It's Summer...Reviews Are Short And Breezy...

Perfection in a beach read. 

Makes you want to head to Nantucket and walk on Tom Nevers Beach and eat lobster and fish and boat and bike and seal watch.

Makes you want to sit at a local Nantucket bar, order a great martini and people watch.
Makes you crave muffins and hot coffee while you sit on the deck and read the morning paper.
Two women...both dealing with major tragedies and life style changes spend the summer together...sort of reluctantly.
A little bit of a Bernie Madoff story for one wife...but the book was still very good.

In a totally different vein...we are back in high school...back in time with a time machine and time travellers...

Intense.
Dramatic.
Mesmerizing.
There are two more books in this beautiful series.

How is your summer?

Are you relaxing with a great book?

My Obsession With Red Chairs...

I love my house...it is me...splashes of red...quilts...paintings...books...white dishes...white wood furniture...we have lived all over the country and we have cherished pieces from everywhere.  But in prepping my house for guests...I realized a very important thing.

 My husband and I spill over into every room. 

We share our walk in closet but we have taken over every other closet in the other three bedrooms.

Every drawer is full.

We have no empty spaces.

When I want more space...I buy a bin...fill it...label it...and put it in the basement.

The basement is becoming a scary place.  The basement is neatly organized with bins...

but there are a ton of bins.  Bins in every color of the rainbow.

Bins filled with clothes and who knows what else. I started with seasonal colors but by now they are totally mixed up. I can not own 10 orange bins of Halloween stuff...that is just not possible.

Someday soon I will be as ruthless with the bins as I was with my books.

Someday...

That brings me to the red chairs.

I wanted extra seating for the family room which again...is comfy for the two of us.  I have the sofa.  Den has the overstuffed big red chair.

I will share my sofa with our guests and someone can sit in the baby red chair...which I put together from IKEA!!!

I put this together, too. 

You cannot have enough red chairs!!!



I Am A List Maker...

I don't know how it happened.

I used to be so carefree.

My mom always called me last minute Patty.

But all of a sudden I am a devoted list maker.  I make a list every day!!!

I think I am getting rigid with my lists.  This cannot be happening to me.

My daily routine is sort of scheduled and I like it that way...that is scary!!!

I plan and prep dinner as though I am on the Food Channel.

The table is set for dinner before noon.

Chores are done in a timely manner.

This is making me sad...I have lost my fun side...I am not relaxed until all of the little itty bitty daily nothings are done.

I am becoming my mom...we would beg her to sit with us and talk or play but she was always cleaning.

I am not cleaning...according to my lovely husband...but I engage in many activities in any given day.

I play with Lucy.  I sit on the deck and sun and read with Lucy.  Lucy and I might snuggle down with a book and a nap.  Lucy and I might walk aroung the 'hood.

I work out.

I lunch out.

I think about stuff.

I rearrange rooms.

I read lots of blogs.

I read lots of books.

And before I realize it...the day is done and I start it all over again...with a new list!!!

Do I need to seek professional help?

This Is The After...

Ok...to the casual observer...this might still look like a chaotic mess but to me it looks as though I have accomplished a major goal!!!

I need a round of applause!!!

I need kudos!!!

I need some attagirls!!!

This is the result of literally depleting all of the upstairs bedrooms of all of the extra books that have been in my house for years.

My neighbor Jane...thinks that I gave away at least 400 books.

I feel amazing!!!

And I still read three books this week...so far!!!

What amazing goal did you take on this week?

One more look at my lovely shelves...

I Used To____________But Now I_____________!!!

When I taught second grade there was a wonderful book that I read to my students about a little boy who sort of changed his life.  It was very simple and followed the format in my post title.  After reading the book we would discuss it and then my students would make their own book following that same format...

I feel very close to that book this week because I am cleansing my entire upstairs.

Today I am done with my part.  My husband is going to put together two beautiful white shelves from IKEA...concluding my reorganization event...once I put my books on them.

Thank goodness!!!

So...

I used to own a million books but now I own a Kindle.

I used to want to keep my books close to me but now I have given tons of them away.

I used to have stacks of books that I thought were artfully arranged all over my house but now I have two huge IKEA shelves with favorite books only.

I used to think I would never give my books away but now I know I can.

I used to admire people who gave their books away but now I am one of them!!!

So...

What do you think of the new me?

Oh...I also organized all of the closets...gave tons of clothes away...and slept soundly all week long!!!

I should have had a book giving away party but thanks to my friend Jane...the senior center and some book sales are getting my books!!!