Nice meara, Cindy. A good meara is a thing of beauty. As is, you know, actual meara.

Yay, shrift! My DP got his notification from the county yesterday at the same time I was out getting jabbed, so he goes in Wednesday for his first. So awesome.

I had a morning meeting (a good one!), a jab, some WoW, picked up the keys and met the very pleasant landlords yesterday. A good day. Forgive the crappy sentence construction. It's pre-coffee.

Today I'm guessing more WoW and maybe a drive. Next three days are all packing. It's finally at the "we can live without [x] for three days in the interest of being fully packed" phase of things.

When do you make the move, Jen?

For me, the most difficult part of packing and moving is also the most satisfying — the purging. I started it in college, when moving home for summers/back for the school year. I ask myself, "Do I really want to pack and lug this thing, then find a place for it, or would it be better to get rid of it?" Then I make myself be brutally honest.

Since we've lived in this house going on 18 years, I'm well overdue. I should probably just play the purge game without an impending move.

That's how we started lockdown, by purging.

Actually we started lockdown by me saying "Look, I just got laid off because I'm not allowed to work in the office and I'm not allowed to do that work from home, so I'm going to spend 4 hours every morning split between hustling new work and putting out product for income, and after that I will be at your disposal." That lasted a whole week before my husband couldn't stand having two other people in the house who "weren't doing anything" (Mal and I were both on our computers, doing school or work) so he decided that we would all tackle big family projects.

It's fun when his OCD bounces off my anxiety/depression.

But we purged so much we were able to get rid of our storage unit (and thus cut costs) and clear out half the basement and my office.

y. A good meara is a thing of beauty. As is, you know, actual meara.

Awww thanks!

Purging is good. My problem tends to be there’s a lot of shit I’m like “sure, get rid of it!” But then I get hung up on can I trash it or recycle it or donate it or give it to someone on buy nothing who will want it or what. And it ends up in a pile, sitting there, not being purged at all.

And it ends up in a pile, sitting there, not being purged at all.

If a junk drawer were an entire house, that's our house.

Ugh just heard that across the street old man neighbor is a big ole racist. Not really sure about the reliability of the source though. Really hoping a family of color moves in next door.

I also heard that the are going to list the next door house at $350k. It’s 5br and 4 or 5 bath, so it may go for that but it seems high to me.

Ugh just heard that across the street old man neighbor is a big ole racist. Not really sure about the reliability of the source though.

Our neighbor (nicknamed "Republican Ron" to differentiate him from a different neighbor named Ron, who would sit on his front porch and whittle, earning him the nickname "Whittling Ron") had a confederate flag on his door, but his daughter made him take it down.

I feel like all the Black Lives Matter signs and Pride flags in the neighborhood really weed the bigots out. IIRC, Republican Ron has lived in his house since before the neighborhood got really diverse. But, y'know, that doesn't excuse a goddamn confederate flag.

My friend Sara countered her neighbor's Gadsden flag with a pride version of the Doug Flag, symbol of the Independent Republic of Cascadia.

Jim and I cleaned out the office Friday ahead of installing his new standing desk. I have promised Bev photos of the pile of packaging and the empty room. It has pretty much sealed the "we're gonna need movers next time" deal, but he's going to be so much more comfortable. And I've promised not to steal the balance board too often (I should just get a BoSu).

Nice purging and cleaning, people!

I made a big purge when I was finally recovered enough to have the stamina to clean up and donate all of the medical equipment, aids, and supplies that I no longer needed (that was a happy day. Well, it took two days to make the donation trips.), and then another big purge getting rid of a ton of clothes that no longer fit. And I've been very good about not buying too much new stuff, because... how much does one really need, wardrobe-wise during a pandemic? Turns out, not much.

And, you know, the funny thing is, I still only wear a small portion of what I own. The faves win every time. I mean, I'd vary it more if I were going into an office every day, but the outside world right now can't tell that I wear, like five pairs of leggings, four sweaters, and two button downs on heavy rotation. It's awesome.

All to say, I'm pretty well purged, so that's made packing easier.

Purging is good. My problem tends to be there’s a lot of shit I’m like “sure, get rid of it!” But then I get hung up on can I trash it or recycle it or donate it or give it to someone on buy nothing who will want it or what. And it ends up in a pile, sitting there, not being purged at all.

I just quoted this to Jim re: the office closet. The conversation then went like this:

I just didn't want to deal with it, but now I have a lot more reasons why not!

If you die before I do and leave me to deal with that closet on my own, I am going to be pissed, and I will come out and tell you ALL about it.

Don't worry, Zombie Me will come back and deal with it.

No you won't!

No, I won't; Zombie Me will come back and play on the PS5.

You'll have to go to Ken's, 'cause that's where it will be.

Well, he's not having any luck getting one any other way . . . .