Arggh.

Could I be any slower in learning the mandolin, please? I've decided I should cut the cord on the tablature method. I really need to learn to sight-read and to know what a musical note on the staff means on the fretboard. Seriously! But good grief. I've been working on "Red-Haired Boy" for a MONTH and still can't just play it from memory. I've been paperclipping strips of paper over the tablature so I can force myself to look at the notation, but I can barely play at all. So slow. So painful.

In news with better progress, since the beginning of the Great Clean Up the House, I Mean REALLY, on Saturday, we/I have done: the entire entryway, including emptying bookshelf, sorting, cleaning and cataloging all the books, moving said bookcase and cleaning behind it, sucking all cobwebs off the ceiling, cleaning the light fixture and washing the front window, fixing the broken terra-cotta candle thingie. The dining room: ditto, removed and replaced all artwork, emptied and sorted bookshelf, cleaned light fixture, sucked down cobwebs. Laundry room: thorough cleaning including sort/dump of shelves, moving washer&dryer and sucking up all cat food beneath, throwing out a dozen crappy old towels. Kitchen: Steve did all the vacuuming, wiping down cabinet fronts, toe-kick area etc. Cleaned all magnets and magnetic words off the fridge. There's a scary thing: A clean, white fridge front with NOTHING ON IT. Removed all crap from top of fridge. TK: clean out fridge, empty and clean all cabinets. Too big a job for this effort. Tonight: Halfway around the weaving/sewing space, including emptying, sorting, dumping bookshelf (I think there are now 100 ancient paperbacks in the discard pile HOORAY), vacuuming artwork and light fixture. Still to do in that space: the evil paperwork pile, wash windows inside. Move loom and vacuum beneath. Vacuum horrible vertical blinds. I NEVER close them; maybe they could just... go away.
If I did the sweep through the whole house every year perhaps I would get rid of a lot of crap. So far, lotta crap has been piled in a corner of the living room for future disposal. Mostly books. Laundry room crap went into the trash.