We here in Casa Rhubarb are wearing sackcloth and ashes, mourning the demise of the coffee pot. It gave its last gurgle in the middle of brewing the morning pot and, reduced to a steaming sputter, quit. I'll light a candle for it this morning.

We contemplated chewing on the wet grounds for our morning coffee fix, but settled for instant (Starbuck's Via) instead. It ain't bad; certainly majorly improved over Sanka and its ilk. There are only 4 packets of instant in the box. I guess after church one of us will go shopping for a new brewing device.

Speaking of change, a continuing theme in the Casa, everything upstairs has been cleared away for the carpet cleaners, except for the boxes of tax stuff which I had stored under my computer table. Later this morning I'll put them away in the bathroom. Last to be stowed will be this laptop Tuesday morning before going to work.

Who knew there could be so much stuff tucked away in corners and loaded on top of shelves and side tables (mostly books)? When the carpet is cleaned, I promise I won't just put it back; I'll sort and organize and toss as well, reflecting in an outward way an inner reality.

It's funny how changing the environment changes how you feel. I like it like this, with stuff put away and surfaces cleared. The hard part is figuring out where to store it permanently and what records need to be kept.

I could get used to this: clean, organized, open.