The zen of cleaning

It is the day after the BIG CLEAN at our house and I am perhaps not as reflective as I was yesterday.  Wow - what a cathartic experience.  I can honestly say that I tackled areas of the house that never crossed my mind.  Like the inside of the washer and dishwasher (shouldn't they be clean already?) or underneath the trash receptacle (if the trash goes into the can, what is there to clean?).  In the deep recesses of one closet, I found change, a straw, a couple of pencils, and a part of a compass (prompting a question mark) The floor between the stove and refrigerator changed color slightly when I scrubbed it out.  Fred, Sue, and my friend Heather helped out and by the end of six hours, it was the cleanest house I had ever been in.  I needed this major sense of accomplishment because with ten days to go, it seems like there is still much to do.  It was really amazing, sparkling bright.  I had no problem turning the key over to our renter this morning - it was nice closure to be finally finished with the packing/cleaning/moving saga. Peace.

Yesterday was preceeded by the Thursday night "Eat me out of house and home" party where we came up with a pretty good spread using everything left in the refrigerator and cupboards.  Spinach pie, spring rolls, caviar, prochiutto with pears, beans and rice, macaroni salad, and cheese/crackers were part of the creative smorgesbord.

I talked to Russ today on his cell phone and told him how busy things were.  He laughed.  Things on his end are considerably slower but he is settling in and making some good friends.  I can't wait for the slower awaiting me.

I am excited to get over there but living in the now.  I am over at Liz and Fred's house, bags in tow, and that is a good spot to be in.

C or F

I have obviously not shifted to Africa thinking yet.  Russ and I were IMing today, and I mentioned that it was 38 degrees this morning.  He said it was 36 there.  I was thinking that was awfully cold for this time of year (although it can dip below freezing in the winter).  Then he reminded me that it was 36 CELSIUS, which is actually pretty hot.  Duh.

It is surreal to think that I am in our house for one more week, at school for two more weeks and leave three weeks from today.  It makes my stomach all bubbly (in a good way).

I am almost almost packed.  Wait, I better not say that.  There might be a closet I haven't discovered.

Day 2

A lot of people think I am in Africa by now and I've gotten all sorts of "say hello to Russ for us".  In my head, I'm already there.  But physically I am still in Dalton until October 6, and my last day of work is September 30.  Russ and I talked on Friday night which was wonderful.  It has made the subsequent days more difficult though as I know that I can't realistically call again until the weekend (on the good graces of our new nice neighbor Terez).  We also got spoiled with instant messaging last week before he started school today.  It sounds like it is a whirlwind for him, but he will quickly adapt.  Cell phones and internet will come quickly enough but not until I am there.  Oh, and thank you to the friends who on commenting on yesterday's post reminded me to add skype to the list of things I need to catch up on.  Nothing like feeling technically illiterate.

Some of you have asked - are we moving within the complex?  No, so hopefully the dog situation next door (not Terez) will resolve itself with a little help from the head of school.  Otherwise the house looks great and I am looking forward to getting over there.  Sue and I did some Target shopping this weekend and got a few more things to pack (Will it ever end?  Just when I think I am packing my last box, I seem to find more stuff.  It's starting to be a surreal experience.  It is actually making me think about ever buying anything again).

Most people reading this will not know our friend Irene who died last week from cancer in Cape Town.  We had hoped to visit her and her husband soon during one of our school breaks.  John and Irene lived in Gab during their first few years in Africa.  Irene had a hearty laugh and a rich life.  It was a sad day today.

This is a test

Moving to Botswana will provide several learning curves since the last time we lived in Africa in 2000.  Like creating voicemail on a cell phone.  Figuring out a MP3 player.  Facebook.  And now blogging.  Where have I been for the past ten years?  Yep, living a very content, relatively uncomplicated life right here in the US, not wanting to be bothered with things that seem to take up a lot of time.  But I am about to step into Africa time and will have literally countless hours to sort all this out as well as hopefully rediscover my creative self.

Fear not. I am not about to write about the minutia of my life, but if I don't write some of this stuff down, I am bound to forget it, so I hope to share some interesting, thoughtful observations about our life in Gab.

I felt like I just needed to send this out to see if anyone was interested.  (PS - I am still here in Dalton)