Confessions of a One-Track Mind

The great thing about holidays: TV marathons. In this case, Hoarders. It's a great motivator. Despite the heat, I've gotten busy in my bedroom, because I really, seriously want to move my bed.

I plan to rearrange the whole room, actually. As it is now, one window has an a/c in it and the other is inaccessable because of the headboard. I'd really like to move the bed under the a/c window, with the TV against the opposite wall---which would make more sense; there's a plug on that wall and I have to use extension cords where it is now.

It's also been beneficial in that I've recovered a few aluminum cans* and "found" some misplaced clothing that was in the suitcase I'd taken to Ahab's...in January. THAT'S where my navy shorts went!

I'm being very virtuous---I haven't even touched the Boston creme pie yet.


ETA: Hooray, hooray! I found my DVD of The Trouble With Angels!!! I've been hunting for it for a very long time! (I might even cough up a yuletide New Years fic as penance for my slovenliness.)

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* Aluminum cans are my version of a "piggy bank". I've got a couple bags stashed elsewhere, and I'm scheming to cash them all in for a ticket to Cowboys and Aliens later this month.

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This evening, I took that tropical print bedspread from Saturday's yard sale and covered my loveseat-couch with it. It doesn't go with anything else in the room, alas, but it's a nice change from the fish.

Of course, that first meant clearing off the mattress and folding it up---it's been open in the middle of the living room since the morning of the royal wedding, when I wanted to watch the big TV and needed to stretch out. (5'10" canNOT stretch out on a loveseat.) That's the lethargy I've been operating under. But we've had a couple days of quasi-reasonable temps, IE, the low 80s rather than the 90s, which has helped.

The house hasn't completely regressed to where it was in January/February, but it's not good. It was SO (comparatively) tidy when GK showed up, and then my kitchen exploded, and I haven't even begin to get all that squared away. Gah, I have terrible follow-through.

I need to
figure out where the pots and small appliances are going to live.
find a place for the two bins of foodstuffs that were evicted from the kitchen.
clean and organize the fridge and freezer, both of which are completely crammed with stuff.
do dishes, because I'm out of plates, except for paper, and flatware is at a premium.
give my plants a good watering and move then outside, IF they're still alive.
decide what to do with the wrought-iron stand that used to be where the wooden storage unit is now---because it can't stay in the kitchen.
shred a couple boxes worth of stuff, which will really open up the space between the living and dining rooms.
get a grip, get a clue get a life, get a job.

Not necessarily in that order.
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I am absolutely certain that, if I die of natural causes, it'll be between 3:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon. That's the hour when I most want to curl up in a little ball and hibernate, so it follows that The Big Sleep would be the ultimate afternoon nap.

I'm particularly feeling it today, because last night, that goddamned dog next door was barking until 4AM. I swear, I was ready to make a peanut butter sandwich, go over there, feed it to him, and while his mouth was mortared shut, wrap duct tape around his jaws so I could get some sleep.

So, I ended up getting maybe, at a generous guess, five hours of sleep before I romped over to the food bank. I had neither food nor caffeine before charging out the door, Because it was late---they close up shop at 10:30, and it was 9:30 when I zoomed out of here. Worth it---I got some stew beef, and two kinds of cheese, some egg noodles, bagels, canned goods---it's hard to say which is better, getting there early, when there's more choice, or late, when they want to get rid of stuff and give your more. I could've had four bags of bagels, if I'd wanted, but I don't have enough room in the freezer and even I can't consume THAT many bagels.

After that, by prior arrangement, I went over to J's. I have a very steeply sloping driveway, which makes cleaning out my car a major pain in the behind. J has a nice, flat space where I could park and fling...it took an hour for the trunk and another hour for the passenger seat and the passenger side back seat, and that was all I had the energy for. By 2 PM, I was beat.

Got two full black bags into her dumpster (another handy feature of J's place), rounded up a whole bag of cans and inhaled three pieces of pizza at J's invitation (at 2---the rest of the backseat can wait for another day). As usual, there was a certain amount of "That's where that went!", and I could've been more ruthless, but compared to the "Before" condition, when the crap on the passenger side was UP TO the seat, actually more like a 2-inch layer atop the seat---I could actually accomodate a passenger now!

(Honestly, the car shouted "I am a hoarder!", and I was acutely aware of it when that cop shined his flashlight in at me the other night. That was the tipping point, no pun intended.)

This also gives me room to traffic cans to the recycling center. I have the bag of cans from the car, another full bag in the office, and a few partial bags I need to finish filling. I'm missing Kat again---this time her handy-dandy minivan, which held A LOT of cans.

DID remember to drop off library books on the way home, go me!

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SOMEWHERE, I have a $10 off code for Adidas. It's on a piece of cardstock about the size and shape of a bumper sticker. DAMNED if I know where it is. I know where I *thought* it was---but it's not. I've just spent 40 minutes rummaging around on my desk, through my catch-all box, under stacks of stuff, and there's no sign of it. (Desktop does look a bit better, though!)

Meanwhile, I did run across a few other things, such as:

My original Thesaurus (given to me by my mom in 1974)
the soundtrack CD for Iron Man
a stack of blank file cards
three pens -- that work!
my checkbook, MIA since IDEK when
a sheet of postage stamps featuring Jimmy Stewart
numerous birthday cards, mostly but not exclusively this year's
my plastic-coated fold-out anatomy chart
some pix of me from 50 pounds ago
a nearly new hairbrush
four necklaces, two bracelets, a watch and a ring
THREE different lists of things I was going to request for Yuletide (two items of which ARE on my list this year), one list was dated 2009

*sigh*

I'm sure it'll turn up eventually. What I probably ought to do is get a rake and fish around between the desk and the wall. God only knows what's down there!

When I DO find it, providing it's still available, I plan to snag this, preferably in the basic black and white. My $10 code means it'll be free plus shipping, and I have a few dollars left on a GC that can only be used online, so that'll take care of shipping...IF I can just find the Adidas card. Arrrgh!

I've been trying to get in the habit of taking a shopping bag with me---I have two, freebies from the AARP event in September, and a plastic-foil bag for cold things---but I could use a couple more. Like, this one? Adidas is usually good quality, so this would be sturdy enough to be dedicated to library trips. And, like the AARP freebies, the price is right.

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This evening, I watched Clean House: The Messiest Home in America (#2).

And y'know...I feel MUCH better. I don't even come close to qualifying by comparison. If, on a scale from one to ten, one is a spread in Better Homes and Gardens, or the like, and ten is those poor folks, then I figure I'm maybe a seven. At worst.

No pets here, for one thing. Plus, there's only one of me, and I'm not that compulsively acquisitive. I don't have an attic OR a basement, and my garage was tackled earlier this year. Considering I've been living here for 34 years and counting, it's not bad. (Although I think Mark would take one look at the original flying saucer light fixture over the dining room table and keel right over.)

They're rerunning it Thursday and Friday evenings---Style channel---it's worth watching if only to sigh with relief and forgive yourself a little. (You know who you are!)