Tuesday, July 12, 2011

three (plus a whole bunch more) hours I won't get back.

Today is my little Bee's birthday.  I had a birthday related post to work on last night.  Instead, I spent three hours cleaning up this mess.  Three hours.  If I was going to clean for three hours, the bathrooms might have benefited from some attention. 

Before the crash and my scream:  This picture is last week, before this weekends two additional batches of jam.  (You see where this is going, huh?)



After the crash and my scream.


Thankfully I was the only one in the kitchen when it happened.  There was a bit of yelling, some crying and a bit of swearing.


I can't even describe the mess, the glass, the stickiness, the tears.  The shelf took out everything in it's way so I also lost a large fiesta-ware pitcher and a completed etsy order.  The glass went around both corners and down the hall.  Blueberry jam was down the walls and under and in every spot available.


Jam.  Chicken broth.  Corn.  Pickles.  Spaghetti sauce.  Jelly.  More jam.  Turkey broth.   Sticky peaches.  Relish. 


After two hours of cleaning, Hubby excused himself to finish up his work downstairs and I heard a word come from him that I haven't heard in years. The ceiling was leaking chicken broth.  The floor, the kids work table, the chairs.... all sticky with peach juice and chicken broth.   I may or may not have repeated the word. 

All of this cleaning happened with a swollen hand.  I was stung by a bee about two hours prior.  I was stung in the finger and I could hardly move my finger.  My entire hand was swollen tightly.  Every move made it ache.  I was singing in my head that song Have a Bad Day the whole time.  

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry. I thought about all the weight of the jars during yesterdays post, but then I kept thinking how pretty it was and how proud you had to be after all that hard work.
Good news, Bee's party is not today. Maybe you can just sit & watch the kids play.

Love Always,
Dad

Lacey (schoolhousefarm) said...

so sorry!! what a terrible thing. I'm going to learn from your post, so thank you for sharing! It was beautiful and it's bad enough to lose all that hard work, but to have to clean it up...stink. i hope you're not too discouraged! this will be a very funny story to tell--in a few years!

Sandy said...

Oh no..... how horrible!! All of that work... and now this. I hope you have a much better day today :)

Unknown said...

Eek!!! Oh my. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Those things are not fun to deal with at all :( Hopefully today will be a better day!

Sara said...

That totally stinks Beth! I'm so sorry. I can only imagine the frustration, not to mention the food/money/time wasted in the mishap. I was wondering about the weight of the shelf after yesterday's post, but, I thought it looked so pretty, too. Hugs!

Kim said...

I'm so sorry, what a lot of effort, and then a big clean-up.

Hoping for a better day soon!

Kelly said...

I am so sorry!

jess_hak said...

OHHHH NOOO!!!! I am so sad for you :( I actually have tears in my eyes. All that work growing and canning....and then all that work cleaning. PLUS the bee sting??!! Man when it rains it pours. My mouth is still seriously hanging open. And yes, thank God no one was seriously hurt.

I would've said quite a few choice expletives....and then I would've sent the kids outside so I could say some more.

I really think that you should treat yourself right this second to a huge juicy burger and a enormous bowl of ice cream (or whatever else you like to eat)....stick in something you can zone out to or laugh to.

So sad friend....

Sugarbug Boutique said...

I am so glad little lou and bee were not in the room when this happened and glad you weren't hurt. If you need a few extra hours of cleaning to catch up you can honestly bring the kiddos over tomorrow afternoon.
You have a beautiful garden and I am sure you will have the shelf filled in no time. Talk to you soon!

JoAnna said...

I dont' know how I missed this post! I commented on the one where you showed all of the things on the shelf and then skipped this one. I can only imagine the fury and disappointment! Chikcen broth dripping through the floor. It's not funny, but it is. It's like the contents of someone's stomach just opened there on the floor. I am so sorry you had to see all of you work go into the trash!! And I know how badly blueberries stain!!!!

Laura@HeavenlyHomemakers said...

I don't even know what to say. What a terrible mess and all those broken jars and wasted efforts on your part and frustration and....

I could cry just looking at it. So glad you've got it all cleaned up and have such a good attitude about it all.

Sniff....