Cottage cleanup

Spindrift

    I went back to Manzanita last weekend to clean Spindrift, the library cottage.  The building has been in almost constant use  by library staff since the 1920s.  The cottage is rented for a nominal fee ($65-$75 per night), for Friday through Sunday or Monday through Thursday nights.   Each renter is required to clean well after her stay.  So the cottage is continuously occupied and theoretically cleaned a hundred times a year.  Nevertheless, Spindrift is a century- old wooden building on a small rise above the beach on the Pacific.  Like any centenarian, it has  needs.  We set aside two weekends per year for cleaning, repairs,  and upkeep.

Sami

     There is a lot of competition to reserve nights at the cottage.  Anybody who is over 21 and has a permanent job with the  library can rent the cottage, as can retirees.  There are about currently about 500 people working for the library system.  Not everybody is interested in Spindrift. Some come from families that have houses at the coast.  Some cannot spare the time off or the rental fee; some don't have  transportation.  Some don't want to do without TV.  And some object to vacations where they have to cook and clean for themselves.  But those who love the cottage love it, and enter a drawing three time per year (winter, spring, and summer) to reserve time there.  Participating in the cleanup weekends by cleaning for 6 hours gets you a coupon  for priority in the drawings.

Don with scale model of cottage

     Can you clean for 6 hours in one day?  Neither can I, so I planned to work at it  on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.  It's a 2 -hour drive through dairy farmland and over the Coast Range to Highway 101 south.  All  the way there I listened to the CD that my brother -in -law had made me, Weepies and Gospel, a great combination combination.  I also prayed that the younger cleaners had left some stand-up jobs to be done.
     When I got there, tall Matt Yakes was on a ladder cleaning and oiling the wood ceilings.  Washing the insides of the windows (one of my favorite jobs) had been done, but I  got to work cleaning out the pantry, cabinets and drawers.  Sami and Don arrived, Sami to arrange for repairmen  and Don to do special projects.

Tasha, children's librarian

Travis washing outside of windows

    Sami, Don, and I spent the night. Don is a model railroader, and he brought out some  articles about my Uncle John that he was saving for me.  After we had watched the sunset and eaten dinner, Don got out his electric blue Stratocaster and played what he calls geezer music.  We sang along, "Run- run -run- run -runaway."   Sami is writing a book about the history of the cottage,  and  I have  done some research into the early days of the property. We  got into long discussions about the fascinating romance of Mary France Isom's daughter Berenice.
   On Monday morning reinforcements arrived.  Travis tackled the outside of the windows, and Tasha scrubbed the fireplace screen before started in on the yard.  Galen and I put in new shelf paper.  Then I left to drive home, singing all the way.