1) We had a lovely time in Michigan with DrMrNin’s family- it was the first time I’d seen them since the wedding 15 months ago, and was DrMrNin’s first time back for a whole year. Two very special girls got to meet their ‘grandparents’ and other assorted family members for the first time, and I even got to meet one of my nieces for the first time too. AND IT SNOWED a bit as well.

2) My laptop is now back from the Apple hospital where for a flat fee of 310 whole american dollars it came back almost like new. It’s been VERY poorly for the past couple of weeks (actually months, but the past few weeks especially), so we thought it would be a good idea to get it seen to. I now have a fully functioning ’s’ key (a whole new keyboard in fact), a latch that keeps the lid shut, a whole new fascia on the keyboard part *including* a whole new mousepad, ALL the fans now work which means I don’t have to sit it on cooler packs from the freezer to keep it from overheating, the DC-in plug now works so that the power doesn’t keep cutting out AND they gave me a new battery. They also appear to have WIPED MY HARD DRIVE CLEAN OF EVERYTHING and restored all the factory default applications. Fortunately I backed up all my files and *most* of the other major things so that I can get them back (I’ve been a backup queen since the days of my PhD), but I’m sure there’ll be those useful little programs that I use all of the time that I will have to hunt down again. Buh. But I have a shiny ‘new’ computer again so I’m not too upset. I’m sure it’ll be back to how it was before after a day or two of file transfers. And I can’t believe that all of that out of warranty service only cost $310 - another reason why I love Apple so much, the aftercare is intensely good.

3) I’m in a better mood.

4) This wasn’t really very brief.

5) I’m going home to England in just three weeks, yay!

The past couple of weeks have been illustrative to the fact that I’ve been losing a bit of momentum lately. My rhythm has slowed. I lack regularity. Time has been spent transitioning, settling in, getting used to new things, and there’s also been a bit of travelling thrown into the mix too. Yet despite this seemingly endless string of supposedly ‘exciting’ events taking place, my mood hasn’t exactly been going in the same direction. I have been here almost 60 days now but don’t feel any more settled this week compared to the days after I first arrived. And the important little things that make everyday life satisfying are still lacking- I have yet to find a favourite food, cheese that has any taste, a laundry detergent that actually gets my whites bright, or a favourite programme on TV… Whilst the weather is bright sunshine and blue skies, almost 60 days of this monotony is far from the novelty it sounds and the thought of going to Michigan next week for Thanksgiving where they actually have weather is instigating an excitement in me that can only be described as ‘disproportionate’. I can’t actually believe that I’ll be able to wear clothes with sleeves of all things, and heavens above, I’ll likely even be able to wear A WINTER COAT.

I suppose it hasn’t helped that the past week and a half I’ve also been afflicted with a seasonal mold spore allergy that each morning makes it feel like I’ve spent the entire night sleep-ramming my forhead against a brick wall, but since we installed an industrial strength hepa filter air purifier next to the bed things have got a little better. Nevertheless, the disturbed sleep and general malaise combine together to make the days rather exhausting and by the time the evening comes I just want to curl up on the couch and keep myself to myself and then the whole thing starts over again the next day.

So altogether it’s no wonder that I haven’t really felt inspired of late. I’m sure I’ll feel better soon though. Maybe it’ll help if I bake some cakes, put up some Christmas decorations and kick start the metronome of my normal winter routine (albeint slightly prematurely). I could do that this afternoon. But only after I’ve first spent 20 minutes lying on the couch under a heated eyemask to soothe my throbbing brow…

FINALLY a bit of time to catch up with some blogging…but not for long. The apartment is almost unpacked now and there looks to be just one more carload of *stuff* to get from the old place, so hopefully within the next week I will be able to sit down and settle into some form of routine. I’m one of those people who needs some form of structure to my daily life in order to remain sane, so this will be more of a relief than you can imagine. In the meantime I managed to spend a couple of hours this afternoon catching up with some photo editing and general blog organisation- the photos are all in wordpress now, all I need to do now is write the posts to accompany them!!

Perhaps the biggest change in routine that I’ll have to work out is my blogging schedule. Back home in England, days were spent having fun with my loved ones and by the time the evening came it was time to sit down, relax and play on my computer. Here, the lifestyle is completely reversed: my days are spent alone and thus far I have filled them with Getting Things Done, but come the evening when DrMrNin and our friendly neighbours have come home from work it’s a positive EXPLOSION of social activity. And so my blogging gets pushed to the wayside.  And my knitting too for that matter. And my crochet. And scrapbooking. AND PLAYING WITH MY GIRLS *shock*. I have let it slide for the past couple of weeks whilst we settle in, but I’ve not been comfortable with the sudden disappearance of my little personal routines. I’m sure like everything else it will all settle into place once I feel more at home here. So yes, this little couple of hours spent at my computer was like diving back into my little sanctuary again, complete with a hot cup of tea and some precious English biscuits that managed to find room in my suitcase.

As for the slogan on the mug…. it was a freebie from a geology conference a couple of years ago, something to do with improved precision in radiocarbon dating. Geeky humour I’m afraid We geologists, we’re just so darned funny….

Yes I did! I’m living in America! The journey was good - it makes SUCH a difference travelling first class, you arrive all refreshed and ready to go, I never want to fly coach again!! - and since arriving I’ve spent time adjusting to the new timezone, playing with all my things that I had to leave behind for 15 months, and generally finding my feet. There’s quite a lot to do in the coming week (driving test, finding somewhere to live etc etc) but it’s all very exciting. In a strange way it doesn’t feel like I’ve been away at all….

I’m just about to eat dinner now and am then heading straight to bed (jetlag), but I hope to be able to catch up properly this weekend There are lots of pics and more details to come, but in the meantime I’ve been catchin up on my 365 which is summarised below… click on the thumbnails to be taken to the relevant post.

Enjoy

Day 159/365

Day 160/365

Day 161/365

Day 162/365

Day 163/365

Day 164/365

Day 165/365