As a perennial procrastinator I sheepishly admit that some years my Spring cleaning doesn’t get done until Autumn. This year, however, I promised myself extra chocolate if I accomplished these tasks in a timely fashion.
I toiled away at these mundane chores for two months. I noticed Henri was conspicuously absent for several hours every day. (As usual!) He even put Porthos on guard duty for an extended time.
One day as I was putting away some cleaning supplies I saw Henri furiously writing page after page at his desk. Several crumpled sheets of paper littered the floor. When I inquired as to what he was writing, he explained that he had been chosen to give a Gned Speech at the local Gnomic Lodge. Gnamed after Gneddly Gnomington IX, Gned Speeches became very popular in the gnineteenth century. Gnomington spoke on a variety of subjects; often to standing-room-only crowds. (Very similar to today’s TED Talks.) Henri was worried as he clearly had big, (er, small) shoes to fill.
Henri was rather nervous on the day of the presentation. He had obtained a special pass for me to enter the Lodge. Humans are rarely admitted to the Gnomic Lodge and I was the first mermaid to attend a meeting. The Gnomic Hall was buzzing with excitement as everyone took their seats. My seat was at the back of the room, because for once, I was the tallest person in the room.
Henri introduced his topic; Gnomic Influence in Architecture. The audience gnodded approval. Henri had made a slide show of the six buildings about which he chose to speak. Obviously, gnomes have had a sizeable impact on architecture all over the world.
There was thunderous applause at the end of his speech. Henri beamed with pride. Then we all went out for ice cream. And that is how Henri avoided Spring cleaning yet again!
©Morgaine du Mer 2019
To read about more of Henri’s exploits:
https://magickmermaidstudio.com/the-gnome-and-i-short-stories
MagickMermaid 
IMHO, preparing for a Gned speech is an acceptable reason for escaping the chore of spring cleaning 🙂
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True! But now he will invent an excuse every year! 😀
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Haven’t you got a gnome to go to?!
That gag was brought to you by The National Elf Service
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I should have gknown you would take his side 😀
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That’s one way to talk yoursELF out of spring cleaning Henri. Formidable ! 🙂
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Merci pour le compliment! 😀
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Clever chap indeed!
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With everyone cheering him on, I’ll never get him to help! 😀
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I’m glad Henri’s speech went well!
You should do what I do with Spring cleaning each year and just not bother 🙂
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That’s exactly what I usually do! 😀
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I can clearly see that Henri was at the height of his gnomic powers during his speech. Please offer him my congratulations… as you hand him a dust rag! It’s gnever too late for spring cleaning! 😀
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hehehe! Great idea! 😀
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I see Henri is really on to something here… 🙂
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He will do anything to avoid cleaning! 😀
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I’m about 20% finished with spring cleaning. But today I looked over my efforts and things are dusty again already.
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I’m having the same problem! I think if I collected all the dust and put it in one place I could make my own private island 😀
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So, you bribed yourself with chocolate to get the cleaning done. Hmm, I wonder if that would work with Connie? I’m more like Henri myself. There’s nothing like an important presentation to put cleaning on the back burner. After all, we have to keep our priorities straight.
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The back burner needs cleaning every now and then so I must bribe myself with chocolate! 😀
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gnineteenth! 🙂
It should always be spelt like this, MM!
xo
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hehe! I should probably design some gnomic calendars! 😀
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