Where to start?

The only way I can stave off despair is trying to focus on what I can control. I can't control the ghastly disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. I cannot look at the helpless creatures mired in petroleum muck without crying. I cannot think charitably about BP or its CEO, any more than I can about Massey Energy and that bufo toad Blankenship. China executed two managers involved in the tainted milk scandal that killed 6 children and sickened some 300,000. Hm. Maybe Hayward and Blankenship should consider themselves lucky.

I should stop reading news feeds of any inclination. I hold no stock in the Book of Revelation, for two reasons: 1) it was written in and for a particular time, long past, and 2) if it, and other biblical prophets might, might, be right, it is only a possibility. God gave us free will, and the dire prophecies do not have to happen if humankind is wise enough to choose rightly. Alas, fundamentalists - Christian, Jewish and Muslim - are trying their damnest to make prophecy come true. In my own country, there is no sane political discourse. We are dangerously close to another civil war. In fact, we may be already in one, one of words and invective, though thankfully, not one of arms -- yet.

My take is this: we have been poor stewards of this planet, our only home. There are over 6 billion of us, dare I say, MAGGOTS, cramming the planet. The Gulf disaster is only a drop in the bucket, I imagine, to the sins against the Earth that have gone unreported. Forget Revelation. I firmly believe Mother Earth is a living organism, and we have become parasites. I can't blame Her for shaking us off. We deserve it.

That said, here's what I can control: what the hell do to with my studio in the basement. It's a disaster. I have shit falling out the closet, trying to organize it into piles for eBay, yard sale, keep and pitch. Too many books. The basement studio contains my painting stuff and my paper arts stuff. Over the last few months, a goodly amount of my paper arts stuff ended up on the main level. I'm not sure how that happened. But they ended up in the Miscellany Room, that is, where the parrot and Gleason's crate are, as well as the beverage fridge and retro Singer sewing machine. And the litterbox. Yay. And outdoor furniture waiting to return to the deck. Someday.

After I sold the desk/secretary combo, I had to unload it. It had been in the Miscellany Room, but for the past month the contents have been on the dining room table:

I have a shitload more paper arts stuff in my studio. My idea is to have TWO rooms (sorry David), one for paper arts, sewing and crafty stuff, the other strictly for painting. I know I'm being greedy, and this won't last probably should we move. I have Dad's easel in the back of the Prius, and I still need to collect more art supplies, including a very heavy cabinet, from Mom's. So it stands to reason that I need a larger space for painting.

I really am unorganized. Sometimes I hate it, but in general it is what it is. I just move on through the flotsam and jetsam (or let the flotsam and jetsam flow around me), because that's usually easier than putting my life on hold to organize something. However, in this case, I will only attend to my arty/crafty side if I get these rooms sorted out. I have a scrapbook to assemble for cryin' out loud! I hope I can get it together before Wesley's first birthday in July.

My idea is to move the craft/drafting table up to the Miscellany Room, now that the secretary/desk piece is gone. I wish Gleason could be trusted sans crate, but even at nearly 6, and pretty well-trained (ha), he isn't. So crate has to stay.

Meanwhile another project looms - the dining room table. When we have a spate of dry weather, I need to move it out to the deck, remove and turn around the end legs, and refinish and seal the top. I had done the top before, back in 1994 or so, but never the leaves. Now the whole table needs done. It came from the Blands on the Hill (the long gone 214 High Street), and it's a lovely piece. If I can do the top properly, it will be too pretty for a tablecloth. Just need a runner and a rustic flower arrangement. We'll see.

Where to start?