From Lileks, waiting to be called for jury duty:

We all sign in, which means a long queue of people in various moods from sullen to disengaged to temporarily-not-knitting-but-happy-to-know-that-knitting-will-soon-be-resumed.

Boy, do I know that feeling. I'm back on the wagon (off the wagon? I never remember which way that goes...); I've made a hat or scarf every night this week.

I'm starting to get this panic attacks about moving. My husband was barking at me last night to knock it off, but when you're an Unemployed Obsessive Planner, you have to throw your energies into something. I try to channel it into knitting and dinner, but for some reason I've been starting to freak out about moving.

We don't move for another nine months, you know.

I've started obsessively whittling down our collection of canned foods. Can't buy more than what I need now, because what if we don't use it up? So what if this is on sale, we may not get to it in time. And what to do about that huge bottle of shampoo: the future looked so bright when I had hair to my waist, but now the meniscus has barely moved. And the dog food, oh the dog food. Charlie will be making the switch from puppy to adult around the time we move, so what if we end up with too much puppy food left over? Or we buy some adult food and don't make it through the whole bag? We can't just throw it away.

Or actually we can, my husband says as he stares at me in horror. It costs $7.50, so it's not the end of the world.

Of course, last time we moved, I shoved a whole bunch of foodstuffs into my suitcase because I couldn't bear to throw it all out and buy the exact same thing over again when we got to Germany. I guess it serves me right that I ended up with sesame oil all over my entire wardrobe.

You see why I knit now, right? It occupies my mind. It keeps me from worrying that I've just bought a new bottle of tarragon and there's no way we can get through the whole thing before we move.

I'm just happy to know that knitting will soon be resumed.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:49 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 385 words, total size 2 kb.

1 When we moved here, they actually packed up quite a bit of our "food" stuff - all my spices, plus plastic wrap and even boxed Hamburger Helper. (I don't know if they were supposed to, but they did.) We still had 1 month where we were living in an empty apartment before our PCS, so some of that stuff I bought so that we could eat during that time. I opened the cabinet, and it was gone... magically appearing 2 months later on the other side of the world

Posted by: The Girl at September 16, 2005 08:07 AM (FmIVz)

2 Okay you have me laughing! The movers packed all our canned goods when we made to move from Ft Knox to Germany in 2000. When I moved back to Texas in November, some of the exact some canned goods came back across the ocean! What was I thinking? Some know that I am hooked on sales and finding a bargain. If I have a coupon and it is cheap, I buy it. Why not? They packed everything even the 2DM bottle of crappy wine(it was in DM that tells you how long I had it). Don't worry about all the non food items either. They said they could not pack items with a "pump" unless it locked; lotion, soap etc. Some items did not have a locking pump, so I went back and packed them when they left . . . they made it just fine. It all depends on your movers. Some will pack anything and others will be picky but have food and coffee ready for them and you can probably get them to pack what you want . . . really! So, happy knitting! Need any good yarn? Always looking for something to do! LOL

Posted by: H. Sims at September 16, 2005 09:51 AM (D+Bhc)

3 Ok, calm down. You can always donate the stuff to someone on base right? Happy knitting.

Posted by: Mare at September 16, 2005 10:29 AM (KmNMw)

4 Sarah, You crack me up...but honestly, I do the same exact thing (I think you and I had a similar conversation about this the other day). I worry about ANYTHING that doesn't have to do with today.

Posted by: Erin at September 17, 2005 10:01 AM (nQCjZ)

5 Ah yes, knitting. I find it a wonderful distraction when domesetic goddess duties call. Just one more row is suddenly a sleeve and you have no clean dishes left but hey! You have a sleeve!

Posted by: zib at September 17, 2005 11:24 AM (2uf8Z)

6 Ok, it was good to hear that someone else is exactly like me. I am ready to take all my pictures off the walls and everything. I keep looking at my cupboards and thinking "don't buy anything else, we have to use this stuff up" but then I see a sale at the commissary and buy anyway! We don't move for 8 months and the baby will come in April (right before we move). I am already stressing about what can be household goods and what needs to be unaccompanied baggage. Everyone thinks I am crazy for worrying, but that is what wives do.

Posted by: S.Berndt at September 19, 2005 04:43 AM (MOoZ+)

7 Just think you will be ready to move if hubby comes home with an "Oh by the way we're moving" comment. I did the same thing and you saw a majority of the stuff when you helped me pack the van for the orphanage. And we did not even had orders yet. As you know we ended up extending for another year!

Posted by: Jennifer at September 19, 2005 11:41 AM (xwxoO)

8 "And the dog food, oh the dog food. Charlie will be making the switch from puppy to adult around the time we move, so what if we end up with too much puppy food left over? " Not that you asked for advice, but lol... Having two dogs that we've moved quite a few times, including cross-continent twice lol, I'd keep the baby on the same food until after your move is over and your family is settled in a new home. Sometimes a change in scenery can give them poopy butt. Sometimes a change in food can - and the last thing you need during a big move is a pup with an upset tummy lol. Good luck with your move. I LOVE to move. It always feels like such an adventure learning about a new place and meeting new people. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be moving again, so I'll just follow your blog and enjoy hearing about your experiences if you don't mind .

Posted by: Shannon at September 19, 2005 07:45 PM (Qs5Bp)

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