Getting ready for company

Since Friday night, there has been a flurry of activity to get the house ready for my family to visit. Max has been such an enormous help and a really good sport about it all. Tidying up, making the bed in the guest room for my parents, inflating the airbed for my brother and making that bed, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, washing laundry, wiping down the cabinets in the kitchen, grocery shopping... and there's more, so much more I couldn't mention it all.

There have been lots of lists.

Last night was for vacuuming. With two cats in the house, usually that is left to the last minute in the hope that the house will look presentable when guests step in the door. Trust me, Sunday would have been too soon.

My cats, of course, are upset that not only have they been shut out of their favorite rooms (and room with a door has been closed to cut off the floating hairballs) but most of the open spaces, all of their hard work has been done. If you have cats, you know what I mean.

Tonight, after work and yoga, there will be baking. I need to make the crust for the Tomato Tart and the pie crust for the Icebox Blueberry Pie (from America the Beautiful Cookbook) for dinner on Friday.

I'm leaving work early on Friday so that I will be home in case they arrive early but also to get more grocery shopping done, assemble the Tomato Tart, and probably tidy up some more. In my wildest dreams I imagine that none of this needs to be done and that leaving work early means I can take a nap before they arrive. Ha! I'm exhausted already but who's counting.