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Friday, October 16, 2020

Random Friday by @JoanReeves #SmartGirlsReadRomance

Isn't it weird how everyone looks forward to Friday? 

Even though it's been many years since I worked a 9 to 5 job, I still find myself with a bounce in my step each Friday.

I still refer to Wednesday as hump day, and, unfortunately, I still have a moment or two of dread about Monday.

Silly, isn't it? I guess some things are so ingrained in our psyche that logic never dispels them. Things like moving.

Ack! The M Word: Moving

Moving. That's why this post is up late today. Several months ago, Darling Hubby and I decided to put our house on the market. We were slow to act on this goal since neither of us wanted to tackle all of the tasks needed to make the house look perfect and non-personal.

De-personalizing our home required boxes. Lots of them since we needed to move all of our clutter into a rented storage unit.

So we got the boxes and and started filling them with clutter from closets and cupboards.

We packed framed family photos that had been artistically arranged in several rooms, and last of all, we tackled my office and my inventory of office supplies.

Toner cartridges, white boards, file cabinets, boxes of page proofs, and other detritus one finds in a working author's office.

Now, we have a 5x10X10 storage space stacked with what seems like hundreds of boxes that represent our commitment to clutter. Oh the time it took to pack them and cart them to storage. At the same time, we made several trips to Goodwill, and I found myself wishing we'd also donated all the stuff in the storage unit we rented.

However, most of that stuff is from our parents and grandparents who passed several years ago. 

Neither of us seem willing to let that go even though it's all things we never use, but I can look at old quilts our grandmothers pieced and get misty-eyed.

OMG! Deciding What You Can Live Without

The worst thing about moving is deciding what you can live without in order for your house to look like a model home. I hate this! Removing everything from my office but my computer and keeping files in a rolling file box helps, but I never seem to find what I need in any given moment.

The same holds true for the kitchen. I'm a cook, and I say that proudly. But that means my kitchen is packed with cooking and baking items I may use only a few times in any given year. 

So the huge turkey platter and roaster and all the other accessories needed for putting on a big party went into storage. 

The majority of countertop appliances joined them there because one can hardly see the beautiful granite counters when a mixer, food processor, coffee grinder, coffee maker, bread machine, toaster oven, and can opener march around the granite like soldiers guarding their turf.

Light At the End of the Tunnel

We're waiting for our painters to do some touchup painting, but they're so busy they can't make it until the end of the month.

I think today we'll be finished with "perfecting" our house which is good because I have a book that's screaming to be finished.

I'm dreadfully behind on my writing and blogging obligations. All my writing friends and readers probably think I've been abducted by aliens since I've been offline for almost 2 weeks.

Sometime this next year I'll be writing a story about a woman who's doing exactly what I'm doing—getting a house ready to sell. In fact, I think if I already had written such a book I would have never embarked on this journey no matter how much I want to move to a 1-story house.

In the Meantime

It's a mystery why one suddenly decide to take action on something after procrastinating so long, isn't it?

The women in A Moment in Time: A Quartet of Romance Short Stories don't have that problem. 

They go after what they want even though a couple of them are forced into action by their friends.

This Collection of short stories, Volume 1 of A Moment in Time Romance Short Stories is on sale for only 99¢ on Amazon.

Short reads are perfect for those times you want to be reading, but you just don't have the time to devote to a full-length novel.

A Moment in Time: A Quartet of Romance Short Stories is designed to fill that gap.

Try my short stories. You'll be glad you did!


Joan is a NY Times and a USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary Romance. All of Joan’s romance novels have the same underlying theme: “It's never too late to live happily ever after.”

Joan lives her happily ever after with her hero, her husband. They divide their time between the hustle and bustle of Houston and a small house at the foot of the Texas Hill Country where they sit on the porch at night, look at the star-studded sky, and listen to the coyotes howl.

Sign up for Joan’s FREE Newsletter and receive a free ebook copy of a full-length novel when you confirm your subscription. You'll always be the first to know about new books, special deals, and giveaways.

6 comments:

  1. lol...We just cleaned a large part of our basement because my husband wanted to set up a train layout for when the grandsons visit this summer. I went into the whole process with a vow that I wouldn't get sentimental. I read "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter"--and it worked. "A Moment in Time" sounds like a wonderful read. Best of luck with promotion and sales.

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    1. I must get that book! Thanks for the recommendation and the best wishes.

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  2. I love the phrase, "Our commitment to clutter." I am a pack rat, from a family of pack rats. And I dread the next time I move. I have made a mental note to try to purge this spring, but it's a constant battle with me. Lol. Good luck on your move!

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    1. We have 2 houses, and I've had "clean out the clutter" on my goal list for 2 years with no action taken. Do it sooner rather than later is my best advice.

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  3. Joan, you have my sympathy and understanding. We downsized several years ago and still have not recovered. I start to get something... then remember that was in the other house and either we got rid of the item or I have no idea where it is. Confession: we still have boxes in the garage that we haven't unpacked. Unfortunately, I'm not as efficient as you are. Still, I just wouldn't want stairs now. We needed to downsize and our house should be plenty large for two people. Sigh.

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  4. The desire to be in a 1-story is the only thing propelling me at this point.

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