Day 557 Spring cleaning

Nearly a week of temperatures in the mid to upper 50's and
I think I can safely say that winter is FINALLY over.
The weeping willows in my apartment complex
are starting to show some green :)

Beijing is FULL of flowering trees, and she
puts out her finest for about six weeks, from
mid March until May.  They took down the
sticks of silk flowers that were zip tied to the
trees about two weeks ago.  The real blooms
are just beginning to appear, and
THAT MAKES ME HAPPY!!!

Even "Puppy Love" that lives in the complex seemed to
enjoy laying in the flowers that are just beginning to come up.

You know that spring has officially arrived
when the old Chinese men bring out their
birds to hang in the trees for some fresh air
and sunshine, while they play poker or mahjong.

I passed by these on the way to the coffee shop.

In addition to being sick of the cold weather, I am equally sick of my winter wardrobe.  I am tired of dressing in layers, and I am just plain tired of wearing the same winter work clothes. I took a gamble and decided that this was the weekend to do some spring cleaning of my own.

For as long as I can remember, I have two 'go to' coping mechanisms when I get stressed and or 'blue'. The first is I have to clean.  It's like a compulsion with me.  When life starts feeling chaotic and out of control, or I get sick of living in my own head of worrisome thoughts, I have to take to my environment and get my house in order.  I have to literally purge the garbage (in my home and in my head) and scrub everything down to feel clean (both inside and out). There is something very satisfying in tackling all the dust bunnies, clutter and filth.  I washed the windows (you should have seen the pollution grime- GROSS), I washed the curtains, I swept, I mopped, I dusted, I decluttered every cabinet, closet, cupboard, and pantry.  I left two bags of clothes by the trash can that were gone by the time I came out with another load of garbage.  It felt GREAT, y'all.  It's like I could feel the SAD leaving my apartment, and leaving my body.  It was a start, anyhow.

Next I made a shopping list....and then I made an IKEA run.  Since I am staying another year, and since I plan to have guests (hopefully MANY guests, hint! hint!) I wanted to make my apartment more comfortable.

The first guests are my friend Stephanie and two grandkids,
Ava and Eli.  Seriously, the thought of them coming the end
of April was sometimes the one thing that kept me hanging in there.
I bought a dresser for the guest bedroom, a lamp, a rug, some
houseplants, more candles, and more containers for organization
 and storage. I laid out my tools, and all 11,437 screws, and three
 hours later, by God, I had me a new dresser! Not one drop of
blood (or tears) was shed in the process :)

Tah-dah!!!

While I strolled through the market place to
buy a new mop and rug, I stumbled upon some
squatty potties for sale.  Just for kicks, I started
bartering with the woman, and got her down to
only $12 bucks!  I don't think I can convince
Len to install a squatty potty in our new master
bathroom- though just $12 was tempting-
for all of 2.4 seconds, that is.

If you were thinking that 'retail therapy' is my other go-to coping mechanism, it really isn't- not so much.  I don't really enjoy shopping; I shop out of necessity. (Yes, if you know me at all, the candles were absolutely a necessity!)

Nope, my other go-to coping mechanism is to plan a trip.  I have been this way ALL my life.  Back in college when I lived on Ramen noodles and Kraft Mac n' Cheese, I would scrape my money together to buy a plane ticket somewhere, anywhere, twice a year.  It was my 'reward' for a hard semester's work going to school full time (once carrying 21 credits in a summer session at three different universities) and working two jobs to pay for it all.  As long as there was a trip in my future, I could push through, sacrifice sleep if I had to, knowing there was light at the end of the tunnel.

 Shelly, remember the time we flew to Texas and then California?!

 I have just always had the wanderlust.  I credit (blame) my Grandma.  Like her, I just want to go see stuff.  Len has quickly learned this about me.  Even when he visits me in Beijing, after a day or two in the apartment, I start getting antsy and have to go OUT AND SEE SOMETHING.  He tolerates me.  Unfortunately, I think I have passed this gene on to my Elliebug, who like her mother, when she gets stressed or down, she starts planning her next trip, too.

So, in two weeks, I leave for a long weekend in Hong Kong, and I absolutely cannot wait!

Stay tuned...

G'nite, y'all!