I am so with you all on the P. Canon. As a string player I've played three out of the four parts (violin 1 and 2 and viola). Many. Many. Times.

I am cleaning out the Closet of Death. Doesn't everyone have one of these; you know, the closet where you toss in all the random crap that doesn't go anywhere else? Well, I haven't touched mine in the four years that I've lived in my wee one-bedroom, and in a massive attack (not related to the band) of overcompensating-for-my-mess-of-a-life cleaning fit, I am cleaning.

And I have opened the closet, and tossed everything into a ginormous pile on the LR floor. It's all piled in front of my door, which is my only ingress/egress, so I HAVE to clean it in order to leave my apartment (unless I (a) choose to tumble out my bedroom window, like the world dustiest and most graceless cat burglar, sans cats, or (b) never again leave my house, subsisting on green beans, raw macaroni and tumeric, until death come with the inevitable discovery of my benibbled-by-cats corpse by neighbors.)

I have loaded a yard-sized hefty bag with 4 years worth of crumpled gift bags, empty shoe boxes and ratty tissue paper. Why do I have this bizarre compulsion to save this shit? It's not like I ever WRAP anything, and the shoe boxes...? Do I think someday I will need to make a couple of Valentine's Day boxes? WHY?

In addition to the paper trash, I have found two humidifiers (I don't remember having ONE), a elderly hard-sided suitcase from the 50's, two dead bugs, lots of dust, three lamps that don't work, a keyboard, the Piltdown Man's left femur, Cleopatra's makeup case, Jimmy Hoffa, Socrate's diary, some dusty Scotch tape, Dolly Parton's training bra, and 12 oz. of weapon's-grade plutonium.

• sigh*

Heh. I have a hard time throwing away shoe boxes too, Erin. Though I do put them to use holding all of Emmett's tiny little toy pieces.

ND and I have parted ways *sniff* since he is catching a Delta flight back to CA, whereas I am getting on the cattle cartaking a Southwest flight to Tucson to meet up with my family for Christmas. Alas, we are in separate terminals and therefore on separate Hertz shuttles. Vacation was fun, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing my mom, gram, aunt, uncle, and little cousin. I wish I could see my dad too, but maybe he'll come visit soon.

I bought some orange and cinnamon lotion yesterday from Bath and Body Works. I just used it and it smells YUMMY!

I... think I'm pretty much done Christmas shopping. I have a couple little things to pick up, but I know what and where they are, so the "Oh, man, what am I going to get for [insert name of hard to buy for person]," phase of shopping is over. Yay! I'm pretty happy with my selections this year; I think people will be pleased. And I know they'll fake it well if not, so.. yay, again!

Oh. I do still have to go grocery shopping. Well, again, I know where and what I'm getting, so...

It's unseasonably warm and gorgeous out today. Don't even need a coat. I kind of like it this way.

I bought some orange and cinnamon lotion yesterday from Bath and Body Works. I just used it and it smells YUMMY!

Oh, I smelled that the other day, and it was delish! I'm thinking about getting some for my mom, cause she used to drink a lot of orange&spice tea, and everytime I was ill, she owuld make me milky O&S tea.

Huh, I am getting my dad Scottish breakfast tea for Xmas, and decaf Earl Grey for my sis. I think I WILL get the lotion for mom, and I will have a themed Xmas! (The theme is "I went to jail, I'm fucking broke as fuck, I love you, here is tea-stuff.")

I have CLEANED the whole closet o' doom!!! TWo giant bags of crap (including shoes I haven't worn for years) in the trash, and I found my hanging shoe storage thingie on the bottom, hung it up, and installed all of my shoes therein, which has freed about 6 sq. feet of floor pace from the front of my living room, which I laughingly call my "foyer."

Now it looks all...open and shit. It's creeping me out.

Nice work, Erin. Yeah, whenever I have a bunch of new space from cleaning, it weirds me out a little. This is not a problem I've had lately.

I just got back from Xmas shopping. I wasn't sure if my family secret giftee has pierced ears so I got this really pretty pendant with real flowers.

Then Dad calls and tells me that my secret giftee is really my almost 9 yr old second cousin-ish (he's my first cousin's kid) who is a boy, which throws a wrench into things. If this were his twin sister I would be fine. However, Dad said he has to go out and buy something and he thought of a good present my little cousin likes to read so Dad is going to pick up a Hardy Boys book. I think that's in the right age range.

Now I have to make a pile of Xmas gifts to return.

Piltdown Man's left femur...Socrate's diary...and 12 oz. of weapon's-grade plutonium.

I was wondering WHERE I left those!

When I wrap Xmas presents, I always put something in the VCR that I've already seen, because that way I don't have to pay close attention, like I would with something new. Silly me, I put in the 6-hour (maybe 8?) BBC miniseries of The Buccaneers, and it's sucked me right in.