When am I supposed to walk around in circles on the bedding?

I live in a foreign country, work here, have a dog and husband and bills. Oh, AND A BABY ON THE WAY. And I'm still waiting to feel like an adult. To work on bills ahead of time, organize social life more consistently. Let's face it, to do anything that isn't last minute. Isn't that supposed to be part of "nesting" that pregnant women do? Aren't we supposed to suddenly turn into hens with well organized, donut-shaped piles of little twigs and sticks?

Or is that the mistake I'm making. That nesting just means I suddenly have a bed where the sheets and pillows are arranged for maximum cushiness? And no extra bills are done, no little jars of muesli, beans, and spices are labelled neatly, ready for all the new recipes I'll try, no huge transformation has happened in how my to-do list goes from Orange Alert back to normal?

Because let's face it, I'm proud of the new mega-couch and all, but how far can I stretch the feelings of accomplishment from the furniture/organization blitz last weekend? I mean, I get to claim it (like a dependent on my taxes) only once. Then I think the idea is that I have to do some other stuff to claim I'm being productive.

Ok, it isn't so miserable as all that. I have done a few things late Sunday night, and even got to the butcher's on Saturday (nice man, speaks enough English that I'm ready to go in there for more humanely raised meat from a person I can ask all sorts of questions to) for a great piece of roast. And used that in my godmother's Le Creuset pot.

Funny, the things you choose when you get to pick something from a person's belongings after they pass away. I have no idea what she used to cook in this bright yellow pot, but I'm sure they were healthy and simple, and partly responsible for her long life. And now I cooked something from a butcher in a small village in Switzerland. It was nice. And since I'm not religious, it was one of the closer things to a ritual of continuity (from her to me) that I participated in this weekend.

Ok, so I participated in a a continuum of cooking this weekend. And listened to one hour of a radio show I like from Canada. So I have my few things to claim I was productive about (neither of which removed any paperwork from my life). Maybe I can just be okay with that. And look for a photo or two to put up so this post is a bit more upbeat....



This is a photo that M took, which I really like, of one of Gaudi's residential architectural projects in Barcelona. We were there a few weeks ago, and I had just enough energy for one outing a day, consisting of maybe 2-3 hours of walking/sitting, a nap, and a nice early (8pm say) meal. Very different way of being a tourist from when I was a teenager or in my 20s. And the one tourist thing on my list was to see the cathedral that Gaudi designed. I'll post about it next time, with the few photos we took of the still-in-progress structure. It has been in progress for, what, over 100 years? It doesn't hurt that it is spectacular, down to the concept and inspiration. But there we were, both having seen it 7-10 years ago, seeing it again. A bit more done, and yet still 17 years from completion. There is something about its completion timescale being longer than a human life that adds to the feeling of awe and (strangely) comfort I felt being there.