This is pretty much how I'm feeling about my new house right now.

I'm finding pleasure in the simplest things, because of my new house.

There are never dirty dishes in my sink.
I only do a couple loads of laundry a week, and I have them done before I get to the weekend.
My fridge is full of vegetables, and I'm starting to enjoy grocery shopping again.
I go to bed EARLY and the house is quiet.
I don't have a junk drawer. If I can't find a home for something, then I don't need it.

You would be hard pressed to ever convince me to share a house with anyone ever again.

I should be done with unpacking the living space of my house this weekend. It'll take a while longer to get my studio fully unpacked, but I hope to at least get it to the state that I can use it by the end of July.

I don't owe y'all this context, but I feel like balancing the above.

EH is one of the best people I have ever known. He literally kept me alive when I was in my very darkest days. I'm deeply grateful that we are both working so hard to maintain a friendship. I still love him and always will.

I have learned over the years that I have to be particular about certain things in order to keep my nervous system regulated. EH and I are both neurodivergent, but in different ways.

My autism manifests more strongly than my ADHD, and he is the opposite. The imbalance kept me in a near constant state of low level dysregulation no matter what I did, because I didn't have enough control over my home environment, the one place that I really need to be able to relax.

I am now aware of how particular these needs are. It is why I am so absolutely certain that I'll never live with anyone ever again. I am already beginning to create very strict disciplines around the house, and even the most well intentioned partner or roommate would have difficulty doing things just exactly as I need them to be done. That's a lot of pressure to put on a relationship.

I'm not in a hurry to start dating. Not even slightly. If and when I ever do, this is a boundary I will be clear on from the very beginning.

I would love to have a partner live just right next door. Heck, I'd love to have a whole community of people I love and trust within walking distance. But I need my space, and that has never been more clear than it is now, because I finally have it.

In other news, café mom brought me a tub of junk jewelery to upcycle. Obviously I'm going to make her some more earrings.

I go into work an hour later on Fridays. Normally I would sleep in a little bit, but this time I decided I would go to bed at my usual time last night and get up at my usual time this morning.

I got a load of laundry finished this morning, emptied the dishwasher and put my breakfast dishes in it. Made my bed. Put my recycling in the bin.

These little things. These little disciplines. They're going to make all the difference.

Also, somehow I'm not producing a whole lot of trash? Obviously I've got stuff from the unpacking, and all that cardboard is going into the recycling bin. But I haven't put my trash bin on the curb in a couple weeks because it hasn't been full.

The dogs are coming over for the first time tomorrow. No overnights yet. They've never had neighbors, so we want to introduce them to my yard gently.

I've got beds and bowls already, and will do a shopping trip in the morning to get some toys and rawhides.

I bought these vases at my favorite antique mall about 8 months ago. I paid $30 for the set.

I went back to the same antique mall today and saw one orange one in the exact same style with a $65 price tag on it.

I think I got a hell of a deal.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the puppies tomorrow. It's been over a month. I've missed them.

I am DELIGHTED

I cooked porkchops for breakfast this morning. Just fried them in a pan. I don't think I've ever cooked porkchops before. They turned out really good.

I haven't done a lot of cooking in the last few years. I've mostly done a lot of "low spoons" eating. I find that as my nervous system settles, I'm starting to have more energy for this kind of thing.

I'm working on getting more protein in my diet. I'm going to join a local gym later this month after I get back from a work trip. I want to start taking Zumba classes, but I'm going to put some time in on the cardio machines first.

I never thought I would be so pleased by just basic domesticity.