Monday, January 28, 2008

Just the Good Stuff

"When I take the ornaments off the tree, I hang them on my wooden drying rack which is placed over a towel. Then, I use compressed air to clean the ornaments so they are ready for next year!"

----From the blog Unclutterer.

The only way I can see myself doing that is with a gun to my head, or with Johnny Depp holding the can of compressed air.

On the other hand, this blog did show me how to Stop Hoarding Magazines. (Check out the comments on that post! There are some serious magazine hoard-0-maniacs out there.)

In any case, I'm inspired to sort through some accumulated clutter, and give you just the good stuff today:

1) Anybody going to the SCBWI Conference in NY this year? Please leave a comment or email me so I know to look for you! There's even a KidLit get-together on Friday night, organized by Betsy Bird and Cheryl Klein.

2) I've been saving this tidbit, but it doesn't seem to be fitting in to any post I'm likely to write in the near future: In case you need to draw a human skull or a rhinoceros chameleon, Gurney Journey has the place for you. (And if you do draw a rhinoceros chameleon, you had darn better send me a copy of the sketch!)

3) Ever wonder what it's like to go toilet shopping with a four-year-old? It's better than Disney World, according to my friend, Donna---who throws in a few "red-neck parenting tips" for good measure.

4) Were you inspired to move your body after last week's blog-a-thon with me and Liz? Then get yourself over to Athleta.com, my favorite place to buy workout gear. And they're having a contest to win a week-long yoga retreat at a luxury lodge in Montana.

5) There's a fabulous series on writing over at Through the Tollbooth all this week. The first post is titled Ensorcellment and Sarah Sullivan is going to be talking about "the writer as enchanter." Sarah, you had me at ensorcellment. (I collect words. They don't need dusting.)

7 comments:

  1. Love the link to the RISD nature lab. I was most taken with the intro about hissing cockroaches. I had them in my classroom for years and they were great fun!

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  2. I love that Unclutterer blog. I'm one of those anal organizer types whose favorite store is The Container Store - so I frequent that blog to get my daily high.

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  3. "The only way I can see myself doing that is with a gun to my head, or with Johnny Depp holding the can of compressed air."

    LOL! I was so relieved to read that ... for a second I thought you were posting the excerpt as a helpful hint. Last thing I need is for my writer friends' blogs to give me a guilt complex about my (lack of) cleaning habits!

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  4. Tricia, my daughter got to work at a Bug Zoo once, showing kids the hissing cockroaches. She loved it.

    Barbara, you know I was actually thinking of you when I found that blog! You're my inspiration---not that I'll ever get inspired enough to DO anything, but I can admire your organized closets from afar.

    Linda, never fear. I wouldn't do that to you. I did buy compressed air today, but only because that article made me think that I needed to do something about the dog hair stuck in my computer fan before it froze up or something.

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  5. The only way I can see myself doing that is with a gun to my head, or with Johnny Depp holding the can of compressed air.

    Thank goodness. I, like Linda, was really worried when I read your opening quote.

    Seriously, don't people have enough to do all day?

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  6. Robin, sorry to scare you like that.
    Heh, heh, heh.

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  7. Sara, Thanks SO much. I took down my tree yesterday and I must confess there was absolutely no dusting involved in the process.

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