Sometimes, when you’ve had a complicated few weeks, there is absolutely nothing better than books, music and general hanging-about-the-house quiet.
After a brace of sunny, sandy days in Las Vegas celebrating Miss Hillary’s momentous birthday, I returned home to the remainder of the week spent in quarterly meetings at work — excellent to have everyone in one place, but it also means that regular tasks fall to the wayside, to be picked up in spare time, ie. the weekend.
Once I got work back to a respectable level of completion, I turned to reading as the way to reset myself, and damned if it didn’t get me part of the way there. Eventually distracted by the utter chaos of my apartment, I set the book down and spent this afternoon getting my kitchen in order, and for the first time in months, have managed to wrest my kitchen table from the mess that had taken complete control.
While I’ll grant you, cleaning house is not a favorite way to pass a day, I can say that it’s tremendously nice to be able to sit here at my kitchen table, dinner in the oven and a nice glass of Nero d’Avola to my left as I sit typing away, working my way through the Replacements re-issues. (I have to say, the ‘Sixteen Blue’ outtake sounds better than ever, especially with a warm twilight rain dripping down outside the open window to my right.)
I’ve got so much to do — cleaning the living room, sorting out the storage space, clothes to pick through and donate, CDs to add to iTunes, posters to frame and hang, a daunting backlog of photos to process and get to the appropriate folks, an even larger stack of records and CDs to listen to, and of course, the Great Vinyl and Turntable Reorganization Project of 2008 — that I’m going to need at least a day off, soon, to have even a fighting chance of getting started. I don’t get in moods like this often, but when I do, I’m full throttle, and usually with good reason; invariably, a major clean-up/reorganization like this proceeds some grand adventure, and though I have no tours scheduled at this moment or even vacation plans, perhaps I’m doing this because something as yet undefined is on the way…or perhaps it’s all just wishful cleaning?
In any case, I apologize for the radio silence here. There’s been a lot to sort through, mentally and physically, and I’m only part way there. But, from the safe haven that is my kitchen table this evening, anything feels possible, which is perhaps the best sign of things to come.
Real Low Vibe 
could ya send me some of that cleaning motivation?