I don't like shopping. I find it stressful and annoying. I like to shop online. Lately though since I've been living with the inlaws in their not very child proof house, I find myself looking for excuses to go shopping. And since I don't have a house to buy stuff for, and we don't have much room in the fridge for food, I buy clothes. I have more clothes now than I can fit in the dresser we're using, and more than I can fit in the suitcase I brought. I need to stop shopping. But it's so nice to have an excuse to get out and do something.

Apparently there is a lot of paperwork involved in buying a house. Who knew.

We'll be staying with relatives until August at least. This is great for my checkbook but not so great for my sanity.

The weather has been nice so far. It's spring. Spring would mean more if I'd had to go through the winter here. Next year.

I haven't been writing as much as I should. It's hard to find time. (I know that's a just an excuse, but there's some truth to it.)

The kids are getting used to things here; I'm not looking forward to having to move them again in a few months.

I've missed Western New York. You don't think you'll miss the place you grew up. You know all its faults. You know it has no jobs and high taxes. You know the weather is terrible over 6 months a year. You know the canal is insanely polluted. But damn if I didn't miss that canal. I missed the old stone buildings, I missed the sense of history, I missed living in an area I "get." I liked California and it taught me a lot, but it wasn't "home." I'm happy for now to be back in my quaint little canal town with a church on every corner (even though I'm agnostic.)

So in summary: I'M HOME!!