For even a few hours every couple of weeks it's a luxury to have someone come in and help with the cleaning. I am at the point where I would have to clear things out for the cleaner - but first I have to achieve the baseline they would try to maintain.

Dorothy, re yard work: I missed the trash pickup this morning (I slept late and they ran early) and I may decide to take the bin full of okra stalks in the trash can back to the back yard and toss them to break down (some are already back there). I trimmed out so much privet that it looks like a public path beyond the fence, but all of our yards are private (the fence isn't built all of the way to the creek for practical purposes). So tossing lumpy piles that will soon break down is the strategy that will for now dissuade foot traffic. Smaller stuff (weeds, grass, and leaves) still go in the regular compost bin.

WYSIWYG has been dropping in on the Memorial/obit threads, I see short posts from her this morning. I sent her the link to this year's declutter thread, from the front end, 50 at a time.

Yesterday I read through the sewing machine repair book again then reassembled my White Rotary after adjusting the feed dogs. I pulled the thread off of the bobbin I was using and rewound it, because for a while last year I was trying to put more thread on the bobbins than when the machine winder stopped, meaning part of the problem may have been the bobbin thread tension being off. I'll be rewinding these (no need to waste the thread, I'll rewind from one bobbin to another). The test sew worked okay. I have mending to start with, and then projects to finish.

I am creeping closer to Thanksgiving with a load in the dishwasher this morning. The sinks have been scrubbed, silicone mats in the dishwasher, and the oven has been emptied of shelves and the self-cleaning mode is in charge for the next four hours. I cleaned out the hood fan over the weekend and that will run to help vent the smoke from the process. I need to take the fan apart again later to give it a spritz of oil, it's a little noisy when it starts up.