The electrician was here yesterday. He was a lovely person, which is good because we will be seeing more of him in the coming days.

We had a to-do list and a sense of dread. It was a long list and a well-justified sense of dread, given the state of things. We have relied on duct tape and prayer for many years now. But it wasn't as bad as we feared. At least we do not need to have the entire house re-wired, which was my big -- and completely reasonable -- anxiety. But it was a long list and he will be back next week to do more of it.

In the meantime, I moved the first load of books into our new storage unit today. They are very heavy and turned our Subaru Impreza into a low-rider. The important thing to remember about your car's suspension is that it likes to be tested, to be challenged, pushed to see how far it can go. Otherwise, it becomes restless and irritable. Also, after a decade of Jonathan's driving, we are selling the car for parts in May anyway.

And we sent an email to the rental agent about the rustic farmhouse and got back a very favorable reply. The rent is more than we intended to spend, but we couldn't help ourselves -- we were swept away by beauty. It's the old story. We are talking to the agent tomorrow on the phone to settle everything.

This is a video of us making the decision: