The conference, by the way, went very well. Sydney drove me to Boston on Thursday, where I jumped into conference session after conference session, presented a paper, and kept busy through Sunday afternoon. I was surprised, honestly, at how well my body tolerated the short nights and long days of sitting. And I was amused by the attention my stomach got on the T and around town. The relative anonymity of a large city resulted in more questions and cheerful “Good luck!”s than I have gotten in Ithaca. I also got evening time with Sarah and Lisa; Sydney kept his eyes on his computer as we three college roommates giggled and swapped updates before heading to bed.
Now Sydney and I are back home and taking a break from academic work to tackle some home projects. I’ve scoured and reorganized the kitchen, with some help from Sydney (who has a good eye for assessing spaces). Those of you who know me well know there’s not much that makes me happier than finding appropriate containers for various needs and spaces. Sydney, meanwhile, is building another bookshelf (the last, I believe, that this house will hold) and helped me find a way to contain the spices that have accumulated in our cupboards as we’ve experimented with cooking in the last few years. At the moment the house is chaotic, but it’s all in the name of progress. Soon I’ll be doing more cleaning and getting everything baby-ready. And, you know, doing our taxes before I dive back into dissertation work.
Countdown: 6 weeks until chaos really sets in.
Erin
Alan Schmierer