The chaos before the calm?

This week has been a total loss in terms of writing.  Not only were we moving, but we didn't have an internet connection until yesterday afternoon, and we've been dealing with the byzantine Irish bureaucracy so we can get married.  There has also been a stream of tradesmen coming and going from the apartment, fixing the hot water and the showers, the heaters and fans, etc.  I think I've spent half the week waiting to let them in and texting the landlord about what has or hasn't been done.  

And then, there is the laundry.  It's not so bad, just a load or two every morning, but I think I had become accustomed to the help of Nova's grandmothers in that area, not to mention the convenience of having a dryer.  Here, we have lots of light and air and I've bought an enormous clothes drying rack which would hold probably three days worth of diapers at a stretch, but because there's always something else to wash and they do get stinky lying around, I've been washing nappies every second day. 

Nova is in good form, but she went through a needy couple of days early in the week, days when she screamed in protest every time she was put down.  I'm sure she senses the change, and she doesn't like it much when I have a lot of other things to do.  She was grumpy when I was packing up to leave the US, too.  That said, Nova's grumpiness would probably pass for a good day with most babies.  She's very cheerful on the whole.  

Another great thing about being here is that I can now cook.  We're not totally set up yet, but on Wednesday night I made dinner for our new household for the first time.  I cooked rice with black beans in the dutch oven we bought last weekend, and Donal fried the sausages.  There were also some carrots involved -- they were meant to go in with the rice and beans, but I wound up just steaming them on top.  

I'm hoping for a bit more calm and productivity next week, and to be able to report on the scene from our window.  

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