Putting things in order

Boxing Day 2014

I chose to work at home today because of the sewer system repair at work.  There is something about using an outdoor Porto-potty in 40ish degree weather that is a deterrent.  Also the county is digging out the roots of the offending tree right underneath my window.  I have decided to go in on the 4th to clean up that space.  So I made huge progress cleaning out  my home office today.  Witness the before and after pictures of my desk.  I recycled lots of old papers. Some with memories, many not.  I also found photos amidst the accumulated paper.  Some of Kate, brought tears to my eyes.  The holidays are always bittersweet without her.  Some of Ben in his rugby playing days.  I am taking leave of all these papers and some personal books that will go the friends of the library and some other things for Wise Buys.  I like the ritual of Boxing Day and the opportunity to give things away.  It is a good cleansing feeling that follows the acquisition binge the holidays can bring.  

We had a minimalistic Christmas.  I love gift certificates and that was my favorite shopping.  The headliner gift for Mike and I is two tickets for the January 8th Cinema Thyme event at the Pickford Cinema.  We were lucky to get drawn in the lottery for tickets!  We will experience The Lunch Box and have a catered sit down dinner after the show and hors d'oeurves synced to the food in the movie.  The food experience is planned and catered by Ciao Thyme.

I am posting my before and after office pics, not without some trepidation because the before was so awful.

Quite a change.  I see I have more books to donate.  The featured book is one we will read for our Immigration Justice journey - Undocumented: How Immigration Became Illegal  by Aviva Chomsky.   Onward.

Getting ready

I have been anticipating the start of my six-month sabbatical for most of this year.  Getting ready has meant many things: finishing up with administrative details, completing my annual reporting earlier than usual and trying to make contacts for my visit to the Southwest.

I think the biggest challenge of getting ready is clearing away the accumulation of clutter and papers in my home office and work office.  The challenge is working in a building where the only bathroom is a porta potty (thanks to a broken sewer line) and yes, it is winter!

I am going to take some before and after pictures and post them to this blog once I have done the clutter clearing.  I bought a slick little book, Clutter Rehab by Laura Wittman, that was recommended by the library that I have utilized in the past.  It will help me as I move into the final days of sabbatical preparation.

One of my goals for this sabbatical is to actively use the blog to record my journey and learning and to learn how to be a blogger.  I am going to start by adding a couple of pictures of a visit to Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle.   The group shot is me with husband Mike and son Ben.  The second is the amazing centerpiece of the garden reminding us the light is returning!

Happy Holidays to all!