my space

Can you feel change coming?

I can. Days at the pool feel stolen, we're school-clothes shopping, I'm reading my final slush pile and drafting the interview for this issue, and even my word-count is up, a sporadic gear-up for when I've got uninterrupted days.

And, I'm cleaning.

No, I'm not putting off writing. I do actually have company coming. But I'm rearranging a few things. I moved a big chair from my front hall into my study--a comfy chair for reading, and I paired it with a decent lamp. I can feature me sitting there this fall, pouring over hard copies with a red sharpie.

My front living room has always been more a family room, with a small tv for kid movies and kid-sized chairs (as well as comfortable adult ones). I have a pretty nice home, but I've never been scared to advertise that I've got kids. Who uses living rooms anyway? I moved my daughter's table, a sizeable wooden art table with four chairs, into that room so she has a place to spread out and share space with playdates and her brother. (Most artists really like to watch tv as they work; it's secret though, you didn't hear it from me.)

And my desk, a huge old library table, is clean. I've removed all but the most pertinent books and projects (dictionaries, S&W, Patron Saint of Plagues, Sentinel and crits). For years the back of it has been lined with books, but as I clear my mind to focus on projects I'm clearing my space, too. I've got a wall of bookshelves behind me, so there's plenty of room to spread out. The only one that might sneak back onto the desk is Running With Scissors, which has been on my desk since the first time I read it. (I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that. Augusten's bro drops by here from time to time.)

I had two bad things happen yesterday. I won't go into them, but let's just say they don't do anything for my faith in humanity. I'm also missing one of my friend's birthday parties because of company coming (we're headed up to the lake). We were born just a week apart, so it's been fun to share birthday parties. Alas, not this year, as he's not making it to mine either.

So: Happy Birthday! (You know who you are.)

Tonight we get to go see our film. Yea!

Oh, and I finished Harry Potter yesterday. It was a satisfying read, but it all worked out pretty well the way I expected. I don't see myself picking them up again until my kids are into them, but they look nice on my shelves.