Pardon me while I drop off the face of the earth for a while

A package was waiting on the front porch when my husband and I got home from a day trip yesterday. (Nothing exciting. In fact, may I be the last of many to say financial planning is quite boring?) I knew what was in the box, but I dutifully fed the dog, opened the mail, made some coffee, yadda, yadda, yadda, before I opened it. Because I knew when I opened it I'd be, um, busy.

As my husband napped, I pulled my new NookColor (or is it NOOKcolor?) from its overpackaged nest. (Seriously, there were three or four pieces of thick cardboard under the retail box and several more atop it, all of it inside a thick corrugated box. Many trees die to ship Nooks, but the resulting compostable material will be good for the garden.)

I have a few things to figure out, but was able to do the initial set-up easily and smoothly and downloaded all the books I've been collecting in my Nook Library, in anticipation of this day. I subscribed to two new magazines (one cooking and one knitting) and read about transferring my recipe and knitting pattern collections from my computer to the device.

Now all I have to do is move them.

Too bad it doesn't take any physical effort to do so. My husband noted that my reaping and eating duties take up a lot of my knitting and running time in the summer, and he's right. I'm feeling sluggish, like I need to get out and do something.

I have a project in line, easy to execute but one that will take a great deal of lifting. I'm making old-fashioned, on-the-cheap brick-and-board shelves on one side of my pantry.

Our pantry cupboard is as big as wide as a refrigerator and a good 18 inches taller. Double doors equipped with shelves open onto folding shelved units revealing twin deep recesses. One side is equipped with shelves. The other has an ironing board in it.

Who irons these days? I can slip the ironing board under the guest-room bed and use that space for pickles and tomatoes and jam, oh my. Which will be ever so much handier than trotting out to the garage for a new jar of something.

Since it's going to rain today (at least it looks like it is), I think it would be a very good day to move the pile of bricks from behind the garage out to the driveway to be rinsed by Mother Nature.

I think I'll play with the Nook first, though. And if you don't hear from me for a day or two ... well, no need to send in the authorities. Heh.