Reassurance.

Following a direct message tweet of concern from my lovely friend Stu I realise that I should perhaps clarify a couple of things, because where I thought I was being discreet it may have read as something being very wrong, what with the bursts of radio silence and everything.

So! Let's have a quick check-in with everyone!

• Evalyn the Foetus - Very well thank you!  She is moving around a lot, which feels more like she's trying to tickle me than kick me.
• Doc C - Very well thank you! Doc C has recently triumphed in the house-hunting arena, had his tenure approved by his department and was nominated for a teaching award this year. He is also an outstandingly supportive husband, and deserves a bloody medal for that!
• Jen Alien-Spouse - Very well thank you! Currently weighing in at 205 pounds, but still feeling good and very much looking forward to moving house.  I will be looking to find a new job in Asheville after Eva is born, so if anyone has any leads in the direction please let me know.
• Edith Cavell-Cat - Very well thank you!  She totally meant to run head first into the cupboard door the other night, and doesn't know why anyone would have laughed at that.
• Nancy Wake-Cat - Very well thank you! Nancy is high on my pregnancy pheromones and can often be found rolling around on the floor in a stupor of happiness.  She clearly has no idea what is coming up in the next few months, and I am concerned about how she's going to react to so many changes so close together, but she only has a tiny cat brain so let's hope for the best.

Now, onto the more pressing issues.  

Why are we moving to Asheville?  It's been something we have been thinking about for a while, and, quite honestly, we've tried living in a small town for five years now but have come to the conclusion that it doesn't really suit us.  I'm so much happier in an urban setting with good public transport and actual pavements (American translation: Sidewalks) to walk on; not to mention decent bookshops, restaurants and art galleries/museums. We are going to miss the friends we have here, but Asheville isn't that far so we will still see them, and Doc C is going to be working here still after all.

Why are you downsizing apartments?  This is purely economic, because I won't be working for at least five or six months, and we can't guarantee when I will go back to work and/or what sort of pay I can expect to get when I do.  We decided it's better to be cautious, and set our budget to within Doc C's salary for a year or so.  This means no cable television or other such fripperies until I get a job, but we can certainly live comfortably and provide a nice home for Eva.  We are still going to have internet access, let's not be silly here, so I expect I'll be watching a fair amount of instant streaming films on Netflix until Eva is born and then, I am given to understand, I will never have a free moment to spare for the rest of my life.  Actually I expect that Eva will be deprived of Dora the Explorer and instead introduced early on to the tripped out weirdness of "The Prisoner" and, if I can find it on DVD, "The Magic Roundabout"

Finally, yes, there is an elephant in the room, and that elephant's name is not something I want to discuss publicly on-line. Friends may feel absolutely free to apply privately for the full scoop, but otherwise I'm just not going to be bringing the subject up again.  And really why would I when it makes me feel frustrated and sad? We could be talking about things that are far more fun like video games or sequins or bunny rabbits! Relentlessly cheerful subject matter only at Alien Spouse from here on out! Grrr!