THE DIFFERENCE IS. . .

Did anyone see the repeat on Oprah today about the horder who had 75 TONS of stuff in her 3000 sq. ft. house? (Part II tomorrow). I watch these shows to find out how to get RID of MY clutter.

What I want: A clean uncluttered house that oozes serenty & calm. Books can be there, but no other clutter.

What I have: A very cluttered house with lots of stuff because I love to knit (lots of baskets of yarn and projects and knitting books)----lots of books b/c I love to read----lots of pictures b/c I love to have pics. of my family around and 1/3 of my living room is my STUDIO with lots & lots of stuff on it (the table it's all on can seat 10 people---and it's FULL+ there's stuff under it) Plus I have a glass hutch full of stamps and materials in this area as well. I do have two folding screens to screen off this area when someone comes----but you "KNOW" there's clutter behind the screens.

I have too much of stuff so that there is not a "home" for every single item and thus more clutter. In my mind and heart, even tho I love to DO all this stuff-----I don't like the conseqential clutter. So this is my life. And this is why i always panic when unexpected company comes over. sigh......

THE STOLEN CHILD Book Report

The STOLEN CHILD by Keith Donohue is a first novel, and is about "changellings." Henry Day, a 7 yr. old is stolen, and lives in the woods with children that never grow up. They are faeries, and hobgoblins, and one of them (who makes himself a double) takes his place in the real world. Alternate chapters are told by Henry Day/Anaday (the name the others give the real Henry Day and describe that happens to each of them in their "new worlds." His father suspects that something is wrong, especially since Henry (who couldn't sing a lick) is now becoming an expert piano player. Meanwhile the real Henry--now Anaday is finding what a hard life it is to live in the woods as a child even as his secret powers develope. Sometimes you have to wait 100+ years for a chance to become human again----to find the right little child to steal----to make into another changling. It's a great book, and a haunting story. It's very well written and interesting, and you can't wait to find out what happens in the end.

THE HORROR OF LETTING YOUR D.L. EXPIRE

Last week, after receiving and filling out our postcard to renew our license tags, I discovered that both mine and Dean's drivers licenses were expired on 2/28. So on Thurs. we drove to Jay, OK to renew them. We went to the TAG office. They said since they had EXPIRED we had to go to the Driver Testing Place. We went. They are only open on Fri. & Mon. in Jay.

Friday a.m. we drove again to Jay (25 miles) and arrived at 11:30 a.m. The ONE guy working there said they were full up, and we should come back Monday, and they open at 9 a.m. He didn't have time to fit us in and didn't tell us to come EARLY, way before 9.

Monday (today) we were back in Jay by 9:20 a.m. The hall outside was completely filled up with people. Guess what? YES---they were "full up" again. and he couldn't take us until Friday!!! And then we find out people had gotten there as early as 7 a.m., and some people had been there 5 times already!!! The absurdity of the situation about did us in. We wanted to drive LEGALLY, and also to obtain our tags!!! We then drove to Broken Arrow-----found the Driver's Testing Place there(we didn't have to "test" but we had to have our original birth certificates input into the system). They had several people working at this office and it only took about 1/2 hour. But we still didn't have our driver's licenses, oh no----not yet!

We then had to take pieces of paper with our info, and our old drivers license stapled to it, back to a TAG Agency. Only THEY can actually issue the license (but they can't substantuate your birth certificate!). We knew we didn't want to go BACK to Jay yet again, so we found out a TAG agency was only a couple of blocks from the Testing Place, and FINALLY we succeeded in getting our new driver's license after 3 trips to Jay, and one to Broken Arrow.

Lesson Learned: Oklahoma Bureaucracyis absurdly inefficient---and to never NEVER let our licenses expire ever again.

What in the World???

Is anyone as worried as I am about the what the world is coming to? Do any of you worry? I know worry produces NO results and is not constructive. However, when I listen to the news (I try NOT to do local) it amazes me. All the killing----school shootings, FAMILY shootings, children killing their parents!!! Gulp. Folks it was NOT like this when I grew up. Yes times are changing and not for the better. That's what worries me. How much worse will it get??? I know this is partly why so many home-school these days. Did you know there are several THOUSAND homeschooles in Arkansas? Anyway, sometimes I feel like I should spend every minute of every day in prayer.

Five Quarters of the Orange Book Report

I finished this great book by Joanne Harris. It's told by a 9 yr. old Framboise Dartigen in Nazi occupied France. She comes back as an adult under an alias to resurrect the burned out remains of her family's home & reputation. The suspense of finding out the real truth of what happened to this family can be alternatingly engaging and irritating (clue: the diary/recipe book has parts written in code by the mother). It's about mothers and and daughters, and the relationship between a Nazi man and all the members of this family. Food is mentioned a lot, so it makes you hungry to read it------the author also wrote CHOCOLAT. I loved some of the recipes in this book, and wonder if they are correct?

The mother who is frequently ill with migraines is a gifted cook who wills her diary & recipes to the daughter. She a tortured soul whose love for her children is soured by her fear & anger. As her children run wild to escape her shouts & slaps, she becomes addicted to drugs. There are secrets in the family that destroys some of the members----while others try to forget. After the older Framboise comes back and starts a restaurant, other members of the family find out and want her recipes. When she refuses, they try to sabatoge her life.

I thought it was well-written and I loved the ending.