Monday morning

the sun follows me around all day; actually I follow the sun. I start my day in the library, which is on the eastern side of the house. I am usually up before it, although today I slept until almost 7. It is cloudy and there will not be a lot of sun, but even a little bit warms up a room. This time of year, it is not bitter cold out, so 10 or 20 degrees makes a big difference. I put the heat on too, sometimes, but the sun somehow feels warmer. The library is a grandiose name for a small addition on this 100-year-old house. It does have books and computers in it, but so much more. The sewing machine and all the boxes of fabric and supplies that go with it. wrapping paper, a dresser stuffed with shawls and old sweaters. a keyboard I haven't used in years. old family photos, slides and vhs tapes that I plan to organize and throw away. The room has faux wood paneling and dropped ceiling tiles with fluorescent lights in the middle. The floor is plastic laminate that looks a little like blond wood. Most of it is covered by one of my grandmother's braided rugs that has held up for maybe 100 years itself. Near the door is a clear patch of plastic floor, good for taking off boots if it's wet outside. The back door is in the adjacent hall, and we have a boot tray in front of the bookcase. The desk, my fancy desk from Levenger that my Mom helped pay for, is buried, of course, like most desks. There is an inbox, full of random things that do not really belong in an inbox: a New York Times Sunday paper from a few weeks ago, that I thought I might read, but cleared from the dining room when guests were expected. A laptop that I use very occasionally, when we are traveling or for a remote yoga class. Early in the day, the sun is streaming in the east windows, bathing me in warmth as I sit at the computer, back to the bookcase, catching up on the emails from the day before and slowly, grinding away at the backlog from 6 years or more. I delete and delete and unsubscribe. But I also sign petitions and donate money and buy things, so I keep getting added to more and more lists!