Time has really gotten away from me. I was so worried about this semester and whether I could possibly endure it and there are only 48 school days left! I shouldn't waste time worrying. I had every intention of keeping this a daily blog, but alas, I really haven't posted consistently since Christmas break.
The big news is that I am finally able to keep the counters clean int he kitchen. This is a big feat because they are magnetized with not your ordinary magnets....oh no, these magnets collect EVERYTHING. It doesn't have to be metal, it can be fiber, paper, especially USMail and junk flyers...AND these magnets have the added ability to become three dimensional because a single layer of stuff will become a foot high tower of stuff in just a few days. This transformation must happen in the late afternoon when Dennis is snoozing in his chair. I know he leaves the doors unlocked and I'm suspecting the garden gnomes are at least accomplices if not the actual culprits. I didn't notice this counter attack until I started leaving them out in the snow. And they look so innocent. Yeah right. Anyway, with much yelling, sulking and cleaning in my jammies instead of hauling myself to campus the mission was accomplished.
(I hate this computer....it's an Acer 17" and I bought it because it was cheap and had a HUGE monitor, but the wrist rest is so touchy that it will occasionally just throw the cursor all over the place and I just lost an entire chunk of this post......arghhhhhhh!)
Anyway, some of the books I've been reading include:
Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper
The Gift of Imperfection by Dr. Brene Brown
I thought it was just me also by Brown (not yet read but at the top of the pile)
The Writer's Diet: Write Yourself Right Sized by Julie Cameron
The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Vorhees
The Quiltmaker's Gift
Have purchased The Artist's Way but haven't read it yet
Purchased for Dennis: Two Volumes on Genesis
Heaven is for Real
Purchased for Kelly: The First Born Advantage
Volunteered to sort books at the WBST radio station for their upcoming book sale. THAT was like sending a drunk into a brewery. I couldn't believe the cool books that people donated. It was amazing. It's probably a good thing I won't be here for the sale.
The door to my Studio was frozen shut for about 2.5 weeks. The eaves drip straight down and that created such a mound of ice that it was unchippable. Finally, out of desperation it dawned on me to haul out 3 gallon buckets of hot water. After about 6 trips I was able to break through and get inside. I have a huge list of creative projects and I hope, someday, to pare those down so they somewhat resemble the kitchen counters....cleaned off and ready for the next great thing instead of the list hanging over my head like an avalanche. I'm thinking more and more about bowing out of the couture discipline entirely and focusing on quilts and crafts instead of clothing. That will be a big part to amputate, but maybe it's been festering for quite a while and it's time to do some critical analysis and let that division go. I'll have to make that announcement official later.
I started pulling the wallpaper out of the back bathroom about a month ago. Since James is currently unemployed I asked if he was available for hire. He said that he was and got off of the top later removed that day. (I had just removed what I could reach while waiting on the water in the shower to warm up.) I hope to paint and get a new sink/cabinet and medicine cabinet and lighting from IKEA this spring. That should brighten up that bathroom for very little investment.
James and Holly have been coming over a couple of times each week to watch TV and just chill. We have a full freezer and SINCE THE KITCHEN IS CLEAN, I really don't mind cooking. Holly made dessert one evening when I had a headache and Kristen made her first cookies from scratch last night. I'm losing a little weight (but definitely not gaining) from home cooking. I think that eating out is the debil!!!! Gnaps have come over as a family on Sundays and that's been a fun mad house!! I've gotten to keep the grandkids individually for at least one round. They are excellent at keeping track of whose turn is next to go to Granny's. I really really enjoy having them over.
Dennis is coming out of a winter funk, but he still holds firm to his bibbed overalls and long underwear and lovely highway-cone-orange hoodie. I hope that at some point in his life he can recover some of his old self. I don't know if the change is from medication, transplantation or just the inevitability of aging. Whatever it is it isn't fun for anyone. He did surprise us last night with a silent television and an evening of reading.
That should be enough to catch up anyone who stumbles into this blog. I have the capability to have a wireless internet home sitting in a box on the buffet. When that happens perhaps blogging will not be a chore, but perhaps the key to Write Sized Living.....It could happen!
