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I woke up at 5:30 Saturday morning. This was not my plan. I had hoped to sleep late. Seven o'clock seemed like a realistic goal. My bladder and a certain fur-bearing alarm clock had different ideas.

The main thing I had planned for the day was to mow the lawn. But I couldn't do that until it was light.

After breakfast, I went into my cyber cave. Edited some pictures, which will soon be featured here. Checked in on those of my favorite blogs which had been up-dated. Even read a week's worth of Pop Watch on the Entertainment Weekly site.

Then, I got the idea to do some house cleaning. Truth be told, the kitchen was beginning to bother even me. Well, the cat and I are the only ones who see it. But she hasn't voiced an opinion - at least one that I understood. The floor looked bad. The dish drain had an impressive accumulation of dessicated green tea leaves. The drain side of the sink was still stained from the last time I made chili.

I approached this task like a creative project. Which is to say, I proceeded as whim and spirit dictated. I cleaned the microwave. Washed the dishes. Wiped the counter.

By this point, it was light enough to take some pictures. I wanted to capture these charming weeds before they got their heads lopped off. A meter reader happened by just as I got up. He was also an amateur photographer who had recently bought a high-dollar digital camera. He commented that seeing me crawl around my lawn encouraged him to "play" with his camera.

I sometimes feel like I lead a charmed life. This moment was certainly charmed.

The dishes had been drying during this time. I got out a dish towel and wiped down the dishes. I put dishes away for the first time in months & months.

Then I set the drainer in to soak. A dash of ammonia and a few drops of dish washing liquid.

Then I vacuumed the dining room. Which required moving chairs, and moving the table back and forth.

Back to the kitchen. Pour boiling water in the mix. Wipe down the drainer (I wear plastic gloves). The drainer now looks as good as new. Set the drainer on the back porch to dry.

Vacuum half the living room, which requires moving stuff to the other half. Was a perfect time to play the game called "Trash or Treasure". Doubt I need to explain the rules of that game.

Go back to the kitchen. Wipe down counters.

Go back to the cave. Check e-mail. See if any blogs have been up-dated in the past 90 minutes.

Back to the kitchen. Dust the drain side of the sink with Comet (or equivalent). Let set.

Move stuff in the living room again. More Trash/Treasure discernment. Vacuum the other half of the living room.

By now, it's 10. I move the car, and pull the mower from its corner. I'm pleasantly surprised when it starts with the first pull.

Oh, by the way, I was listening to my iPod this whole time. Podcasts, like "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me". Music, Music, Music.

Listened to all of Blood on the Tracks for the first time in almost a year.

I'm pleased to report that my noise-canceling ear buds work, even with lawn mower and vacuum cleaner.

Took maybe twenty minutes to mow the front yard. Back yard can wait 'til next week.

Back inside, scrubbed the drain side of the sink. Believe it or don't, it's now sparkling white again.

Took a long leisurely shower.

From there, I went to the library. Then a charity thrift store, where I donated a bag's worth of old clothes. Bought a pair of books (80 cents, total).

Grocery shopping. Then ....
A nap. With fur-bearing frisky feline stretched on my lap.

Ended the day, much later, by watching Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Good flick; better than the sit-com that was (loosely) based on it.