When I sold my house last year I thought I'd done a good job of winnowing out old crap. I gave away tons of stuff and yet more stuff appeared. The day we moved, the U-Haul I had expected to remain half empty turned out to be not large enough. I can tell I'm not alone here -- I feel a lot of you nodding.

By the time we finished the remodel on the new place, even though it turned out so well, I already knew I wanted to move. Didn't dare voice it aloud as it seemed a bit insane, but there it was. It's beautiful here in the Santa Monica Mountains, very big and very wild, but somehow it's not quite my spot.

Once the guys finished the final touch-ups, I moved just a fraction of my things into the house. Stuffed the shed full of the rest. Managed to wait until spring to tell my real estate guy he should draw up another contract. And when it came time to de-clutter in order to stage the place for sale, I didn't have to move a thing.

ANYWAY, long story long, of the two contradictory sayings about absence (makes the heart grow fonder / out of sight, out of mind) it was the latter that held sway. Thanks to CraigsList and that moving sale (those are the leftovers in the driveway, packed up and headed for Goodwill) I'm certain that this time, the smaller van will do the trick.