TALES FROM THE BAYOU: Cleaning House…

My mother was a woman raised knee deep in tradition and old school ways. That way of thinking usually meant whenever she got an itch to change things up at the house, we would all be dragged into a cleaning frenzy. Most of the time it happened in the springtime, but the change in seasons from summer to fall didn’t stop her from taking stock of her surroundings with the idea “out with the old and in with the new”.

Anything worn out, broken down, or just outgrown would be tossed to one side to make way for upgrades. Clothes were tried on and handed down the line so you can imagine, as the baby of the family, how many times I actually got to wear brand new clothes in our poor family. After summer clothes were gone through, Mother would drag out the winter clothes that had been stored since the last cold snap, and the whole process would start over until all four of her children could walk into the new school year knowing they would be prepared no matter what Mother Nature threw at them.

Then came the house.

We literally would scrub that 100 year old house from ceiling to floor as my mother took the saying “top to bottom” quite literally. I thought a lot about those childhood cleanings this past Labor Day weekend as I went through my own home and tossed out items I no longer needed. I’m finally getting a chance to upgrade things a little around my house and what better time than in the middle of a pandemic?

I’m joking of course…why in the world would I add home repair stress to the rest of my Corona Crazy world I deal with every day? Because in the midst of all this uncertainty I’m dealing with when it comes to my day job, my writing career, my publishing house, and just life in general, it’s kinda nice to focus on improving the atmosphere inside my home. For the next few months, I will have some projects completed to turn my own nearly 100 year old house into the “beach house” of my dreams.

I am taking “before” pictures now as I tear everything down to the bare walls and will take the “after”pictures once everything is done. It’s kinda nice to have some “normal” decisions to have to make like what color paint, or where to put the new bookcase I ordered.

Simple.

Normal.

Just the kinda thing to put a smile on my face and make me think of my mother’s own cleaning days…

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Amelia Earmouse travels back through time to uncover little known events. You may THINK you know your history, but wait until you see what Amelia uncovers in book three of HISTORY’S MYSTERIES.

Eleven-year-old Emma misses her father who’s serving in Europe during World War II. He leaves behind a treasure box with six compartments to be opened during her birthday week. He also tells her to watch for the gris-gris while he is gone. Looking out for swamp creatures and dealing with wartime rationing is hard enough, but now there’s a British refugee staying at the house! How will Emma enjoy her birthday and keep her decision to hunt the gris-gris a secret with a stranger following her around?

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Best-selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of flash fiction, children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection.

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

5 thoughts on “TALES FROM THE BAYOU: Cleaning House…

  • September 8, 2020 at 4:09 am
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    Here’s to making your dream beach house perfect with the treasures you discover!

    Reply
    • September 8, 2020 at 5:03 pm
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      Thanks Rinda! I have a couple of things being delivered this month and some repairs to schedule so hopefully my house will return to being my home by the holidays…

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply
  • September 8, 2020 at 1:37 pm
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    I need someone to come to my apartment and clean it from top to bottom. I no longer have the ‘elbow grease’ needed to get it really sparkling clean. One thing I CAN do is take my glasses off and I won’t see the ‘merely clean’ surfaces.

    Reply
    • September 8, 2020 at 5:04 pm
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      Maybe the first thing you need to clean, Janet, is your glasses! 😉

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Reply
      • September 9, 2020 at 12:23 am
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        Touche’

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