Shaving a Yak, Once Again...

Whatever is biting me isn't fleas, or there would be fleas in the flea-trap, or so I am informed. No fleas in the flea-trap. Not fleas.

However, the anti-flea spray I am using, "Ortho Total Flea Control", works pretty well on whatever is biting me. One little problem remains. I need to spray the stuff absolutely everywhere if I want to solve my problem. This means that I have to do two things: move absolutely everything, and clean absolutely everything.

Progress is slow. Among other things, "no safe harbor" process must be observed. Start with one room, and clean out absolutely everything and treat every last corner. Allow time for the treatment to work, and when things are moved back in, they have to have been treated as well.

The nice new Bissell vacuum cleaner is getting quite a workout, as is the Dustbuster(tm). So is the sprayer full of bug spray. The laundry machinery is running pretty much non-stop and I will be washing everything washable that can be fit into the machines.

I'm asking myself one question over and over... "How the hell did I accumulate so much crap?".

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"Shaving a Yak" is a phrase with the meaning of finding one's self practically lost, buried within prerequisites.

Let's see: Washing all of my socks and underwear is a simple task, one would think. Yet this means that after emptying out all of the drawers in the IKEA dresser, I need to spray the insides of those drawers. This means that I first need to clean out the drawers. Removing the drawers brings to light the fact that the IKEA dresser set is about to fall apart, mostly because it wasn't assembled as well as possible.

I got this IKEA furniture from a nice lady named Dale, who used to be a near neighbor. She evidently got dog tired of the general area, and transferred back to Florida. She got me to haul a few loads of "stuff" to the dump, and told me that if I wanted the IKEA stuff, I could have it. I accepted her kind offer.

I did not yet understand one of the main facts about IKEA cabinetry. I understand it now, and decided to apply it today. Not to be totally sexist, but if women are assembling their own IKEA furniture, they should really use power tools such as electric screwdrivers or electric drills with screwdriver attachments. (Don't over-do it, or you can strip out the screw holes.)

So here I am, screwdriver in hand, tightening down the screws to make the IKEA dresser less of a rickety flopping thing, and more of a sturdy piece of utilitarian furniture, in blonde wood veneer, of course. Shaving a yak to get rid of bugs.

Having moved the dresser out of the closet, I have to get in there with a foxtail brush (bench brush) and dust down all surfaces. The ceiling, the walls, the light socket, the mop-boards, the slats of the closet doors. Now vacuum with edge tool, "turbo mini tool", and the full upright. Spray. Dust all surfaces of the dresser, inside and out. Spray drawer interiors. Move dresser frame to desired location. Insert drawers into dresser frame.

Now I have someplace to put the socks and underwear I just ran through the washing machine, letting them soak for 30 minutes in a splash of bug spray mixed into the detergent and very hot water. Now I can do another load.

All of this to clean and treat for invisible bugs? It's so worth it to me, so that I can get a sound night's sleep. A sound night's sleep means a lot to me. If I keep waking up because of bugs, and then trying to drift off, I will have really annoying dreams.

So why am I shaving the yak? Is it because of the damned biting arthropods, or is getting rid of those just another step in the yak-shaving process?

Well, must go for now... more laundry to do, more IKEA to tighten.

It's so damned much work -- though clearly long overdue -- just to get a good night's sleep.

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