Frank, look at the bright side -- with your stuff in storage, you'll only have to pack it ONCE. And yeah, it will give you time to look carefully for something closer than Amesbury.

If you want to do anything like a packing party, let me know. I'm jobfree so have the time....

And yay for scrappy's first day!

Shoot me now. There's nothing wrong with her that years of therapy and a decent workout regimen wouldn't have prevented. She's crazy & abusive, argh.

You are a very very good daughter, 'Suela. Really.

OK, everyone's back home and I'm going back to bed.

Yikes, Consuela. I hope you're reading this in the future. Not Australia-future, just not 7:12 Pacific present.

I hope you are sleeping the sleep of the just, Consuela. And have some crisis-free time in the near future.

There's nothing wrong with her that years of therapy and a decent workout regimen wouldn't have prevented.

This is reason number one that I am stepping up my game now at 59. I don't want my DH or kids to have to deal with preventable stuff.

Suela, I hope you have a stream of pleasant surprises this week for some balance.

I got up at 4:45 for no apparent reason today, I was just awake and figured I might as well go ahead and start my day. Now going to work feels almost like an interruption. Probably not a habit I should cultivate.

Liese, that's a weird space, isn't it?

It truly is. And right now, their particular authority figures I wouldn't trust as far as I can throw them, so as long as I don't know about anything more illegal than pot, I'm totally on the kids' side in this one. We were talking with (yet another) one of their staff members who is about to quit this weekend. And it's amazing, but we, the transient music teachers, are the most consistent presence in their lives. The school's staff has ridiculous turnover (they lost 15 out of 25 members this year alone) and this current iteration is particularly problematic.

I got up at 4:45 for no apparent reason today,

I woke up at 4:00ish because that's when the dog's whining to go out woke me up.

Today is the first day I left the dog and cats alone together, with only the babygate to act as a barrier, on the theory that a) Bubba and Charlie are fine together, b) Dita won't leave the bedroom, and c) both cats are faster than the dog in case I am wrong about a or b. eta: I really hope I am not wrong about enough of that for it to be a problem.

Also, for those of you who walk your cats, how did you start the process? I think I want to try with Bubba, who managed to open the garage door while I was out in the yard with Charlie. He was so shocked at being outside that I managed to scoop him up easily, but I can tell it's going to be a thing.