Shuffle

Dear You,

The upstairs back bedroom got a new coat of paint, and the queen-sized bed is now installed there. The middle bedroom has the twin beds, stacked, so that turns it back into the office it was a dozen years ago. Yesterday, after many trips up and down stairs from basement to third floor our possessions have been sorted, shuffled, and reorganized.

Some are being discarded. For books that means two things -- I'll set up a table at the end of the driveway today: "Free Books!" and they'll be gone by early afternoon. For the others, I've added the serial numbers from my BookCrossing membership, and I'll leave them (anonymously, of course) in public places. You can find them online at BookCrossing.com -- look for me there -- I'm "Manomet" to that fraternity.

It's good now and then to turn stuff over, as one does with a compost pile; the result yields something more profitable than if it just sits there year after year. "Oh, I was going to read that book -- I'd forgotten it was there!" I exclaim. Or "I'll bet Chuck would enjoy reading this one -- I'll send it to him." "This old thing still hanging around, taking up space? Pitch it!"

And that's not even considering how clean and fresh things look . . . for now.