Like most of you, I keep making lists, claiming they keep me organized and sane. But my lists are getting ahead of me these days. Rather than ticking off lists, the lists are ticking me off. Oh dear. Like every seasoned list-maker, I seed my lists, that is, I enter the odd tasks that I have already taken care of, just to make me feel better. In a slow day or week it helped to keep up my morale. Lately, however, I haven't been ticking anything off, real or factitious. I've had a lot of time as I've huddled in the cold to try to think warm, productive thoughts, not really creative but to-do things that would make me a little warmer if I tended to them. Example: carrying out the dead paper whites (don't talk to me about saving the bulbs) - down to the basement garage. I did that last week so I can't in all conscience put it on a list this week. Looking for lost things. This is usually quite comforting and warming, but I can't find anything, not even things that turn up when I'm looking for something else. Calling someone I haven't seen in a while. But I don't feel like talking. Same goes for writing notes I should be writing. I don't feel like it. That's no excuse, I know. The horrible thing is that I keep having wonderful ideas: people I should call or write (even though I haven't written the others on my lists I keep adding more) , pitches to pitch, dinner parties I should have, or even a small group (two?) for drinks. No, no, no.

Is this a mid-winter blog or what?