Tuesday, April 20, 2010

My excuses

My friend, Connie, mentioned to me while waiting for choir practice to start the other day that I hadn’t written in my blog since December.

“I know,” she said, “because I check.”

It reminded me of a conversation I had recently with my nephew, who writes an amazing blog, letting you be a part of his life by sharing his thoughts, his loves; his wife and daughter, and his travels. He hadn’t blogged for some time and both his mother and I got after him for slacking up. That is what these blogs are for isn’t it? Keeping in touch, with our friends, our family, ourselves, our thoughts & feelings.

My daughter, Shea, gave Ray and I a used laptop for Christmas this year. We had been thinking for quite sometime about getting a laptop, but haven’t made the plunge. I thought that after I got that laptop I would be able to write anywhere. It wasn't something we needed right away, after all we have a perfectly good computer sitting in my office. Please read the term ‘office’ loosely. The room is 9 by 10 equipped with a desk on one side of the room, which holds the hard drive, monitor and printer. It has a shelf above it that holds, my rubber stamps for scrap booking, discs for what ever programs I have and photo discs. To the left is a book case full of books, on scrap booking, notebooks of crocheting, scrap booking, genealogy, family history stuff I copied off the family website, card, paper, more scrap booking paraphernalia. To the right is a small desk that came with the other desk that holds shelves of paper, plastic drawers of pens, more paper, stickers, more notebooks of ….I don’t know what it has been so long since I looked at them. Oh yes, under the desk I have plastic storage containers of pictures and more scrap booking paper. On the other side of the room are some white kitchen cabinets I had in our other house in the laundry room for folding laundry on. I thought it would be the right size for my “Office” for scrap booking. I have some drawers to the left that have ribbons, tape, pens, embossing stuff, more paper and more stuff. Behind the counter top I have a peg board that holds my scissors with the fancy cutting blade. The cabinet below holds my yarn collection and UFO’s, Un Finished Objects, the drawer, my paper cutters. The smaller cabinet is home to embroidery hoops, threads and other UFO’s of the embroidery type. Yes, I have been saving some of those to finish for 30 some odd years. The space between these two cabinets has more plastic drawers with more pictures and other things I will eventually scrap book, I think.

I purchased a bar stool so I could be comfortable when I scrap book, but I have two problems with that. Number One: the bar stool and the office chair do no share the room nicely; there is just not enough room to put both of them in the office at the same time. The bar stool waits patiently in the hall for its call to duty, which doesn’t come very often because the counter top is full, of more junk.

I am a great one for piling. I collect stuff at work and put it in my car, from my car it goes onto the kitchen table or counter from there Ray, while cleaning has no idea where to put it so it goes to my counter top in my “Office”. That explains why I don’t get much scrap booking done. I have tried to explain to Ray that we need a bigger house so I can have a bigger office and scrapbook room. He patiently hears me out then, tells me that wouldn’t change a thing since I would only have more surfaces collect more junk on. His solution is to bring the biggest trash barrel he can find, sets it at the end of the counter suggesting it should all be directed into that container. That action generally brings a withering look from the collector of the hoard. All of this should explain why I am loath to go into my computer room; guilt, because I haven’t done my scrap booking. Since Shea gave us that laptop, I can now peacefully sit in the living room check out my e-mails, family website and Facebook no guilt attached. At least until Ray, interrupting my game of Bricks Breaking, tells me that he doesn’t know for sure that Shea did me any favors giving me that laptop. Oh well, at least I’ve quit playing Farmville and Farm Town on Facebook, that was really a time waster. I spent all last summer watering my virtual garden and forgot about my actual garden, not to mention that I panicked while I was on vacation worrying about whether anyone was watering my gardens at Farmville and Farm Town to really enjoy my vacation. Passing by one day while I was playing Farmville in my “Office” Ray wondered aloud if there was a “Clean-up Your Room” game where there was virtual junk that magically appeared on the floor of a virtual house that someone could actually virtually have to pick up. If they ever need an office for a model for that game, I think I can help them with that.

Anyway, Connie, does that answer your question as to why I haven’t written on my blog since December? It really made me think about what other things I could be doing instead of playing games on the computer and feeling guilty about my scrapbook junk collection which is just blocking my way to the things I really would rather be doing. I need to just decide what is in my way and get rid of it, put those pictures in a book and be done with it and stop feeling guilty about not doing my scrap booking and hiding from my computer / junk room with the games on the laptop. Hey, I might even have some fresh vegetable from my garden this year instead of those virtual ones I had last year.

4 comments:

www.mostblessedman.blogspot.com said...

Yeah! Aunt Lynnette wrote in her blog! Too little too late? Nah! We love you Aunt Lynn.

Leslie said...

Lyn, this was great. I do think that you could post a picture of your office though. Remember a picture is worth a thousand words. LOL

I think your office is an uber office. It is very well organized and has all that you could imagine in it.

Why hasn't Connie posted a comment. Tell her I'm watching for her comment.

I've decided to write a lot more often too. So much more frequently that I don't get any comments because no one knows I'm posting. Look how long it took for me to notice you had actually posted something since December.

Lyn said...

Oh, my gosh. Do you really think I want to show a picture of my office? Hum, now were did I put those pictures. ;-)

Veer said...

I liked it so much and very interesting, too! Thanks for sharing the experience.
Wonderful post, really great tips and advice.
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