Reddin' Up For Redemption

Some of us may be bogged down and dragging at the mid-point of Lent. Twenty days down - twenty days to go. I did give up a few things that I am anxiously awaiting my reunion with, but this year I added a little twist to Lent - I've implemented a forty day organization challenge.

I have been trying to get organized for years. I have never really been an organized person and I truly admire those who are. Some days I wish I had OCD so I could have a cleaner home,  but it seems like I was blessed with ICD (ignoring clutter disorder) instead.

While getting our "physical" house organized is probably not what God  envisioned for our spiritual journey to Easter, it created a doable time frame for me to tackle some daily demons - cupboards that will not close, a junk drawer that actually eats things, and damaged items that have a home -  just because. Yes, that mug has a chip and I could cut myself if I drink out of it, but turn it to the other side and it looks as good as any other 15-year-old mug in a thrift store.

I had the idea of organizing one drawer/cupboard/closet a day for forty days. Could this tame the beast within my home? Now realistically I cannot tackle one area every day so I double up on some days to even things out. So far I have 21 areas that have been transformed. My kitchen had the most spaces that needed attention and it makes me happy to open the junk drawer and see that it is no longer, hungry. It is a site to behold and the secret was a simple phrase - everything has a place.

A few weeks before Lent started, I was watching online videos from Organizational Goddesses who do this sort of thing for a living. 'You too can be like me,' they say. 'Get organized in three easy steps. Now subscribe to my site for a video a day and watch your life transform.' First of all, I don't have that sort of time. I need a fix now! What works for Neatnick Nelly isn't going to work for Klutter Kristen, but I did take away the 'everything has a place' motto and tucked it in my mind of wonders.

I visited a friend recently and she showed off with pride, a recently transformed junk drawer. Over a glass of wine we oooed and awed at this marvel of organization. I asked, "How did you do this?" as my eyes studied the perfection of a variety of items sharing one drawer. She said, "I couldn't take it anymore and now everything has a place."

There it was again - my phrase. And now I knew what needed to happen. Every item in my house needed its own space. I was mentally at a place where I could 'get er done' and I would have a little under two months to do it.

I thought I would be overwhelmed by the amount of work there was to do, but once I got started I wanted to do more. I have a bunch of stuff that will be donated and a bunch of stuff has already been thrown away, but getting organized is like an addiction. The more you do - the more you want and I want it all!

I have bought caddies, little dividers and storage bins to help give items their place and it's amazing the things that are out there for this very purpose. I had been in denial for a long time thinking I couldn't do this myself - and that is true. But I had to be the catalyst to show my family what could be done and how we can make this our new way of life.

My biggest problem though, is finding time. Now with my smallest areas organized I have bigger areas looming. I guess I will have to take what is left and do it in segments to make it less daunting.

I have to keep this in perspective. So maybe this will spill over the 40 days of Lent - the important thing is I've made a start and if the worst thing that happens is only one room gets an overhaul, at least it is the kitchen. I could technically set up a cot in there and make that my organized oasis - one where I can easily find a snack when, as Winnie the Pooh would say, there's a rumbly in my tumbly.

              My new and improved junk drawer

Bad Boss, Big Pockets

I went to a 100th birthday party this past weekend. It wasn't a party for a person - it was for a library.

The Carnegie Free Library of Swissvale is celebrating 100 years, which is an amazing feat when you think of it, and it is not the only 100-year (or more) birthday party I've been to for a library. I also had the pleasure of attending the 125th celebration for the Braddock Carnegie Library three years ago. We in the Pittsburgh area continue to be recipients of Andrew Carnegie's generosity, but we are not alone.

There are only three U.S. states that do NOT have a Carnegie Library: Rhode Island, Delaware and Alaska. There are 2,509 libraries around the world that were built by Carnegie: the first in Dunfirmline, Scotland, his hometown, and the second in Braddock, the home of one of his major steel mills - the Edgar Thomson Works. I had no idea the scope of his philanthropy until doing some research. Being from Pittsburgh, I sometimes tend to not look beyond the three rivers but Carnegie's reach was huge.

I heard a story recently about Carnegie in his youth. According to this account he was not able to utilize libraries because his family was poor. I have not been able to confirm that story, but I have learned that as a teen who worked long hours in a cotton mill after coming to America, Andrew had little time for formal education. In his few hours of spare time, Carnegie read books lent to him by Colonel James Anderson, a citizen of Allegheny, who had his own private library and looked out for the local working boys.

Carnegie was self-taught thanks to his access to books. By the age of 24, he was the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad.  He knew first hand how important books were to immigrants coming to America, being able to learn about a new culture and possibly read their way to a better future. A few years down the road in 1870, due to the success of his steel empire, he was able to start his philanthropic projects, which included more than just libraries.

