I am weirdly happy right now. I think it has a lot to do with seasonal change, Winter's back has finally been broken and Spring is right around the corner. The yard is filling up with chipmunks and squirrels sizing each other up, and the skunks have been digging holes in the lawn, looking for tasty grubs. The birds have rediscovered the birdseed mess under the feeders, which has been covered by snow. I heard raccoons thumping around the suet feeders last night, so bears are sure to follow.
I took the shrink-a-dink plastic off one set of sliders today, as the cats had already ripped a huge hole in it in January. I swept away a seasons worth of cat hair, and rearranged the floor plant jungle, and let the sun shine in. It felt great to just shift a few items and see a room differently.
I am trying to achieve balance in so many aspects of my life that I feel like I am slipping and sliding off a tin roof....rusted! If all it takes to set me on a happy path is a splot of sunshine and the promise of spring...bring it on!
Haven't seen the robins yet, but I am sure they will be here soon, perhaps this week!
Happy to all!

I am returning to my "other life" tomorrow: my classroom, and all of my teenagers. I have been home sick for the last four school days (six days total) and I am now a full week behind in my teaching plans. I am not very happy about this, but it is the nature of the beast sometimes. I am still wondering if there is ever a day when I won't feel guilty about not being in the classroom for my students, but I doubt it!

My life at home has been a mixture of not being able to do anything but lay in bed and try not to cough too hard, and a healthy desire to clean the house and put the world in order. I have managed to keep up with the laundry piles, and have wiped down the kitchen and bathroom, but not much else. My teenage son has been home with the flu for the last couple of days, which leaves my husband and daughter fending for themselves...they have managed!

I guess that I wanted to create a blog that reflected my personal connection to books, and I wanted to write reviews of some of my fave titles. Like so many good ideas, it has taken more of my already fractured time than I was willing or able to commit to.

I have discovered that there is a simplicity in many of the blogs I have viewed, a bit of text here, a lovely photo there, and lots and lots of "stream-of-consciousness" blurbs. There is something freeing in writing openly, without the habit of revision, something I am interested in tapping into.

I have been on FB for a while now, and am used to writing short little blurbs to my friends etc, and posting my status frequently. I enjoy looking at what others in my life are up to, with a quick glance at the status feed...voyeuristic and impersonal but habit forming.
I have also enjoyed tweeting way on Twitter, learning how to express myself in 140 characters has been challenging but informing. Finding people to follow has been even more fun than FB...no need to ask permission, just click and follow. Right now my new best friends who tweet the most have been PDiddy (who knew), Perez Hilton, Scott Simon of NPR, Cooper Anderson, and Reduced Shakespeare!

I think that I am going to be able to blurb more if I just "let go" of my desire to produce well crafted writings...I just need to write, and I will! I plan on mentioning books a lot, but not always!

So..I have been housebound for the last four days with a horrible case of acute bronchitis. I have the energy of a fruit fly on its last two hours of flight, and find that I am quickly getting bored of my bed. I never want to eat a Club cracker or tub of Greek yogurt again (but I will)!
I have spent a lot time on line the last few days, and tweeted on Twitter, posted on Facebook and looked at many many blogs. I quickly began to understand that my idea of a blog devoted to my love of books was a great idea, but to really BE a blog...I gotta post more, and frequently!