Finally, the front two rooms are empty. Whew!

What I had to clean off before the floor refinishers came-PL

 
Today,Travis and Justin are back (after the holiday weekend and doing another job) and ready to begin refinishing hardwood floors in the living room and sunroom/office. Mostly Justin.
 

Starting on July 4, with five days to clear these two rooms of furniture, I went through another Xerox box-lid full of clippings from ’98 and ’99. (My recycling bin included a sheaf of discarded, yellowed, stapled articles on places and people in Arkansas around the mid-‘30s)
 

Instead of writing “sequel” on what I clip today, “story” was written on those. That was before I had the chutzpah and leading to call my story a novel.
 

I got to thinking: was all this early effort/thought/hope/anticipation/preparation for nothing? Now that I’m throwing all of it away? I have to think positively and say, no, it was seeding for the possibilities.
 

I kept columns from John Robert Starr, Mike Royoko, Erma Bombeck, Charles Allbright and Frank Fellone; an occasional day’s comics: Peanuts, Snuffy Smith, Baby Blues, Mother Goose & Grimm, Kudzu, Marvin, Jump Start, Frank and Ernest and Cathy.
 

I even found a chapter intended to be included in A Journey of Choice that I might fit into the sequel.
 

To lighten the load, I went through all the drawers of the two desks, a buffet-used-for-writing-stuff, filing cabinets, book cases, tossing as I went, then taking one armload of keepers at a time--to some empty spot.
 

July 6 - At Sunday’s ending, I’d made progress, but still had a lot to do. Grandson Billy thought he’d come home later then go clothes shopping tomorrow, but he called and after working all day and said he was too tired. Fortunately, he doesn’t drive when he’s tired. But could I please send him some money for new clothes and shoes? He was to interview for a job at DeGray Lodge on Tuesday. Certainly, and I sent along his current driver’s insurance cards at the same time. Though he lives in Arkadelphia, his mail comes here.
 

July 7 -  Monday. Daughter Annamarie and granddaughter Emma came over—the former to mow (we trade off favors) and the latter to help in any way possible. Emma filled and hung the bird feeders, then updated the unused solar lights. After discovering the eerie blue light on the back porch was those lights,  I placed them in flower containers.
 

We moved two pieces of heavy furniture--Granddaddy Noah's hand-built library table and a TALL bookcase. Thanks to Dennis Patton’s dollies, the tasks were a tad easier. After the two left—and a nap—I continued to cart magazine holders full of journals into the back bedroom.
 

Before that day was over, I had cleaned out the office—except for the vining epesia in the south window.
 

July 8 - Tuesday. I worked in the living room. Bookcases had to be emptied (You shoul
d see the kitchen anteroom, the hallway and the back bedrooms), chairs and lamp tables moved.

 

July 9 - Wednesday. My birthday, so nothing much got done. But, oh, I had a wonderful day.
 

 

Today, I stand in front of the buffet shown in the picture but shorn of all the stuff on it. Like Hemingway was said to have done, I typed standing up, my current paperwork, calendar, books to review, etc. at my fingertips. Who knows, I may like this arrangement.