heat, packing, sorting, reading, writing

I can say here that I officially hate the heat. It has been so hot upstairs the past 2 nights that we have not even tried to go up there to sleep. [my kingdom for an air conditioned house!!] but have slept in the family room with the ceiling fan and the portable swamp cooler running and the patio door open to let in what ever cool breeze is available [careful to keep the screen closed, tho', not wanting any mosquito bites for fear of what Nick calls "West Vile Nirus"]

I think the heat makes me crazy [ok, MORE crazy] at any rate, I don't think I function as well mentally anyway.

It took me the better part of 2 hours to clean out one bookcase and move the books from a second one into the emptied one yesterday. I'm thinking this is just a preview of the packing to come sometime in the near future. {sigh}

Anyway, as I was cleaning out bookcase number 1, I ran across a book titled One Man's Meat by E.B. White....and embarked upon a "boy do I feel STUPID" excursion. This little book (less that an inch thick and about 5 by 8 inches length and width) was a text book for a class that Nick took in his freshman year at CU. It is a compiled group of essays that were originally published in The New Yorker or Harpers when White wrote them in the late 30s and early 40s.

So far, so good, but here is where the "stupid" part begins: this E.B. White is the White of The Elements of Style, you know, that lovely little book that everyone had to have for college composition classes? that's the guy [now I'm almost afraid to find out what else Mr Strunk, his authoring partner wrote!]

Stupid part II: did you also know that this is the guy that wrote Stuart Little? {while we're doing confessions, I've never read it and only know anything about it because it was made into a cute movie}

Anyway, all of this prompted a discussion about why I've not been working on "the book".....mostly because I have absolutely no idea how to begin, how to create the characters, etc., etc., etc.....call this a giant case of "writer's block" but mostly being afraid.....afraid of....???? who knows

So I'm going to read that little book (which I'm told has some great stuff in it), re-read Cameron's The Right to Write and try to figure out what I'm doing....

You as readers are invited to come along for the ride (fasten your seat belts, it might get bumpy!)