HUMP DAY POTPOURRI: RECYCLING & REARRANGING…AGAIN! — SEPT. 5

If you read yesterday’s Tuesday Potpourri post, you know that I love unusual bookshelves…or just bookshelves in general.

You may also notice that I do a lot of rearranging of my stuff.  But after I rearrange things, sometimes the process leads to more changes, ad infinitum.  Otherwise known as “holes or empty spaces left behind.”

To avoid that, I always have my eye out for ways to fill those holes, and I obsessively dig deeply into books and magazines for ideas on new uses for old things.

Like this barbecue cart that once held my Old TBR Stacks and then moved out on the patio for awhile.

Here it is, standing in for a shelf that now “lives” at the foot of my bed (where the wicker trunk stood).

Barbecue Cart in background now standing in for shelf in foreground (standing in for trunk)

 

Oh, how convoluted the path becomes!

And here’s an update on the bookshelf now filling up with “read” books….

Soon I will be searching for new ways to contain my books….which brings us back to the first photo, from Pinterest; what a great idea for shelving!  My ceilings are not that high, of course, but I could move upward and add some at the topmost areas of the rooms.

How do you contain your treasured volumes?  Do you display them or do you save them in storage?  Do you give them away?

 

 

 

 

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: TIDBITS FROM THE EDGE — MAY 25

Welcome to Friday Potpourri, during which I will share snippets about reading, life, etc.

I’m currently reading Objects of My Affection, by Jill Smolinski:  a book about a woman who takes on the task of decluttering the home of an eccentric artist.

My fascination with this topic is no secret…as a collector of all kinds of objects, ranging from books to dolls and fairytale images, I think I might be searching for validation and reassurance that I am not actually a hoarder.

Maybe it’s because someone called me a hoarder once and the label pierced my sensitive soul…lol

But after reading a memoir about the topic, along with other interesting articles, and after watching the hoarder show, I’m fairly certain I haven’t crossed that line.  Didn’t I just talk about this topic, though, you might ask?

Yes…but what is inserting itself into my thoughts today is a horrific dream I had last night: I had only hours to pack up my house and move.  I’m not sure why the haste, but the panic I felt at the prospect woke me up with a pounding heart.  And I didn’t want to go to sleep again!

Once awakened, I started obsessing about my laptop shopping.  What does this have to do with anything?  Well, I do tend to ruminate over unresolved issues when I awaken in the middle of the night, so naturally, everything I had learned in my shopping exploration yesterday was right there, floating in my mind, and keeping sleep at bay.  Finally I was able to set that aside with the reminder that I didn’t have to decide anything right then and there.

Something else that is keeping me up at night is 11/22/63, by Stephen King; I’m reading it primarily at night.  Bad idea?  I can’t put it down, though, and I’m more than half finished.  I’m totally engaged!

Have you read either of these books?  I’m glad they are quite different from one another, as I sometimes have difficulty keeping details separated while reading two books at once.  I know many people can read several, listen to a few on audio, and keep it all sorted out…but I’m not one of those people.

But I just know that I’m loving the character of Jake Epping, who is living in the 1950s and 60s as George Amberson and finding himself totally connected to the people and the place where he has landed.

King has really brought the flavor of that era to life for me, reminding me of what it was like being young during those iconic times.

Yesterday, I finished reading Another Piece of My Heart, by Jane Green (click title for review)…and again, enjoyed every minute, even when I was frustrated with the characters.  A very emotional read for me.

I think my weekend will be full of intriguing books, strolls through malls, and lunches in some of my favorite places.  What does your weekend look like?  What are you excited about?

TUESDAY INTROS/TEASERS: OBJECTS OF MY AFFECTION — MAY 22

 

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.

Just grab your book and share the opening lines; then find another excerpt that “teases” the reader.

I just received this book in the mail last week, and since this blog is about obsessions, collections, etc., it seems fitting to celebrate it here.  Objects of My Affection, by Jill Smolinski, tells a story about a personal organizer who tries to reform a “hoarder.”