I am embarrassed to say many of the facts I've stated above were news to me. I knew very little about Carnegie's life and being born and raised near Pittsburgh, I should be able to write his biography.

As a child I fostered my love of reading at the Carnegie Library of McKeesport. I loved going to the castle on the hill and perusing the shelves filled with books. I used the card catalogue to find many a book on presidents, for school reports, astronomy and weather, for my own curiosity and books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, to follow the story of life on the prairie. These were the days before DVDs, CDs and computers were part of the library scene, but I had yet to learn what I had been missing.

My current local library is not a Carnegie Library but has access to everything in the county library system. When my older kids were younger my husband and I were involved in the library helping with the summer reading program and various fundraisers throughout the year. We still utilize our library often, since we can walk to it, and I think the fines we have paid through the years have purchased at least one of their computers.

I don't mind paying those fines. I love the fact that my kids love to read. All three learned to read early and bedtime stories from our library were probably a contributing factor. But it all got started back in the 70's when a little girl made her first trip to a Carnegie Library and fell in love.

It is important for us to remember what the people who came before us did to help create the world we now live in. I have heard some stories that paint Carnegie as a bad boss who paid his employees very little for the long hours they endured in poor working conditions. He may be one of those people who have two sides that make them hard to truly understand.  Nevertheless, around the world there are many libraries, colleges, schools, and nonprofit organizations that were established thanks to this complex man.

Almost 100 years after his death, people around the world are still being affected by his generosity and ultimate desire to promote education as a means to success. Libraries these days are so much more than books and I think Carnegie himself would be impressed at the way these institutions have adapted to meet the needs of their communities in a digital age. He probably would have been touched by the way Braddock citizens came together to save their library from demolition after it was closed in the 1970's.

But most importantly, Carnegie would probably be happy to know that generations of families have ensured that libraries continue to be relevant - and it all started with that first page turn - and the rest is not just his-story but our story too.

Below is the magnificent Carnegie Library of McKeesport.

What's On Second

I am not a frequent flier and for that I recently paid a price. I was flying out of Pittsburgh International Airport for a quick trip to North Carolina. I had not been on a plane for two years so I felt I needed to review the up to date traveling procedures on the airport's website. I did not want any surprises going through security.

I measured out all of my liquids. I placed them in a clear Ziplock bag on top of my clothes. I measured my little suitcase to be sure I would not have to check it. I printed my itinerary and felt confident I was ready to fly.

I had a practical outfit picked out (jeans, t-shirt and a sweater) but I made a regrettable last minute costume switcheroo. I guess I was trying to live out my businesswoman fantasy and pretend I was headed to an executive meeting. "Hey guys, I'm catching the 7:05. I'll be there for our 10:15." I decided to wear a dress - a recently acquired dress that I wore only once but got rave reviews. It has silver bling attached to the neckline- bling that resulted in me getting felt up at the airport.

Even though I do not spend a lot of time at airports, I anticipated certain things. I knew that I would have to remove my shoes.  In anticipation I wore peds so I wouldn't stink up the place. Also, I did not try to take any food on the plane even though I knew I would get snacky, which would result in a costlier purchase during my layover in Charlotte.

As I approached the body scanning machine, I was feeling pretty confident that I was adequately prepared and would soon be reunited with my belongings - that was until I noticed my body x-ray. It was lit up like a Christmas tree. The bling on my dress had made me a person of interest. A person that would need further examination. A person in need of a pat down, but not the kind with the cute officer like in some people's (not mine of course) fantasies.

The TSA agent was very nice about it. She knew what the problem was but even though the evidence was on my dress - there had to be further investigation of what was under my dress - specifically the bra region. The lady asked if I would like to go to a private area, but after having three children what was the point? I had been poked, prodded and examined while at my most vulnerable.  Allowing the agent to get to second base in the crowded security area was rated G compared to what I've experienced in a delivery room.

The agent was quick but intrusive -feeling in between the girls to make sure I didn't have any explosives hidden. With a rack like mine, who needs explosives, am I right? I know she was just doing her job but if I were going to go postal it would not be in an airport, a place I rarely go. It would be in a Wal-Mart check out line or in the Wine and Spirits store when I miss the last sale day of my favorite vino.

Once I was cleared for take off, I felt like I needed a cigarette but instead settled for a Bloody Mary. I sat at the bar alone forgetting my pretend business meeting and letting the reality of the world we live in set in.

I know the security measures in place are necessary but I sure do miss the pre 9-11 days. The days when people could go to the airport and walk their loved ones to the boarding gate to see them off. The days when you didn't have to worry about your fellow passengers seeing the hole in the big toe of your sock. But most importantly, the days when a woman didn't have to get a breast exam in order to be deemed safe for flight.