So I was only gone for one and a half days. My husband was away on business but returned with just about an hour before he had to be repacked for his bachelor party weekend. Love him dearly, but how he managed to turn the house up-side-down, I’ll never know! When I left I had the house immaculate. The couches were freshly vacuumed, the floors were swept, the counter tops buffed, and the trash empty. This is the way every house should be left when traveling. Well imagine my surprise when I walked in the door this evening after 4+ hours of driving (yes, mom was driving, but we made it home without incident). I walk in to the following:
– dog water bowl is bone dry.. Kooper was frantically panting because it was hot in the house and there was no water
– the floor is covered with dog hair (which is not surprising really, because the dogs are big shedders)
– the blankets on the couches appear as if the pugs had a dance party on each of the couches
– the shudders are an interesting shade of brown. This is worthy of comment- It looked as if a dust storm came through Harbor Cliff Way and stopped at our condo and just came in!! Nothing happened to the shudders upstairs with open windows, just the downstairs. This is something I have not seen before, but you live and you learn!
– the granite has a film over the top which is familiar to me- my dear husband didn’t want me to think the dishwasher was empty so rather than pull out one item and unlock it, he just cut the cheese on the granite. He did tell me though that granite is the hardest surface and that we can cut anything on it. This is fine, but we should probably wipe it down after??

This might not sound so bad, but if you knew just how perfect I left the house, you would understand it was just a little stressful for me (thanks mom for my neurosis!!). I immediately unpacked my stuff and got to cleaning the shutters. My dogs could wait for their walk, the shutters could go on no longer being so nasty!! The house is now shining and smelling good (lots-a-candles!). While I broke a slight sweat when I walked in the house, the wonderful remnants are a loving reminder that my husband is.. well, training me for kids!!!

Tiff