It could have been worse...could it?

We've only one room left in our condo that's playing host to un-emptied boxes. I'd feel better about that were it not for the fact that this has been the state of affairs for the past two to three months.

Sigh.

It's the library. The library is, according to the floor plan, the master suite walk-in closet. It's 19' long! Seems large for a closet but I've been assured by a number of my women friends that they'd fill it in little more than a heartbeat.

Given the master bathroom suite has been taken over by the cats and the master bedroom itself is the home office and TV room—not to mention the primary domain of the cats, the closet won't be housing any of our clothes. The closet in the second bedroom suffices.

Last weekend I undertook to begin on the remaining boxes. I emptied a good dozen of same. They mostly contained books. The dead-tree variety. I was impressed to note how much money I've invested in my technical career over the years—as measured by the abundance of "charge for by weight" software-related books.

I also uncovered many volumes from my leather-bound anniversary edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. You know, that thing we all used before the advent of The Google.

I stacked all these books, and more, against the long wall of the closet and congratulated myself on a "good start made."

The plan was to empty another box or two each morning before the start of the work day and spend another day over the weekend making a serious dent in the remaining boxes. A couple of weeks like that and there'd be no more boxes and we could declare this "moving thing" done.

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men..." as Robbie Burns was moved to say.

Sunday evening we heard a crash. I wasn't sure whence it came, but thought to check the closet/library.

I haven't had the heart to do anything with it since.

It was time...I suppose

My Whatever clock didn't make it.

We've discovered a number of things that didn't survive the move. I don't suppose this is a unique experience. I'm documenting the casualties, tables, chairs, a lamp, and so on. Yesterday I unpacked some more of the office. There was my Whatever clock, the one I'd had on the wall beside my desk.

It didn't work. Perhaps the battery? Alas, no. All the energizer bunnies in the world can't bring this one back. Sic transit and all that.

I've looked up replacement clocks but none, as yet that I've discovered, have the nice wood trim. I did find some wonderful "melting time" clocks — my fondness for Dalí almost won out.

I've also looked into replacement movements. They're quite inexpensive. A good thing that. Given my abilities as a handyman, I might need to buy several.


It's not as if there's a dearth of clocks around (even discounting the ones on the several phones and other computing devices decorating the place.)

I mean — there are all these others.



I suppose it was a good idea to get out of California — all these glass and china clocks. In earthquake country.

What were we thinking?

Well, I suppose this last one would have survived an earthquake. At least it wouldn't shatter.

House into a home...

Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, here. There's a ways to go yet.

That said, the office cum TV room has taken shape. There will be adjustments, things that are out of place that will need to find where they belong. But the main elements are where they need to be. May have to move the laser printer. It's kind of front and center — upsetting the feng shui.

But the cat tree (reflected in the window) location was approved by both pusses — so we're doing something right.

It's a bit like the kitchen. Everything's (mostly) put away. The large work is done. Now it's a matter of finding out, as we use things, where they're best located. There's already been some movement (in ways reminiscent of 'brownian motion' — yes it's a little random) of cups, plates and suchlike moving to more convenient locations, displacing spices to somewhere else.

(Some of the) cookbooks need to move from where they are. And who needs 15 mugs on a rack? (Not to mention the others — I'm not sure how many — hiding behind three cabinet doors.

Do I really need that Sun Microsystems mug I got back in the day? I mean, Sun Microsystems has gone the way of all flesh. Shouldn't the mug be laid to rest — if only out of respect?

Still progress. Much yet to do as we unpack everything from the move from California. But it was good to look into the room — and see a room.

It's a long, long way...

...from there to here.

No, not the Clare of the song to which the line belongs - though it is a long way from Clare to here also, but 'tis a long way from here in the Bay Area to there in the magnificent Midwest - Kansas City, MO.

The plan, such as it was, would have had us decamp for KC, MO at the end of October, or the beginning of November at the latest. The activities up to that point consist of getting our current condo ready for the market, arranging work items to transition, getting quotes from movers (recovering from the shock of getting quotes from movers) and planning an 1,800 mile drive.

This last is on me. I come from an island that's about 200 miles wide. The idea of driving anywhere for 1,800 miles has a certain appeal.

Well, two gallons (Imperial or otherwise) of activities don't fit into the quart-sized pot of time we have. Quelle surprise!

So, we've postponed the departure till the 1st week of January, 2013.

That gives us more time to finish up what needs finishing up. A little more time to get ourselves together, We, neither of us, do well with rapidly approaching deadlines.

Plus, it gives us another Thanksgiving spent at our favorite getaway, the Highlands Resort in Guerneville near the Russian River. A hundred or so miles north of here. Lynette and Ken are the owner/operators and they've become friends over the years. They, and their resort, will be missed so the chance to stay one last Thanksgiving there is a good thing.

We'll not be heading to Kansas City for Christmas this year — that would mean too much back-and-forthing to be practical.

While all of this "planning" was going on, work decided to get over-busy. It's nice to be wanted, but I ended up working some hours on several weekends. I'm getting too old for such nonsense, and it cut into time needed for the rest of life.

My "Fear of the Dark" novel (novella?) is in the process of being copy-edited. The read-through went well. Now it's just(!) a question of making sure she doesn't go into the wide world out there with her slip showing.

We live in hope. And I've figured out the title for my next novel — and a handle for its two follow-ons. A busy time.