rolling up the rug

I hope you don't mind seeing an old favorite picture of Crow and company but at the moment all of my art supplies are packed up in cardboard boxes again. We've been a little too busy packing and doing odd improvements (curtains!) in the new place for me to have found any time to draw these past few weeks. No matter how much practice I've had, or maybe because of it, I really don't enjoy moving. If I add up all the abodes where I've abided and divide them by years, it looks as though I should have attached wheels to the furniture ages ago. In truth, there have been a few memorable places we've inhabited for up to seven years and a few forgettable ones that didn't make the grade beyond a year or so. At least this way one never has time to get tired of the view.

We're not entirely sure which category our new apartment will fall into but we'll have a better idea by the end of the week. Moving day is Thursday. When we finally got the keys, nearly three months after signing the lease, we walked in and discovered it's actually somewhat smaller than we'd remembered. How much smaller, you may ask? Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed our stuff fits and we can still close the door. Really, the kitchen is so tiny it has a ¾ size stove and fridge that pretty much fill up the space. It's going to be like cooking in a ship's galley. The rest we'll sort out one way or another. I'll have a little studio space in front of one of the windows in our L-shaped living room - a spot that's actually nicer than the area I set up here. We already know where to tell the movers to put the big stuff but I have a feeling we're going to be shifting other pieces around the way you play one of those frustrating puzzle box games. It should be fun so long as we're not in divorce proceedings before the bookcases have been arranged to our mutual satisfaction. When I come to think of it, moving is actually a very good test of a relationship and something people should probably do more often than is usual.

Hopefully, most friends who've known us for any length of time have been wise enough to write our current address in pencil when updating their little black books.  For years my email and blog have been the easiest ways to find me and that remains true. We may love the new apartment for all the other reasons we liked it to start off with, but even if it turns out not to be the best place, there will always be another. So long as we're together and laughing is the important thing.

By some magical process of his own design, Crow will still have his own gracious lodgings close to mine - a place where I'm always welcome to share his brandy and fruitcake while he regales me with stories. There may even be some I write down and draw for you.

♡