Windows...I have clean windows...

Okay. So the northeast US got slammed with a blizzard. There is something similar coming this way, in the next day and a half. And this morning, I was on a stepladder outside, cleaning my windows. With a squeegee. And a spray bottle. And a few other implements.

I took the screens down. And scrubbed the storm windows, the inside windows, and had my oldest vacuum the screens out, as well as the window wells.

And so now I have clean windows. REALLY clean windows. SPARKLY windows. All the better to watch the snow fall/fly Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning.

I live in Oklahoma. And the winds are strong, and frequent. The dust on the gravel roads, as well as the dust coming up from the fields, sticks to everything. And there are a large number of flies (especially given the fact that we don't have a lot of cattle, the chickens are a goodly distance away from the house, and we keep the carport and areas around the house, pretty well scraped up), all summer long. So by the end of fall, and all the harvesting, the windows look a fright. Its like looking through a peephole into a sandstorm--only there's not sand blowing.

So, in a fit of housewifely energy, I decided today was the day. I mixed up my special window cleaning blend (I used an old gallon vinegar jug, specially labeled now with "WINDOW CLEANER" on it in big black bold permanent marker letters, to hold the solution, btw).

2 c rubbing alcohol
1/2 c ammonia
1 tsp liquid dish detergent (NOTHING WITH BLEACH!--bleach and ammonia make a toxic gas, it WILL kill you)--I used my GreenWorks detergent, btw

Pour all of those into your gallon jug, and add enough warmish water to fill it up. There ya go. Use a funnel to pour some of it into your spray bottle (label it, please!), and away you go!

I bought, several years ago, back long before we moved here, a squeegee, a lambswooly cover for scrubbing, and the extender handle for them both. I had some serious windows in my old home. Here, we have some good sized windows, as well, but I had yet to clean any of them since the children tried to "help" by cleaning the dining room windows with a muddy broom last fall--"But it LOOKED clean, mom!" was what they said, when I asked about the use of the muddy broom...sigh.

So my windows, between the muddy broom, time, and standard Oklahoma window wear and tear, needed a serious cleaning. So, I grabbed my spray bottle, the squeegee, the wooly scrubber, a yellow nylon scrubber (the kind you use on teflon/no stick cookwear?), and a lint-free cloth. And I went to work. It didn't take really long to clean them (far longer to get the screens out, actually. Dang things were TIGHT!). Spray on, use the wooly. Spray again, use the scrubber, and then, the squeegee. And then the towel. Just to make sure I got it all up, so there were as few streaks as possible.

And let me tell you, these windows, are C-L-E-A-N! I still need to finish the inside of the two other bathroom windows, and the bedrooms, but the big windows are all pretty much done. Whew. And since they are the ones in the main rooms of the house, well, I'm not too upset that my knee gave out (something about kneeling ON the sink edge, to clean the inside of the kitchen window, will do that for you) before I finished.

In more, and slightly less interesting news, I did finally get my Advent-themed Christmas cards out--two days before Christmas. LOL. Sans a picture of the children, since the only one I was able to get, involved #4 screaming inconsolably--he looks like he is smiling, but it is just cause he is inhaling while he screams. He's talented that way!

Somehow, I have to get some pictures taken that actually look GOOD. I promised my grandmother a picture of the children, a BIG picture (she is losing her vision to glaucoma pretty rapidly, on top of already being mostly deaf), and so it had better be GOOD, because *everyone* who walks into that house will be expected to see and admire it. And it isn't even my grandmother's house, it is my aunt's. My grandmother takes over her immediate surroundings, and I'd really rather not make my poor aunt hang a picture of a screaming child on her wall, if only out of love for her. :-)

I know I got a lot done today, but with my knee not liking me much, and the storms coming in tomorrow, early on...well, I've got a long list of things to do. I have to make sure to get the chickens' feeder refilled first thing, and their waterer into the coop, so they won't have to wander around in the inclement weather any more than is absolutely necessary. Peep is still too young to be getting chilled that much. And since he/she is still with us, I'd like to keep 'em healthy. :-)
I have presents to wrap, homemade crescent rolls to start, fudge to make, a burnt sugar cake to make, a stocking to finish making, Mass to attend (assuming the weather isn't too bad--we've got a 20+ minute drive each way, and on slick country roads, I'm none too keen on driving it if I don't ABSOLUTELY have to...We'll have to see what weather conditions are like tomorrow late afternoon/evening...oh. I have a turkey to brine. A fire to keep going all day, a few more Christmas cards to get in the mail (the printer stopped wanting to print today--it was being cantakerous on me, as it does off and on) once I get the letters to print, a letter to an old friend who is still following the traveling gypsy known as a "husband in the Army", stockings to fill, etc, etc.

I don't suppose any of you want to come and help, do you? Please? Pretty please?

And I *may* be having company show up mid-Christmas Day (a BIL and his girlfriend), for the weekend. So I need to be able to have my lunch/dinner time flex a bit...so I'll likely make as much of the food in advance as I can, and reheat whenever it looks like it is getting close (except for the turkey. That'll have to be ready when it is ready, iykwim).

Wish me luck, folks. I'm figuring I'll be on here tomorrow, if for no other reason than to schedule a nice Christmas day message, and change over the playlist. :-)

God bless, and I hope you are better prepared than I am!