In Transit

'in the valley' is in the process of relocation. Sorting and packing, some piece-meal moving, and late night slap-dash painting has been ongoing for several days now. Hopefully the bulk of the work will be done by this coming weekend, and even more hopefully the snow gods will be merciful until we're done...The move comes amid long cold work hours at the day job, and a steady whittling down of shopping days to Christmas... Phew...I'm whooped.

Moving is never easy but some lessons are being learned along the way. For instance: You can fill a huge box full of books, to lessen the amount of moving trips...but a huge box full of books is virtually immovable. Hmm...



For a sustained "Aaaargh!" moment, follow these easy steps:

1. try to take a shortcut by painting right over old wallpaper.
2. spend precious hours painting said wallpaper.
3. watch in dismay as paint-soaked wallpaper begins to peel away from wall.
4. remove loose wallpaper and curse quietly to yourself as you start over again in the wee hours of the morning.



Hard won lessons, to be sure...

On the Christmas shopping front, last weekend we made time to scoot over to the Prime Outlets, out in Lee. The shoppers are definitely the dominant species this year, with retailers jumping through hoops for business.



The Prime Outlets has become an annual trip we take, usually around the holidays, under a bizarre hope that because it's far away and because it says 'Outlet' on the name, we'll somehow find things cheaper than around here. Alas, this is not always the case. But conditions are favorable this year, and it's an easy trip and a good excuse to head out towards the Berkshires. Besides, gas is dirt cheap right now.

Exhibit A:



Exhibit B:



That's it for another upturned day; back at it again tomorrow. Hopefully, things will be steadily on track again by the new year...



For now, it'll be strange days indeed...