Book Description:

In the humorous, heartfelt new novel by the author of The Next Thing on My List, a personal organizer must somehow convince a reclusive artist to give up her hoarding ways and let go of the stuff she’s hung onto for decades.Lucy Bloom is broke, been dumped by her boyfriend, and had to sell her house to send her nineteen-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it. Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fueled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva’s huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them.

While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline—and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s  rehab not going as planned—Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding: she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep, those we need to let go—but it’s not always easy to know the difference.

Laugh-out-loud humor, heartfelt writing, relatable characters, and a charming premise all come together to make Objects of My Affection the next read for the fans of Jennifer Weiner, Emily Giffin, and Allison Winn Scotch.

***

First Chapter/First Paragraph Intro: 

I remind myself as I enter the coffee shop that it’s actually a good thing I sold my house and, for that matter, almost everything in it.   Sure, some may find my situation pitiful—a thirty-nine-year-old woman reduced to sharing a bedroom with her best friend’s preschooler daughter.  But  for purposes of this particular job interview—I pause to look around to see if anyone is looking around for me—it makes me even more of an expert.  Will Meier is going to be downright impressed that the woman he’s thinking of hiring to clear out his mother’s home barely has a possession left of her own.

Not that I’ll mention anything about it to him.

A man at the counter orders one of those ridiculous coffees that sound as if you should get a cake with several people around it singing “Happy Birthday” rather than something in a paper cup.  Then he turns his attention to me.  “You must be Lucy Bloom.”

This is my guy.  “Hi, and you’re Will Meier!  Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking his hand.  He’s tall, fortyish, clean-cut, and wearing a business suit with the sort of ease that makes it clear he doesn’t usually waste his mornings hanging out in coffee shops.

“I recognized you by your book.”  He points toward the copy of Things Are Not People that I’m clutching.  “What can I get you to drink?”

“Coffee, black.  Thanks.”

***

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book, so this opener tells me that I’m going to enjoy it.  The narrator sounds like someone trying to make the best of her changed circumstances, even finding a bit of humor along the way.

***

Teaser #1:  (After the interview, the client takes Lucy to meet his mother).

Will starts to unlock the front door, then turns to me.  “I feel I ought to say something to prepare you for this.”
“Don’t worry about it.  I’ve seen messy places before.  I have a teenager.” p. 7

Teaser #2:  I’m braced for what I might see, but what hits me before anything else is the smell.  Although that’s probably because it’s so dark that relying on my sense of sight is pointless.  The smell isn’t horrible.  We’re not talking rotting corpses or anything.  It smells…dense.  As if I need to breathe in deeper to get enough air.  I wonder how long it’s been since anyone’s drawn the drapes and thrown open the windows.  p. 9

***

Okay….now I’m really ready to dive in.

What are the rest of you spotlighting today?  I can’t wait to see!

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI: WAITING ON WEDNESDAY — OBJECTS OF MY AFFECTION — MAY 16

Time for another Hump Day Potpourri!  Today I’m very excited about some of the upcoming releases I’m discovering at Waiting on Wednesday.

If you love discovering new books, hop on over and check it out.

The book I’m spotlighting today actually was released on May 1, 2012…but I just ordered it, so technically, I’m eagerly awaiting it.

Objects of My Affection, by Jill Smolinski, is the story of a personal organizer with a daunting task.

In the humorous, heartfelt new novel by the author of The Next Thing on My List, a personal organizer must somehow convince a reclusive artist to give up her hoarding ways and let go of the stuff she’s hung on to for decades.

Lucy Bloom is broke, freshly dumped by her boyfriend, and forced to sell her house to send her nineteen-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it. Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fueled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva’s huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them.

While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline—and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s rehab not going as planned—Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding, she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep, those we need to let go—but it’s not always easy to know the difference.

***

It seems appropriate to showcase a book about collections and eccentricities on this, my blog that spotlights those very issues. 

Now…can you see why I’m so excited to read this one?  I hope you’ll come by and check it out…..

