Day 5 -LA County Dept. of Health urges masking when indoors

I cleaned the downstairs before I leave for my trip…

7/3/21. Saturday

10:30-11:00 – I’m up and I go downstairs to greet the dog.  L. is off today in honor of the July 4th weekend, so she is sleeping in and the dog is lonely - I can hear her whining. She jumps on the couch and rolls over on her back so I can rub her tummy three times. Then, she grabs her toy and outside we go so she can do her business and I can water my potted jasmine plants.  It’s going to be a scorcher today. Return inside and cheese cubes for her, coffee for me. I’m at 97.5 pounds today.

11:00-1:30 – I prepare snacks for my San Diego trip – sliced apples; cheese and walnuts; packets of honey-almond butter; cherries; Lara bars; cherry tomatoes, and I make a batch of overnight oats for my breakfast tomorrow. I also ready my coffee for tomorrow morning.

For breakfast today, I have apple slices with honey almond butter, and eat outside, at my patio table. I read Assume Nothing. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the dog is always by my side – I share my breakfast with her.

1:30- 3:00 – The house is very dirty - although L. said that her friend N. told her it’s one of the cleanest homes he’s ever been in - so I’m going to clean the entire downstairs today.

I start in the kitchen.  We have three pendant lights hanging over our counter – I remove them, then hand wash in the sink. I scrub all the exterior cabinets, the bar stools, the refrigerator, and the counters. I put the dishes away and throw away a few expired food items.

3:00-3:30 – I stop briefly for lunch and have a can of chili kidney beans. I add onions and grated cheese, then read Assume Me.

3:30-6:00 – L. materializes, wishes me luck cleaning the house, and disappears.

I move to the dining area and dust my wine rack and all the cocktail glasses featured on the shelves. Dust the buffet and the objects  displayed on those shelves – I dust each object individually and this takes some time. Dust the fireplace mantle and the objects displayed on that, as well. I windex the dining room table and hand wash the bowl that sits on top of it. The pendants are dry so I re-install those and it’s a pain in the ass. I have a love seat in the dining room and I change out the “throws” [white couch covers] for fresh ones, then wash the old throws.

6:00-8:00 – I move to the living room and dust the TV, the console table, and the objects displayed on that – individually, of course. I dust the piano, all the picture frames displayed on top of the piano, the entryway table, and the hallway table.  We have a throw on the living room couch as well, so I pull it and put it in the laundry. The downstairs bathroom is clean because I sanitized it on Wednesday after that  disgusting electrician used it.

I thoroughly vacuum the entire downstairs, including the bathroom and my office.  I use the attachments to get into the corners and crevices. I finish and leave for Whole Foods.

8:00-9:00 – At Whole Foods I buy more walnuts, Lara bars, apples, cherries, Prosecco-in-a-can, regular champagne, and cheese in preparation for my San Diego trip. I pull money out of the ATM and get gas.

9:00 – 9:45 – L. surfaces and – shocker!! – she agrees to take the dog for a walk with me. It’s a short walk because even though it’s after 9:00, it’s hot and the dog seems miserable. After, L. and I walk the property so I can show her which plants to water while I’m gone.

9:45 – 10:15 – L. offers me a piece of pizza from Eataly, a restaurant at the Century City Mall. This ain’t Dominos – it looks like a piece of legitimate Italian pizza. I resolve to have one bite, but end up eating the entire slice. Oh no!  At this late hour?  But it is soooo good…I couldn’t resist. I read Assume Nothing while I eat.

10:15-12:00 – I vacuumed the floors earlier and they’re ready to mop. The best way is on my hands and knees and I have special knee pads for this very task. I finish mopping the entire downstairs at midnight. Unfortunately, I run out of time and am NOT able to mop the downstairs bathroom.

I’m able to squeeze in dusting my desk and the wall unit in my office.

12:00-12:30 –I  listen to Organize 365 and rest for 30 min.

12:30 – 1:45 – I fire up an Insanity Plyo workout, but the volume won’t work!!   L. tries to help and we eventually resort to the age-old solution of unplugging the TV. The volume is finally working, but I’m only able to do 40 minutes of a 60-minute Plyo routine. Tired today…

1:45 – 2:15 – I order toilet paper for me and a travel fan for my Mom on Amazon. I also place my monthly Wine.com order.

2:15-2:45 – I make bullet points of how I spent my time on Friday and today and add a few items to my packing list for tomorrow.

2:45-3:30 – Nighttime routine. Bed. I set my alarm for 7:00