Just As Father Christmases Clutch Onto Chimneys, So Women Lean Out Of Windows.

A well established pre-Christmas tradition.

It dawned on me yesterday morning, as I was coming back from my weekly walk with the gals, that one of our Eisenberger's was dangling precariously out of her window. Goodness me, apart from anything else, it was minus 3 degrees...

Once my eyes had adjusted to this strange sight, I noticed a cloth and spray bottle in her hand, which explained her winter madness. A bout of window cleaning or in the traditional terms: A Christmas Spruce Up before the family comes over for Christmas.

Isn't it funny how we want to impress a twice or thrice removed relative more than ourselves? It's not as if they'd come over for Christmas lunch with white gloves to test for dust...

Walking home along the street, which is ours too, I noticed a lot of sparkling clean windows which one can only imagine being the tip of the cleaning ice-berg mania. Naturally, there were a few windows sans sparkle and they happen to belong to Bob and I!

As the saying goes - in for a penny, in for a pound - there was nothing for it but to join this craze. After breakfast, I took out a bucket, filled it with hot soapy water and complete with chair, proceeded to our windows. Mausi quite correctly thought I was mad yet despite it all, she followed me faithfully along the window gallery. At least I had company.

Honestly, cleaning windows in Winter shouldn't be allowed. The inside of course, but cleaning the outside of it at minus 3 degrees isn't for the faint of heart. Some of our windows delightfully grace the front of the house, the front which is along the lane and to be frank, I hovered over those a bit longer in the hope someone would bear witness to my domestic diva qualities and share it at the weekly card round.

So far the sun has decided to grace other parts of the world and a Hitchcock like grey has been hovering for the last few days. In a way I am rather glad because I know from experience that as soon as the sun's rays throw their glow onto our windows, the streaks appear. Cleaning windows spotlessly isn't so easy. Perhaps I should practice more...

Biggi