in there and read or make a phone call. Then the quilted throw on the sofa gets pulled off one way or the other. Those pillows get smushed too and the coffee table ends up with an empty dish of nut remnants. And where there are nuts, there is always a glass...empty probably, but in full view.
~I'm not stupid. I realize that the mere act of living creates upheaval. And...I don't want to be one of those people who is constantly worrying about things being perfect. But I just don't understand how the folks who have achieved constant order do it! I know that it's partly a matter of putting things away on the spot. We are very guilty of the "I'll do it later" mentality But still...you'd think that "everyone" would leave some evidence lying around here and there. Not so with some of our closest friends. It's like magic. Maybe it is magic?

I think I'll dwell on that for a while.

~Be sure to check out our online shop at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com to check out the details of Chocolate and Teal.

~We have some really interesting aprons this year with unusual trims and patterns. Once we get settled back here at the Cape, I hope to add more tops and blouses to our Tops Gone Wild line.