Every woman knows..

... that when you need to move one or two items of furniture in a small house it follows that almost every other piece of furniture in the house will also have to move to accomodate the change, like one of those plastic puzzles in which every square has to slide about until the required order or picture is created. I moved my iMac upstairs into a more comfortable, less cramped and drafty position which unfortunately means it has to be in my bedroom. It is a small room made smaller by being up in the roof with 3' of straight wall before the slope of the roof begins. Beds, chests, chairs, tables, lamps were going up and down the stairs in an attempt to find some harmony. I'm glad on the whole that I was on my own as the disgraceful piles of dust under the bed would have humiliated me. I found £3.50 in small change and two pairs of specs. Also, less amusingly, old tissues, bits of chocolate (too dusty to eat, more's the pity,)and a biscuit.

Today I have back-ache.

There is a feeling of achievement though along with the aches, and it's nice to be able to fall onto the mattress on the floor(it takes up less room that way) every now and again to gather a few thoughts and iron out my back. The biggest achievement of all had to wait until this morning when the shops opened and I could buy a certain small piece of plastic to connect the internet. I spent an hour or so yesterday trying to understand which wire was doing what in the airing-cupboard where, mysteriously, my phone line enters the house. A forest of connections and filters live cosily amidst sheets and pillow cases, cruelly excercising the technophobe in me. I even dreamt about the problem. Half the night saw me fretting about what the hell I was meant to do to take a line upstairs instead of down. Eventually my non-logical brain cranked into action and I worked it out. Hooray. Who needs men?

Me, actually, at 5.30pm yesterday as I sat cross-legged in front of the airing cupboard almost crying with frustration. There are after all one or two points in favour of having a husband. The ex is away at a chess tournament or he would have been summoned.