I had a wonderful idea for a blog post. I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes as I planned wonderful turns of phrase to support the wonderful idea. The next thing I knew I was waking up and I can’t remember what the idea was. Sigh. Either it will come back to me, or it won’t. I have far more ideas that I could possibly write anyway.

Today was a day for cleaning. We’d been running short on bookshelf space. I took a good look and realized that this was because a significant portion of space was given over to books that have lingered past their usefulness. I no longer need reference books on infant care. Nor do I need books about toddler craft projects. I might as well admit that I am never going to take the time to sew curtains from that book on window treatments. And those garden catalogs are at least 5 years old. I now have three boxes of books ready to donate to either the library or to a thrift store. Even better I have the space to sort the kid’s books in a much more useful way. We have a shelf for picture books, one for oversized books, one for easy readers and first chapter books, and one for YA books. Hopefully this will help the kids find the books that interest them instead of them constantly complaining that there is nothing to read. Now I need to do the same sort of cleaning out for my office bookshelves.

One of the realizations I’ve had to make as a parent is that my kids may not love the same books that I loved. Some books carry across generations very well, others I loved just because I found it at exactly the right moment in my life. My kids will find other books to love for those “exact right moments.” Some books just don’t get read until someone other than mom recommends them. I kept trying to get Kiki to read Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey. She just wasn’t interested, so I gave up. Then one day she hauled it home from her school library and devoured it. Apparently a librarian had recommended it to her. I have piles of books that I kept from my late childhood and teen years. They’re sitting quietly on the shelves waiting to be discovered by the next generation. But I can’t predict whether they will catch a child’s eye. All those Black Stallion books may remain to gather dust, but I’ll bet that A Little Princess and The Secret Garden get some more love. I hope that the Chronicles of Prydain are rediscovered. Shelved next to my old favorites are some of my new favorites. I did not have Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians, The Princess Academy, or Wee Free Men when I was young, but both I and my kids love them now.

Howard calling me while driving from the Mall to Dragon’s Keep: “I just had a moment of insight. Sometimes I call you because I’m bored and I don’t want to listen to the radio.”
Me: “You just now figured that out? I figured it out years ago when you always called me at conventions while you were headed to or from your hotel room.”
Howard: “Yeah. I just figured it out. You don’t mind?”
Me: “No. I suppose I could be offended that you only call me because you’re bored. Instead I choose to be glad that when you’re bored you want to talk to me.”

My friend Janci and her husband Drew have launched a new line of miniatures based on the Mistborn books by Brandon Sanderson. I got to see these little minis in all sorts of stages of development and I’m very impressed with the sculpting job that Drew did. Drew also did all the painting in that picture. His paint jobs are professional quality, because he is a professional who can be hired to do commission paint jobs on any mini the customer provides. The Misborn minis are available in Ready-to-paint, Finished Pewter, and Hand Painted varieties.

If you’re a fan of Miniatures, you should go take a look at Garden Ninja Painting Studio.

The book blogger She is Too Fond of Books wrote a lovely review of Hold on to Your Horses.

Yay!

Yesterday would have been a good day to run errands. There was no snow and the roads were clear. But yesterday I got the kids off to school and went back to bed because I was hoping to feel better when I woke up. I really wanted to plunge deep into sleep and wake up refreshed. Instead I skipped from dream to dream across the surface of sleep until I dragged myself out of bed on the other side of two hours. The rest of the day was better, if not exactly bouncy.

Today, not so good a day to run errands. Unfortunately many of the errands had reached urgent status. So I spent 90 minutes sliding my van across snow packed streets to get things done. Snow driving requires far more attention than regular driving. It also requires me to adjust my instinctive reactions to driving stimuli. I need to remember that when the brake pedal jitters, pushes back, and makes a grinding noise, that means the van is skidding and the anti-lock brakes are trying to help, rather than AGGH! Brake Failure! The correct response is to ease up and pump the brakes, not to smash the brake pedal harder. After 90 minutes of practice I think I’ve trained myself to remember that. Also using empty roads to practice skid management is a good idea. This way when I skid on a crowded road I can remain calm and I know what to do. Sledding down a clear hill on a sled is fun. Sledding down a hill in a van with obstacles to avoid, not so fun. Also, I don’t like ice that freezes to the windshield wipers. Never hurry while driving in snow. Hurrying in snow ends with CRUNCH. No crunch today. Yay.

