Decluttering

I’ve filled my juried intensive poetry workshop to be held here in June.  I’m waiting for Ira to announce that’s it’s no longer open, on my website. I’m trying to get theaccepted poets into convenient lodging that each can afford.  Presently, we’re introducing ourselves in our private FB group.

We are decluttering whenever we get time as the house is full of 49 years worth of stuff – of course much we’ll keep as useful and/or attractive.  A few things I’ll keep out of sentiment, things that evoke dead friends like Elise and Dan.  But a lot of stuff is just there because it’s there.  I did go through books two years ago to make room on the shelves for books piled on the floor.  Some I’d read years ago and had no reason to reread [not Ullyses or Moby Dick] and some I’d never read and if I were honest, would never read – mostly books people sent me I had little interest in. 

 I began serious work on my office and bedroom right after New Years. It’s an ongoing chore or battle. This weekend we’re going at the bathroom and some of the kitchen cabinets.  That was partly prompted by the debacle of ruining a dish by adding ten year old green olives that were mushy.  Since then we went through one set of cabinets, but there are several to go. When we get to the hall closet, we’ll have to hire a van….

This week all the seeds we ordered that actually are in stock have come.  We sorted them into those that I’ll start inside [like tomatoes] from February till midApril; those that can be planted directly before the last frost [like spinach]; those that require warmer weather [like pole beans] and lastly seeds for succession [like more lettuce and arugola] or late summer/fall planting [like Chinese cabbage]. I have to figure out how to get the seeds that didn’t come from some other provider. Now I’m ordering a few perennials and summer flowering bulbs.

Even though it was very cold in the early half of the week, the sun was strong and Monday’s snow retreated. I wouldn’t say melted, since I think it mostly evaporated into the air rather than sinking into the frozen soil. I had lunch with a friend, Gigi, who brought Chinese take-out on MLK Day. People marched here but I can’t any longer– my bum ankle that makes walking painful and for any distance, impossible. I’m reading R.R. Martin’s prequel to the Fire and Ice, Fire and Blood. Not nearly as good.

The impeachment circus mostly depresses me.  The Repugs don’t care how much damage he has done and is doing – they only want to stay in power and please their very rich donors.  They despise the rest of us and want to punish us for not being rich.