reader, I married him

I think my world's about to change. it's hard to tell at this point. the wedding, the house full of beloveds, the lovely dinner outside, it's all like a dream though it's only a few days ago. after a couple days of lying around and honeymooning with me, blake went off to opera rehearsal yesterday -- though he's quit all his jobs, he'll complete the rest of august at st. matthew's and the pagliacci performance this weekend before we head south. meanwhile, we're taking it easy on the to-do lists for a few days. we're waiting to hear about the second appraisal on the steeleville house, after the first one came in 15K below our offer and is poised to nullify the contract. we can't really start to pack because the way we do that will depend on whether we move into the house or the parsonage. so we're using the down time to rest up.

I got word this morning that I got the job as director of the steeleville area public library. it's a lovely new building, set on a grassy sweep between the high school and the grade school, an unexpected opportunity for me to get involved in education and books again and use my managerial skills too. I talked them into making it a part-time job, 3 days a week with as much flexibility as I want. I think it'll be a great way to interact with townspeople while still keeping some time aside for myself and my new husband.

blake has his bloomington house on the market, but what about mine? I learned that the neighbor's son is interested in renting it "for cost" in return for doing the leaves and lawn. by next spring, I'll have recovered enough psychic space to decide how to proceed. I love it so much and don't want to let it go, but it's not practical to try to manage it from a distance of 4 hours, nor indeed would that arrangement afford me much pleasure. the house we found in steeleville would do as a replacement -- beautiful yard, privacy, quiet -- but it remains to be seen whether we'll get it.

lots of changes coming on. but today it feels like the old days: quiet, low-key, not really lonesome, not very productive, waiting for a shoe to drop so that I can get on with things other than mere maintenance.