That Fall Cleaning Bug

First, I must address the popcorn issues of yesterday. The bad news? See below:
Even this morning, I still had not cleaned up the popcorn pot.
The good news? Adam liked it SO MUCH, that he offered me a deal. He said he would clean the above pot (which he has), and would clean it AGAIN, if I would make another big batch of that paprika popcorn this afternoon.

I think he likes it.

Now, on to this Fall Cleaning Condition. I'm tired -- so tired -- of feeling guilty because I'm not a bubbly, sunny, I-Love-Spring & Summer person. I'm an Autumn and Winter person. I was born that way, there's nothing I can do about it, and I bet I need a support group, complete with government funding.

So, when the temperatures finally dip and cool, and the leaves whisper outside the windows, and the sun slants down into the south, guess what? I have a great desire to CLEAN. (I was beginning to wonder if this desire would ever come upon me. Phew!)

Adam was throwing out this shirt. A miracle, I know. Men do not throw out clothes. They are MUCH worse in this regard than we womenfolk. This was a school shirt. See that hole at the elbow? I threw this shirt on in a hurry this morning, to dash to the kitchen to yank a whistling tea kettle off the hob. And, instead of my arm going down the sleeve, it went right out the hole. Yeah, about time for the trash bin.

But the fabric is SO soft and well-worn. So I cut it up for dusting rags.
Voila! Yeah, I know. Dusting? When's that gonna happen? Still, at least I'm prepared for when the mood hits me in mid-January.
Then I decided to attack the horrid hallway linen closet. I will spare you before/after shots of where all these bottles and boxes came from. But I'm SO happy to have them out of my bathroom (which is the size of a broom closet, and these bottles/boxes regularly fell off their shelves and perilously close to the toilet).
The outdoors are nearly divine (not wanting to be heretical here). I stay inside all summer to avoid heat and insects, and I forget how much I ADORE walking around in the yard, snipping at stray twigs and pretending to do yard work.

Julia loves her tree swing. She told me today that Sandy lets her hold her in her lap, and they swing together. That's one trusting canine.