Exhuastion is the sequel to "Yikes!"

This is what a yard sale looks like at my house. The cane-seated oak chairs are antiques--I paid a hefty bit for them 30 years ago, and I've been trying to sell or give them away for about a year now. Cane seats and small grandchildren do not mix well. No takers today. The kids did a pretty good job of cleaning up--they were soooo tired--but I stumble over this and that here and there--and there's a huge pile of trash on the front porch that Christian will come get tomororow. Jordan has an 8:15 flight to Vancouver in the morning--her travel agency is sending her on a "fam" trip, a 5-day cruise which will be meeting after meeting and not all run and play. I don't know how she'll do it because I was exhausted myself all day and did almost nothing to help with the sale. My feet still hurt from last night's reception, and my whole body felt weary. Jordan said she could tell my feet hurt by the way I walked. An indication of how tired I was: for the first two hours or so that I was up I had my left shoe on my right foot and vice versa. I finally looked dowh and thought, "This is wrong!" I'd see something that needed to be done and think, "No, not now." I did get Jacob up, diapered, dressed and fed breakfast--which he didn't eat. About the only other constructive thing I did was to go to the grocery store--and take a long nap.

The neighbors came for drinks and cilantro pesto with hummus--my experiment of the day. Jay (the handsome one who's a conservative) was late because he was playing ball with Jacob at Jordan and Christian's. He had been a huge help with the sale. I had my dinner half cooked--green beans with bacon and vinegar, sauteed tiny tomatoes. I'll saute fish just before I eat. I figure if I have a glass of wine with the neighbors I'llbe too tired to cook the whole thing from scratch. The pesto/hummus combination turned out to be great. I tried to take a picture of us having happy hour with a huge pile of trash behind us, but it didn't work so you'll just have to take my word for it--it was a tranquil ending to a hectic day, even if we did get into a political discussion. We're of different persuasions, but we're pretty honest about it and it works well. Jay, Susan and Sue went off to Chadra, the Lebanese restaurant, to meet friends for dinner, but I begged off. I had that half cooked dinner, and I'm most content at home, trying to catch up on things and finish a mystery I've been reading for days.

Yikes!

That's exactly how I felt when I walked into my own house tonight, 8 p.m., tired after a long author's reception, and hungry. This is what my house looked like. When I left it may have had a few corners that needed straightening--the bathroom and kitchen may not have been perfect, but oh my! I'm not fastidioius housekeeper--I hate to clean house, but I can't stand clutter. The great warning used to be "Hold on to your glass or she'll police it." So you can imagine how overwhelmed I feel. All this is in preparation for the garage sale Jordan and Christian are having at my house at the break of dawn (or before) tomorrow morning--you'd be surprised how early people arrive. It's at my house because I live on a busier street than they do and because tomorrow is the annual neighborhood garage sale. I'm hoping Jacob and I can sleep through the early parts and then I can calmly feed him breakfast and get him watching Lion King or some such, but I have a feeling it's a vain hope. I may run away mid-morning to the grocery, but I cannot adequately tell you how much I dread this periodic event. Where in heaven's name do they get all the stuff to sell?

TCU Press hosted a reception for one of our books tonight at the Community Arts Center. It's a photography book, Fort Worth: A Personal View, and 18 photos from the book are on exhibit in one of the CAC galleries during the entire month of October. The photographer is thrilled; he sold some books tonight, we did an inexpensive reception--pretzel sticks, smoked almonds, and marianted olives, plus wine, of which folks didn't drink a whole lot. But it was a good three hours on our feet, and I was hungry and tired when I got home. The kids had eaten smoked turkey sandwiches, and while I was eating my dinner at my desk, Christian stuck his head in to ask, "What did you cook that smells so good?" I felt guilty telling him it was a ground sirloin patty and a blue cheese salad.

Last nigth Betty and I went shoe shopping before dinner and bought identical black shoes--we'll be the Bobbsey twins. Then we went back to the wine cafe, and I had the same thing I'd had two nights earlier--wedge salad and chocolate mousse. So good. Then I came home, watched the debates--until Jordan, Jacob and Christian arrived after which I watched with half an eye, the other eye on Jacob. Still no great writing accomplished.

So now it's the tail end of another

long day--I did a massive grocery shopping, worked in the morning, etc.--and I'm too tired to think about being a writer. I find my days boil down to work in the morning, deal with emails in the afternoon, a nap, and maybe something constructive at night. At this rate, I'll never get my second mystery done, and I have to somehow change my schedule--no, giving up the nap is not an option! Sometmes I think how lucky I am that my life is so full that I don't have time to write--but hey, that's wrong. Writing is what I want to do.