Mamacita says:  It’s time for another round of Things I Haven’t Done Yet. 

1.  Spring FORWARD; fall BACK.  I’ve changed a few clocks that I look at regularly, but elsewhere in the house?  Not yet.  Also, I’m too lazy I’m too short to reach most of the wall clocks, so they don’t need to be sprung forward at all because they never fell back last autumn.    Except, of course, for the clocks I couldn’t reach LAST year to change, which means those clocks were correct until now, but will be wrong until next “time.”  How many clocks are in this house?  Search me.  Once I have to remove my shoes to count anything, I lose interest, and my kids were involved in so many activities when they were in school, I was genuinely paranoid about the time. My children are grown up now, but the clocks and the obsession about time remain. It might be a lot worse, you know. At least I’m not a drunk or a kleptomaniac; I just HAVE TO KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS, and every wall in my house has learned to cater to that.

2.  Oh Hoss, my dear, darling Hoss.  Gene Maudlin died yesterday, and I haven’t quite really realized it yet.  I never will.  The Blogosphere will never be the same.  You’ll be greatly missed, Hoss.  Your pithy posts and comments made me happy, and your emails always made me feel important, and well, like SOMEBODY.  You were one who made a big, big difference.   Readers, Please go and read my dear friend Vicki’s beautiful tribute to this lovely, lovely man.

3.  I’ve been Freecycling “stuff” like mad, but I’m not finished yet.  I’ve cleaned out three houses after a death now, and I will NOT put my kids through this kind of a mess when I go.  The Christmas “stuff” alone will be excavation enough; the rest of house is going to be EASY!!!!  Well, easiER, anyway.

4.  I haven’t graded a single essay this weekend, and I don’t even care.  Nyahh. I’ll get them done during the students’ midterm exams this week.  I know they’re greatly looking forward to them.  I mean, who wouldn’t be? 

5.  I still have my entire wedding set of dinnerware:  Woolworth’s best!  Not a piece is broken.  I will keep it forever.  However, I also have about eight other complete unbroken sets of dinnerware.  Most of it has to go.  I haven’t figured out which to give away and which to keep yet, though.  It’s all sentimental in some way.  That’s my biggest housekeeping problem; everything reminds me of someone precious.  There’s not a tasteful, Good Housekeeping thing in my entire home, but everything in it is connected to something or someone else.  That’s how I like to live, my dears.  However, one must be a LITTLE bit practical, and almost everything a few things simply must go.   Come on over.  Bring boxes.  I suppose that if we were a notoriously “breaky” family, I wouldn’t still have all this “stuff,” but the fact is, even when the children were small, we were all careful people and seldom broke any dishes.  Ever. 

6.  I haven’t taken the cats to the vet for their spring tonics and flea drops yet.  We’re still paying for my husband’s bypass of last fall, and now we have to somehow pay for a funeral.  Life can really suckerpunch a fella, huh.  Sorry, kitties, tell the fleas to stand by.

7.  Please don’t suggest that we sell all of this “stuff” instead of giving it away.  I know we could, but I also remember how it was to need some of these things and not be able to buy them.  I would much rather see them go to nice people who need them and who will USE them for their families, than to supply some dealer with stuff for a store shelf, so he/she can make a buck.   I’m also seeing some genuine gratitude over it, not that I need to SEE that, but it makes me feel even more sure that I’m doing it right.  I haven’t regretted this yet.

8.  I haven’t made a will yet, or checked on my life insurance lately, but I intend to, and soon.  PLEASE don’t any of you die without life insurance!  

9.  Heavy windstorm warnings.  Severe thunderstorm warnings.  Temperature in the seventies.  Crocuses blooming.  Trees budding.  This time last week, the temp was in the single digits.  Next week: rumors of snow.  Welcome to southern Indiana.  I haven’t put away the heavy coats yet, nor have I gotten out any summer clothing, even though most of the people we saw in town today looked as if they were heading to the beach.  Gun-jumpers, that’s what I say.

10.  I intended to make corn bread to go with the black bean soup tonight, but I forgot.  I’ll have some for tomorrow’s leftovers, though.  Item:  the black bean soup is for my husband; I wouldn’t touch that smelly stuff with a ten-foot-pole.    He, on the other hand, loves it.  Well, he can have it.  All of it!    I’d tell you what it reminds me of, but my mother raised me with better manners than that.  Well, she tried her best, anyhow.