Dear Florence,

On Friday night I felt like I had actually, finally, mentally, moved in. I was home alone after work and several unassuming moments over the course of the evening cemented the feeling that I was home rather than in a nice holiday rental that bizarrely had completely identical furniture to my own.

I was unpacking a few more things, and the spare room was starting to look more like a room and less like a laundromat that had been raided by particularly unfeeling mobsters looking for the jacket of which their godfather had accidentally left several thousand dollars and a photograph of his moll in the pocket. I found the radio/ phone dock so I plugged it in and cranked up some of my favourite tunes. I alternated between cooking dinner (my go-to comfort food of chickpeas, tomatoes, rice and feta) and more unpacking, all the while singing loudly. And I was home.

A little later on, Tallboy came home and we had a lovely, laidback Friday night dinner. It seemed like the first chance either of us had had to completely stop and relax for several weeks. On Saturday morning we concluded the unpacking and made the flat Visitor Ready before strolling to Ashfield and eating Chinese dumplings for lunch. We bought up a cornucopia of winter vegetables which I am now going to roast according to the recipe from a cookbook we  are publishing in November... so I'd better get roasting.

Love from Girlbooker

Dear Florence,

All the books are packed up and so is most of the kitchenware. We are moving to Summer Hill in two days and I can hardly believe it. I have never lived so many train stations away from the cbd before. I know it isn't far by Sydney standards but it will be a big change for me. Or maybe I won't even notice. Can't wait to find out either way!

I am looking forward to sharing all my discoveries with you about our new home. For now, life is somewhat chaotic. I will make a final visit to our local Saturday markets this morning but there is no point in buying flowers or anything much that I would do normally, because it will all need to be packed up and moved.

I have noticed more clearly with this move than previous ones how much comfort I derive from hoarding food like a squirrel hoards nuts for Winter. I feel in control of life when I have pre-cooked bolognese and soup in the freezer. Popping a few extra things into the shopping basket to stock up the cupboards is something I have had to stop myself from doing for a few weeks and it's been tough. I think I like the sense of being amongst abundance.

Yesterday I picked up the keys for the new place and did a quick local shop of some non-perishable food. Yes, I did buy Earl Grey tea from France and Tick Tock biscuits because I haven't seen them for years which probably wasn't strictly necessary but I got useful stuff too! I promise! I'm a bit in love with the new local supermarket which is an IGA. I've been getting so sick of Woolies flooding the shelves with their own brands at the expense of all those local (and not so local) companies. Two weeks ago they stopped stocking the rice pasta we like which was just irritating. I hate that feeling that everything is just converging to a bland, uniform averageness of blah.

Having all my cookbooks packed up is more discombobulating than I thought. They represent such a source of nourishment and I didn't realise how much I would miss having that on hand when I needed it. Sometimes just looking at the shelf makes me feel better, without even opening any of the books. Just knowing all the love and thoughtfulness and care that is represented in those books is enough to make me feel lightened. I had a pretty tough week at work so was looking for a bit of serenity more urgently (paradox?) than I normally would. Anyway, I am glad I have found this out about myself. And I am so excited about the moment when I can unpack those books and place them in their new home.

So much to get done today so I'd better go and do it!

Love from Girlbooker