Logjam

[snousle]

It's been almost a month since we arrived, and it's gone very, very fast. There is so much to do, and unpacking is such a logjam that it's hard to make any progress. One box will contain things that go to three different places, which are in turn full of boxes. Having the commercial kitchen and associated service patio still unavailable hasn't helped. Since the contractor didn't finish the floor in time for me to get it sealed, I have to move all the appliances, etch each area with acid, neutralize it, dry it, and finally put on the sealant. Otherwise I'd have had to wait another week and a half for delivery. So, because the floor isn't sealed there's no place to put the kitchen stuff, which jams up everything else. You get the idea!

And books! Books are the ultimate white elephant. I might never want to read them again, but throwing them out seems sacreligious. I'm not at all sure how to handle them. I know there's lots of bibliophiles reading this... has anyone succeeded in overcoming the tyranny of paper?

We have carved out a very reasonable living area, though, which makes things fairly pleasant. Here's some pictures...

This is our dining / living area. The finish carpentry is not even started in here - it will eventually have Craftsman-style stained fir trim around the windows. We're copying the finish carpentry in the San Jose house, as it was carefully designed to look good even when it's built by complete doofuses.



This is taken from the dining area, looking the other way into the residential kitchen. Note the little itty-bitty bar sink, which was never intended for washing dishes in - as we've been doing for the past four weeks.



John has set up his shop in the small guest room for now.



Kitsune has proven to be something of a porch dog, which makes her easy to manage out here. She's more interested in bugs and lizards than the larger wildlife. She did go after a small herd of deer but, amazingly, was rebuffed by the head buck. That's probably a good lesson for her to learn. In the meanwhile, she's ridiculously cute when she pounces on lizards in the tall grass.



Stainless fetishists will have to wait a while longer for pictures of the commercial kitchen, at least until it's respectable. Stay tuned.

Comments

The tyranny of books

[kevynjacobs.livejournal.com]

I broke myself of the habit of owning books in my early 20s, when I worked at a public library. With the huge collection of books available to me every day at work, I knew I could easily get any book I actually wanted.

So I started culling my own book collection. First I went through and asked, "Am I likely to ever read this again?" If the answer was "no," then it's just taking up space, and in a way, I'm keeping others from reading it. The exceptions: Sentimental favourites, books that were gifts from special someones, books signed by the author, and very, very rare books.

Reference and nonfiction books tended to get culled before fiction, as well. With the advent of the Internet, if I need to get nonfiction reference material, it's usually just a few keystrokes away.

Everything else, I donated to the local public library.

A few notes about library donations: Not everything you donate will get added to the library's collection. If it's a book that they already have copies of, or that isn't likely to have an audience, or isn't in good shape, the library will probably put it in their book sale. Libraries usually have these once a year to raise funds and purge excess books.

Also, unless you need a receipt for tax purposes, the easiest way to donate to a library is to... simply drop it in the book drop. Anonymously. The library will usually hold the book for 30 days, to see if it's claimed, then it goes to the collection development librarian, to determine if it will be added to the collection, and if not, to the book sale. It's a pain-free way to get rid of excess books, and honestly, most of them you'll never miss.

Also, from time to time, I sell books on Half.com and Amazon.com. When culling, check the titles at these locations, to see if there are many used copies for sale, or if the used prices on that title are particularly high. Sometimes, a book is rare and/or expensive enough to merit listing for sale there. They only charge you if the book sells.