De-cluttering week two.

July 29, 2017 by Z.A. Maxfield

Week Two –

The kitchen. The good news? I have the ladies coming again, Deb and Sharon, and they will force me to keep only one of everything, I hope. I have a bit of a sickness for kitchen things and clothing. And the ladies are about to find out exactly how deep that runs and exactly how brilliant I am about storing things. There isn’t a square inch of space in my kitchen that is unused. So that means the amount of things I’m able to store (before things start piling up on counters) is immense.

That’s one of those good news/bad news stories, though. It allows me to forget what I own, or lose it, which forces me to buy a second one if I can’t find it. I know this is a first world problem. That’s why I’m determined to set a lot of things free today. I’m determined to donate anything useful and either recycle or upcycle or responsibly discard anything that isn’t.

It’s a brave new world, chez ZAM. Possibly, the start of a brave new way of looking at life.

If you’re playing the home game, go declutter something and tell me about it in the comments! It’s never easy to admit that things have gotten out of hand is it? In my case, they’ve gotten out of hand sporadically, and will probably get out of hand again.

The only way out is through!

Be well!

ZAM

Some sad news…

July 28, 2017 by Z.A. Maxfield

I’ve been to all of the GRL retreats, and I love each and every one of the people I see there every year. There is no better group of people. My Tribe. No better reason to get together and spend some time sharing hugs and space and stories.

But I’m experiencing some health issues (probably related to the concussion I had in May) and my husband is having some medical issues–related to mobility–and there’s just no telling what’s ahead for us right now. He and I are scheduled to be in Florida together in November for two weeks, so something on my schedule had to give.

It is my sincerest, deepest hope that everyone has a wonderful time. We sure need the community, huh? Now more than ever!

My heart will be with you and I will miss all your faces until next year when I can try again! In the meantime, I wish you all the very, very best!

All my love,

ZAM

I couldn’t do it!

July 24, 2017 by Z.A. Maxfield

I could not imagine doing this. Not by myself. It’s too much stuff, some of it has sentimental value. Things hold memories and some are painful to look at.

This lot in the photograph are things we never got around to going through after the fire. There were thousands of neatly labeled TLC boxes–filled with things collected in a grid pattern like evidence at a crime scene–it’s useful, but kind of crazy– especially tough when you’re dealing with people who don’t do housework like us. Mea culpa. So in one box, you’ll see a label that says, “living room – single shoe, file folder with resumes, pens, startup disc for Oregon Trail.”

It’s all a bit of a time capsule from 2012 (SPOILER ALERT– Obama won that one legitimately and with WAY more votes than the other guy. Just sayin’.)

Things have the power to trigger emotions, good or bad, as we all know. And last year was hard. A close personal friend fought cancer right before my eyes. More spoilers–Miss Beverly is a badass and she won!

But it started me thinking. What I carry should be lighter, in case I have to change direction on a dime. It should be utterly precious to me, if I’m going to carry it at all, and it should be so beautiful, it pleases me to just think about it. I can’t tell you how few “things” in my life fit that criteria. People, yeah. But things? Nope. I have attachments to things. But there’s nothing I’d go into a burning building for. I guess that’s a good test.

When my anxiety gets out of control, it’s usually because I’ve ignored something that’s bothering me. As anxiety builds up, stress in other areas of my life gets out of control. Maybe, just maybe, I should heed the words my heart seems to be whispering…

BE NIMBLE – Perhaps now more than ever we should all be nimble, in case our income should dry up, or our health change and healthcare gets more expensive than we planned.

BE HUMBLE – I NEEDED TO hire help. I called up Orange County’s Cluttercleaners.com, and Sharon and Deb came over. They helped me bust my way through that nonsense with relentless, cheerful, prodding, “lets move on!” And they were respectful. It’s harder for some people in my family to let things go than others. They were very tuned in to our moods and were extremely responsive.

I asked all my kids to help, and what felt like a monumental, incomprehensible mess turned out to be kind of fun. And we’re done. One day. Amazeballs. My kids are fricking heroes. They worked so hard, and so tirelessly, and were so uncomplaining, WHO WERE THEY???

I kept asking them things that might trip them up. “Remember when we went to China when you were little?” We never did.

I’ll be honest, when Sharon said we’d do it in a day, I laughed.

And then we did!

And it was just the beginning. Next weekend, we’re heading into the office, also known as The Heart Of Darkness…

BE GRATEFUL – Our methods have been “unsound” for years. Paperwork, clutter, swag, and books? everywhere, partly because we are unwise in the extreme and partly because we’ve had abundance, and we’ve been able to take “the temperature” of our finances without having to do serious examinations except at tax time.

Imma tell you now–it’s gonna be a clusterf*ck of epic proportions when we do, and we’ll probably be disappointed in ourselves. BUT…

When we’re done, we’re going to know what we own. And what we owe. And how we can do better to help ourselves, other people, and the planet going forward.

BE MINDFUL. My life since the fire has been a blur. I never made the house mine, after. We got new furniture, but we didn’t put pictures up. or Rugs. I no longer cared about putting my stamp on my space–that’s probably a post for another day. Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t just let go of everything–reflexively–because that fire came with the awful realization how quickly everything could be taken away.

Your turn to follow along!

Go declutter something and tell me all about it in the comments! You know I feel your pain! But LOOK! LOOK AT THE TIDY! Feast your eyes on the swept!

