Team Work
Stauffer Avenue couldn’t be the most sought after place in St. James if not for the great team work of the ole cowboy and me. The plan for today was clear: I would take care of washing windows and doing the fall cleaning in our west porch and Dennis would make his famous chicken Alfredo noodle hotdish for supper.
We do not rush into our days. The morning news is enjoyed in the porch with steaming cups of coffee. It allows us time to enjoy the cats and kittens in the porch and lets them know they still have our hearts. Butter Ball must have had a heavy date as he did not make curfew last night when Dennis closed up the porch. Too bad for the big boy. Snuggles, Harry and Fuzzy were not about to be locked out and were in their baskets when Dennis bid them a good night. Honey Bunny, being the oldest of the cats, comes and goes at will. She may not be seen for several days, but always returns without looking worse for the wear, but really chows down at the communal food dish.
At noon, I took a break from the porch task and finished the breakfast coffee. I don’t mind drinking cold coffee. Some individuals pay dearly for iced coffee at the local hangout, The Stray Cat. I dearly enjoy my Folgers whether it be hot or cold. Dennis was beginning to get his ingredients together for his hotdish, but sat with me at the dining room table for a bit as he tipped his Alfredo sauce back and forth to make sure the sauce and the seasonings would be well mixed. Before either one of us could take in what was happening, the cap came off of the jar as Dennis was tipping it and we had Alfredo all over Dennis and all over the floor. Since when do jars from a grocery stores have caps that are barely on? Alfredo sauce could be compared to the the consistency of mayonnaise and just as smeary.
We may not be as spry as in days of old, but we do work well together, making challenges a thing of the past. I can’t imagine hitting challenges head on without my ole cowboy at my side. Team work, never taken for granted.
I asked Dennis to sit very still as this would take team work to not make it any more of a challenge to clean up as it was. I grabbed a dish towel and laid it over Dennis’ clothes to hold in place as much of the sauce as possible. We rolled his chair backwards away from the majority of the sauce so he could get to the bathroom. I stripped his pants down and began rolling the material as he readied himself to step out of them. The shirt came off just as carefully. The pants, shirt, socks and dish towel I took outside while Dennis went for a clean set of clothes. The only thing we thought of was to take the garden hose to the clothes to wash off the bulk of the sauce. That process, Dennis carried out as I surveyed the dining room floor. Amazingly, the thick sauce didn’t splatter very much. Kitchen waste basket close at hand, I began using dry paper towels to push with one hand much like a broom and paper dust pan. Lots of wet, hot water-soaked paper towels was the next step. There was no way I wanted a lot of this creamy sauce on towels that would end up being laundered. I was done, with the last of the floor being cleaned with soft cloths about the same time Dennis had his clothes drip drying, draped over the patio bench. What a noon break for the both of us.
Here we are at the end of the day. West porch is sporting eight windows washed with laundered curtains, all items within the porch cleaned and polished and . . . we enjoyed Dennis’ hotdish for supper. Our pantry supply didn’t stall a great evening meal. It is safe to say, nothing holds the two of us down for very long. We look the challenge right in the eye and then make a plan for resolution of the situation. Priceless. By the way, the less than desirable load of laundry was done in hot sudsy water and all is well on Stauffer Avenue. All it takes is team work.