Category: Home
In cleaning out the garage, I ended up cleaning out a file cabinet that eventually found a new home via craigslist. It was two drawers of folders, the dregs of my past addiction to collecting information. We got a tote made for file folders and I settled down to sort.
Amidst the old letters, warranties and manual for things we no longer own, and just plain effluvia, I found a folder labeled ‘Things I Want”. Inside was an intriguing collection of pages from magazines, and scribbled lists based on places I no longer lived. A dresser (from back when I used boxes for my clothes because I’d just moved). .A ‘grown up’ jewelry box (because I was tired of using just random jars and such and wanted a wooden one with drawers. A certain kind of makeup promising flawless coverage. But mostly, there was a collection of pictures of clothes I loved that I wished I owned.
One, labeled Dressing for 2000, featured a floral tapestry skirt from the J. Peterman catalog. It’s perfectly stylish and appropriate today, I think. Don’t you?
Woven into our year of organizing are some very specific projects.
People who know me would probably use the word ‘organized’ somewhere in the first 10 describing me. I certainly wouldn’t dispute that. But there is always more to be done when it comes to being organized, especially when one tries to live a ongoing life of de-cluttering. As with so many things, being organized isn’t a static point; its more of a process and an ongoing journey.
I found this challenge a little late in the year, but I still did pretty well.
A book with more than 500 pages: Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
2.A classic romance: Daisy, Judith Krantz (1980)
3.A book that became a movie: Insurgent by Veronica Roth (2012)
4.A book published this year: Bon Appetempt: A Coming of Age Story (with Recipes), Amelia Morris (2015)
5.A book with a number in the title: 8 Laws of Change: How to Be an Agent of Personal and Social Transformation, Stephan Schwartz (2015)
6.A book written by someone under 30: The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, Deb Perelman (2012)
7.A book with nonhuman characters: Dead Men’s Boots, Mike Carey (2009)
8.A funny book: Eating Rome: Living the Good Life in the Eternal City, Elizabeth Helman-Minchilli (2015)
9.A book by a female author: Blood Red by Mercedes Lackey (2014)
10.A mystery or thriller: Make Me, Lee Child (2015)
11.A book with a one-word title: Gut (The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ), Giulia Enders (2015)
12.A book of short stories: Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar, Mercedes Lackey (2004)
13.A book set in a different country: A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family, Cheryl Lu-lien Tan (2011)
14.A nonfiction book: The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating An Extraordinary Workplace, Ron Friedman (2014)
15.A popular author’s first book: In Conquest Born, C.S. Friedman
16.A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet: From A High Tower, Mercedes Lackey (2015)
17.A book a friend recommended: Midnight Riot, Ben Aaronovitch (2011)
18.A Pulitzer Prize-winning book:
19.A book based on a true story: Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites, Kate Christensen (2013)
20.A book at the bottom of your to-read list: The Gastronomical Me, M.K. Fisher (1985)
21.A book your mom/family member loves: Harry Potter series
22.A book that scares you: anything by Stephan King (and no, I don’t read books that scare me)
23.A book more than 100 years old: Little Women, Luisa May Alcott (1868)
24.A book based entirely on its cover: 1602, Neil Gaiman
25.A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t:
26.A memoir: This is Who I Am, Roseanne Olson (2008)
27.A book you can finish in a day: Shattered, Kevin Hearne (2014)
28.A book with antonyms in the title:
29.A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit: Lion of Ireland, Morgan Llywelyn (2002)
30.A book that came out the year you were born: The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1(65)**
31.A book with bad reviews: Witches of America, Alex Mar (2015)
32.A trilogy: The Morgaine Saga, C.J. Cherryh (2000)
33.A book from your childhood: Foundation, Isaac Asimov
34.A book with a love triangle: Mona Lisa Darkening, Sunny
35.A book set in the future: Second Foundation, Isaac Asimov
36.A book set in high school: Skulduggery Pleasant*, Derek Landy (2007)
37.A book with a color in the title: Dress Her in Indigo, John MacDonald (1969)
38.A book that made you cry: Shattered, Kevin Hearne
39.A book with magic: On A Pale Horse, Piers Anthony
40.A graphic novel: 1602, Neil Gaiman (2004)
41.A book by an author you’ve never read before: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan (2012)
42.A book you own but have never read:
43.A book that takes place in your hometown: Hunting Ground, Patricia Briggs (2011)
44.A book that was originally written in a different language:
45.A book set during Christmas:
46.A book written by an author with your same initials:
47.A play:
48.A banned book: the Harry Potter series
49.A book based on or turned into a TV show: The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Ree Drummond (2012)
50.A book you started but never finished: Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer (2014)
* Granted this is stretching it a bit. But the protagonist does go to HS as part of the story.
** within 2 years of my birth, that’ll have to be close enough.
Ok, so I failed to accomplish only 8 of the tasks. Pretty good, if I do say so myself!