SETTLING DOWN VS. SETTLING

Finally, things seem to be settling down. "Seem to be" being the operative terminology. In my life, that could be as simple as saying I slept two hours uninterrupted. But, for now, my worst problem seems to be a somewhat unfixable living room window. Every time maintenance tries to fix it, they leave it worse off than they found it. Big deal. I mean, hey, I HAVE windows. That's more than I had three weeks ago. 

Being back at work after the holiday break has left me with little time and less energy to get things done around here. I have been spending my time buying and building furniture, and ordering a new couch since I don't want to sit on one that the flying squirrel sat on. (I've needed a real couch for a while, anyway.) Kitchen furniture is gone, pantry stand-alone cabinets are gone, the old TV stand is gone. Instead, I am building bar stools and wooden storage drawers for my newly organized/reorganized life.

I am currently attempting to get through my boxes upon boxes of books, which, if you know anyone who is a reader or book hoarder, is daunting even though I am easily at half the amount of books I had the last time I moved two or so years ago. I have a huge bag of books ready to be turned in at the Used Book Superstore. This means that when the store clerk says, "Would you like cash or store credit?" I should respond with CASH. However, I do know me, and I know that one bag of books going out will quickly lead to three bags of books coming in, so I am leaving the current re-sales in the trunk of my car for my own protection.

Also in the trunk of my car are beach chairs, emergency roadside materials, snowshoes, ski poles, and a laundry basket filled with three (yes, three) pairs of recently sharpened ice skates. I have a very old pair of figure skates (may have even been my mother's at some point), and two pairs of hockey skates because I can never remember which I pair I prefer. I should probably put my hockey stick and a puck or two in the car, as well. I even have in the trunk a blanket that I use to dry and cover my kayak (which is now on my porch). The back seat of the car is stuffed with bags of books and bags of clothing and shoes to donate. The other day a neighbor came by as I was reorganizing my trunk, and I suspect he thinks I'm an interloper using the parking lot as my cover for homelessness because it does appear that I might be living in my vehicle.

In the midst of all of this craziness, New England is about to get its first Nor'easter of the season. This means that everyone will be at the store buying up all of the bread and eggs and milk, as if a snowstorm here in the Northeast is a reason to host a three-day French toast event. I went a few days ago and did my idea of storm shopping, which, in actuality, was me replenishing things I lost to the squirrel invasion or simply needed after not shopping for three weeks. I now have enough food for the neighborhood. I bought mozzarella cheese and lots of other random supplies so that I could hand-make dough and pizzas. Yes, I bought milk because I needed a half-gallon of it. I bought small rolls to make school-lunch-sized BLT sandwiches. I did not buy eggs, so I guess this all means that I cannot participate in the Great First Seasonal Snowstorm French Toast Extravaganza. I do have bacon, though, so there is that.

In the continuous pattern of absurdity that is the crooked karma of my mishap-filled life, I have in the last sixty minutes written this blog, booked two trips, planned a third, gotten the window fixed, had the blind replaced, had the inner window area repainted, had cookies delivered by my daughter, spoken on the phone with my sister, thrown my boots on to run outside to kiss my granddaughter, talked to a new neighbor, updated my online calendar, and continued to unpack books. I guess that means that things really aren't settling down, but they are settling.

To be completely transparent, I'll take the settling. Happy 2024, everyone. May it be as full of surprises, hopefully good ones, for you as it has been so far for me.