A Clean Sweep

The Conference Center was closed all week (Monday - Sunday) for cleaning.  This did not mean I had the days off however.  Most of us employees pitched in to help with the annual, massive cleaning/refurbishing that needed to be done.
Pictures of us working are throughout this blog.
  

Saturday morning I arrived at the CC at 6:40, subbing for Ellen.  I ended up working eight hours at the front desk, and it was quite a busy shift because we were short one worker.

 Also, before our week of shut down, everyone seemed to be taking care of last minute business (room rentals, AARP tax sign up, registering for Art classes, checking about 2016 boat stickers, etc.)  I had taken cold/flu medicine before going to work, which helped me feel better... but it wore off 90 minutes before I got home... so I was dragging and struggling to focus on my work.
  

When I got home, I immediately walked Maggie, and it started raining (hard) on us.  I dried off the dog and then took a very warm shower, got a fire going, and had hot soup for an early dinner.  I doze off, with the cat and dog, in front of the fire, until it burnt down and needed to be stoked.  (Selfie stick photo- how do you focus these when camera is out on a stick?)  It was impossible to continue with my agenda of sorting papers and taking down Christmas decorations because my head hurt, my body ached, my ears were ringing and I was exhausted.  I drank hot tea and ate Christmas candy and cookies while on my computer and then I watched TV.  

At five am Sunday we were getting a light, wet snow.  I had walked the dog before bed in another down pour of rain the night before, so the morning's walk was much more pleasant.  The attempt at catching the peacefulness of the snowfall didn't really work in the right photo.  Still not feeling very well, I stayed home from Church, and gazed out at the feeders and snow. 

The snowfall didn't amount to much, as you can see in this photo during our "after breakfast" walk.  I spent three hours here at the computer and then did more paper sorting before my noon to five work shift.  I was going to take Maggie on a 30 minute walk before shutting her in the office and going to work, but I was quickly hit in the face by the reason I left Illinois... a very cold, eye watering, tear freezing wind.

A friend's photo of the snow covered trees seen on the ridge today, I while walking Maggie, she while at work.  I borrowed her photo because I did not have my camera when I was walking.
Work went well because it was a short shift and not at all busy.  Also, the nightly cleaning of pool deck and locker rooms did not need to be done because it was going to get a massive (clean sweep) while the building was closed, starting the next morning.  Lower left photo, Donald cleaning showers before re-caulking.

Sunday evening was a repeat of Saturday, except I was feeling much better and did finally finish the paper sorting (but not filing).  Also, the before bed walk was in a windy 19 degrees rather than a drenching rain in the mid 40's.  Regardless of the weather, the hot tea and fire were greatly enjoyed.

Monday morning I woke well before dawn, after just over six hours of sleep.  I could not get back to sleep, and got up feeling refreshed and ready to seize the day.  I decided this was another sign that I was feeling better.  I hadn't yet made a clean sweep of this virus, but was well on the way to feeling like my old self.  Seen right, the pool was power washed as it was drained.  

After my morning Bible Study I went to town to shop.  Joe arrived home around noon, from his nearly five day weekend get-away, so I didn't have to rush home to walk the dog.

Late afternoon we went to the Wellness Center together to workout... my first time there in over four weeks.  I took it easy on the weights, but was sucked in to a "Love It or List It" while on the elliptical, so did a 40 minute aerobic workout.  Joe got carry-out baked potato and barbecue pork while I showered, so we ate as soon as we got home and then we each vegged out at our computers.

Ed dusting light fixtures.
During dinner Joe was more talkative than usual, explaining his poker playing strategy.  His Trivia team did not do well, nor did he place in his poker tournament, but he, for the most part, made a clean sweep at the poker table in three nights of cash games.  He also won a $300 drawing late that night, out of a pot of names of people gambling at the casino that day.

Tuesday I worked from 8:00 - 3:00.  I didn't do any cleaning, but actually painted the whole time.  Becky and I finished the hot tub by noon.

