There must have been a facial tissue tucked away somewhere in the laundry; this morning the work clothes went into the dryer and the sheets and other items on the line; when the line-dry linens come in they'll do a quick turn on air in the dryer to catch any paper fibers.

Today is mostly about vacuuming, putting stuff away (clearing out the fridge, and around the house clearing as many horizontal surfaces as possible) and eBay. This is going to be my Holiday from Clutter. It seems to me there was a movie that used to play around this time of year, Cheaper By the Dozen, about an efficiency expert, and probably summer-time drama with his sons and daughters. Or the Jimmy Stewart movie with Maureen O'Hara as his wife, and they went to a cottage at the beach for the summer. Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. As I recall, their houses were never cluttered. Seven Year Itch, now that's a summertime movie, but I only remember the state of her freezer in that one. This has nothing to do with anything, but a little holiday stream of consciousness. I'm reading a book (sent by Jeri as Secret Santa) in which women in historic times in Portsmouth, NH, worked really hard at whatever they did. So as I hang my laundry on this July day and contemplate knocking lint off later in the dryer, I know I have it so much easier than a couple of hundred years, or even just many decades, ago.

There is some chicken defrosting to cook on the charcoal grill (I haven't filled the LP tank yet), some tomatoes in the fridge to can (that's the 'clear the fridge' activity), and lots of boxes to prepare for eBay. The can where I empty my vacuum cleaner tank is ready, and I plan by this evening to kick back and watch a movie and keep the dogs in the house so they won't worry about the racket.