I lay in bed this morning feeling very relaxed and happy here in our little home on the hill looking out over the bay. Sunday mornings are lovely aren't they...no alarm clocks...time to just be in the moment and enjoy the thrill of being alive. As I lay there I noticed that it wasn't raining and started to entertain the idea of cleaning my car. I have such a beaut little car and I never take it for granted. I am so lucky to have the convenience of a small car that uses little fuel and that stands at my beck and call. It is my car so it is always there waiting for me. What a huge privilege it is to be able to decide to go somewhere, step outside the door and go. There are millions of people around the world who don't have that simple luxury...I am so thankful. I count my blessings. I am content.
My trusty little Hyundai is a '99 model so in its fourteenth year. The paint is kind of shabby and sad looking and there is a bump in the hood that's been there since we bought it second-hand back in about 2003 or '4. The owner said she'd hit a kangaroo one night on the way home from work and that had caused the damage. It's only a little bump and I can't imagine ever having it fixed as it's part of her history, assuming the car is female for now! In the same way I'm sure I'll never have Botox or a facelife; my face and body show that I have lived and I'm happy for that to be as it is. Imperfections are a bonus in a way. I can't imagine having the worry of a new and shiny car in the parking lot and waiting for some careless person to drag a supermarket trolley or bicycle handle down its length. My little car is rough and ready enough that another little bump or scratch is not the end of the world. At the same time, she's neat enough that I'm not embarrassed to drive her!!
Did I mention that cleaning the car is one of my least favourite jobs? It is. I never mind doing it once I get started but getting started is next to impossible. I don't know why it's so hard...or what it is that makes me decide 'no' so regularly. Perhaps it's just an idiosyncrasy! Anyway, laying in bed I decided that I would clean the car. I was feeling quite energetic given that I've had a week of headaches and head colds and blocked sinuses. You know how it is when you start to feel better again...I can do anything!!! Move mountains! Maybe we need that down time feeling a bit crook to gain a bit of strength and energy for such an onerous task.
Yesterday I achieved great things. My good friend Sue delivered two bookshelves into my tender loving care as she is busy down-sizing, and I needed more shelving to store my books and paperwork and...stuff. Woohoo! I was so excited to know I could finally get organised. My office space is in a room outside attached to the side of the garage and it is also the storage area as we can't use the garage. I know that seems weird but we're renting here and the owners, who are off adventuring on the high seas, have their stuff in the garage. So in that room are the tools and the camping stuff, the spare bed, the freezer and lots of other junk. Arranged more of less. And I had to find space to get two bookshelves in there too. I knew they were going to make things better, but it didn't necessarily look that way to begin with and I was getting some sideways glances as I assured David that it would all work out just fine. I got stuck into it...lots of muscle lugging stuff this way and that ( I work better alone in situations like this...where I'm organising my 'stuff')...and by 7 o'clock last night I had a well organised and functional space so was very chuffed. I think that's what spurred me to greater things today...what gave me the courage to tackle the car.
The fact that the car doesn't get cleaned very often means it can be a bit of a job. I don't store old cans, bottles and wrappers or anything like that...but still, it does get gritty and dusty and generally sad looking. I dug the vacuum cleaner out of the storage room, found the bag with the extension cords and moved the car into the nearest to the power-point position. I opened the doors and the boot. The hydraulics in the boot are temperamental and I didn't want to be slammed on the head so I went back and found the wind out curtain rail (also in the storage room) and wound it out and placed it so the boot was held safely aloft. I started to vacuum...it was a mess in there because I've used it for carting wood for the fire and have never thought of using a tarp...you know those cheap blue ones you get from the bargain shops...well after picking and vacuuming seventeen million splinters from the carpet in the boot I've decided to get one! Someone please put it on the Christmas list 'cos I'm sure to forget. While I was busy I noticed a few spots of rain. Darn...I had several extension cords hooked up to one another to stretch across the distance so I found a magnetic white board (a small one) and a pewter bowl with seashells molded into the rim and placed them over the joins. Safety first! I did have to work around a few showers and I did bang myself a beauty on the side of the head whilst doing the inside of the car...so hard it made me feel sick! I kept going for a while but then took a breakfast break while I gathered my senses again!
There were other minor hurdles like what I think was the window tint breaking down on the passenger side window...it was tough to move and disintegrated into beautiful silver fairy dust as I scrubbed...but first created a whitish paste...it was very odd. I'm very proud to report that I have a moderately clean car. I've Windex-ed the dash and dry shampooed the carpet and upholstery. She smells amazing and looks pretty spiffy too for an old girl. I might have washed the outside too, but between the two households we have recently blended to create a new us, we seem not to have a bucket! Please also add that to the Christmas list, haha!! I thought about taking her through the car wash this afternoon so the outside can look as good, but for now I'm making do with cleaning the side mirrors. I don't want to overdo it. She may die of shock and I'd miss her too much. Besides...I'm sure the spider that festoons the mirrors on a daily basis would find the weather a little too chilly for a high pressure wash at this time of year...perhaps around January when it's hot and dry. Although it would hardly be worth it then...with all the dust on our road.
Which jobs do find you keep on putting off...almost forever!??
PS I did head to the bargain shop this afternoon, to buy pegs and a few other bits for school. I forgot to pick up a bucket and a small tarp...see above!
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