1.17.03 – household religions

the little brick house on martha street has become our own, now. after 4 days of cleaning came a week of unpacking, which required lots more consultation and discussion than it does when moving into one’s own house: can the spoons go in this drawer? can we hang this poster here? moving in together lets you to learn things about someone that just aren’t important in a relationship without cohabitation: do you need desk space? do you do the dishes while you’re cooking or after? is an unmade bed an offence to the eye? can the cat walk on the dinner table?

we went thrift store shopping for furniture; thanks to the religious charities that run most thrift stores, we now have a catholic couch, a christian end table and a mormon entertainment center. if boise had a better representation of eastern religions we might be able to get a buddhist coffee table, perhaps a muslim coat rack, and the living room could be a regular salon. perhaps the hari kirshna temple down the street will have a yard sale and then we could really let the furniture duke it out over religion. andy and i are both recovering catholics who lack the energy to fight over god; we just try to be gentle, with each other and with the world around us, and go from there.

last year’s new years resolution was to stop using beauty products that are tested on animals; this year i’m trying to eat only cage-free poultry and fish. i just finished fast food nation; luckily i don’t eat beef anyway, but after reading that i’d never be able to look at a hamburger the same again. with our evenings free (still unemployed until monday), we’ve been cooking up a vegetarian storm in the new kitchen. still trying to find a way to make tofu palatable, but i’m not entirely optimistic.