Knock, Knock, Knock . . . Housekeeping

It's time to tidy up the blog files.  Like most bloggers, I am sometimes struck by something I see, hear or read and think it would make a good blog post topic.  Because I know my memory is fleeting, I usually create a draft to remind myself to write it later.  Sometimes the draft is nothing more than a title or a link to a web-site, with no explanation of why I thought it was note-worthy.  This can be problematic.  

Occasionally, I am inspired by a post on another blog, so I flag it on Google Reader.  Unfortunately, this often has the same result.  The flag is like a string around my finger.  I know it's supposed to remind me of something, but what?  

I began this cleaning project in early May, trying to decide whether to keep the drafts and saved posts in hopes of an eventual flash of brilliance, or just hit delete.  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Cate at Show My Face was pondering the same conundrum.  (Actually, I don't know that Cate lives on a ranch.  I have no idea where Cate lives.  It's possible she's in the Witness Protection Program.)  Cate, being much more organized and proactive than I, blogged her idea for a link-up where all interested bloggers could share the goofy things they have stashed in their draft file.  I signed up.  But when link-up day dawned, I didn't get it done.  Did I mention I'm not organized?  Yesterday, I finally got around to sifting through my draft file and flagged posts.  Four items made the cut, meaning I could still remember why I thought you might care, and they will become full-fledged posts soon.  Here's what didn't make it:

Gunn's Golden Rules, by Tim Gunn  I read this book the minute it was released last September and loved it!  I have no clue why the review never got written.  To properly review it now would require re-reading, because I couldn't do it justice without directly quoting his wisdom.  So here it is in a nut-shell:  The man is the embodiment of grace, class, taste and all those "old-fashioned" manners your Grandma tried to teach you.  He balances compassion and respect for others with personal dignity and confidence.  The planet would be a better place if everyone read this book and followed it.

BFF - That's it.  That's all I had written.  Obviously I was going to say something profound about friendship.

The Orange Prize 2011 - I had even saved a link to the Orange Prize website.  I have not read the winning book, any of the books on the short list or, for that matter, on the long list.  Why did i think I had something valuable to contribute on this topic?

Dubious Accomplishments - This was a post I had saved from Jenners at Life...With Books.  She invited her readers to construct their own list which, I do remember, was my plan.  But, I just can't compete with Jenn's humor.  Click on the link to Jenn's list and read it for yourself.  You'll thank me later.

Bibliomysteries - I actually know why I saved this post from The Mysterious Bookshop about "one of the most interesting sub-genres of the mystery world, "Bibliomysteries," which are books about books. They may be set in bookstores or libraries, they may involve collectors, librarians or authors, or they may involve rare books or manuscripts, but, for all of us who love the world of books, these are among the most satisfying books in the field."  I was going to go through their list and pull all the ones I have read, then scour by brain and bookshelves for others I could add and write some grand list of my recommended bibliomysteries.  But I got over myself.   

And lastly was a recipe for the Marlboro Man Sandwich from Pioneer Woman.  If you don't read Ree Drummond's blog regularly, you should be banned from ice cream and forced to surrender your Borders Rewards card.  The title of Ree's post was "Make This Today".  That was twenty-four days ago.  It still looks delicious.