settle down




I honestly cannot remember the last time I was this busy.  It's been almost 3 weeks since we've been back and I just now feel as if I can settle down a bit.  Getting the garden taken care of has been high on the list.  It did take a beating but to be honest it always does in the summer.  I'll try and get some photos this weekend.





Did you know we had a caretaker that actually stayed here?  We did and it was the best thing.  The gal who stayed here was a meticulous cleaner.  I've pretty much fallen in love with all the cleaning products she used.  The house sparkled and smelled so good when we walked in.  She also bought a mop and bucket, something I've never used here.  I've always just gotten down on my hands and knees, which now that I'm using this mop, I realize how ridiculous I've been.  Before this, I thought all mops were bulky and smelled, but this one dries out quickly and cleans so well.  So thank you for that Katie.




She also put Mrs. Myers Lavender hand soap in the bathrooms.  Smells soooo good.
And Mrs. Meyers Red Clover dish soap and all purpose cleaner in the kitchen.  The whole house smells heavenly.

Can I just say...I adore being home.  x




56 comments

  1. I am so happy for you! You know I have a present to send you but am trying to wait the right amount of time so that it won't be a bother! Let me know if I'm moving too slow (wouldn't be the first time). Your house looks beautiful!

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    1. omgosh stephen andrew i had forgotten about that! well anytime you are ready, i am! xo

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  2. I love the Mrs. Meyers products, and how they have seasonal scents for their dish soaps. Currently I'm using Honeysuckle, which I bought during the summer. For my floors and deep cleaning my kitchen, I love Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds. It leaves everything smelling so clean. I'm glad you are getting to enjoy your home again.

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    1. Ditto this, especially on the seasonal scents. I fell in love with and stocked up on the lilac dish soap that came out last spring and am on my last bottle.

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    2. i didn't know they came in seasonal scents. what a great idea. i've been using the lavender laundry soap for my sheets but now i'm excited about everything else! thanks ladies x

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  3. Oh...I love posts like this to learn a little more about housekeeping. I'm going to try that mop. I have a girl who comes in twice a month for a good deep cleaning. But in between I'm a 'clean bathroom' fanatic and I want super clean floors because I have two dogs. I love Mrs. Meyers, I get the Basil scent dish soap, hand soap and all purpose cleaner. It's addicting. I wish the dish soap cut grease more but still, it's heavenly.
    Welcome home!

    Jane x

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    1. jane, that mop has changed my life! lol

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    2. I know to another reader this question I'm about to ask could sound really lame but, Janet, I'm not a mopper either and I think I need to be at this later age with troubled knees...so, tell me, pretend as if I'm age 12 and you're teaching me how to clean a house; how best to clean with this mop; what's the procedure; how do you make it work for you from start to finish?

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    3. Vicki, many years ago I got tired of my knees taking a beating when scrubbing the bathroom floors so I invested in one of those garden kneeling pads. They help a lot!

      Linda

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    4. vicki i just get the mop wet with hot water and wring it out and then start in a corner and just mop away. it's quite simple and my back and knees don't hurt. halfway through the kitchen floor i rinse the mop in the sink and finish up. it's so easy!

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    5. Thanx; I know it might seem weird, but this little tutorial helps me. I like Linda's comment, too, about the garden knee pad. I forgot I had one but, there it is, hanging in the utility closet...so, off I go to mop..."Adventures In Mopping."

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  4. Sounds like you've fallen in love with your home all over again. Great that you're home xo

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  5. Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home! I'm very happy for you!! Enjoy!

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  6. How smart to have someone there while you were away and even smarter that you found such a wonderful person? She sounds like a dream of a house-sitter. Have a great weekend Janet XO

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    1. thanks dani. it was the best thing for us for sure. x

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    2. My question is, how on earth do you find somebody like that?! Word of mouth? I've had referrals which didn't impress me much. Having multiple pets indoors and outdoors, including the wild birds that need to be fed & watered daily in the yard, etc. has always curtailed our 'going away.' What a dream to be able to leave your home with a responsible person who brings in the mail and the newspaper, has lights going on and off for security, maintaining house & yard & pets while you're gone; keeping an eye out. I was only so lucky earlier in my marriage with a relative-helper but then, unfortunately, he passed away. When I was a kid at home with my first family, our auntie would always come to help us so that we could take off on a family vacation (road trip!)...she was glad to escape the city in hot summer and head for the burbs (it made her feel like SHE was the one on vacation!)..

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  7. Oh! Trying! TY, and thank her. (BTW, how did you find someone to live-in AND turn out so perfect? Can you share your source?) Glad you are home. The cottage looks pristine, per norm. Love it!
    XO
    Lor

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    1. i don't know how i got so lucky. she is a friend of a friend but she doesn't do this for a living - but she should. x

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    2. Oh, sorry; I should have kept reading. You answered my question of how you found a good house caretaker.

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  8. There's no place like home!

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  9. We never leave our bungalow unattended...it's wise that you had a house sitter and how lovely that she kept it clean and tidy!
    I have the Meyer shower cleaner and it is a great product.
    Do you have the Sapadilla eco cleaners in California? I am over the moon about the sweet Lavender and Lime scented line...they are made here in Canada. www.sapadilla.com
    Your happiness to be home is obvious...the saying home sweet home is true.

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  10. After being away for SO long, no wonder you love being home so much! Enjoy. And lovely to see you back!

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  11. thrilled you are home and that it was clean!!! Can't wait to see the garden. Don't think my christmas tree isn't up because it is!!! xxxx

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  12. I can almost smell those good smells through the Internet! How wonderful that you had someone so lovely taking care of your house. Thanks formthemreemdation on the mop. If it changes your life, I really need to get one!

