Cleaning update.

We pulled everything out of the basement yesterday. At least everything that was affected by the sudden development of our own indoor wading pool and waterfalls was brought into the sunlight.

My fancy dresses are okay, if a little damp. Not that I need fancy dresses any longer, or that it is even likely that I could fit into them still, but it's nice to know they are there. I thought Angie would like to play dress up with them in a few years. And one of them is from my first date with Chas. They'll need to be cleaned a bit.

I've gone through four or five wet boxes of books. The good news is that somehow most of the books are unscathed. The bad news is that four or five books that I wanted to keep are too badly damaged to salvage. I'm also taking the opportunity to donate a lot of books to the Goodwill. Not as many as Chas would prefer, but still, a respectable number considering my pack rat nature. And somehow, I still have not located the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings books or even Pilgrim's Progress. At least they aren't damaged, but I'm really wondering where they are now? I'm wondering if my basement has tapped into L-Space. I probably have enough books on my own to count as a small library. Add in Chas's books and Angie's books and we definitely would qualify. (If I start hearing "Oooook" sounds from my basement I'll just throw down some bananas.)

A little strangeness occurred when a teen walked up our driveway with cash in hand and eyes sparkling greedily as he asked, "Is the stuff in the garage for sale?" He looked completely bewildered when Chas and I both told him no, we're not selling anything, we're just laying it out to dry. He and the older gentleman behind him wandered back to their truck, looking confused and vaguely disappointed. Sheesh. No the stuff in the garage was not for sale, it was not affected at all.

Angie bounced around us outside telling us, "You have made a mess! If you don't clean up our courtyard, you can't have a bath!" over and over again. If I hadn't been so grimy from the heat and the work, I would have felt almost regal at the thought that our backyard is now a courtyard.

As night arrived, we were still sorting and repacking things. We placed everything in the garage so that the basement could continue to dry out. Angie helped carry things too and so I managed to receive only two mosquito bites.

So much for spring cleaning in July.