Mental Health Monday!

I woke up to a rainy, muggy Monday and I'm relieved the sun isn't out this morning. The sun would have made it a hot and humid mess. I'm debating whether or not to put the air conditioning on and leaning toward yes. This house needs some deep cleaning and it's going to require some elbow grease, better to work in a cool house.

Mondays are my mental health days. I don't work on my novels on Monday. I usually enjoy playing hooky from life at the beginning of the week, but the inside of my house needs some major attention, cleaning that I've put off while I was busy querying agents and writing for the last month. I write better when my house is clean and as organized as it's going to get this week. A cluttered, a cluttered mind!

I could have stayed home cleaning this past weekend, but I opted for a nice weekend at the river with my co-owner. I saw rain for the entire week, so I knew it was a good weekend to go. Saturday was my first time back this season since the park opened in April and my first reaction when I pulled up was, "This looks like a version of Sanford & Son's junkyard!" Our wood dock lay in the yard along with the 12 blue plastic barrels that are usually strapped to the underside to allow it to float. The john boat given to me by a friend last summer was in the front yard, as well. My friend assured me that the boat was waterproof and seaworthy, but when it sank three times last summer, we put it in the side yard. The aluminum boat will either be scrapped for money or turned into a huge planter for annual flowers. Pinterest would be proud.

The inside of the trailer didn't look half bad as we'd cleaned before closing it up last fall, but it smelled stale after being closed up for the winter. I saw cobwebs here and there and it was dusty, but the water was running and the lights and outlets worked, so I was happy. We aired the trailer out for a couple of hours and then, put on the air conditioning which worked like a charm. 

D and I spent the evening at the farm table and benches that my uncle and I built two seasons ago, catching up until the sun went down. I'm glad we moved the farm table to the riverfront patio side, it was just beautiful. Boats and pontoons sailed by and people enjoyed the river on their jet skis. When the outside light wouldn't turn on, we moved inside and it wasn't long before my eyes were tired. I went to be early (early for us at the river!) and woke up around 9. I always sleep well at the river, especially when I get the back bedroom which is nice and dark. I made coffee and grabbed the broom. I swept the patio, the carpet on the pontoon boat and the side patio. By then, I was a sweaty mess and was relieved to have hot and cold running water in the shower.

D slept in and by 1230, I'd had two cups of coffee, a banana and had cleaned the entire trailer to include windows. Once I get started, I can't stop. I'll leave the next deep cleaning to D, we take turns. She busied herself outside in the yard which also needed lots of tending and weeding. Do I usually get that much done at home? Not so much. I've never been  exactly sure why that is other other than our trailer has the bare necessities and there's no clutter. It's much easier to clean. I have too much stuff at home and usually, my cleaning involves throwing stuff away which makes it a huge production. It's tough to have moved from a four bedroom townhouse with a completed basement to a three bedroom duplex with no basement. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

We were able to rent out two boat slips for the season and we're looking for one more renter. Our newest boat slip renter and his wife came by on Sunday and I think we'll all enjoy the season. The husband stacked the blue barrels into a pyramid and moved the john boat out of sight. The front looked so much better and we're excited to have a guy around for stuff like that. He's a very handy guy according to his wife and he laughed when he saw our 'tools'--a crooked screwdriver and a tiny hammer. His grin told me that he's secretly happy to have more things to do. We can definitely keep him busy :)

D and I don't own a boat (except for the sinking wonder), but we enjoy watching our mini marina and the activities from the river patio, and the money helps us with the yearly dues. All good. It was a fun, productive Sunday and I felt great leaving a clean house.

Now back home, I'm looking around now and everything needs attention. I think I'll start in the living room and work my way back to the kitchen. I need some cleaning music to motivate me! My brain is pushing me to clean and my body is reminding me that it's Mental Health Monday. So, the tug-of-war begins :) I wonder who'll win?

Happy Monday to you.

Ellie