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I know this is going to sound stupid but a church friend of my mother's wants to come to the house to give her a pie. She hasn't been to church for a month because of foot surgery and is doing well. She has been going there for almost 2 yrs and this is the first time anyone has wanted to come by. My problem is we have a total of 8 little dogs in the house, 2 are my mother's. I already have a friend over today to help me with cleaning. This woman just called up this AM and wanted to come over. I hate drop bys. I can't keep the house spotless all the time for people to just drop by anytime they want. Between mother and the dogs all I do is clean, it's like chasing my tail, lol. Its' a small town church and I know this is probably a "spy" mission. I am all frazzled about this. I try to keep things as clean as I can, I am 53 and back surgery a few months ago. Keeping mother clean is my main priority so I don't care if there are some dishes in the sink, at least mom is clean. I just don't want to be judged. Would appreciate any advice about making house smell fresh and not just like bleach which I use a lot.

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haha this is where you throw an apple or an orange and some cinnamon in the toaster oven and let the smell permeate the room. And let the 8 little dogs yap and sniff her butt so the spy doesn't stay long. LOL
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Our other friends know how it is at our house. With 8 dogs someone is always throwing up,bringing in the latest thing the cats killed, just rolled in something not even CSI could identify.We keep a large amount of paper towels,spray cleaner, dog shampoo etc. We are dog lovers,I just don't know what this woman's views are on dogs. Some people would freak out if they knew we let them sleep with us. My mother would call the police if I didn't let her dogs sleep with her, they are her babies. Thanks for all the great ideas. I actually found an air freshener that is supposed to smell like cinabons.Let you know how it works out.
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Hold on their Stefani,just a minute. I take it you are not an animal person. I most certainly take care of what is important,And 2 of those little dogs are my mother's and she would call the police on me if I tried to take away her 4lb yorkie and 8lb shi Tzu. We live on a mini farm, also have 2 cats and 2 horses and 7 acres. These are little dogs and loved very much. I would adopt you out before them. Also studies have shown that children that grow up with dogs have less allergies, me being one of them.Just glad that people like you are in the minority. People that don't like animal,something just is wrong with them and in your case you seem judgemental and intolerant.However, I will give you a pass as I have no idea what your circumstances are. And lastly, some of the nastiest creatures on god's earth are human. I would never worry about getting HIV or hepatitis from a dog. If you continue to come to this site I am afraid you will be outnumbered by the animal lovers on this site. Sometimes these little fellows are all that help our sanity, and the sanity of our elderly loved ones. Sometimes my mother wouldn't even try to exercise if it weren't for her dogs that she insists on taking outside herself, they keep her motivated.Oy , some people in this world, glad you aren't my neighbor.This house is cleaner that a lot of NH where my mother would be exposed to MRSA and god knows what else.Good grief woman ,calm down, have a milk bone.
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I saw a posting on Facebook yesterday that said, "I just sprayed fruited-scented Febreeze in my bathroom. Now it smells like sh*trus." LOL, I thought that was so true! Just boil some cinnamon/cloves on your stove for a short time and enjoy the visit. If she's an animal lover, she'll understand. If she isn't, she isn't worth worrying about in my opinion! Good luck!!
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You are doing a great job and don't need to worry about what your visitor may think. Try to visualize her intentions as only the best, and enjoy the pie! You and your mother may develop a new friendship.
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Vanilla is great. Cinnamon is good. When I was selling the house I put vanilla in the air dispenser. The first person bought the house! Vanilla is a loved smell. If you can find Refresh air spray in the store with a vanilla smell, it is very good. The rose and Thai dragon are also good, but they smell like air fresheners.
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To complicate things one of our dogs is sick and we have to go to the vet in about 30 minutes so mother's hair appointment had to be cancelled. Oh brother that didn't go well. I have always dropped what I was doing for her dogs to go to the vet so I am not feeling guilty about her d---mn hair.I will bairly be able to get back and clean up some more for the "pie" lady.My back is killing me, my dog is sick and mother is worried about her hair(doesn't had AD or dementia,just a narcissist).I told mother after this if anyone wants to visit her I will gladly drive everybody to a restaurant,pay for everything but I am not having a bunch of other old ladies coming to the house,herd all 8 dogs into one bedroom with my poor husband to babysit so these women can ooh and aah over mother's china.Thank god the MD cleared her to go back to church,she had foot surgery and it is doing well.Keep your fingers crossed for me and hugs to everyone. Oh, I found an air freshner that is CINNABON smelling. I figured why cook it if I can spray it.
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I guess they were CM because I haven't heard from them since. It was a spy mission. They wanted to get into the house. Also when I check on my mother's checking account it appears she had been quite generous with her money to this little church. She didn't go for about a month because of footsurgery and that's when I get a phone call about how this woman from the sunday school class wanted to visit and then the day of the visit it turned into 3 woman wanted to visit. The food they brought was so obviously thrown together as an excuse, h*ll I know bad cooking when I see it because I am a bad cook.They wanted to know why she wasn't there writing those checks,didn't say it out loud but I knew.I sorta felt sorry for mother, they just wanted in the house,she has some beautiful china and they oohed and yaahed over it , but it was those checks they were really missing. Well they will still be missing them as I had a long talk with her.Tithing is fine, but who knows what the economy will be even in a year and what her health will be, I told her I needed that money to pay home aides ,health care supplies ,possibly a special bed for her if she wanted to stay out of a nursing home but that is my goal, to keep her out of a nursing home. I am a retired nurse and I know what is needed to take care of someone that is bedridden. That is the usual reason when families have to put someone in a NH when they become bedridden, but if I am able to hire health aides so I can leave the house , sleep at night and help me with bathroom and hygiene issues she won't need to go to a NH. I don't see anyone from that church helping us at all. It is a very small town church.
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I say I say I say! - my dog's got no whiskers…

Then how does he feel?

etc.

CG, that takes me back! We used to do rounds of all those lovely old music hall jokes over a curry - those, and the "my wife's gone to the West Indies" - "Jamaica?" - "No she went of her own accord!" ones…

Boom boom! Oh happy times.

Tex, how did the visit go in the end? Was the Church lady satisfied?!
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If the do-gooders call again, perhaps you can let them know permanently that they won't be receiving checks by telling them you're making advance plans for your mother and wonder if any of them have nursing or aide experience and would be willing to assist with housekeeping, hygience, driving to medical appointments, etc. You might not have to worry about them after that.

It really offends me that people are so snoopy; and I do think you're right - they wondered why the cash flow had stopped.
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