Scrub-a-scrub-scrub. Or not.

Today's Wonder of the World is another double header! Yes, two doubles in one week! Aren't you lucky?

Nod your head.

Here's the first one. I found this ad in a 1934 Illustration magazine that I bought at the flea market back in Clermont, and it fascinated me.

No, it's not the French maid that caught my eye, although that is an awfully big bow in her hair. Look at the shoes!

I'm certainly no clean freak, but I do believe I'd keep a spic and span floor if I had a pair of these to strap on my feet! Can you imagine it, doing your floors by simply turning up the music and dancing across the kitchen? And if some child comes in and asks you to referee an argument or retrieve a Nerf dart from the top of an armoire, when they shouldn't be shooting it up there in the first place, you can say, "Can't you see I'm cleaning the kitchen?"

I scoured flea markets all over France searching for a pair of my own, but I never found any.

But I do have these lovely beauties, Wonder of the World #2...


I usually don't get too psyched about cleaning supplies, (unless they're made by Pylones, remember?) but aren't these the cutest rubber gloves you've ever seen? My buddy Susie gave them to me because she's a dear and knew I'd love them. I don't actually use them. I hang them in my kitchen and admire them.

And the dishes sometimes pile up.
I'm about to show you what I mean.

If you're a Felix more than an Oscar, you may need to avert your eyes. It could be painful. Here's the reason why I'm about to embarrass myself in front of all you nice people: My beautiful husband Todd was reading my blog yesterday, and here's what he said: "Wow. You make our life look so good." (Didn't he see the post with the dirty towels in the tub? The scissors in the sink? Wasn't he paying attention?) He went on to add, "You should show the real deal, you know, the kids fighting over the computer, the dog eating our last loaf of bread, complete with wrapper and twist tie, and you know, THE KITCHEN."
I looked at the kitchen and shuddered.

Most of you probably live my life or something similar, but I'm sure you handle it better than I do. We've had meetings of some kind every night this week, so that's my excuse. Here's what my kitchen looked like yesterday afternoon.

And no, that is not a jug of moonshine above my sink. It used to have apple juice in it.

I was running here and there like crazy yesterday while a couple of the kids stayed home. They did not feel compelled to empty the dishwasher. They like to leave the door open for easier access. There is an empty diet coke bottle there, which they could have thrown away, but no.
Bad children.
And the scary thing is that it's looked like this (or variations of this) for several days now.
It may be because I like to loll about graveyards, taking pictures of moss.

I should probably put on those gloves and get to work.
Instead, let's focus on the one neat section of my kitchen. Don't click on the pictures. You may see dirt.


Here, I'll do close ups for you.

Aren't they cute? Sam made them at preschool our last year in France. I know it's not the most imaginative artwork--they're just designs the teacher copied and then the children added paint or crayon and ribbon tail feathers --but they're fun. I keep them in the kitchen because they make me happy, so that I'll hang around and clean up a little.
Speaking of which, I should probably tidy up.
I'll go get my shovel.
Have a great Thursday!