We’re in the new house and unpacking. Brigid is “helping” by taking things and storing them where she thinks they should go. Also: this is how I lose my shoes. Brigid is also fond of my bras; she will steal them out of the laundry basket if I forget to not place them there. I was down to my last one before I discovered her “bra bed” stash in the last house, where she was curled up sleeping. How would this house be organized if the ferrets chose where everything went?
A waterfall at the Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland
We’re back from Scotland, so expect to see several posts over the next several days (weeks?) related to that adventure. There’s much to share, including how to survive single-lane roads, millionaire shortbread, the great hoodie search, castle ruins, Doric dialect, figuring out how to order coffee, and security observations coming and going. One constant: the people of Scotland we met were kind and welcoming, and they had a fun sense of humor — like there was some sort of “trickster” gene they shared.
As if International travel wasn’t enough, we’re also in escrow to buy a house, which is its own adventure. If all goes well (please oh please let everything go well), we close on the 24th. The last day of our rental lease is the 30th, so this is going to be a couple weeks of remembering to breathe. We’ll be hosting friends on the 18th, so we’re figuring out what we can pack now, and what must wait until the 19th so our friends have a comfortable space.
Of course, all the while, my work is full of big projects while overseeing the daily needs assigned to me, plus I’m attending a STAR symposium this week (on neurodiversity). It’s all actually quite fun! Just requires a bit more caffeine these days.
I was thinking about stopping my Netflix subscription again. Try as I might, I couldn’t find anything new that I wanted to watch. Why do I even have this account? I browsed different categories, and it was more of the same. I clicked the thumbs-up icon to “like” certain shows to try helping the algorithm, but still nothing new. It actually recommended Twilight to me. Okay, so I’m good with fantasy and shape-shifters and such… maybe I can help refine the results a bit?
So I searched for “vampire” to see if I could find some vampire shows that I did like and let Netflix clue in a bit better.
What I got was something unexpected. It was mostly Korean and Chinese Drama shows, None with vampires, mind you. Among them, however, was something called Love Between Fairy and Devil.
My first reaction: Netflix, your algorithm is drunk. Go home.
But curiosity got the better of me, and I opened up the first episode. The intro was beautiful, so I kept viewing. Then the first scenes played, and I found myself asking, “What am I watching here?” It seemed like a combination of a comic book, a stage play with elaborate costuming and background scenery, and some CGI. Not just the visuals, but the acting too. I allowed myself to let go, be curious, and just take it in.
It was cute, silly, cheesy… and I cringed a bit at first. However, it was also beautiful and interesting, and I found that I couldn’t look away. I kept watching. It required that I let go of preconceived ideas, not expect familiar visuals or tropes, and watch the characters’ reactions to things that were said or done (because I couldn’t rely on my own interpretations of how meaningful a certain action was). By the end of the show, I felt I understood those expectations a bit more. That’s right: I watched the whole thing, all the way to the end. I have all the songs stuck in my head now, none of which I understand the lyrics for, but I found that I enjoyed them too.
Netflix noticed that I watched all of the episodes. Now my account shows me almost only shows I need the captions on to understand. There’s a whole other world out there, and apparently I have found entry to another small part of it. Perhaps, once I explore the current recommendations, I can see where else a key word search can lead me.
Changing the bedding, I stripped the blankets and tossed them on the floor. The blankets ended up staying there for a couple days because the twins decided this was their new favorite place to sleep.
Eventually, laundry had to happen, along with a bunch of other cleaning. In addition to packing for an overseas trip, we needed to make sure our rental was presentable for showing. Let’s just pile on the tasks, shall we?
We moved the tech and other valuables out, but still have moving boxes stacked in some spaces. Upon our return, we will have guests visit us for a couple days, then pack more, sign papers, and (hopefully, if all goes well) move to a new home. That’s right: we gave notice, but nothing is 100% set for the next steps. We’re just living in liminal spaces these days!
In a few weeks, I hope to have more solid updates – hopefully happy updates – and lots of pretty pictures to share.
The twins often want scritches as they wake up, but this time so did Brigid (for about 5 seconds). Then she wanted to attack Kevin’s feet.