I had a Five Guys cheeseburger the other idea, I was not impressed. I also have access to In n Out, which is nearly as good as its god-like reputation would have you think.

I need to go grocery shopping. I probably should have gone today, but I didn't, and now I don't really have anything for breakfast tomorrow. I suppose I can walk to the coffee shop around the corner and get a bagel or something. I need to go in that direction anyway -- I've got a bag of stuff to donate to the thrift shop, which is sort of on the way to the coffee shop.

My house is only not messy because I clean up once a month before the maid comes (I make it not messy, she makes it not dirty)

Yeah, I'd rather people who want me to come over just invite me, and not worry about it. I'm more interested in being friends than what your house looks like. It's probably no worse than mine usually is, and even if it is, so what.

Exactly. My concerns are only about my own space. When I am in someone else's space I want to be with them and don't care a bit about moving a pile of stuff to put my tea cup down. If a friend/relative expresses a need or desire to get help to organize I can help, but otherwise not my concern.

Like meara I have someone come and clean because I have a chance of keeping things picked up, but the floors, seriously that is just too much for me.

Mess increases, I beat it back, wash, rinse, repeat. Dusting is my big nemesis, and it only happens before non-neighbor company comes or Mom's voice in my head gets too loud. More likely the former, as Mom's ghost and I have largely made our peace. Right now it's pretty clean, as I'm hosting my book group this month.

My father's place is pretty disgusting, and I'm not sure what to do about it. The kitchen especially. His hands shake from strokes so he drops a lot of food and he really doesn't notice when things are getting gross. Plus he keeps the lights really low, for reasons I don't understand. So he doesn't see that his dishes aren't getting really clean, etc. We did just get him on board to leave the fans on the AC units running so it doesn't get so funky and clammy smelling. He thought it was going to run up his electric bill like running the AC would.

I may end up hiring someone to go in and do a deep clean sometime when he's out.

That is always a tough one, brenda. If he doesn't get upset when your family or hired help do a good cleaning from time to time that would be good. My parents do a pretty good job with the day to day and we do a serious clean off season since they are in NY in the summer.

I think hiring someone to come in and clean for him would be good, brenda.

Yeah, definitely sounds like a cleaner for him would be a good plan...

I was all excited to enjoy my patio this week because it was supposed to be beautiful, and now it is...not really supposed to be beautiful anymore. Apparently I missed it by being in Omaha. Where it was below 50. Grrr. I've been spoiled by this weird un-Seattle spring we've been having!

Yeah, he wouldn't care. I mean, he'd be pleased not upset.

He was up at the cabin for a few days last week and I got there yesterday and he'd totally cleaned and straightened up and done all the dishes we left behind and stuff.