It's time for me to join this merry band. Edmund is abroad for six months (note 'Catter deployed in southwest Asia), and when he comes home he will start a new job in Kingston, Ontario. That means we are moving, probably next summer, after 10 years in this house.

Where to start? I know where I should get to work -- the cellar -- but my heart sinks whenever my thoughts wander there. So today I shredded a box full of old tax files and personal correspondence, filling up a garden waste bag with paper shreddies and the recycling boxes. Getting them out to the kerb on Wednesday (garbage day) will be a test of upper-body strength, especially when three weeks' worth of newspapers is added.