Monday, June 25, 2007

Y is for Yesterday

Yesterday I (almost) finished washing the windows.

In my interview of June 3, I stated that I had thirty-one windows to wash. I’d like to correct the record. I forgot to count a window I already did, one that lives in a storm door and changes places with its screen counterpart seasonally. So, that’s thirty-two. I also didn’t count the door by the storm door, which has a bunch of little windows in it. I’m going to count that as one, and call it thirty-three.

On Saturday, I washed twenty-six windows. I am very lucky in that—after replacing almost all the windows in the house in order to “conserve energy”—my windows tip in, so I’m not endangering my life too much in washing them, what with not having to wash them from the outside, although I can’t say I got away bruise-free, even so.

(And yes, in the name of tradition, I started the task with Prince, The Hits 1 and The Hits 2.)

After twenty windows, I had to lie down and put a pillow under my lumbar. Aging sucks.

Then yesterday, I did four windows. That’s thirty.

I completely bailed on dusting the blinds. So I’ve not quite 8 hours into the job.

The three windows that are left? Well, two are bigger “picture” windows, one on the front of the house, and one in the mudroom. (These two have never been replaced. Too expensive to think about.) The one in the mudroom has never really been washed on the outside because I don’t have a ladder. And when I borrow one, it’s never tall enough. I could wash the inside, though. Guess I’m just lazy. The one in the front, in Tim’s studio room, well, there’s this big drafting table I need to move. I could do that. But I have to borrow a ladder for the outside. So I’ll wait til then. Of course, my sister Alison just did a little landscaping for us, just put a few plants in right there, right outside, right in front of that window. Do I want to stick a ladder out there? I might hurt them.

The last window is a door window, in the kitchen, but the door has an incredibly heavy piece of furniture in front of it, and I’ve been home alone. That one will bug me, though. That one will have to happen.

For some reason, it had never before occurred to me to use a squeegee. Alison loaned me hers. It helped a little, and I love to say squeegee.

3 comments:

Helen said...

Couldn't you just use a hose with a sprayer on the end for washing the outside of those 33 windows? Or is that the lazy way of doing it? (Although I guess that would take away the pleasure of involving a squeegee, which I agree, is a great word.)

Indigo Bunting said...

H: It wouldn't work for all of them. But it might help with those two that don't tip in. We'll see...

Cedar Waxwing said...

My husband uses a squeegee to wash windows. Don't know if he enjoys saying the word though.