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i am home alone tonight. the boys have gone to a swanky holiday party for real estate types. i am trying to catch up on reading; book club is tomorrow. it has been a long day of meetings at work and i'm tired. a few hours of reading on the couch with a blanket over my legs is restorative. i sip wine and think about telling the girls to read this book. i know it is worth it, although i am only halfway through.

the leather ottoman sits at the arm of the sofa. there is no other logical place for it to go, so that's where we put it when we bought the couch. to the left always sits david's briefcase. he must set it there every evening when he comes home from work, but i have never seen him do so. i usually arrive second.

on top of the ottoman is my black purse. it has been there for several days, collapsed like bagpipes. lately i have been using the red leather bag given to me by R's parents last christmas. it isn't my favorite, but it serves as a useful, appropriate bag for work, able to hold papers, files, or a laptop. it sits, gaping a little, to the right of the ottoman. tonight R's tumi briefcase sits against the exposed side of the ottoman. i like seeing all our things there, together -- a funny, modern family. last night we talked a little with david about the timing of the GDBD. he was surprised to hear it would be as soon as august. he thinks it will be "weird" to all be living together after R and I are married. i have felt the same way for some time, but now i'm not sure. i do and i don't.

upstairs, the bedroom light is on. R often leaves this light on absentmindedly. the hermit crab is in his new expanded terrarium on the dresser. he doesn't seem as enthusiastic about it as we'd hoped. what does crab enthusiasm look like? he hasn't moved into any of the new shells we bought for him.

in my room, by my desk, bits of cat litter get crunched under my feet. three piles of folded laundry sit on the futon, waiting to be put away. there is the faint smell of the cat box. i'd like to buy some new candles, to have fragrance and soft light in a few rooms, like reminders of something fond. winter revs and retreat over days and weeks. my ring is back from new york, special on my finger. i was getting used to not having a ring. it fits now, but still slides to one side or another, heavier than i'd expected. i know i will grow accustomed to that before too long.