Next up, the joys of snow removal.

Howard: Still love him. Makes me laugh. Takes care of many things so I don’t have to. Sometimes makes dishes and laundry that I have to clean up, but sometimes cleans up after me.

Kiki: Still enjoying junior high. Has figured out that a small application of effort on a daily basis is all that is necessary for her to achieve straight A grades. Still struggles with maintaining a regular sleeping schedule. Is sometimes too hard on her younger siblings. Takes care of her own homework and chores without me having to nag, (much). Recently figured out that hanging out with a friend after school is more fun than sitting at home mostly bored.

Link: Likes his teacher isn’t complaining about school. Still taking daily medication for ADD. Gets his work done in class most of the time. Is beginning to wrap his head around earning scout merit badges. Loves his once-per-week tumbling class, but could use more physical activity in general. Still highly motivated by all things video game. Still misses Bestfriend who moved away over two years ago, but has also started forming a bond with Newfriend here in the neighborhood and spends a good portion of his afternoons playing.

Gleek: Not real happy about school right now. Struggling to control herself and follow instructions during class. She often fails. The academics are easy for her, which may be part of the problem. Edit: after discussion with her teacher, it seems Gleek’s problem is not boredom, but rather that she gets too involved and resists switching. Loves her once-per-week gym class. Not so thrilled about the once-per-week piano lessons, but loves to pick out tunes on the piano. Will spend long periods of time reading. Has been listening to an audio book of Anne of Green Gables at bedtime.

Patch: Enjoys kindergarten. Proudly shows off his papers as soon as he walks in the door. Is a beginning reader able to blend short words with short vowel sounds. Loves to build with legos and draw. Needs to talk to sort his thoughts. Frequently has trouble settling down to go to sleep at night. Still gets up in the night to crawl into bed with us or with Kiki. Enjoys having half a day with no other kids in the house. Has friends living in both next door houses and in our backyard neighbor’s house.

Writing: I’m just getting started again after a 10 month hiatus. So far it is going slowly. Thursdays are my days to be a writer first. The other days of the week business gets precedence.

Business: Predictably December has included a lot of shipping. Even Amazon.com has been stocking up on Schlock books. I began a preliminary layout on margin art for OFU. Next will come scanning and prepping images. Starting in January we’ll be doing some marketing things and putting out more merchandise. We’ll be doing some marketing for Hold Horses as well.

Gardening: The outside garden is dormant. I have a winter garden again. This year I’m trying out bulb forcing. I’ve planted hyacinths, lilies, and narcissus. The narcissus have nice green shoots but no flowers yet. The hyacinths are just peeking above ground. The lilies are still looking like a pot of dirt. I haven’t been as desperate for flowers this year. I think that is a measure of how much less stressed I am this year.

Frugal living: Not doing so well here. I need to get back to meal planning and cooking from scratch. Also, I should make a trip to the thrift store for next summer’s clothing.

House: Howard and I have been doing some small maintenance repairs. We’ve also been working harder at keeping things clean. It is an improvement, but we’ve still got lots to do to make up for the years of living with little-to-no maintenance.

Church: I’m still a primary teacher. I miss getting to go to an adult class, but I’m so grateful for all the people who are and were teachers for my kids. It is my turn to be a teacher for someone else’s kids.

Extended Family: Got to see lots of family in November. I’ll probably see lots more in January/February/March because of scheduled events.

Holiday shopping: Not done yet, but close.

Health: Not feeling well today. Also I’ve passed the high end of weight that I consider acceptable. I’ve started going back to the gym, but it is more miss than hit so far.

Gleek is not among the Santa believers, but her second grade class wrote letters to Santa as a writing assignment.

Dear Santa,

How is Rudolph the red nosed reindeer? How is Mrs. Claus? Do you have any children or grand children? How are you? Is it freezing up there? I’m fine. I’d like a horse for Christmas and a new friend. What would you like? What are your favorite colors?

