The electric mixer is whirring away in the kitchen as Himself makes cookies to take to his brother's family in Toronto tomorrow -- not that his brother is not up to generating his own cookie supply. In fact, we will almost certainly come home with a box of his fudge, reciprocity being the Only Way To Go.

The design and construction of the new kitchen, dining room and loo have decluttered our capital funds of a stunning sum, well north of twice as much as I expected, but I have to confess that it's money well spent. Now we have to knuckle under and deal with problems in the rest of the house -- starting with a paint job (Himself's office is still Pepto-Bismol pink). Also, a humidifier added to the furnace would make my sinuses much happier. How much will that cost, I wonder? Should I think of a number and double it?

On the decluttering front, I have decided that my mother-in-law's prized Wedgwood majolica (bright green, raised designs of vines and grape leaves) must find a new home. The dear lady died almost eight years ago and the settlement of her estate landed us with what remained of her fine china. Over seven years of possession, I have never used it. Not once. When I removed it from the china cabinet in the dining room, suddenly there was enough space for everything we do use. The True Sign ... Sigh.

I shall canvass the nieces, but I'm fairly sure that I'll get no takers -- the younger generation wisely prefers crockery that will go into the dishwasher without complaint. EBay, then.