The weather's so pretty now, you see, that I wanted my computer desk to face out into the yard so I can see the results of my gardening, and admire the play of light through the trees surounding my yard. Once you change one piece of the puzzle, of course, there's a domino effect and you have to sort out everything else. Thus we now have a more comfortable, less geometric arrangement of couch and chairs and tables in the main room, plus a bookcase that wasn't being utilized in the dining room, and just plain lots of space in the center. By placing a big comfy chair at an slight angle with the back facing the hallway I've created a more intimate, circle-the-wagons feeling. And although I didn't think of it at the time, I'm not sorry to break up the line of the entry hall into the living room for another reason: the principles of feng shui recommend against allowing evil an obstacle-free pathway into your abode (it can only travel in straight lines, apparently, but I don't know why).

The cats are thrilled by the changes, but then they're thrilled by a paper sack on the floor. The dog seems vaguely worried, but in a day or two she'll be fine. She hates when we move house. I assure her I feel the same way, but I can tell she doesn't believe me.

I'm in the mood to make lots of changes, actually. Beginning Tuesday I'll be going to Weight Watchers again. I just can't seem to motivate myself on my own so I'm going to start going to weekly meetings. The cost is about the same as a good lunch, and I do so much better when I have a regular weigh-in, plenty of recipes to try out, and a clear idea of what proportions of which foods to eat. I've done Weight Watchers twice before, and each time I lost weight, kept it off for at least a year afterwards, and got myself back on track in dietary matters. I like the organization because they don't try to sell you food, or special vitamins, or anything extra. It'll be up to me to shop sensibly and find different ways of meeting my daily allowances of fruits, veggies, and carbohydrates. I promise I won't turn into a bore on the subject, though. Nutrition isn't a favorite topic of mine anyway, which is how I got myself into this mess in the first place.

Some of my friends and I having been talking about going to Amsterdam for a weekend in the fall, and I think this sounds splendid. I have never been to the Benelux countries, and I've always wanted to see a live sex show. No, I'm kidding. I haven't "always" wanted to. I do plan to go, though. I expect to be both fascinated and horribly embarrassed. I'd also like to visit a couple of museums, hang out in cafes, dance to techno music in the clubs, all the usual stuff. Of course, the only solid vacation plans I have are going up to Portland for Memorial Day weekend, and to Las Vegas the weekend after for a beach volleyball tournament. I'm looking forward to both trips even though approximately twelve trillion of my closest relatives are going to turn up for a cookout at my Dad's, apparently, and Las Vegas in June is akin to an oven. But hey, I'm going to go to a famous Japanese garden, and the very wonderful Portland zoo with its large elephant population, and my friends are having a party just for us in Las Vegas. I take my fun where I find it, darn it!

Including rearranging the furniture. Boy, am I happy with this new layout. Happy as a cat with a paper bag.

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