BE READY TO LAUGH – Oh, and yeah. Our Christmas lights? I’m playing chicken with the twins and my husband on those. We’re halfway into YEAR TWO on those lights. They think it drives me crazy because it makes us look like what we look like… LOSERS! But here’s the thing, that’s nowhere geographically near any hill I’m prepared to die on. Those lights had just better work come Christmastime or it’s those guys who’ll be up on the ladder in the dark, switching them out, not me!

Throwback Thursday

July 20, 2017 by Z.A. Maxfield

It’s 198—something. I’m on a road trip with Nancy. Marlin is at home. We’re heading to Oregon to deliver her Professor’s car, and we have a hard and fast deadline, except we jump off the road at every tourist stop.

We eat at Heavenly Hamburgers. We drive through redwoods and visit plastic dinosaurs. Every moment feels stolen because when you’re twenty-whatever, you don’t yet understand that you’re not stealing your moments, they’re yours. You should be burning them.

We listen to lots of Heart and Tom Waits on cassette tapes. We get speeding tickets and smoke French cigarettes and blaze in the car until a thick fog leaves the vehicle every time we do.

My mother must have been so proud…

Bluewater Bay Series…

July 10, 2017 by Z.A. Maxfield

This picture is from Chicago’s GRL. It was taken the night I spent exploring with my friend, author Heidi Belleau. Heidi is a multi-talented, wonderful woman, mother, and author, who didn’t tell me she was pregnant while we were running from the Navy Pier to catch our architectural tour boat… I think I fainted when I found out, because as you can see from the picture, I was in pretty good shape at the time but whenever I was pregnant, the only way I could get out of a paper bag was to dampen it with my pitiful, hormone soaked tears… They’re making some pretty awesome women these days. Just Sayin’

Heidi’s way, way younger than me and her badassery that night was the stuff of legends. The only thing I regret is we can’t all get together twenty-five times a year.

The reason I mention this is three-fold. First, all the Bluewater Bay series books are interconnected, so when Healey Holly realizes he can’t stay in the apartment over the garage anymore, he has to go to the Burnt Toast B & B…and you can find out more about the place in Heidi and Rachel Haimowitz’s book, The Burnt Toast B&B!

“After breaking his arm on set, Wolf’s Landing stuntman Ginsberg Sloan finds himself temporarily out of work. Luckily, Bluewater Bay’s worst B&B has cheap long-term rates, and Ginsberg’s not too proud to take advantage of them.

Derrick Richards, a grizzled laid-off logger, inherited the B&B after his parents’ untimely deaths. Making beds and cooking sunny-side-up eggs is hardly Derrick’s idea of a man’s way to make a living, but just as he’s decided to shut the place down, Ginsberg shows up on his doorstep, pitiful and soaking wet, and Derrick can hardly send him packing.

Not outright, at least.

The plan? Carry on the B&B’s tradition of terrible customer service and even worse food until the pampered city boy leaves voluntarily. What Derrick doesn’t count on, though, is that the lousier he gets at hosting, the more he convinces bored, busybody Ginsberg to try to get the B&B back on track. And he definitely doesn’t count on the growing attraction between them, or how much more he learns from Ginsberg than how to put out kitchen fires.”

* * * * * * *

Bluewater Bay stories can be read in any order — jump in wherever you’d like!

Word count: 62,000; page count: 241

The Writer’s Police Academy

August 10, 2016 by Z.A. Maxfield

I really wanted to go to the Writer’s Police Academy again this year. Last year was so much fun. I did sign up, and I did have classes arranged and everything, but I am really sad to say I have a very sick dog and cannot go.

Many of you know that at the last Writer’s Police Academy, I watched a demonstration of K-9 officer training, and while I was there, I fell in love with German Shepherds again. We had a GSD growing up, and I never realized how much I wanted to find a GSD to love until I met Ledger.

So here he is. He is a rescue, an elder statesman, and a really sweet boy. While we’ve been together, I’ve learned the most important thing about German Shepherd Dogs: They choose a person and stick to them like glue. They are, in fact, a little bit clingy. Like big, furry skirts, they swirl around your ankles everywhere you go, even if it’s only two feet. Back and forth. Sink to stove. Bed to bath. They follow. Everywhere.

And I don’t mind. Except when they’re sick they will not leave their “support bi-ped’s” side. And they do not appreciate being left.

But we found out that Ledger is actually older than anyone realized. They thought he was about 8, but X-rays show he’s probably over ten now. He’s has had a very difficult life. It’s always tough for older GSDs because they develop a number of issues due to bad breeding practices–things that make their final years especially difficult, like hip dysplasia.

None of which would stop me from adopting him all over again tomorrow. I love my dog.

But…

Now we are dealing with kidney problems and Ledger is on borrowed time. He is still eating, sometimes, but he doesn’t like low protein food. Just look at that face. He still thinks he can eat an In-n-Out quad, animal style. (Not that he’s ever done that on my watch.)

Most of the time, he enjoys sitting by my feet while I work. Or he sits by the pool while I float. Unlike Pepper, our Lab, Ledger dislikes the sun, so he sits in the shade. He gets up and walks over when I float his way to say hello.

Animals make us into better people. I hope I’m doing a good job of seeing to it that he doesn’t suffer unduly. The kids are all sad, but we’re philosophical. One does what one can.

At any rate, this is why I won’t be going to the Writer’s Police Academy, the family affair that started with Frantz, the K-9 officer, will probably be ending for me and Ledger pretty soon.

But Ledger’s the dog of my heart, and we got some great time together. Adopting senior dogs is tough, but so worthwhile.

Please give your pets an extra hug for me and until we meet again, be well.