Beautiful Messes.

 Today, I read an article in Bella Grace (Summer 2022) called "Beautiful Messes." In it, many readers shared times when messes are fun or dear. I decided to make my own list. Josh and I are well matched in most ways, but I'm a messy maximalist while he is a minimalist who needs order. Still, I think he may find some of these messes endearing.

• The huge ink bruises that bloom on the side of my middle finger, on my fingertips, and on my palms from writing with, cleaning, or filling fountain pens.
• Glitter from the little purple Christmas tree spilling on my project table.
• My big makeup bag overflowing with colorful eyeshadow, sparkling highlighters, and glitter mascara.
• An avalanche of new sheet protectors when Oliver is playing.
• The dishes and spilled ingredients in the kitchen after I make a good meal...especially sinxe Josh usually cleans up after I cook.
• Spilled glitter that getrs in rhe carpet and that the vacuum can't quite catch.
• A scattering of fountain pens by the kitchen sink when I'm cleaning them.
• A bin full of magazine photos and ephermera waiting for a collage or the art journal.
• A skidding stack of book I've read recently, bristling with colorful page flags marking all the lines I want to write down in my quotation composition books.
• New stickers spread out and waiting to decorate journnals, especially the ones that come from Pipsticks!
• Josh's little snack bowls and wrappers on various surfaces.
• Starry's hair (and even the claw-pluck marks) on her favorite chair.
• A paper towel covered in ink splotches after I use it to blot my newly-filled pens.
• The scatter of tiny ink bottles from my Inkvent calendar on Josh's desk.
• My closet, stuffed but color coordinated, full of sparkle, velvet, bookish tees, stars, and polka dots.
• A slam-packed freezer with plenty of fish sticks (Oliver), pizza (usually Oliver), veggie patties (Josh), and vegetable steamer bags (mostly me).
• A leaning tower of new magazines on the ottoman.
• All the pastel narwhal page flags studding my journal, marking lists (like this one) and poems I need to type.
• The leftover foam in the tub after a bubble bath.
• Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke cans before Josh whisks them away.
• The chip crumbs on the table and floor after Oliver has a treat.
• My books, computer, notepad, and pens spread out on a table in the college library.
• A basket full of pink and purple laundry.

A Bold Reader: Week 48.

Bruce and I finished Authority this past week. Weird! I wonder how much the final book in the trilogy will reveal or explain. We started it--Acceptance--so we're going to find out! We've already chosen our next book, which will be quite different.

I'm quite close to finishing Bad Motel. I read more than a dozen of those tiny stories (more than one per day!). They strike me as so brave. I've written flash fiction--but 100 words? Dang.

I went through six magazines this past week, most of them old Christmas issues to get me in the spirit. My main motivation was, of course, Oliver--he's always looking for something new to shred. But I thoroughly enjoyed the magazines before handing them over.

I have two Christmas issues of Bella Grace, which I plan to keep. It's a beautiful magazine, and I always check for the next issue at Barnes. It's expensive, but it's a thick quarterly--worth it!

I'm ever so behind on my Bible, and I don't even know why. But I'm working at it. I'll finish it, even if not by New Year's Eve. Still, I'm pushing myself. I'll read less of other books. I'll be bolder.

58 books this year! Reaching my extra goal of 60 will be no problem. My total is 645 books. I hope I can reach a total of 1,000 books by the time I turn 40.