The bottom picture is from a roof and gutter job done last week. The weather was lovely. -bright blue skies with fluffy white clouds & a balmy 67F/19C degrees.
I did not climb the roof, but instead stayed on the ground in order to corral the mass of pine needles and eucalyptus leaves my colleague had blown down.
We collected at least 8 tall bin bags of plant debris. I should also note that this client is a regular and has his gutters & roof cleaned annually. Imagine if he did not!
Speaking of cleaning, we were doing a job down near the Stanford campus the other day & the lady of house approaches me to tell me that the cleaners are arriving soon (and how much longer would I be upstairs?). I told her that I would be finished in about 30 minutes. "Great. You can just work around each other;" she said as her hand sort of made a circular motion in the air. When clients say that, what they mean is: The cleaners will do their job and you will accommodate them. I tried to move out of the women's way as they vacuumed and dusted around where I was set up at a series of windows along the wall of the open-floor-plan living/dining area. I needed to go outside for a moment, and upon return, I sort of had to hopscotch my way back to the windows as most of the floor from the front door onward had just been mopped. This happens regularly when "working around" cleaners unless the house is MASSIVE and we disparate bands of workers are rooms away from one another.
I get why clients do this; they don't want workers in their home nearly every darn day of the week. Neither would I, I suppose. -better to get home and window cleaning (and electrical and landscaping jobs and lord knows what all else) over with in one day, if possible. It can feel especially uncomfortable, though, to have to work with strangers in the same room as we are still grappling with Covid. I wear a mask when others are present, but my glasses fog up quite quickly thus making it kind of hard to see what I'm doing.
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| Work selfie...workie? This was taken at the aforementioned gutter job. |
Bart looks quite content. Have you tried a mask with wire at the top to press around nose - I find this stops glasses fogging.
ReplyDeleteGood idea, Susan. The masks I have (like the one in the above photo) are mostly without a nose bridge wire. Looks like I need to go mask shopping...
DeleteHello, Bart, you handsome devil. I tried to accustom my cat to a harness, but not luck. He blew hair the instant it came out of the drawer.
ReplyDeletees, he's a cutie-patootie. While not a lap-cat, he will consent to being held like a baby & having a harness be put on him, luckily. Haha, on the 'blew hair' comment. I can picture that pretty well. :)
DeleteMasks and glasses are awkward together. I got one of those plastic inserts for under my masks. (It makes it easier to talk and teach when I have it on.) But I don't know if it really helps with the glasses situation. (I avoid putting on my sunglasses when I have my mask on.)
ReplyDeleteSo awkward. I can imagine how annoying it would be to be teaching and not seeing the Ss terribly well at the same time.
DeleteThe wire in the mask does really help.
ReplyDeleteIn these times it is unreasonable to have two sets of workers in at once. Well it is unreasonable anyway as cleaners should have a clear run to finish!
It does seem unreasonable and I wish we had the power and/or gumption to say to the clients: No, thank you, I would really rather not...
DeleteMasks and glasses are a very uncomfortable mix. I haven't tried it but a friend said that tape helped, and was cheaper than the metal insert masks.
ReplyDeleteBart is a beauty.
Sigh at having to dance around the cleaners.
He's such a pretty kitty. I love his color pattern.
DeleteI've got furry facial hair too, but I don't roll in the dirt.
ReplyDeleteI'd imagine that your mustache, should you have one, is more balanced than Bart's sort of half-stache. :)
DeleteClearly Bart likes to get close to nature!
ReplyDeleteYes, he loves the outdoors!
DeleteCats in harnesses always make me laugh. Life is good just relaxin' with no pants on seems to be the lesson today. And I notice your mask has some life lessons, too!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's funny to see cats being taken around on a leash. (Bart takes me around, if I am honest.)
DeleteYeah, that's a good mask, eh? :)
I did notice Bart's mustache and it is quite fabulous. I enjoyed your selfie as well. How did the bomb cyclone treat you guys? I was watching the Niners game on Sunday night and it looked awful.
ReplyDeleteThe bomb cyclone was not the bomb, lemme tell ya. It was awful, like you said. We've not seen rain like that in October 'round these parts for decades. Everything is a bit greener & lusher looking, for the moment, so that's nice.
DeleteDear Bea, as I read about your work and the having to adjust to the work of others at the same time, I felt such gratitude for being retired--20 years now. This journey we are on through life has, for me, proven interesting, fulfilling, and challenging throughout every stage. I hope the same is being true for you. Peace.
ReplyDeleteHi, Dee. Thanks for the comment. The journey of life is everything you say it is, for sure. :)
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