Blogger's Block

I am alive and well (and have been quite productive of late) but for some reason I've just not been inclined to post anything to my blog, something I generally find both worthwhile and enjoyable. I came across my horoscope in this Sunday's paper and made note:

Virgo (August 23-September 22): Your project lacks the momentum it once had. It's normal to hit a plateau. Muscle through.

Tonight my body is tired (I've just now sat down after a full day of teaching high school, a trip to Target, several loads of laundry, the compiling of two gift baskets, homework for Macauley and me both, and replacing my piles of linens I sorted through around midnight Saturday back into my hutch in the dining room) but my mind is swirling with all I've likely intended to post here to remember later. I don't know if I'll finally plug in the new little camera I got for Christmas and play catch up with all the pictures I know are waiting there on that itty bitty memory card or just call it good and go from here, but at least my fingers are tapping the keys tonight--my feeble attempt at muscle.

Like many invigorated by the promise of a new year and new beginnings, I've been rather ruthlessly cleaning out closets and drawers around here, sending many items to my flea market booth (looking quite cute and mostly full as of this past weekend) and others to the thrift store. The hard-to-reach cabinets above my washer and dryer can now be opened without fear of falling beach towels, light bulbs and camping gear that should probably be stored elsewhere. The small closet just inside from the garage now contains neatly lined up baskets of batteries, those light bulbs, dog and cat treats, dog and cat flea treatments, dog and cat hair removal tools, and just one basket of "old" towels to clean with. It no longer contains 84 "old" towels, 16 random knobs and drawer pulls, 3 plastic bowls of screws and other hardware, 204 shopping bags--paper and plastic--or miscellaneous (unsuccessful) tile brightening treatments among other half-used cleaning products. The drawer next to the stove holds our 3 small cutting boards, a tray of measuring spoons and cups, and a tray of screwdrivers, scissors and a hammer--a non-themed grouping but one that for some reason works for us and just needed to be reigned in. The drawer of plastic cups by the sink lost 2/3 of its population and the remaining, oft-used citizens breathe much easier now. I've tossed out condiments in the door of the fridge that dated to last year (and one to the year before that!), and I got really honest and threw out food in the freezer that I knew, despite being wasteful, we were never going to eat. Cereal boxes and jars and baking supplies and bags of chips each have a place in the kitchen pantry. A chunk of clothes that are cute but unworn made way for a smaller chunk of newly purchased pieces I will actually wear. The bonus room that Macauley had so adorably arranged as a "classroom" last summer but had been repeatedly trashed by play dates and a couple of pizza parties with friends is now back to being the French Country catch-all room, just another place to watch TV or jump around in and not the room I couldn't show guests without all sorts of apologies and explanations.

There are still several nooks and crannies around this place that need similar treatment, and I'll try to click through as long as I can, ride out the newness of this new year as long it lasts for me, but teaching is my day job (and on my mind many hours past the time I clock out) and holiday break has been over and done with for a few weeks now. Last week I started a new semester and have 2 classes of freshman English, a class I haven't taught in a few years. I'm adjusting to the younger kids just fine so far and still have my one class of seniors. I do enjoy being a teacher but I don't consider teaching my "life," and I don't guess I write about it much here, preferring instead for this space to be a place of leisure, of family, of nesting and not work. And while I've neglected the documenting of it here, I have been making time for all 3 of those since I last wrote on 1 January, despite being back at school. My handsome little boy has been making me laugh and getting smarter daily and my sweet husband I have, for whatever reason, been riding one of the highest ups on the rollercoaster of love and marriage these days. I'm thinking and a-doing and reading and even creating a little...now I need to get back in the rhythm of writing about it all...