Day 2732

It seems pretty clear that there are no more rats in the atrium, so I decided to tackle the job I've been avoiding for years. Cleaning the atrium is difficult because it is basically an outside space that can only be accessed from the inside. Each time I use the pressure washer, I grow a little wiser. I don't point the nozzle at old paint anymore, because it will peel the paint away. I definitely don't point the nozzle at myself. I learned that the hard way. Today I wore a large hat with a brim to protect my head from falling spiders. I lined the inside of the sliding glass door with rags to soak up the water that I knew would leak into the living room. When we first bought the house, I used to do this job once a year, but when our first pressure washer broke I lost interest and convinced myself that the dust and dirt looked just fine. Originally, the atrium seemed like it would be a nice place to have dinner in the Spring or Fall, but we really weren't prepared for how brutal Texas weather can be. It didn't take us long to realize that eating inside with the air conditioner cranked up was much nicer.

As the pressure hose slowly peeled away layer after layer of dirt and grime, the atrium gradually began to look like it used to be. I tend to forget that this house is sometimes considered architecturally significant. All the other Glen Galloway houses have been featured in magazines. Ours has been destroyed by dogs. Architecture was still important to me when we bought the house. I used to be an architect at some point in the distant past and having a cool house seemed essential. Now, I realize that a house is just a place with a roof over your head that you share with dogs.

Although cleaning the atrium was a dirty job that took most of the afternoon, I'll have to admit that I did feel pretty good when I looked at the final results. The flagstone floors and exposed brick look like new. All I have to do now is put a coat of paint on the wood walls and I'll be done.

I had to move the emergency generator while I was cleaning the atrium and it seemed like a good time to fill it with gas and see if it still worked. The generator started easily and the engine seemed to run just fine but it wasn't producing any electricity. This didn't make sense. The generator was practically brand new. It should work perfectly. Since so many computer problems are solved by turning them off and back on again, I use this technique for everything now. I shut the generator down and then restarted it. Amazingly, that's all it took. I have no idea what the problem was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with spiders.

Over half of the house still needs to be cleaned, but the pressure washer doesn't intimidate me anymore. Little by little, I'll get this job done. I'm going to wait a while to call the landscaper again because he likes to be paid in cash, but by the Fourth of July, the house and yard should be looking great.

I think I've done enough cleaning for one weekend. Tomorrow I'll either finish my website updates or go to the gym. I doubt if I'll do both. That seems too much like multi-tasking.

Bali is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day