Feb 11, 2010

The dreaded four-letter d-word

No, not that one. Another d-word. d-e-s-k. Also answers to "center of my universe," "command central," "arch nemesis," "the black hole," "Bermuda triangle," etc., etc. You get the idea. This relationship is beyond love/hate - it makes the "War of the Roses" (the movie, not the actual war) look like a tale of wedded bliss.

This desk is where I spend the majority of my waking hours, and yet I can't seem to keep any semblance of order, at least not for very long...a day or two at most, and then the detritus slowly builds: papers that should be filed or round-filed, clipped coupons, pens, stamps, paperclips, checkbook, junk mail, is that a bottle of contact lens solution over there? Yep. They all lay here, silently accusing me of sloth and disorganization.

Today is a new day, a time for a fresh start. Today I am cleaning it for real (not just tidying the stacks, or transplanting everything to the floor in my classic Scarlet O'Hara "I'll think about that tomorrow!" maneuver.) Really, truly clean. Filed, tossed, put away. If I'm not heard from in 24 hours, someone put out an APB - you'll know the desk finally swallowed me whole.

In other news, the Dutch oven has been broken in: she gently cradled a pork tenderloin smothered in onions, garlic and seasoning yesterday, at 325 for 2 hours. Yum. The sourdough starter is still going, but it was getting a little watery, so I drained off the hooch and thickened up the flour addition. It bubbles, but doesn't double in size.

Weather-wise, it seems we are deep in the icy frost pocket of winter's thick coat. The 10-day forecast is bleak - the best we can hope for is to edge toward the upper 40s towards the end of the month, but not before we have a few more brushes with some snow next week.

Update: Okay, so it's late afternoon and the desk is *almost* done. (Where have I heard that before?) And as a reward for digging to the bottom? I found a sale ad for new Fiestaware. Square Fiestaware. Be still my beating heart...