Today Alys cleaned the refrigerator. This wasn’t something she wanted to do; in fact, she deliberated some about just going back to bed. Pete always gets up last and makes the bed. Alys doesn’t bother. There are a whole lot of things that Alys doesn’t bother with, bedmaking being one of them. She also does minimal cooking and cleaning, although lately she has been doing more.

Alys hoped that Pete would clean the refrigerator. In their discussions about this matter, Alys said she’d do it and Pete replied “no, no, I’ll do it.” This had been going on for several months. The refrigerator odor and crud had gotten to the point in which Alys winced when she opened the door. This obviously didn’t seem to bother Pete, who continued to remove items and put items in this cold storage unit

Alys thought that she’d get off the hook because Pete had said that the refrigerator pilot light would need to be put out so it could thaw out. This, Alys knew, would complicate matters, so she continued to wait for Pete to one day take on this task.

It was a blustery day outside, so Alys decided to later, go for a horseback ride. Pete said at breakfast that he was going to take care of administrative, bills and such, using the phone and the internet. This is what Pete does. His circadian rhythms are such that he lays low until after lunch, then takes on hands on tasks. This morning was no exception.

Alys began taking items out of the refrigerator, hoping that Pete would insist that he clean the refrigerator, and then actually do it. No, instead Pete ignored Alys as she started in on this task, sighing often.

Oh oh, Alys maybe too late realized that the kitchen was a mess – the dishes had not been done in a few days. So she tackled this chore after putting the moldy jars of whatnot on the counter. Her sighs grew louder, but to no avail. Pete was not budging.

Alys, in the mornings, is then best at tending to detail. So she did the dishes, then removed the refrigerator shelves, then cleaned them, then tackled cleaning the refrigerator itself, inside and out.

She considered removing all the refrigerator magnets and other refrigerator marginalia and wiping down the outer surfaces. However, she abandoned this idea because she by then had had enough.
Alys, when she cleans something, is very, very thorough. This then, is why she has a hard time cleaning entire rooms. Best to stick with something that appears to have a discernable beginning, middle, and end.

Alys, as she was finishing cleaning the refrigerator interior, had an idea, which was to finish cleaning the refrigerator, then ask Pete to put the shelves back, and after that, the food items. This worked. Pete finished the job and Alys went to clean something else – a horse saddle.

The process of cleaning a horse saddle is similar to that of cleaning a refrigerator. A sad day, Alys thought, when this is your major revelation.

Next: 152. 6/4/24: Riding Horses at both Ends of the Day