Seen left, all the overhead lights and rafters were cleaned in the gym and the lower ten feet of walls got painted.  

Our afternoon was spent painting trim around lights, water valves, and tile in the pool.  We only got about half of it finished since 3 pm was quitting time.  

When I got home, since I was in outdoor work clothes, I added mulch to this bed by the sidewalk.  The iris bulbs had been exposed and I wanted to cover them up a little bit.
I also picked up sticks in the yard, and this large branch that finally came down after getting broken off in last year's ice storm.

I completed six more hours of painting on Wednesday.  Becky and I finished all of the trim under the tile around the whole pool, including the ramp, stair steps, and ledge seat.
We had to goof around some, to keep it fun.  When I tried to take these selfies, my right index finger would not bend, except at the first joint.  It was locked in the straight position.  I finally had to use my left hand to bend and get it working again.  It was the strangest thing.  

I was ready to plop down at my computer when I got home, but needed to walk Maggie, since Joe was gone to see the movie Hateful 8.  I hit some nearby undeveloped roads and saw a little trail off into the woods and followed it to this spot.

It is a cat feeding station for the feral and lost or abandoned cats that are living in a colony in this area.  There were also two shelters for them to be able to get in out of the bad weather.  As I continued walking the undeveloped roads, I noticed that the road department had made a clean sweep of the roads (example below) and removed all trees that were blocking them.

At bible study, Jan had said all the roads we ride have been cleared.  This will make walking and riding much less difficult.
Wednesday is Joe's card night, so I walked the dog and then went to the gym.  I made a point to get in a good stretch when done, because I had lots of stiff, tired, tight muscles.


I was back at work Thursday by 8 am.  Our next paint job was deck trim.  In right photo, I was painting the deck edge around the hot tub.  Notice the position of my index finger.  This is a 2 1/2 inch brush, smallest they had.  The weight and size of it forced me to stabilize and control it using my index finger. 

It's no wonder that the day before, my finger froze in the straight position after six hours of this.  Becky ran to ACE Hardware and got us smaller brushes that were so much easier to work with.  Seen left, she was painting the trim on the wall.  Abby had us go up a second tile high from the deck.

After finishing the edge around the hot tub, I moved to the wall trimming job.  The larger brush was still used for the big section below the neatly trimmed line.

I left work early (shortly after noon) for an "appointment" with Amiga.  Larry was putting a second coat (with the sprayer) on the pool and Josh was sprinkling "fairy dust (an iridescent sand) to help with traction and give it a sparkle.

  

It was so good to get to the barn, be out in the sunshine and 50 degree weather, and be with Amiga and barn friends.  I enjoyed my ride, even though Amiga was being stubborn... got to love her.  We worked through the issues and ended on a good note.  I didn't get any photos because I had left my camera in the car.
 

I got to the pool at 7:07 Friday morning and Becky was already hard at work.  The pool was finished but the deck still needed to be painted.

Becky and I worked on trim, which is a very slow moving process that does not reap much satisfaction.  

Finally, I suggested we stop trimming and paint the two white walls Abby had decided she wanted done.  It went fairly quickly with the roller.  The color difference really helps define the space and adds nice contrast to all the white walls.  It also helped us feel like we had accomplished something.






I left the CC at 1:10 with Becky still needing to finish up a little more trim.  I had come home to get work done around here, but ended up vegging out for a few hours.
Before the day's end, I did get the ornaments and lights off the big tree and Joe packed it up.  Both trees are now in the storage closet and more Christmas stuff has been packed away.  But, I didn't quite make a clean sweep of it or of the files.

I have good intentions for this coming weekend since it is predicted to be cold and rainy/snowy outside.  I would like to make a clean sweep of all untidy accumulations, put all my drawers in order, and leaves no note or scrap of paper un-filed.  If I had worked on neatening up here around the house, half as long as I spent painting at the Conference Center, this de-cluttering would all be done.