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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THuRSDAY, FEbRuARY 7, 2019
Living among boxes
Dear Annie: I moved four organizing your house “should
months ago, and there are still be done quickly” because “it
boxes and bags waiting to be allows you to confront the
unpacked. I hate looking at issues that are really import-
the piles. I want to clean up, I ant. Tidying is just a tool, not
the final destination.
really do, but when I get
DEAR
The true goal should
home from work during
ANNIE
be to establish the life-
the week, I am too
style you want most
exhausted to tackle the
once your house has
mess. And on the week-
ends, I savor my time to
been put in order.” The
do nothing, and I want
sooner you unpack the
to avoid sullying that
sooner you can start
time with unfun clean-
living. So make this
ing up. I seem to only ANNIE LANE an urgent priority. If
Creators
find motivation to orga-
you have any vacation
Syndicate Inc.
nize way late at night,
days available, take a
when I should be get-
day off work to dedi-
ting into bed. How can I moti- cate solely to unpacking. If not,
vate myself to tidy up when pick a weekend. It’s just one
I have time to do it? When I weekend out of your life, and
look at the mess, I feel so over- your future weekends will be
whelmed! — Cleaning up the so much more enjoyable when
Constant Clutter
you get to “do nothing” in a set-
Dear Cleaning Up the tled space.
Dear Annie: I have a big
Constant Clutter: Try look-
ing at unpacking not as some- heart and hate to see anyone
thing you have to do but as having to spend Christmas
something you get to do. It’s an Day alone, so each year, I end
exciting opportunity to make up inviting these “singles” to
your new place your home. As join my family for a large tur-
Marie Kondo writes in “The key feast for lunch. I give them
Life-Changing Magic of Tidy- plenty of notice. Most of them
ing Up” (a great read for declut- reply with, “Thanks. I’ll let
tering motivation), the task of you know.” Then they fail to
TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
follow up at all (if they decide
they’re not coming) or I find
out on Christmas morning that
they are coming (if they have
decided, apparently, that they
aren’t going to get a better
offer). Annie, I start prepping
a week in advance by shopping
for the supplies I’ll need to pro-
duce this multifaceted banquet.
When people don’t respond in
a timely fashion, I have no clue
about how much food to buy. In
the past, I’ve had huge amounts
of leftovers when guests have
been no-shows, and I’ve run
out of food when guests have
shown up unannounced. This
past Christmas, I had six
invited guests who refused to
answer when I said, “Are you
joining us? I need to know how
much to cook.” If they all had
come, I’d have run out of food.
How hard is it to RSVP? What
happened to manners? — Not
Inviting Singles Ever Again
Dear Not Inviting Singles:
The best test of good manners
is patience with the bad ones.
There’s no need to invite these
repeat offenders next time.
Consider it a lesson learned in
their flakiness, and let go of the
(understandable) resentment.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Certain things are
in place. Life will change you for the better,
whether you want it to or not. Also, there’s
nothing to be done about it, so you may as well
just relax and take it all in.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Love somehow still
sticks with you even when you give it away. In
fact, the more you give, the more you have, and
it becomes really hard to get rid of.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). When your friend
is on the phone to someone else, you can tell
who’s on the line. You’re sensitive to the way
people sound in different relationships. It teach-
es you something about your own communica-
tion style.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). You have quirks.
Everyone does. Some people hide them better
than others. You tend to enjoy most the ones
who don’t bother or who can’t seem to hide
them. Anyway, someone finds your quirks
irresistible today.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Even though practical
advice will work for many, if it goes against what
you’re feeling today, then you’re highly unlikely
to be able to apply it, so why bother? Accept
your own stubbornness as the quality that just
might deliver you.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). It’s hard to see
where you’re limiting yourself by complying
to norms, but try and step back. Resist going
where you’re led or answering what you’re
asked. There’s nothing you have to do.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If you’re too focused
on what they might like, you’ll miss out on what
you like. You’ve been cultivating your preferenc-
es and aesthetic for a while now. Isn’t everyone
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
missing out if you don’t share?
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). If you’ve ever
looked back on old work (or an old diary or his-
toric pieces of your wardrobe) and cringed, well,
then today’s cringey situation will feel familiar.
But isn’t this just a sign that you’ve grown a lot?
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Has it been
done before? Of course. Just about everything
has, but not quite in this way, and not by you.
The particulars of your approach and very
essence will make this unique.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Being able to
tell a good story is a quality that will take you
far, not only socially but also with your work and
your self-talk, and the way you organize yourself
in general.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’d like to think
that you open yourself to help from friendly
forces, and yet you also notice that you’re
tensing up around a certain area, as though
you must do it on your own. This tension is your
inner wisdom speaking.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). There’s a need to
be filled and you’ll get the sense that you’re
just the one for the job. Now it’s just a matter of
convincing the others, which will be no problem
for you once you forget yourself and just do it.
TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 8). The easiest
way to say and do the right thing is not to
rehearse it and work at it, but to live it. It’s the
truth of your heart. So instead of changing any-
thing about your behavior, you’ll focus on gen-
erating greater joy in your heart. All good things
flow from this. You’ll count this among your best
years to date. Scorpio and Sagittarius adore you.
Your lucky numbers are: 3, 2, 19, 40 and 38.