I've managed to accomplish the nearly (or not so nearly) impossible task of cleaning out my linen closet. This project started when I was awed by the pristine sight of my DIL's closet in her Dallas home. She claims it was just recently organized, but even that is a failed feat for me. Cleaning and keeping clean usually lasts about 2 hours before the old flotsam and jetsam start creeping back into my life.
OK - from the beginning - This is the only major closet designated for linens that came with the house. I have found other storage areas that would boggle your mind, but this is the first place someone would look for the towels, sheets and other Martha Stewart stuff a home is supposed to have. Well, the mother of all invention managed to cram all sorts of things into this little space and now was the time to find out what's really a can't live without and what's just a wannabe.
First, everything was pulled out - and it was no surprise to find that I had enough Ace bandages, heating pads and boxes of bandaids and antibiotic ointments to supply the local hospital. My husband is an enthusiastic do-it-yourselfer and the bathroom is the ER of the house. Next came the full sized sewing machine and all sorts of basic pillows etc. that will someday be used in a room make-over project. I also found spare curling irons and hairdryers (designated as back-ups to a completely necessary pull-together effort) and also jars and tubes of disliked gels, sprays and other girly things. The top shelf was kept for table linens and placemats, napkins and tea towels. But the real puzzler was how I managed to cram in layers of serving dishes and trays - each one having to be removed in order to use the one underneath it. (The top one is never the one you want!) I put all of these in the adjoining bedroom and began the cleaning process. Next, what stays and what goes...decision time of the greatest magnitude. Linens stay, of course, and also the ER equipment (in an emergency you don't want to take a memory test as to where things went - at least not in my house. I mean really, do you know how many special needs bandaid products are out there?) The sewing machine looked like a keeper because there literally is no place left in the house large enough to store it, especially in lieu of the fact that it is the third machine I own and used only for upholstery projects, of which I have none. I parted with the extra hair products, electrical and gooey, since I'm moving toward the more natural look but the table linens and Martha things did deserve their own shelf, so they got the nods up.
From there, it just became a matter of putting everything back into its new place. Did I mention that this closet is only 30" wide with 4 shelves? No problem - (my old husband used to say that I could hide anything as long as it went someplace with a door on it...Did I also mention that he wasn't much fun?)
Well, it's done and I only wish I could send a picture along with this article because Martha S. would be so impressed - assuming she admits to reading by blog. Take my word for it, this closet is a thing of beauty and it has been this way for a week. I feel as if my work here on earth is finished - except -
All of the things no longer being stored in the linen closet are now resting under my bed, sewing project supplies and faux crystal serving pieces. It's like sleeping in Macy's inventory basement at night! So, my next project.....

A Book Meme tag -
A couple of weeks ago, just as I was leaving for my wonderful trip to Dallas, Candace tagged me for a book meme. It's only now that I've had time to think about all the books in my life, so if it's not too late -

One Book That Changed My Life - Simple Abundance by Sarah Breathnack. This book was recommended to me by a stranger in a store and I wish I could thank her for her suggestion.

One Book I've Read More Than once - Gone With the Wind, the book that convinced me I'm a Southerner in my heart. And I kept thinking if I reread it, Scarlett would look up at the right minute and see true love in Rhett's eyes. Did I mention I was very young when I first read it?

One Book I'd Want on a Desert Island - The Book of Common Prayer (especially the 1928 version) - for the serenity it would inspire. In a world and a faith that is in a state of chaos, it's literature and rituals are neverchanging.

One Book That Made Me Laugh - We've Been Through So Much Together (And Most of it Was Your Fault) by Ashleigh Brilliant - Brilliant Thoughts to guide and galvanize you on your journey through life. Author of I May Not Be Totally Perfect, But Parts of Me Are Excellent.

One Book That Made Me Cry - Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell. An unbearably realistic story of how terrible a war can be.

One Book I Wish You'd Written - Applique - 12 Easy Ways by Elly Sienkiewicz

One Book I Wish Had Never Been Written - Cape Fear Rising by Philip Gerard. An account, based on fact, of an uprising in Wilmington NC that was begun by the whites and forced almost all of the blacks living and working in the city to leave to avoid being massacred. It is a mark of shame on the city and the south and had to be written, but it should never have happened.

One Book You're Currently Reading - Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi

One Book You've Been Meaning to Read - 13 Moons by Charles Frazier

There it is - better late than never!

