No party? ... No party. Hybrid Cure, Week Eight

I so wish I could find a clip of one of the several James Garner/Mariette Hartley Polaroid ads in which the tag line featured Mariette asking sadly, "No party?" and Jim responding, "No party." I found several other clips on YouTube, and had a lovely time watching them, but "No party?" No. No party.

And that's exactly the case as we wind down our Hybrid Cure. None of the regular participants is planning the housewarming party that Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan so heartily endorses in his book which inspired this Cure. I'm very grateful that I didn't plan a party this time around, because my apartment is not quite ready for its close-up. (Sorry Mr. DeMille.)

However, it occurs to me that the sorts of things Maxwell suggests for a party might make a nice weekly relaxation ritual -- Finding a good recipe, and dining by candlelight; buying fresh flowers; listening to music while dining. I may do that.

So -- what bits of the Week Eight schedule can I incorporate into my Hybrid version of Week Eight?

Vacuum the entire apartment and clean all windows. Cleaning all windows will not be happening, I have more pressing things that need to be done. However, vacuuming the entire apartment is a very good idea.

Do a final purge for clutter and empty the Outbox. That is ongoing. The Outbox will be emptied (including the old computer) the next time the friends who deal with the Outbox stuff come over.

Arrange the apartment for the best party flow. The dominoes have not yet all fallen to enable the re-arrangement of the living room furniture, party flow or non-party flow. The rocking chair and the bookcase must leave the building before that can happen. That might be some time, as the cousin who will be the new caregiver for these family heirlooms lives some distance away.

Remove your shoes when at home. That is not going to happen. I prefer to wear shoes or slippers at all times.

Consider improving your audio system and making it smaller. Hard to get much smaller than an iPod. I do have a small CD player/clock radio which I'd like to find a space for somewhere in the living/dining room so that I can do that "listening to music while dining" thing.

Buy fresh flowers. When filling my Christmas stocking this -- no! LAST year, I included a Safeway gift card with a note "for roses only". I haven't yet used it. Not for one rose. It's time.

Turn down the lights and light your candles. I'll at least turn down the lights. Or rather, turn off a selected number of lights. I don't have dimmer switches.

Choose the music ahead of time. I have many lovely CDs that I rarely listen to. A weekly dinner with music would be a good way to remedy that. 

Serve cold drinks immediately. Cold water or cold milk? That's all I drink.

Cook and eat at home. Eating at home is something I do on a regular basis. I still haven't disciplined myself well enough to eat healthily at home. That will be factored in to the regular "me party" idea.

Plan the week ahead. This week ahead (and into next week) will involve finishing up in the Writing Room. I have realized that the Storage Room cannot be completed in the time-frame of this Cure, so everything that still needs to be sorted will be neatly stored in the aptly named Storage Room, and will be sorted in odd free moments in the days, weeks, or months to come. I have taken all this Cure time away from my writing, and I really must get back to it, so starting today I worked on the transfer of things into the Storage Room from the Writing Room in the morning, and in the afternoon worked on writing.

Wake early for a bath. The sun wakes me by 5:30 or so. If I'm lucky, I get back to sleep. Usually I don't. So there is plenty of time for ablutions in the morning, but I'm not the soak-in-the-tub type.

Optional: Consider removing the television. The television was removed for over a year. I now have a small television again. I have watched it twice since I bought it several months ago. I don't think I'm in danger of getting too caught up in television watching.

So, the basic plan is get the Writing Room into shape, and get back to real life -- but real life in a calmer, more serene manner, with a sense of satisfaction at so much work done.

I'll post After pictures of the Writing Room some time next week.