~bartender, I'd like just a glass of water this time. I've brushed my teeth already.
My home is barren, and my home is also barren. The rooms echo, waiting. One to have the final things taken away, one to have those things taken in.
Tomorrow morning I'll start wiping dust off the furniture and vacuuming the worst mess away, ahead of the moving crew I hired who will carry all the stuff. My new place is lined with bags and boxes, waiting to be unpacked once those large vessels, beds, shelves, tables, et cetera, have commanded their authority around the place.
I have four tables, I just realised. Four. And my big but flimsy Ikea shelf might not survive this move. If it does, I'm glad. And if it doesn't, I'll have to find something else.
The positive news are that I very probably don't need to get a new washing machine. The one I have should work out well. See, my new place has big cupboards in the bathroom, above the washing machine's spot. But I have a top-fill machine and not a side-fill one, I was worried it'd cause some problems that I couldn't open the lid to use it. But having researched it, it should be fine. The bottom shelf can even be removed if needed.
After the moving crew have finished their quest with me, I'll walk over to my sister's place. We're starting up the Christmas cooking extravaganza.
She'll be starting off the ham, but before that, we need to make some other things. My responsibility is to bake bread. A very specific type of bread. It's a family recipe for some dense, dark bread, sweet with syrup, chewy with bran and rye, and tasty beyond all others thanks to the excellent breadmaking ingredients that are buttermilk and rye malt.
Rye malt is my favourite breadmaking ingredient, just because it goes into this bread, and because its smell is absolutely delightful. I always buy beer malt, rather than bread malt, since beer malt isn't milled so fine, it gives a nicer texture to the bread.
Butter and cheese on top and you're set for something great. Or, boiled egg and shrimp salad, topped with a little salmon roe if you want to be in for a real fancy treat.
I'm feeling hungry. But I won't have to wait long, Christmas Eve will bring the big dinner along.
Now I'm off to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.