One of the truths of life, I feel, is found in one of the most cliche terms I can think of "time flies when you're having fun." I must be having more fun than I can handle because I can't quite figure out where time has gone! Last night I decided to see how many days we have left until our relocation to the cabin in Michigan...
Seventeen days? Just 17 days? Is that really possible? After counting the days on the calendar at least three times, just to be sure, I added the information to the chalk board door in our kitchen. And then I followed my own advice and took a deep breath...or five. Then I started digging in on projects that I had started but hadn't finished yet. There are still so many things to be done!
Aydan and I have lived in this house for three years, which for us is actually a decent stretch of time, and we have managed to accumulate far more than I had ever intended us to have. Andrew has lived with us for two of those years but his additions to our house had been relatively small. Our house is not small, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room dining room kitchen, full basement, garage...the average house size I suppose but far too much house for our small family. So I filled it with stuff, cute stuff, fun stuff, memorable stuff, but (as my repetition blatantly shows) "stuff" nonetheless. Things we don't need, clothes we don't wear, food we don't eat. We have more room than we need and it has given me free reign to fill it with...sigh...stuff.
But I am not worried. We are navigating our time well and have a lot of things already started. Rather than finding the task of emptying our house out sad or depressing, I find it cathartic and exciting, like emptying your lungs out before taking in that next, life giving, stress reducing breath. Andrew and I have been getting ready for this move in various ways for the last several months. We have sold a few things on craigslist and some to friends. Our focus has been on creating piles to keep, pitch, or sell in the yard sale. Nora has been an absolute lifesaver and has given us the go ahead to send her boxes of things we can't part with. We are, in essence, moving across the country one box at a time. The house is filling up with boxes that we have filled with things to sell at our yard sale. Departing with the majority of our possessions is easier when you know the sale of those items will help fund your new life. A little bit of organization and drive will have us wrapping up all the things we need to do as well as leave us with time we would like to spend with our friends here before we leave.
Or make muffins!
What can I say? When faced with the challenge of cleaning out my cupboards I always find inspiration for something delicious from at least one thing I find. Today's inspiration was a can of organic pumpkin left over from an over enthusiastic pre-Thanksgiving purchase. I have recently been making some dietary adjustments, MINIMAL gluten, wheat, and processed sugars, which has brought about the need to use different things than what I have in the past. I knew that I had a gluten free flour mixture as well as half a jar of brown rice syrup to take the place of the sugar. I added the rest of our fresh pineapple, raisins and coconut flakes along with molasses and extra ginger for some zingy darkness and hoped for the best. These are sooo good. I have a tasty breakfast for the next two weeks...or up until we leave. Maybe I'll bring all the ingredients with me and make some to share up at the cabin :)
And now, because pictures say so much more than I can with words...this is a view of our living room from the stairs.
Except for the dogs, we aren't keeping anything in this room.
Nora's recent delivery from us.
I swear, it's mostly books! Shocker that Andrew and I would be too attached to our books to give them all away.
Our kitchen.
And, just because I'm really happy about it, this crate (a gift from Nora that I very much wanted to keep) can hold all of our dried goods (fruits, grains, granola, etc) and fit snugly in the camper without taking up extra space.
Life is GOOD, so good. Enjoy your whatever the time of day it happens to be where you are!
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