Updates and a long essay on cleaning "flyfan" style

A lot of important and not-so important things, presented in one post to keep from spamming f-lists.

Mrs. Palmer
When last I heard, she was awake again (good) but not tracking well (bad, but not horrible). Again, all prayers, hopes, wishes, and lit candles will be much appreciated. (I called my Mother last night and basically said "Y'know some of the folks that prayed for you? It's your turn." She was amused - and is on the job.)

Reviewing the Evidence
My review for In Like Flynn, part of the Molly Murphy series, is up. Link @ right, my LJ.

My Review Site
Well, I've heard back from I Love a Mystery Newsletter and I'm going to pitch The Mystery Reader. However, I'm still mulling the notion of a monthly review site that would review books with female protagonists from a woman's POV. Hold that thought; I'm going to try to revisit it later this month and think about the mechanics.

PS - I have found 5 mystery reviewing sites online. Just FYI.

Also FYI, according to bentleywg they're putting Dracula online as a blog, with posts coinciding with the posts in the text: http://infocult.typepad.com/dracula/ I think this idea is too cool for words. Maybe rather than starting the Public Domain Gazette right now, I should go find an epistlatory novel and blog it, and we can put supplementary material in the comments?

I also hear that Pepy's diary is being LJed an entry at a time.

Flyfan
Flylady has her good points. But she has some really annoying ones as well. I find her language cutesy, some of the things she insists on downright overboard (like waxing the sink and owning laceup shoes), and her aim at Stay At Home Moms well to the side of my Working Single Woman target.

However, it must be said (and I have eyewitness accounts) that my place has been so messy that I've lost large items, and once managed to misplace (and forget about) the notice to renew my car's license. For which I got duly ticketed.

I'm still getting things on gear ( but here's how I went from overwhelmed to having a plan that works. )

If there's enough discussion in the comments, I could be talked into starting a clutter-dealing-with community.

As for Getting Rid of It All:
- I put Freecycle on digest so I'd miss all the tempting stuff I wanted but I had access so I could dump my things.
- I haven't sold on ebay yet... but I have everything to go corralled in one place and "sell on ebay" is on my annual list of things to do.

Free cleaning your stuff advice:
(From maureen_the_mad) You can use the stuff that bleaches toilets clean to also bleach the grout in your shower white again. They say to squirt it on and leave it for 15 minutes - I tend to squirt it on and come back in 2 hours. Leave a window open and the fan on!

Those lambswool dusters on a stick can be handwashed in your sink with shampoo. (Shampoo and conditioner is quite good for 'em.) Hang them to dry in the shower, then floof 'em back up when dry.

Used dryer sheets really do make great dustcloths. Particularly on static-inducing tech like TVs, cable boxes, and computer screens.

Update on Mrs. Palmer

She's becoming more coherent as her assorted levels level out. They're talking about taking her out of ICU and cautiously talking about a hospital release. There is no word on the root cause of the problem.