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI: SHOWCASING FAVORITE BOOKS — MAY 2

 

Every week, there are at least three or more memes that spotlight books we’ve read, are reading, or are waiting for, like today’s Waiting on Wednesday event.

Today I’m featuring a book that will be released around June 5, from a favorite author:

Summer Breeze, by Nancy Thayer, tells the wonderfully moving story of three women who forge a unique bond one sun-drenched summer on New England’s Dragonfly Lake.

As I was visiting blogs this morning, I came upon Sheila’s Morning Meandering post, in which she reminded us that we can link to our reviews on Pinterest.

I have linked other things, like my website, with the books I’ve written, but what a great idea about our book reviews.

Thanks, Sheila!  I just went over to my Pinterest site and created a couple of new boards:  one for the top ten favorite books (of mine) for 2011; and I started a favorites board for 2012.

Here are some of my favorites for this year so far:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click on over to the Pinterest board for more info!

I know that many of you find great ideas for home decorating, recipes, craft ideas, and gardening creations.  What else do you love there?

Have a great Hump Day!

 

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: CRAZY MOMENTS! — APRIL 27

A Room of my Own

 

This looks like a room I should have.  Lots and lots of shelves for wonderful books, and comfy places to curl up and read.

Alas, this is not my room…but I can dream!

Meanwhile, I’ve been downloading and ordering books like crazy this week.  Why?  Perhaps because it’s payday week.  And serendipitously, all these great books that I want to read just show up in my inbox.  Tempting me.  Taunting me with their beautiful covers and blurbs.

Here are some books I downloaded to Sparky….

And here are some books I found at Barnes & Noble…unfortunately (or fortunately), I live right around the corner.  I often go in with a book I’m reading and drink coffee.  I try to avoid the book tables.  But on this particular day, I failed.

This is not the cover on the book I bought, but I like it…what do you think?

Do you sometimes have weeks when everything you see calls to you?  Or maybe you have a list and finally let loose, buying everything you can?

I call these moments “crazy moments,” but I wouldn’t change a thing!

TUESDAY POTPOURRI: MORE BOOKISH DELIGHTS & ORGANIZATIONAL TIDBITS — APRIL 24

TUESDAY POTPOURRI

 

When I woke up this morning, I started hopping around the blogosphere, even before my first cup of coffee.  You know it’s a serious blogging day when that happens!

By the time I had my coffee, I had already been over to Should Be Reading and Bibliophile by the Sea, leaving my comments and links.

When I checked my e-mails, finally, I saw that my download to Sparky was there!  The Good Father, by Diane Chamberlain, is one I’ve eagerly anticipated….

 

 

Blurb:  A beloved daughter. A devastating choice. And now there’s no going back.

Four years ago, nineteen-year-old Travis Brown made a choice: to raise his newborn daughter on his own. While most of his friends were out partying and meeting girls, Travis was at home, changing diapers and worrying about keeping food on the table. But he’s never regretted his decision. Bella is the light of his life. The reason behind every move he makes. And so far, she is fed. Cared for. Safe.

But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he’s worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble….

Then a miracle. A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around. It has to. But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.

With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter’s sake.

Even if it means he might lose her.

***

Even though it’s waiting on Sparky, and I want to read it NOW, I do have a few books I have to read first!  Ah, the TBRs.

When I got this bookshelf for my bedroom, I moved all the TBRs to the office.

I’m now filling this shelf up with books I’ve read…and in the office, I have books stacked on the coffee table (Old TBRs) and atop the bookcase (newer ones).

Old TBR stacks

And now…voila!  Newly arranged New TBR Stacks….

New stacks

 

In case this seems a bit compulsive (lol), never fear!  It makes sense to me and book choices come more easily.

For example, the stack on the coffee table that’s closest to me holds this week’s books, like these:

 

And then there are those waiting on Sparky….sitting atop the farthest stack on the table.

 

How do you arrange/organize your books?  Do you select them in advance, or grab them spontaneously?

I would love hearing your thoughts….

