Life After Death

I felt it only fitting to write this post now - at this time - coming out of the Easter holiday. 

I know I have not posted a blog or anything to my Facebook page for a while but this is because I recently suffered a great loss in my family - my youngest brother passed away - snatched from us too soon and too suddenly.

Following this tragedy I found it difficult to work, to write - to breathe. It's been a little over a month and the pain is as fresh as if I had only received the call today.

However, life goes on. And I must go on. And as a Christian I feel comforted knowing that Jesus conquered death so that we may have life eternal. And it is from this knowledge I draw my strength.

I know I sound sad - and I am. I think that this sadness will occupy the part of my heart that I had saved especially for him - alongside all the wonderful memories of his laughter, his smile and his love. But he was living proof that great things can come out of ANY bad situation - and I intend to follow his example of optimism.

So we press on because there IS life after death - and life goes on - even after the death of a loved one.

Fridge Placement 101

Here I was sitting at my desk trying to figure out what would be latest and exciting new 4H (Heavenly Hands Helpful Hint) to share with the world... AND I WAS STUCK!

So I look across at my husband and brother and asked what THEY thought should be the topic of my newest hint - pets, toys, storage? They rolled their eyes because they felt that all my hints were catering for women (hmm housework and women - what's the connection I wonder?). So my brother felt I should share about Refrigerator Placement!?!?

Until he said it I never knew that it mattered where you placed your fridge! I always thought that you placed it where it can fit and still allow you to have access to its contents. My brother went into GREAT  DETAIL about why and where one should place one's fridge. I have shortened this into the pretty little hint below.

Bottom line, proper placement of your fridge not only allows it to operate more efficiently - but it also extends the life cycle of your appliance!

So to my male followers out there - I hope you found this post more to you standards.

GO OUTSIDE!!!

I haven't written a blog entry for quite awhile. Reality is - trying to balance home and a new business whilst trying to create a social media presence is harder than I thought.

But no worries! I'm gonna play with my kids today! Cheers to the weekend!

Hope you enjoy yours too ;-)

Whap Cocoyea!

I spent the lat few weeks researching what folk remedies or traditions there are with regard to cleaning, and discovered two things. 

Firstly, from my research via the internet it would appear that the four major ingredients used to clean were vinegar, baking soda, lemon and salt! That will be another posting altogether.

Secondly, from my research interviewing our older local population those ingredients were seldom used at all! In fact the most popular tools or ingredients were a cocoyea broom, a scrubbing brush and blue soap! 

Today I will deal with the cocoyea broom.

The cocoyea broom is a broom made from the centre spine of the leaves from a coconut tree branch. These shafts or sticks are tied together and so make a broom. The average household would have two types of brooms - one soft (not very dry with the curls at the end) and one hard (very, VERY dry). 

The soft broom was used for cobwebbing and sweeping the (oftentimes) wooden floors of the home. However the broom could also be used quite safely on tiles and terrazzo floors. The hard one was used for scrubbing - mats, bathrooms and anything that needed a little pep and vigour. The brooms were also used to maintain the exterior of the house - so the yard, roof and walls of the house were also subject to the ministrations from the cocoyea broom.

However, there were other reasons that a cocoyea broom was so popular in the average home - apart from its duties as an essential household tool - it was also used for spiritual and disciplinary measures.

Many a Trini child would've found themselves at the punishing end of a cocoyea broom wielded by his mother, aunt, grandmother or godmother (or as we say here "he mudder, tantie, granny or nenen"). And of course the broom in question would NOT be the soft broom. 

Often times there would be a disciplinary ritual to be played out (and over seven of my interviewees confirmed this ritual). The child in question would be sent to fetch the broom before the punishment was administered - and this going to get the object of your punishment was used as a sort of torture or punishment in and of itself.

The man who found himself in the centre of a series of unfortunate events would also be subject to a beating from a cocoyea broom - administered most times by the self same individuals identified above - if it was home remedy. Sometimes the person would go off and find the nearest Obeah Man (witch doctor) who would use the cocoyea broom as part of the cleansing ritual to rid the person of bad luck. The Mighty Shadow (a local calypsonian) sang a humorous story about the ritual here.

