Marion Agnew

Because houseguests are expected in two weeks--that's why/when you undertake a "reno" of the guest room that could have been done at any time in the previous six years. Well, "re-do" is more appropriate than "reno": no walls came down. But plenty of wallpaper did. And then paint went up on the walls (and dirt and crud came up from the carpet). Turns out, you get lots of "thinking time" when your face is two inches from the wall for three full days. The main thing was a reminder of the 80/20 rule: The first 80 percent of the labor is completed in 20 percent of the time; the remaining 20 percent of the labor requires 80 percent of the time. The first layer of wallpaper peels right off. Much of the underlayer comes off with a little more work. Here you're at 80% of the project but only 20% of the time. Getting all those ticky bits off (the last 20% of the removal) takes a water bottle sprayer, a scraper, and long-haul upper body strength

Thursday morning was cool, with precipitation ranging from mist to downpour. I wore layers to my yoga class, forgetting that truism of weather--being in a car is warmer than being outdoors, even when there's no sun. Plus, my body thermostat likes to jump around at times. Let's just say that all in all I was plenty warm on the drive in. When I got to class, I dove for the spot in back row in front of the open window, thrilled that it (the spot, as well as the window) was still open. The teacher offered to close the window if I were cold, but I said, "Oh, no; I'm hot and like the breeze." She suggested I wear a blanket as a shawl for the beginning part of the class, while we do the sit/center-ourselves part, because I wouldn't be moving around. Fine. So I was readying myself for class, blanket and all, and another woman in class said, "You're going to be so cold if she doesn't close that window." I said, "Uh, no, I'm fine. In fac

This year I'm learning about connecting, and I'm learning when enough is enough. And participating in the wacky world of Facebook has helped me learn a little of both. Connecting 1. On Facebook, I'm connected to * people I don't really remember from high school, * people I didn't know well in high school, * people who are friends with my siblings, * children of people who know my siblings, * my parents' former students (and their children and grandchildren), * people my parents once knew professionally, * people I once knew well but am geographically distant from, * people I never knew well but felt a connection to when we shared geography or interests, * and various categories of people I've never met in real life (many of them writers). * Oh, and people I call/ed friends back before Facebook. * And acquaintances in real life. Many of these kinds of connections are equivalent to walking down the hall in high school saying "hi" to p