Marifer and Hillary Clinker

After our walk, I decided to call Chris,the horticulturist, and ask him to come back and clear off the walk.  He and his helper had left a lot of ground-in dirt on it--and right after it had been power washed.  They came and simply used a hose and brush--and not terribly effectively, either. I called Bill to see if he'll power wash it and he's in North Carolina.  Said he'd look at it when he gets back on Thursday. Think I'll go out and scrub it with a brush or something in the meantime--damn!
Cleaner Merifer came equipped with an impressive array of gear--vacuum, mops, cloths, buckets, detergents, bleach, and more--and started right in.  I vacated immediately and stayed out for three hours; ran errands in Manahawkin, went to the post office, stopped at the library, and so on.
Got back and she wasn't quite finished, so I called my dear friend, Marge, to see if she was up to a visit.  She was and we had a nice half-hour chat.  I was saddened, though, to see how very frail she is.  She has dreadful allergies, terrible insomnia, and painful knees, among other things.  We had a good visit, though.
Went back and Marifer was almost finished.  I had emphasized the most important thing was the kitchen floor; I actually told her I didn't care about the other stuff, but that's been a thorn in my side since we moved here.  She left after I paid her; I gave her extra, in fact.  I was itching to view the kitchen and I rushed in to inspect. Well, wonders will never cease in Little Egg Harbor!  The floor looks great!  I know she used bleach, as it left a very strong odor, but I don't care. If I succumb to it, I'll die happy.
Was so pleased to get a Skype visit from Mike in the evening and talk to precious little Violet and pre-pre-teen Vivian.  They're in Bali and were about to leave for an elephant ride.
The carpet cleaners are due at 8, in just a few hours.  I hope they can perform miracles as Marifer did.
WIDER:  After the fat-headed ad from the lunatic warrior-goddess, Hillary Clinker, I came across the following comment on one of the pacifist blogs I read.  Love it!

There is nothing in this world more vapid and irrelevant than the blatherings of a major party presidential candidate. As serious news, it ranks equal with Justin Bieber's hair, and the for next year and a half we will hear it in an endless drone.  A year and a half of the media screaming at us to ignore the man behind the curtain and hang on every meaningless word of the puppet theater. I can hardly wait.