This is interesting reading--and I have one question, a clarification of a clarification. The "chippy" I figured out, but what is skewered in a "donna kebab?" You're not talking a Sweeny Todd kind of establishment, are you? :)

I'll be moving in the next month or so (doesn't mean much here, since I'm new to the list and most of you don't know me) but I have a small ritual when I move to a new place. As Noreen remarked, having the kettle and tea at the ready is vital, and a comfortable table and chair to use while drinking my tea. The first thing I do in a new place (even as stuff is being moved in) is to bake a loaf of bread and make a big pot of soup. These are the most visceral of smells I can think of, and immedately make the place feel like home. (It also helps calm people who are coming and going -- those I hope to talk into helping me move big clunky antique furniture, including my half-ton upright grand piano that has been in the family since 1884).

Maggie