Hello friends! Thank you all for your kind comments on my last post. We are “packing boxes without a place to live yet” levels of excitement. I have been dutifully saving Zillow listings until we can travel back to see homes in person, but I have to wait until this August 31 deadline is over with first! I’ve been living under the specter of August 31st for nearly ten years now, and it never seems to get any easier. I worked every single day last week and will probably be working a little today – I had to take a break yesterday though, since my brain was on fumes. At least I am not fighting COVID like I was this time last year and wanting to take three-hour naps. Last year I’d scheduled my first tattoo appointment for the weekend after the deadline, so I remember being terrified of the deadline finally hitting! (And a year later, I can now say that it was a lovely experience and that I love my tattoo).

We’re in this weird state of arrested development where we KNOW that we’re moving, and that it will be happening in a couple of months – but since we don’t have a place to live yet, it doesn’t feel real. The same thing happened early January 2019 when we were telling people about our upcoming move to Indiana. At least Austin is a known entity, but the reality hasn’t hit me yet. I’m already looking up things to do and try and I can’t wait; it’s still really hard to believe that I’m going back. I have all these plans about how to spend my time – let’s see if they come to fruition 🙂

Since this is our third move in four years, I’m well-acquainted with the art of packing boxes and purging what isn’t needed. I love seeing the pile of giveaway/resell items grow larger, knowing that these items aren’t going to be shoved in boxes. I have a completionist personality and I have to quell the urge to READ ALL THE BOOKS and do ALL THE CRAFT PROJECTS before putting them in the giveaway/resell pile. I have been telling myself that if I bought a book twenty years ago and haven’t opened it, it’s time to resell it. I am getting rid of a lot of yarn that doesn’t spark joy (sorry Lion Brand Homespun, but not anymore). It’s okay if I don’t complete a project because it no longer resonates with me anymore, or to cut my stash in half if I don’t have any plans for the yarn. About a year or two ago, I stopped the aimless yarn shopping if I didn’t have a project in mind, and that has helped my stash a lot. I feel like everyone reaches this point in their lives when they care less about stuff and more about experiences, and that’s where I am right now. It feels so good to purge and downsize, shedding what no longer serves me.

We had a good weekend of packing, relaxing, enjoying walks out in mild temperatures while we can, and trying this amazing new Nepalese/Indian restaurant that opened! This place doesn’t get new restaurants often, and they are usually never this good. The restaurant was playing YouTube videos of this guy traveling to Nepal and trying the cuisine. Going to Nepal to hike to the Mt. Everest basecamp is a deep bucket list item for me. Watching the videos and eating the yummy food just stoked my wanderlust, which has been somewhat dormant this summer. YOU ARE ABOUT TO MOVE AND YOU HAVE NO MONEY, JEN. JUST SIT THERE AND ENJOY YOUR FOOD (but I can dream, can I?)

I guess if I can sum up the past month it’s been hard work peppered with excitement, mixed with some bittersweetness.

Some photographs:

I suppose I should get up and start the day – I hope you’re having a relaxing Sunday, however you choose to spend it.