Oh dear, oh dear, I feel like I should be channeling the White Rabbit, muttering some variation of "I'm late, I'm late" except that it is more like "I'm behind, I'm behind, I'm terribly behind".......
I am back in the house and most everything in the house was completed before move-in but there were still enough unfinished things that the first 10 days involved the house being constantly being filled with workers from the various trades. There were days I could unpack and days where I was surrounded by rooms in various states of undress, with various half-unpacked and half-finished projects dominating the scene. It was more stressful than I could have imagined, and there were several moments where I was supremely grumpy or close to tears. But a quiet house over the weekend, and some lovely time spent with friends has also helped. I am here now and there are a few small oases of calm, one of them here, in my library/office/occasional guest room, although I am afraid the guests may get short-shrift being relegated to an aerobed with a feather-bed topper. Fine by me as I am more interested in owning a house I use daily than in space that sits empty but for a few days a year.
A couple of views from my desk this morning, out the window next to my desk (top) and into the library from my desk, which is at one end. Books are all on the shelves, although not necessarily sorted or arranged in any coherent order, but that can happen over time. My desk is actually a mess, I haven't yet managed to organize this corner, but that is not as upsetting as it might be simply because I am able to look out, past the clutter into this calming and inviting space. This is one of the few places that is safe today, a place where Tikka, Moisés and I are happily ensconced.
Although I may have to wander downstairs soon for another espresso. I haven't quite mastered the new espresso machine yet, but I have made many cups of very good coffee and even occasionally almost gotten the right proportion of rich dark coffee and crema. I knew it would be a work in progress with a bit of a learning curve. But pulling an espresso has proven to be one of those simple joys I look forward to daily.
Otherwise, not much to report. I've been to the farmer's market, bought my first, small, bag of food, roasted a chicken, started playing with new appliances, but am not yet really fully settled...the kitchen itself is not yet fully settled or installed so it is a bit of a process, but life is always an adventure. Here's to hoping that the studio is really finished by the end of this week (as promised, and no I am not holding my breath) and that my house and eventually a studio will be a refuge in the midst of the chaos that ensues when my parking lot is turned back into a yard.
More later....
