The Last of the 2011 Books

Hello out there,

The last book I finished reading in 2011 was Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. I really liked it. It's history, but told in an entertaining way, rather than being really dry and academic.

and I listened to audio books:
Heart of Darkness
Player Piano
Robopocolypse

I am not the hugest fan of audio books, but they did entertain me while doing stuff around the house, like cleaning, decorating for Christmas, and painting the basement. I guess my current preferences are:
1. Read a paper book
2. Read an e-book
3. Listen to an audio book

Anyway, in 2011 I read/listened to 58 books (not including kids' books). I think 2012 could have a bigger number since Violet is older and more able to entertain herself. On the other hand, I won't be lying around feeding her all day, so I'll miss out on that reading time. And on the other-other hand, in 2011 I read a lot of short novels that didn't need any thought, so those go quickly, and this year I might read more *literature* which really asks for some consideration and thought, and therefore more time. So I guess I'll just see how it goes.

So far this year, we've finished our work on the basement by tearing out an old, weirdly tall bar and painting two rooms. Jason put up a wall to make a storage room, and we had carpet installed. Now we have another play area for Violet, where toys can be strewn around without us feeling like our living room is a mess. She loves it down there and points and grunts and squeals to be taken downstairs to play. She has a toy kitchen with pans and fake food, and a shopping cart, and various other toys to play with.

The other room is the home gym area, and someday my office may move down there, too, if we need our third bedroom upstairs.

I still need to make and hang curtains and move the furniture around several times to get it right, but it's really nice to have that project so close to finished.

The next thing I'm working on is sorting through all my stuff to find things to donate. Last year I felt like I needed to accumulate things and settle in with the baby, with everything we might need. Now I feel like I am bogged down by too much stuff and need to lighten up. I'll let you know how many boxes I end up filling with donations. It might take all year, but I'd love to go through the whole house with the goal of de-cluttering.