Love Gleek

She is both the easiest to shop for and the hardest. Excuse me while I go snuggle my girl.

Yesterday I was rummaging in my jewelry box. As I rummaged, I realized that most of the jewelry I own is in the box because of the memories attached rather than because I wear it. There is nothing wrong with keeping jewelry for sentimental value. Jewelry is small and easy to store. But the same strategy applied to larger items can be problematic. A couch generally does not make a good keepsake. It is too large and too easily damaged. Many times Howard and I have discussed how clothing is not a good keepsake. It was usually discussed in reference to t-shirts. I believe this, but it can still be hard to part with a beloved item.

Today I went through my closet. I intended to really evaluate my clothing for utility and attractiveness rather than nostalgia. I was surprised to see how many items hung there, not out of nostalgia or even utility, but simply because of inertia. Many of them I’ll wear if they’re the only thing left in the closet. This means I’ve been wearing my least favorite clothing often, due to the ever present piles of unfolded clean laundry. The result is that I frequently feel frumpy or unattractive. I believe the answer is to get rid of the clothes I don’t like and to do laundry more often. I wonder why “we have too many clothes” did not occur to me previously as part of the over-flowing laundry solution.

So now my closet is much more empty. I’m liking the feeling of space. I also took the sentimental jewelry and put it into a separate box. This makes finding the pieces I want to wear much easier. It will be interesting to see if these changes make a difference in how I feel about how I look.

I begin to type, forming sentences in my head before they emerge from my fingers. I craft my words carefully to wrap them around the meanings that I intend for them.

“MetaKnight!”
“MetaKnight!”

The shouts from my children slice through my concentration. I’ve no idea why they are shouting the name of a video game character while tossing stuffed animals, but apparently it is great fun. The mentally crafted sentences shatter and the meanings drift into the aether. I close my eyes and plug my ears, trying to remember what I’d intended.

“MetaKnight!” Thump! Then a child squeals.

The ideas are gone. They’ve slipped through my fingers. Each time I try to collect my thoughts to capture the idea again, the children make more joyful (or not so joyful) noises. I am glad that they are playing. I’m glad that they have so much fun together. I’m glad that they are being creative and that the electronic screens are all off. But I crave silence, a space to think without their words severing mine.

The economic downturn is all over the news and the blogosphere. Everywhere I turn I hear gloomy news and dire predictions of things yet to come. The thing is, we’re having a good year. Sales in the Schlock store have been pretty strong. Much of this is due to the fact that we have things to sell other than just books. I suspect if we had a similar array of merchandise last year we would have seen much stronger sales last year compared to this year. But we don’t have any other year to compare to and so this year feels pretty good. Does this guarantee our future? Of course not. If people have less money to spend, then they’ll spend less of it with us. This is as it should be. Bills before books. But I can’t live terrified of that future. If all the people like me who are in comfortable circumstances hold tight to their money out of fear, then we’re contributing to the economic woes. Sensible spending inside a budget helps everyone, particularly if the spending occurs at small local businesses.

This year we’re giving more to charity and to people in need than we usually do. We’re comfortable and therefore it is our responsibility to help those who are in distress. My friendJulie Wright never walks past a street musician without giving some change. I’ve adopted the same attitude toward those Salvation Army red kettles. But today I realized that I want to be giving something more than money. When I was growing up, my family went out caroling for the twelve days before Christmas. We would pick a couple of families who we thought were having a hard Christmas and we’d show up at their door singing twelve days in a row. That was a powerful accumulation of experiences. I still remember the family whose teenage son died accidentally, the mother and kids going through a divorce, the too-sick-to-stand cancer patient. We never had trouble finding people in need at Christmas time. The caroling tradition does not work well with my family now. But today I realized I can still be reaching out more.

Starting today and continuing at least until Christmas, I am going to do something nice for someone who is not a member of my family. I’m not sure what I’ll do or for whom. The things I do will be small. The point of this is not to burden me, but to reach out and cheer up others. Sometimes the little things matter more anyway. Just today I was a recipient of one of those little things, a card with a foam snowman came in the mail and brightened my day. (Thank you S.M.) Little things can make all the difference in the world, so I am going to find some little things to do which will make the world a better place for at least one person each day.