Where Did That Come From?

If I didn't trust in the universe, I would have said the sun did not come up yesterday, it was that smoky.  I couldn't see the winery on top of the hill about a mile away.  If there was one good thing, it was that the smoke was a shield against the invisible sun and it was a much cooler morning.  Still, it was a surprise when I was hit with a spurt of ambition and decided not only to vacuum and do some major dusting, but to move living room furniture out to get to areas that haven't seen the light of day for ages.  Hit and miss doesn't do it for me.  I have to start at one corner of the room and work my way around, and there I hit a snag.  All of my furniture is heavy stuff, oversize chairs, solid wood tables, and hard to move by myself.  Just turning over a recliner (no such thing as just sliding it out of the way) had me huffing and puffing like The Little Engine That Could.  I blamed that on the smoke.  Plus, if I was going to do this thing, I was going to do it right.  I sorted through papers and magazines that I had put down in the past until I could decide if they were important or trash and never got back to.  A lot went into the trash, and, hoping to start a new habit, I didn't just move the rest to some new place, but actually put everything where it belonged.  I want a gold star.  In order to turn over the second recliner, I first had to move the heavy coffee table, a chore in itself.  It's been awhile since that table has been moved and there were deep divots in the carpet under the legs.  Here's my handy hint for the day should you find those in your rug:  Put an ice cube in the depression and let it melt.  It's amazing that such a simple thing will restore the carpet; it's like magic.

Going through stacks of this and baskets of that (sometimes discovering a treasure I'd thought long gone) took time and a lot of my meager energy.  I was having a sit-down when I realized that the breeze had kicked up and the smoke was being blown away, and also that it was getting hot again.  Only half-way through the room, it was quitting time.  As Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day."

Same time, same view, different day.  There is a thick layer of smoke down in the valley, but we had blue sky overhead.

I hope that unexpected ambition doesn't fizzle out before the living room is finished.

It was a good day.