The new work

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

I've had this cartoon pinned up above my desk at work for several years. It is, I'm afraid to say, largely accurate apart from that my desk is bigger and encroached rather beautifully onto the neighbouring windowsill where I stored skim read/unread periodicals dating back from whenever I last moved desks (I think it was about April 08). 

My study/office/sewing room frequently adopts a similar style, and with the impending arrival of the little bear now a real fixture on the horizon it was time to do some sorting out; sorting out not just the contents of the study but also the three bookcases in the bear's room and two bookcases on the landing.

Lets just say then when I show you this:

You'll understand why I've not been able to get the computer! Actually, looking at that picture again my first thought was that it really doesn't look so bad, so I think it must have got considerably worse before it got better. 

H, possibly taking advantage of the nesting hormones, encouraged me in the biggest book purge I have ever done (NB the previous biggest book purge was when I took Ben Elton's Popcorn to a charity shop - I really didn't like that book); we sent a big box of trashy fiction to my parents for their church stall, and there's another big sack of books and odds and ends in the back of my car waiting to go to the British Heart Foundation.  I've eliminated duplicate copies of books and organised the remainder into categories (can you tell I was a librarian when I was 11?), and thanks to the wonders of Lakeland and their vacuum suction baggies I've got two duvets, 4 pillows and 4 cushions in the top of the wardrobe.  I have also assimilated the contents of the other bookcases with some cunning bookcase swapping and a big box of textbooks now straining the bottom of the wardrobe

And lo and behold and what seemed like an entire reel of bin bags later, it doesn't look too bad:




I can get to all of my yarn and fibre and crafty books and I may even have space to set up the sewing machine to finish off some quilt blocks if the bear would kindly stay on board for a little while longer (please, pretty please).

Of two things I am now certain however:

(1) I think I need a proper big sewing box to organise all of my odds and ends and spools of thread.
(2) If we ever have a bear-sibling we may have to move house.

PS - if anyone knows where I've put my other mitten and my other slipper, please let me know.  I'm sure I had a pair of each before I started tidying!