The Epiphany on the Lighthouse Island
I've certainly talked alot about my experiences babysitting the Lighthouse, but I don't think I've ever gone into the epiphany that resulted from our week with the guests from hell. Oh, yes - they were guests because I had invited them and then extended the length of their visit from three days to over a week. By the time they left, I was ready to swim them to the main island on my back! Fortunately, the parks' boat picked them up and we waved them good-bye into the sunset.
After that, I had to face the fact that I had created the monster by not recognizing how many times I bring 'clutter' into my life by using the words - I should and I have to.
Let me define clutter - it's anything that makes you unhealthy, unhappy, uncomfortable or just plain cranky. It usually comes into your life by invitation, but sometimes it just seeps under the door like that pesky tree dust and you don't know it's there until you are sweeping out the debris.
With that realization, I examined how many times in the past I had allowed the 'clutter' to stay with me - compounding the problem by making the clutterers more important than me and allowing the woozy side of me to accept the unacceptable. (This is usually followed by on 'oh, well..and then the imfamous 'I should or I have to' or even -'I have no alternative'. Yikes!
So, the second epiphany - with every difficult decision to act comes three options. (The number of options is an individual thing, but I liked three). They may be outrageous, practical or seemingly selfish by ther peoples' standards - but I pick the one that works for me...and follow through. Hey! The world doesn't end, nobody turns green and its humiliating to hear how many times the others react with a simple 'oh,ok'. Is this liberating - or what? And here's the third epiphany - I come first because I deserve the best! And I fill my life with the best - family, friends, activities etc. without any suggestion of 'shoulds or have tos'.
I know I won't change - we never do, but at least now I recognize when I'm going to walk into clutter and I run, not walk, to the nearest exit.
So, borrow my mantras if you like or use an old one from my husband. He would get up in the morning, open the bedroom drapes and say (rather loudly) "Look out, world - I'm going to knock you on your ass!" OK - that works, too.

word of mouth

Do you ever have a blog-feeling that you are giving a speech in an empty auditorium?

I enjoy watching 'Dancing With the Stars' on TV (although the 2nd night drumroll suspense is a little contrived.) For starters, where else could you find a way to like Jerry Springer? But, I'm reminded of the old saw about the power of a woman, who performs as well as her male partner while wearing high heels and dancing backwards. I'd like to see the men dressed in the flimsy outfits held together by tape, glue, and, I swear to god, tattooed patterns (while recovering from the obligatory bikini wax job). However, its fun to watch and since it hasn't included any violence, sex, nudity or profanity - it's a cut above the rest of the seasons' offerings.
And while I'm at it - if it's tough to dance backward in an outrageously uncomfortable outfit - try being a 'lefty' in a right-handed world. Think about it!

The deer are back - a welcome sight since all of the home construction and clear cutting of lots have frightened off many of our field animals. The woods behind out house were home to a resident bobcat, several deer families and other smaller critters. The bobcat hasn't been seen for about a year, making the lives of the feral cats much safer.
But, the deer are back - standing in the backyard for what seemed like a nanosecond and then running back through the woods to the next open space. I think it was checking out my hawthorne bush - one of its dinner delicacies. Still there, still tempting.....
Last year, one of our more unwelcome guests was a large black/brown bear. Viewed from the house it looked about 10' tall and easily 1000#. In reality, I guess 7' and maybe 400# would have been closer to the truth. We had heard stories of this bear visiting all the backyards around us and destroying birdfeeders while he ate all the available seed. We didn't realize we were next on his hit list until a neighbor called to say he was at our feeder, about 10' from the house. This was just past dusk, and looking out at this overgrown Pooh, lolling against my red oak tree, licking his chops over the finch food, was an experience! Safe in our house, we could admire him as a picture of complete relaxation as he snacked on our seed. Except for a missing TV set, he could easily be mistaken for my brother-in-law finishing up his Thanksgiving dinner. But, when he decided to amble toward our screened-in porch, possible to tear the screens and gain access to the house, my neighbor decided to act. Bringing out his pistol (he is a retired police officer), he fired into the air, scaring the bear away and driving half of our neighborhood to their telephones. As big as this bear seemed, he had a good track record as a runner, and that was the last we have seen of him in the area.
The next day, the animal control officer visited us, to make sure the bear hadn't been hit or hurt by the gun. Left to themselves, a bear will not bother humans. Barking dogs on a leash may seem threatening, but humans staring at him during his dinner hour won't bother him a bit. In fact, one of my neighbors tried to take a frontal picture without too much success until, by tapping at the kitchen window to get his attention, he caused the bear to amble up to the window, look in to see what was causing the noise, and the camera recorded a great picture of a very puzzled looking bear. But, a bear that's been hurt can become very aggressive. Since we could reassure the officer that the bear left here in good condition, we were only given a verbal warning about any future 'firing of an instrument that would sound like gunfire.'
So - the bear is gone and the deer are back...hopefully to stay for awhile, or until their homes are demolished again as we continue to become their uninvited backyard visitors.

I belong to a knitting group that meets once a week at our local yarn shop (LYS). In return for purchasing our yarn at this store, we have the use of an attractive room and the expert help from our friendly yarn lady. There's about a dozen of us, sometimes less, and we range in experience from beginner (me) to yarn artist - from Oops! to Wow! In the course of our last get-together, I happened to mention the Amish Mistake. No one knew about this - so I continued:
I first heard of this during my quilting lessons, probably to offset the frustrations of manipulating fabric that didn't want to be put in those positions. It seems that the Amish, known for their beautiful handmade quilts among other things, always put a planned mistake into every one of their endeavors. Their faith proscribes that only God can make something that's perfect, so each mistake is an admission of His superiority.
It's a charming thought, and I try to apply it to all of my other efforts. Someone once said - "We strive for excellence, not perfection." Nice to know that life has given us all that wriggle room. Rock on!

word of mouth