game face

Yesterday was a hard day.

So since being slapped in the face by the US border last week, Dan and I have been trying to figure things out, what our next step is. We have a rough plan, but mostly it is on hold until he goes back to North Carolina and I have some time & space to clear my head here.

Meanwhile, yesterday we unloaded the truck. I was pretty organized with packing, so most of my stuff is in Rubbermaid bins with plenty of labels. I thought I would only have to have my stuff packed for a week before I could unpack in my new home. I thought I would not need to find my only sweater, my rubber boots, all my knit hats. I don't have any mittens!

My (step-) father-in-law had cleared some space in the basement for my bins, and we moved it all in. I cannot tell you how terribly sad and emotional it was. I didn't get the best sleep the night before last and I have been highly volatile since the great rejection. The littlest thing would set me off. I spent way too much time crying yesterday, and I'm not even really sure why. I'm not someone who cries a lot so this is a big deal (and so is telling you all about it).

As nice as it is to be surrounded by loving family, it is hard to be in this house. It is small and there are currently six people and two anti-social cats in it. There is not much space for me or my stuff so I'm feeling a bit squished. Sam and Yuki have met now, and with Sam being female and half of Yuki's (male) size, none of us are excited about just how these two felines will sort out this awkward living arrangement. The room I'm staying in is on the way to one of the two bathrooms in the house, the only one with the shower, which makes it difficult for the rest of the people who live in this house who would like to use the shower. Luckily, everyone here is easy-going, but I would still like to be less in the way. When Dan's mom & stepdad head to Montana in a few days, I'll move downstairs into their room.

Dan has been making me breakfast every morning. That first morning, on Saturday, when he placed my plate in front of me, I cried. You have no idea how starved I was for food with flavour, nutrition and a passion for cooking.

This is what Dan and I have realized. Number one of importance in our life is that we be together. Number two is that we have good food. I am finally accepting the label of 'foodie', as we both entirely analyzed our dining experience the other night at glo on the Selkirk waterway. (Our appetizer arrived after the entree; the beer was off from unclean taps; the coffee was terrible). The crème brulee was good, but why ruin it with crappy coffee? A common oversight for high end restaurants is that they don't have their serving staff trained up as baristas.

So yesterday to cheer ourselves up we went to Bolen Books. We spent most of our time in the cookbook section. I made a list of books I would like (and I'll see if the library has them to test drive them first) and a list of books that Dan, my amateur gourmet chef, should probably have. Of course I popped over to the knitting section to see what was there. They didn't have Little Red in the City, the latest book by Ysolda Teague. Nothing else interested me. In fact, we left Bolen empty-handed. Can you believe it?

This speaks to our new philosophy. We have spent the last six months paring down and getting rid of stuff to the point that we are ultra-conservative in our new acquisitions. Dan is planning to get a Kindle, so that's part of it. But still. Books. There is something sumptuously visceral about a book. A new book. I saw that Michael Ondaatje has a new book. (You may recall that I read Anil's Ghost every November. I don't know why, I just always have, ever since it came out).

And for me, I think I have mentioned this before, I have few clothes. Not much appropriate to this climate. I'll spend some time combing the second-hand clothing stores (and there are dozens in the greater Victoria area) while assembling a new wardrobe. I have a new fashion sense now, as well as a new body to dress (I spent so many years being heavy and frumpy, it's like starting from scratch), so this will actually be a fun thing I can do while I'm waiting for a job.

So yes, things are looking up. Something good will come of this, I keep telling myself. I went to one of the four local yarn shops in town and bought a new pair of double pointed needles I have never tried before, and now that I have worked in the yarn industry, I have a different set of standards of what I look for in a yarn shop. So much fodder for future blog posts.