Chaos Versus Cleanliness

The Progressing Garden

I've got to admit, I'm a dichotomy. Maybe everyone is, really. There is a part of me that appreciates structure, yet a more pronounced part that yields to the chaotic. You won't find perfectly rowed monocultured vegetables in my garden, instead a cacophony of interplanting companions... a dash of herb there, and splash of mustard here. That's my dad rearing up in me... his garden has always been a resplendant display of gently organized wildness. I also love writing music... not just writing music - feeling music onto those straight staff lines... letting it ebb and flow in its own meandering mode. Maybe that's why I find myself drawn to the undeveloped - the natural so often... there is more intense beauty there than in any clean line I've ever seen... My chaotic side is the most prevalent... perhaps more so because I married an engineer? We naturally balance eachother's stronger attributes? We subconsciously fulfill a piece of a the whole?

A Beautiful Broccoli Beginning

However, overarching all the espressive chaos, I DO savor orderliness - the structure of a day, a week, a season. There's a time and a place and reason for all those events we base our lives upon. The time to plant, the time to rest, the time of the last frost, the time of the first frost, the time to get my daughter up for school, the time to read our bedtime books, the time to learn, the time to share, the time for noise, the time for quiet. All the little times working together to form a life... all purposeful, all divined. I am so happy to experience it all, to be able to express both aspects.

Chaos in the Peas

Proper Pepper Propping... Perfect!

Order... Chaos... What DOES tend to incite my order analities is my desire for a clean house - I get that from my mom... her structure and cleanliness kept us kids healthy, well loved, safe. Her home was, still is, unabashedly clean. I relish the feel of fresh shining floors under my feet, of smooth white bathtub walls, of sparkling stainless steel kitchen sinks, not even a streak of mineral deposit or grease... I may not have all the paperwork filed away, all the little piles of this and that in their proper places, but, darn it, my house is scum free!


Super Shine!

I make my own cleaners - I have since my daughter was a baby seven years ago. I just can't stomach the thought of any extra chemicals assaulting young cells. Here are my cleaner recipes... they work just as well as the toxics, if not better!

Baking Soda Scour Paste: baking soda mixed with just enough liquid soap to create a thick paste, plus a couple drops tea tree oil

Disinfectant Spray, Window Wash, Multipurpose Cleaner, Wood/Tile Floor Cleaner: white vinegar plus 6-8 drops tea tree oil per small bottle

Wood Polisher: 1:1 ratio white vinegar to olive oil

Well, enough of this random post! :)