Remember my bold…

Remember my bold declaration that I was going on vacation? Yeah, not so much. It turns out that after a move, there is this thing, they call unpacking. It is no fun. Also, there's still a bunch of stupid stuff to do for the house, like picking up random ceiling fixtures and returning broken microwaves. It's eaten up time. Also, to save money, we've cut the kids back to three days a week of childcare, and that means Tuesday and Thursday are now very long days in which very little gets done. Yes, it's sort of fun spending more time with the kids, but that's playing against the urgency of a) getting things done and b) taking a break, finally. It's making me tense. Still.

But I do think it's improving. I only have six boxes left on the first floor. The fridge is fixed, and the back of the stove is in. There's a medicine cabinet in the powder room -- all it needs is a trash can and that room will be done. I do find the summer punch list to be a satisfying time in the project, as contractors come through and just quietly do little things around the house -- yesterday, Piotr built a wood frame for our doorbell chime, and stained it; he moved the shower curtain rod down a bit in the guest bath so it actually keeps water in; he hung closet rods in the kids' closets, so I can start actually putting their clothes away -- etc. and so on, and so it progresses. Progress is good.

And I have been watching tv on my computer while I clean and unpack; I've caught up with my shows, and even watched a sweet romantic comedy yesterday, Definitely, Maybe, which I enjoyed. I've done some reading -- I finally got around to reading Firebirds and Firebirds Rising, two anthologies of YA fantasy and SF, edited by Sharyn November, and liked them both immensely; such a treat, getting little tastes from so many of my favorite writers. It was a bit of a shock, reading a story by Diana Wynne Jones I hadn't read before -- but a good shock, if that makes sense. Sad and sweet at once.

It's making me want to write, rather desperately, and I can't today, since I have the kids. Maybe during their nap, but it's hard, when I know Anand will likely be up again an hour or two later. Also, I have a bunch of work e-mails I have to send, and work projects to work on. And did I mention the boxes? But tomorrow, I have a vast expanse of time, and I am going to make it a writing day, no matter how much house stuff needs to be done. And this Saturday, I'm hoping to coax some friends over for brunch and maybe even board games. And maybe it will start feeling like vacation after all.