So how are YOU today?

Absolutely, osso! Nothing like THAT would phase YOU! :wink:

But what a sad story about your niece's, mother! The funeral could be hard for everyone. Good luck, osso. So much going on & so many upheavals happening in your world right now. I hope you're taking your vitamins & getting enough sleep! :wink: Hugs to you from me!

Hugs, back, msolga.

Yeh, I'm okay.
Of course, I haven't even started dealing with the basement...
(that's not too bad - lot of old landscape architecture plans, which I am sick of hauling around lest I be sued 20 years later, old paintings, various tools. Ah, flat files of drawings, antique file cabinets....
oh, sigh.)

... um, osso, don't forget to throw heaps out! Very good for the soul!

ok!

Be ruthless! You'll never miss that stuff!

Not true, I've missed stuff tossed before. Ms. Sentimental.

And those antique file cabinets, I bet you're thinking oak. No, old steel ones, with sort of deco, er, things, you move to open the drawer. I got them in a group of two tall ones and three short files, for $40.

Well. We'll see.

I hope you have lots of space in your new home, osso!

I won't.

Thus the bind. I do, or did, a first cut. Now I'm in to straight out culling from the herd.

Complicated in that I need to keep my options open for what I do in the future. Does the artist want to hurl out all her art books? the landarch throw out her binders, when I might need to be doing that? the person said to be writing a piazza book throw out all of her stuff on italy? Cull, cull, cull.

Much of this material I accumulated over time at used bookstore prices, pre internet. I can't get rid of early editions of Augustus Hare..., and so on. I've already tossed a Zola, given to me by my hundred year old aunt... but not a particularly old book.

Thing about being book avid, is that people give you books. So I have books on italy that I wouldn't have bought, say a fairly current guide on Tuscany, but given to me by ........
Dog forbid they visit and don't see it...

My complete sympathy, osso.

When I moved from a large Cal. Bung. to a tiny Victorian terrace house a few years ago (with 3 cats!) I HAD to be ruthless! No choice. I had to change to smaller furniture, too. Smaller EVERYTHING! I actually made a lot of $$$ by selling some semi-treasured books (which I hadn't looked at for years, BTW) to dealers. Hard at the time, I can tell you! The rule of thumb I used was: Have I looked at this book in the past 5 years? No? OUT, then! <gulp> I still have too many, but no longer purchase expensive art books, etc. .... The internet has been used much more for research & "just looking" purposes ever since! And, surprisingly, I DON'T miss many of those books at all. It was something about knowing they were there on my shelves, like old friends, that tied me to them.

Now, did that help? :wink:

My sympathy, Osso. On our return from Hong Kong with a huge amount of memorabilia and furniture and chinoiserie we moved into a large house with room for all. When my husband got depressed he insisted on moving into another house, charming, right in the centre of the old town - but small. Ruthlessly, I organised house sales, charity shop runs, trips to the tip. Even some original Klimt drawings. I have to tell myself that it has been sold or given to someone who will appreciate it, and that it would be selfish to regret. On the day of 'Make Poverty History' concerts worldwide, I just have to count my blessings! I'm sorry this has turned out sententious which was far from my mind when I started to write it.

<hugs> to Osso and Olgs

Thanks for the hug, Clare.
I needed it.
Just woke up (nearly 10 pm) after dozing for a few hours. I had to cancel dinner tonight because I'm still feeling so crook. Now I think I'll have to cancel tomorrow's walk in the You Yangs, too. (I think you know Victoria ... The You Yangs are (sort of) on the way to Geelong.) I'm so sick of feeling like this!

A big hug back to you!

Lighten up, Msolga!

Tomorrow will be a sunny day!

(with a shower or two)...

I would if I could just shake this cold, Francis! It's a killer! <whimper>

Keep thinking: I'll be better tomorrow! You'll see...

Your dear is quite well, as usual

With joy in his heart!

Hope you be Ok soon...

Hey, what happens?

That's good, Francis. Joy in your heart? How nice!

With a song in my heart . . .

Overslept, gotta go get a check (that's cheque for the spelling challenged among us) and put it in the bank to cover the check i wrote yesterday to avoid homelessness. Then it's the long weekend . . . Monday being a holiday, everything will be closed, and more than half the adult population will be drunk by sundown . . .

Gotta get some coffee and get movin' . . .

All love and positive thoughts flowing out to the Antipodes . . . even to Geelong . . .

>>>>> WHOOSH! >>>>>>>>>>>>


(Has Setanta already left the building? That was quick!)


Enjoy your long weekend, then!

Here's hoping you're feeling a lot better soon, Olga baby. TLC sent down the line to you along with all those good-hearted people singing from Live 8. Passed by Hyde Park yesterday around 7.30 pm and they were all still jollying about, no traffic except police vans - never had an easier trip up Knightsbridge! We had just picked up J.B. (he posts on many threads here, I met him on an English one) - who is just 16 and had never been out of China - at Heathrow. Today he catches a coach to Totnes and starts 7 weeks at our school. A2K has done great things there!
Now I'm sitting at my son Tam's fancy computer, groaning at the thought of having to pack all his stuff in my car today as he's leaving the London flat, and will spend some weeks at home and then - off to Paris in late September. I'm going to drive him over - listening, Francis? We could do lunch?