However, if his mudder, tantie, nenen or granny found that things weren't going to well with Johnny she would decide to administer the home version of the ritual and would prepare herself by prayer and fasting and plan for the day of the beating.

It was always important that Johnny never knew of the plan and that he be caught off-guard - usually just as he entered the home. Then his mudder et al would subject him to a furious beating about his body after which he needed to take a cleansing bath - either in the sea or with blue soap - but that's tomorrow's post. 

Thank You!

Sometimes a little support goes a long way...

A lot of the times we don't know how that smile, that hug, that phone call can carry a person through the roughest of times. Sometimes I think we can underestimate or even take for granted the love and support we get from friends and family - even from our dedicated clients who stick with us and go through those teething problems with us - helping us to get it right.

I just wanted to take a little time out to say thank you to my supporters out there - especially Merrell, Priscilla, Michele, Melissa and Vanecia.

Thanks guys for taking time out to let me believe that the impossible CAN happen!

I hope the rest of you take time out to tell your favourite people "Thank You" for their love and support.

And if you didn't see your name here - don't worry you are in my heart.

There Is Only One Me!

For those of you who grew up on daily installations of Sesame Street - you will know that the title of this blog is really a song from (my favourite) childhood show. However for the month of March this phrase became my lament! To say March was hectic is like asking if the sea has salt!

Coming out of it I was reminded why HHCS came in to existence in the first place - we business owners need help! If only there was someone to take care of some of the little details of my life so I could just do my thing!

Well here's your chance guys - until April 30th, 2012 - business owners living in Trinidad have the opportunity to save on their First Time Cleanings with us.

I know it will not cure Cancer - but for a lot of us a clean home goes a long way :-).

After the Fete is Over

Carnival has just come to a close here in Trinidad and though I did not take part in the festivities – there is so much post-event cleanup to do.

Many Trinis who were not out on the streets taking part in the revelry would have chosen to go to a Carnival Camp, took a mini-vacation or may have fallen into the same category as I did – had friends and family over to your home for the entire long weekend.

For those of us in this category – I am sure that Ash Wednesday meets your home looking as if there was a World War fought – especially the bathrooms. Here are some great tips to quickly put your home to rights:

Woman At Work! Post Carnival Clean Up!

1. Call Heavenly Hands and set an appointment for us to do your post-Carnival cleanup! But seriously, here’s how to tackle what appears to be a mountain of work:
2. Go through your guest rooms and strip all the linens and leave your mattresses bare. Open the windows and give all the rooms a chance to air out.
3. If you had tons of nieces and nephews who were bunking with your progeny, let the progeny get involved. Have them strip their beds and open the bedroom windows before they leave for school ( if they are not going to school Ash Wednesday – or if you are saving this for the weekend – better for you – many hands make light work… and a hoarse voice).
4.  Once you have the bedrooms airing out – go straight for the bathrooms. Pick up all the mats that were in use over the long weekend and place them in the wash. Wipe all mirrors and clean the bathroom sink. Make a solution of bleach and water and use this to spray your shower walls – let this soak on the walls while you tackle your other tasks.  Clean out your toilet bowl. Sweep and mop your floors (you can use whatever is your favourite floor cleaner – I prefer those with that have a mild and pleasant scent).
5.  While waiting for the bathroom floors to dry, pop into the kitchen and do your dishes and wipe down the counter tops. Wipe down the refrigerator door, wipe out microwave and stove top (this is all that we are doing for now – a deeper cleaning can be done on the weekend). Sweep and mop those floors and go back to the bathrooms.
6.  In the bathrooms, rinse out your shower stalls from the bleach and water solution. Then place fresh mats on the floor. Go back to the bedrooms.
7.  In the bedrooms, place fresh sheets on the bed and sweep and mop the floors. And you are done!

This is by no means a deep and comprehensive cleaning – but I have found over the years that my entire home feels light and airy after I complete these tasks (and I have had up to 14 children ranging from ages 2 to 16 years in my home at the same time… and at least eight of them are boys!) And these tasks take no more than two hours of your time – three hours of your home is really large or really untidy.

But if you can’t see yourself going through all of this there is always point 1!