FINDING FOCUS

 Have you ever played that game Concentration where all the cards are face down and you turn them over two at a time, trying to find a match? That's what our second bedroom has been like for the last three months.

All the stuff we're keeping -- taking on the boat with us -- has been in three extra large bins. Every time I needed something, I would open one of the bins and pilfer around inside it, hoping to unearth a hidden treasure.

In fact, four times since we moved here in July I have scrounged through those huge bins looking for a waterproof bag for my camera. Four times I came out without the bag but not empty handed: a set of prayer flags, a stuffed rabbit, a pair of sailing gloves and a tea strainer. But no waterproof bag.
Last night we disgorged the contents of the bins into the middle of the floor sorting it into somewhat sensible piles: first aid, knives (we seem to have a lot of them), flashlights, bags, kitchen stuff, etc. We then stored those piles together in bags and boxes in hopes of happier hunting.

Then we dumped out all six boxes of books. On Round One, we picked out the books that were NOT optional: Sailmaker's Apprentice, Sailing Alone Around the World, Knots. Round Two, we chose the books we really, really wanted: To Kill a Mockingbird, Kon-Tiki, Treasure Island. In Round Three, we heartlessly cast aside the books that hadn't made the team, some of which are now on our bedside tables (crates) waiting to be read: American Lion, Iraq War Report, Leaves of Grass.

Can we get rid of any more stuff? Never say never.

Oh, and I found that waterproof bag.