Cleaning House

It seems as if every time I finish a book, I start cleaning. This time, it’s the office. Ye gods, but it’s awful. I mean, awful as in a narrow deer path from door to computer desk. Piles of stuff on the desk. I’m seriously thinking the only way to really clean out this place is to do it the Clean Sweep method. Just empty this room, sort, toss, re-organize, and then bring back only the necessary things.

Most of it is office stuff, but part of it is fiber--yarn, rovings, bats, fleece, parts for the spinning wheel. It’s a small room--8 x 9 feet, I think, but surely there is a way to store the fiber and such, plus have room for my books. Dare I say it? I might, might, might get rid of some books.

Oh horror! Oh, woe! My precious, precious books! To take them from me is to tear out my heart, nay, my soul!

On the other hand, when certain books collect a rather thick layer of dust, chances are good the tearing isn’t going to be all that painful. There are of course certain ones that I’ll keep--the primary source material on the Regency will probably stay, but I think I’ll get rid of some of the costume books, since I pretty much have the clothing styles memorized by year. I’ll keep my Riverside Shakespeare, of course, because all English-speaking households should have a copy of Shakespeare (or at least a book that contains notable quotes from Shakespeare) somewhere about, in my humble opinion. Reference books, such as the Chicago Manual of Style...but I’m thinking I might just get rid of some of my writing books. Twenty Master Plots, for example. I think I can say I haven’t opened that book in perhaps a decade. It’s pretty obvious looking around this room that I haven’t read through Organizing for the Creative Person by Lemkuhl and Lamping, but maybe I should give it another try.

Ugh. The more I think of getting rid of books, the more I can feel myself dragging my feet. It must be done, however. Really, there are more than a few of my books that I haven’t looked at for years. If I can just clear out one bookcase--which I am sure I can do if I try hard enough--I can use the shelves for my fiber stash. (I know there are fellow fiber and craft addicts out there who doubt I can do it, but I am strong! I will prevail! I will also get rid of some of my stash--shudder--on eBay. That will help.)

Finally done!

So in January I stopped blogging, thinking I’d get the book done in a few weeks, but NO, it’s been months. Still Midnight Surrender is DONE at last, so that’s good. Little did I know that there were... big adjustments involved in surgical crone-hood.

Still, the book is indeed done, and I’m going to take a little break before I plunge into the next one. I do have an idea for it--the heroine is an Irish banshee (Bean Sidhe) and the hero is an English werewolf. She won’t be the spirit who goes screaming at people’s doorsteps whenever death is nigh, but she will be the wise woman of her village (Bean Sidhe also means a wise woman who has certain spiritual/faerie gifts) who is knows when people are about to die, and has flashes of “sight” here and there. She’s psychic, in other words. Think of the TV show, Medium. Kind of like that.

And, I think I’m going to try a different writing method. A bit more structured than my “fly-in-the-mist” one that I’d been using ever since the beginning. Time to learn new things, try a different approach. With luck, it’ll help me write faster, too.

But first, a break. Read a book or two, do some knitting, spin some yarn. I already have some hand-spun yarn up on eBay at the moment; there’s one that’s all wool, made from Lorna’s Laces wool roving, but the rest are a combination of wool and silk, and there’s even one that’s made of wool, angora rabbit fur, and silk. Very soft! I’m probably going to post another couple of sets of handspun yarn in the next few weeks as well. There’s one I’m winding into skeins that’s of medium-textured wool, but it’s very elastic and should be perfect for some sturdy socks.

Trying to figure out what I’m going to read next...I think I’ll see if Patricia McKillip has any new books out. If so, whether it’s in hardback or paperback, I’m buying it. She’s an autobuy for me; ditto Charles de Lint.

So, anyway, I’ll see if I can pop in here again and post something...but right now, I’m feeling pretty lazy.