Cleaning Out the Cabinets

I was off from school yesterday. My friend who cleans my house came over, and we emptied ALL my kitchen cabinets, threw out some things, and reorganized what was left into a more logical setup. She and my husband did most of the moving; I just took off a few days from work to do the finishing touches. We were in a hurry to get moved and settled, and sometimes I had trouble locating items because I wasn't involved in their placement (not that I'm complaining...she's a wonder, and I don't know what we'd have done without her; helping with my mother and again with my husband).

The cabinets are now in better shape, and I'm going to try to break myself of some of my bad habits. I'm going to try to keep all the plastic lids in one place so that I'm not searching madly as I fix my lunch at 6:30 a.m. I'm going to keep the counter cleared off so I can use it for other purposes, including the art project that is drying there right now.

I'm also going to keep cleaning out my mental cabinets. DH is not coming back; no matter how much I miss him, and wish that I could see him just one more time. My darling mother is not coming back, but my minister once told me that as long as I lived, she'd never really be gone--we share a STRONG resemblance, and I've always said that I wanted to grow up and be just like her (DH said I had; that was a compliment, because he adored my mother...as did everyone who ever met her). I miss both of them with every breath I take, but I think they are both enjoying the time I'm able to spend on my artistic and creative pursuits. I vacillate between enjoying the time, and feeling guilty because I am enjoying the time. My time in late 2006 and early 2007 was spent traveling between school, the nursing home, our house, the hospital, doctors' offices...you get the picture. Now I'm able to spend the time writing in my journal, working on my version of an art journal, and enjoying digesting all my Somerset Studio publications. Mother was an artist, and if she were here, she would be a voice of encouragement at every step of my journey. DH was creative in his work in his yard; he grew beautiful flowers, and enjoyed my photographs of his work.

I'm also looking forward to introducing my great-niece to the pleasures of paper and markers. She's twenty-one months old, and has already expressed interest in pens and paper. After her last visit, I bought a stash of those markers that only mark on the "special" paper, and they're safely stored in my art desk until she's here again. What fun we'll have...her Grammy (my sister) will introduce her to dolls, and I'll be the one with books and paper and markers. What a lucky girl!