If you’ve read my post below (about giveaway #3) you’ll see that for my next Giveaway I asked my readers to send me notes telling me if they are a fastidious, type A Mr. Murry, or a slovenly, free-spirited Thumbkin. Well, today I spent my time being Mr. Murry. I did my spring cleaning.
”Gasp! It’s late fall!” you say.
Yea, yea I know. But I told you, I’m really Thumpkin at heart. It’s tradition around here to do spring cleaning in the fall–every other year. I get by for months at a time doing only ”surface cleaning” (AKA relocating clutter to less conspicuous places and wiping the counters off). It just got to the point that I couldn’t ignore the dirt (crust, grime, grease) any longer. I cleaned my carpet, upholstery cleaned my furniture, and dusted every room top to bottom (aside from my sons’ room–that’s a hazardous waste zone and it requires a special suit to enter there). I’ve decided the best part of being Mr. Murry for a day is the afterglow. I get to lounge in my spotless house and bask in my temporary fastidiousness. I can take deep, cleansing breaths and not ask, “What’s that funky smell?” I only smell cleaning supplies and a pumpkin spice candle I lit to celebrate my new furniture (I’d forgotten my couch was such a pretty gold color).
But I wonder, what would be the best part of a Mr. Murry type being a free-spirited Thumbkin for the day? Is there a similar payoff? Seems to me they’d just come out the other side with a big mess. *Shrug*
In Mr. Murry and Thumbkin there is the mention of pumpkin cake. A couple of days ago I made a delicious pumpkin cake completely from scratch. I will post my recipe tomorrow. It’s not that hard to process fresh pumpkin if you know the secret (a wonderfully, lazy Thumbkin type secret).
I’ve gotten some very cute letters about the Mr. Murrys and Thumbkins of the world. One person sent me a note telling me which character her son was, and I loved that idea. So be sure to send notes about your kids too. Me? I’ve been blessed with three complete Thumbkin children. I do have one son who had a touch of Mr. Murry in him as a child (he obsessed on hand washing and having his socks on perfectly straight). He’s outgrown it though. It can be challenging to get Thumbkin kids to do any sort of chores. Where do you think they got it from?
Karma
Let me guess…David had a touch of Mr. M? Congrats on the clean house! I pulled my copy of Mr. Murry and Thumbkin out the other day to read. What a delight. I’m definately Mr. Murry!
HI Karma,
What a fun contest.
Sometimes I have to behave like a Mr. Murray with the kiddos since they are all thumpkins but it’s hard for them to take me seriously when they know I’m a thumpkin at heart too!
I wanted to share a link that I think you’ll enjoy. As you know the kidlit bloggers are doing a tour featuring Robert Snow snowflakes.
David Ezra Stein was featured today and writes about his snowflake and books.
http://hipwritermama.blogspot.com/2007/10/roberts-snow-interview-with-david-ezra.html
Sarah, actually the culprit is Michael believe it or not. It’s his tendency to ADD shining through I’m afraid. Now he just acts it out in less cleanly ways. Heh heh. David is cautious like Mr. Murry at times, but he’s definitely not clean. I guess he’s a little of both characters. In truth we probably all are more than we realize.
Roz, thanks so much for sharing that link. D.E. Stein is so talented. I just love Leaves! And you know what, I think all mothers have to succumb to being Mr. Murry here and there, else the household would fall apart.
K…