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI: MUGS, MEMORIES, & BOOKISH THOUGHTS — APRIL 4

Welcome to another Hump Day.  Midweek musings and thoughts today stemmed from a couple of things:  a blog tour stop at Rainy Days and Mondays for Whole Latte Life; and a discussion about coffee cups inspired by Sheila, at Book Journey, in Meet the Real Coffee Cup.

Therefore, coffee cups are the centerpiece of today’s post.  In Joanne DeMaio’s book (see my review and author bio at the link above or click on the book cover), the characters meet regularly at a coffee shop they hold dear.

The story is all about friendship and connections.  Beautifully celebrated over coffee.  And about self-discovery, frayed connections, and healing.

***

Now…in Sheila’s blog post, she described an inspiring story about a blue coffee cup, which then reminded me of special mugs in my life.

Naturally I had to grab three of them and spotlight them in a photo.  Here they are, and there’s a story attached to each of them.

Special Mugs

In the middle is a mug gifted to me by my son and his wife a few months after my first grandson Alec was born.  That was in 1995, and that mug has been through some house moves without breakage.  I’m afraid to use it for coffee, so it sits on top of one of my country cupboards.

On the left is a mug “created” by three of my grandchildren a few years later (one of whom was the baby in the center mug).  It also regularly “lives” on a country cupboard (see below).  The one on the right is a quirky mug I bought in Big Bear Lake one year, just because it was something I connected to….

Speaking of mugs, I regularly drink my coffee from a Coca Cola mug that I also feature on blogs sometimes, both in the headers and in my posts.

What does all of this mean?  I guess there’s a big sentimental core in me that attaches wonderful memories to objects.

Do you have special connections to things you own?  Things that remind you of special people or events in your life? 

Thanks to Sheila, I’m going down this memory trail today.

THURSDAY POTPOURRI — ATTITUDE — JAN. 12

Must. Change. Attitude

 

I love thinking about attitude.  So much of life comes down to our attitude.  There isn’t a whole lot we do have control over, but our attitude is definitely one of those things.

The photo above was snapped from a print that’s on my living room wall, from Mary Engelbreit.  At the bottom of the print is the caption:  Must. Change. Attitude.

Whenever we are frustrated by what life throws at us, we sometimes look around to see what we can change in the external world.  Instead, we should be examining our interior life.  We should be changing how we look at those events around us.  We should be changing the only thing we can:  our reaction to events.  Our attitude.

Oh, yes, it’s easy to express what we should do.  Doing it might be quite another thing.  In fact, it will be.  Sometimes, when we’re trying really hard to change our perspective—our attitude—we might only be able to act “as if.”  Yes, act as if we believe in that new perspective we’re going for…act until the feeling and behavior follow.

One of the things I want to adjust in my attitude is what I can accomplish each day and each year.  My New Year’s resolutions this year try to reflect a realistic attitude.  Goals that are achievable.

What do you hope to achieve each day—or this year!—and how will you manage to change your attitude to a more realistic one?

 

 

 

 

DECKING THE HALLS — NOV. 29

Are you getting into the Christmas spirit?

I usually have my decorations up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but for some reason, I couldn’t make myself go there…yet.

But today I woke up, ready to pull the bins out of the garage and start dressing the house for the holidays.

I decided not to bring out as many things as I usually do, since putting everything back afterwards has turned into a real drudge-fest.

But I may add a few more things later.

Here’s some of what I did:

A TREE FILLED WITH FAMILY PHOTOS

You can’t really see the photos in this shot…but I did bring out the cute bears to stand guard; and added some Christmas lights.

SANTA AND SOME ELVES

 

The Santa in his sleigh is one I’ve had since my kids were small, back in the early eighties.  The elves are a fairly recent addition.

 

MICKEY, A BIRD CAGE, & SOME NUTCRACKERS

 

And on the far left, another Christmas bear.

 

I have some more miniature trees that I haven’t brought out…yet.  I might let them stay in the garage this year.

What are you doing to “deck the halls”?