Big Cleaning

So in Japan they have something at the end of the year called Big Cleaning. I like the idea--getting all squeaky clean before the New Year. But it is cold. And there are postcards to write and food to prepare. And some serious napping to be done.

I'm making an effort though.

Today I scrubbed the foyer, the front door, and then all the tiles outside. I swept away spiderwebs (and one giant dead spider), crunchy leaves, and loads of dirt.

Looky.

I even used my bowl of hot soapy water to wash the tanuki who sits by my door. Doesn't he look happy? I even gave him a new little mat to sit on.

The whole time I was doing all this scrubbing and wiping and sweeping and polishing, my little buddy...here's a picture of my little buddy:

...was working on his work of art, a hole.

The photo doesn't look too bad. I filled it in before I thought about taking a picture. And I really wish I had taken a picture of that dog grinning ear to ear covered in dirt from his paws to his belly. He promptly got a New Year's Big Cleaning Bath.

After that fun, we went shopping to buy all the special N. Y.'s food. And I picked up a hakusai that was so big it didn't fit in my fridge. So here it is, a nice addition to my clean foyer.

And there you have maybe the only good thing about not having central heat. Foyer's freezing.