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  13. Sorry about the typo! Should be - thanks for the recommendation!

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  14. I love Mrs Meyers products and have that same hand soap. I've not tried Red Clover yet but will do. I also love Mrs Meyers Geranium and Honeysuckle scented cleaning products. Lucky you to have such a wonderful house sitter. I'm sure many of us would have put our hands up for that job!

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  15. So nice to hear your home had perfect caring. I use Meyers, and have the lavender in bot bathrooms...I don't leave it in the plastic bottle purchased in but transfer the pump soap in another clear glass jar pump bottle dispenser. I love a clean clear look of the soap and it's released scent when dispensed in ones hands and the lingering smell fills the air.

    I also use to hand scrub and sometimes still do on my grout lines but I have to use a mop for all the open spaces.
    I love Fiona's last words as to putting her hand up for the job, so true our hands would be excitingly waving here, here for the job of caring for your sweet cottage, and to be able to see that Black bean soup paint exterior up close and personally.

    Nice to hear it was in good and pure hands caring for it.

    See you soon dear.

    Xx
    Dore

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  16. YES! you can just say... you adore being home!
    if anyone has earned the right to say it YOU have!
    so happy for you.
    and the glimpses of it here and your beautiful tribute to its shining spirit of cleanliness and love!!!
    well. LOVELY!
    can't wait to see what stephen andrew's surprise is! i'm worse than a kid. he's such a darling! xoxo

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  17. We went on a short vacation and as fun as it was we were so happy to return home...I can't imagine being gone as long as you were. It has to help that your home was being cared for with such a capable care giver.
    Xo,
    Karen

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  18. Janet, I can only imagine how happy you are to be home. I had no idea that someone was actually staying at your house, and that someone took care of it as if it where their own. Sounds like you were lucky to have found her, we have a hard enough time finding someone to take care of the dog! My daughter and her husband used to dog sit when their lives were much simpler but we need to find someone else now. Like Vicki said it curtails vacation plans sometimes.

    I know I said it before but I love those pillows!!

    Linda
    xo

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  19. Oh, Janet, I'm so happy for you that you are home again!! I, too, love my little cabin & am very contented to return here even if I'm away for a day trip. What you & L did for your father-in-law was important, but I'm glad you have been rewarded with getting back to your sweet cottage.

    I have used a few of the Meyer's products, but I can see that I need to try more. I am very affected by scents, & fresh ones are my favorites. I have tried to reread the comments to see where you tell what kind of mop she used, but can't seem to find it. Like Vicki, I have bad knees & just can't do all the floors on them. But I always feel that my mop stays just a bit nasty.....thanks to dogs & a cat I'm sure. But they are worth it!!

    Enjoy your home.....it's beautiful & an obvious reflection of you!

    Anita ~ the cabin on the creek

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    1. thank you anita. here it the link to the mop...

      http://www.amazon.com/O-Cedar-133582-Microfiber-Cloth-Mop/dp/B004V8ET3Q

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  20. Dear Janet,

    Thanks for sharing this. I was sold immediately on the Mrs. Meyers' Clean Day and went to Mrs. Meyer's website and ordered the Red Clover dish soap and the Orange Clove seasonal set (same price as Target). I have always had trouble ordering from Target online and they take forever to send out their products (at least to our house, anyway).

    Sincerely,
    Debra from SENC

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  21. What a treat to come home and fall in love with it all over again! xxx

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  22. So glad you are back where you belong...and we are too!

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  23. Hi Janet, Very nice article. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. there's really no place like home, is there Janet?!
    xx
    annie

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  25. Janet, it's such a wonderful sight to see your house again, as I'm sure it is for you! One of the special things about your blog is that it is counters this assumption we have as consumers to constantly want new content or to be stimulated by new things. What that does is make us constant consumers. In contrast, your blog reminds me that simplicity and living with what is beloved promotes joy. It shows in the very pretty print on your pillows, the bright purity of shining floors and uncluttered walls, the touches of green from your garden. These are so evocative because of the evident care you have regarding your home! It is such a blessing to catch a glimpse of it through your blog!

    Esther

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    1. what a beautiful comment esther. thank you so much. x

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    2. This comment from Esther deserves a 'like' button; perfectly and eloquently stated.

      I also felt instantly calmed the minute I saw Janet's house again. It puts me in my place...the reminder...to say, "I have enough." (But there's no denying it, Janet. You have a gift. And I believe you are meant to live in the gardener's cottage.)

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    3. I wanted to write a comment but Esther has said it all ! What a beautifully clean, serene place you have .. XX

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    4. thank you all so much. vicki i'm always telling larry that i'm meant to live here...:)

      also everyone, i've been so incredibly busy at work catching up, adjusting with new changes there etc. that i feel so behind blogwise. thanks for these lovely comments...xxxx

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    5. Like Vicki, I also found myself looking for the "like" button after reading Esther's comment. Such beautiful words & thoughts about having enough & trying not to be a constant consumer. Great insight!!

      Anita ~ the cabin on the creek

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    6. Just what Esther said! Glad you are home. Congrats on the new grandbaby!!

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  26. Do you have a new grandbaby? I remember your son's wife being pregnant in a photo/
    Betty

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    1. yes i do betty. she just turned 4 months! x

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    2. How exciting! Congratulations!
      Betty

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  27. Your house looks beautiful! Truly, there's no place like home! How wonderful that you had someone so lovely taking care of your house. Thanks for sharing!

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  28. Hey Janet,

    Here's hoping you and your family are doing okay since seeing the mudslides in SoCal. I hope they have not affected you and your family.

    Also, received my Mrs. Myers' soaps and the Red Clover smells so fresh and green(literally!).

    Sincerely,
    Debra from SENC

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kindness is never out of style.

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