Going Home

Hello.  It has been some time since I wrote on here.  A lot of changes have been happening and some of them were tough and I had to go through them before I could write about them.  In explanation, we decided to move after some time living out on 5 acres out in the woods.  It was a tough decision for many reasons.  It was a down-size in the amount of land we had access to and it was a down-size in the amount of living space.  And it affected others.  Hard choices...

SO...we did it!  We made the tough decisions.  We did the packing.  We gave away a bunch of stuff.  We took a bunch of stuff to the dump and we donated a bunch of stuff to the Goodwill.  It was freeing and still it wasn't quite enough.  We still have so much!!  So what we did was we moved most of it into the garage first.  We are going through each box as we move it into the house.  We are questioning whether we have the space for it and whether we have a place for it and then questioning whether we need it.  It makes for a slow unpack, but it seems to be working.  Less clutter, means less things to take care of.  Less to take care of means more time with family (one of my most important values in case you couldn't tell). 

So the things that I have found through this move are that smaller sometimes is better.  The house seems bigger than I thought it would be.  In that we each have our own space and can retreat to those spaces when we need time alone.  I loved it when I saw Carl laying on his bed reading by himself the first time.  So sweet!  And we don't have to yell to find someone anymore. 

The yard is big and there is plenty to do to get it in shape.  I mowed the lawn with the push mower yesterday!  It was great fun and good exercise.  The chickens have lots to peck at and clean up for us too.  And the dogs and the cats seem to be settling in well.  We got a cat tree from our sister and her fiance and the cats love to climb it and feel like they are on top of the world.  And the cats only hid the first day.  That was a relief!  Everyone kept telling me that they would be hiding for weeks.  Maybe it is because there are fewer placed to hide here.  :-)  The dogs need more exercise than they did when they could run free, but that is good for us too.  Dogs needing exercise equals us getting more exercise.  Win/Win. 

Carl is enjoying the pavement.  Sounds weird, but where we lived before we just had gravel.  So he gets to ride his bike and his scooter.  That is fun for him.  And of course his friends are closer too.  That is a plus. 

Our neighbors have already been over asking about when we are going to take care of this or that.  It is a good lesson for me, as I learn to just tell them that we are taking care of one thing at a time, as we can in our time.  That is the blessing of owning a home.  We get to decide when and we get to save the money and plan for when. 

In the meantime, we are working on not getting used to living around boxes and remembering to upack them and not make them our friends.  :-)  I feel like we have been guided to this decision.  It wasn't easy, but it seems to have been the right one for where we are right now.  I am getting the feeling that this is just the beginning.  Love to you on this Fall day. 

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Hi!  It is my favorite day, SATURDAY!  It is a beautiful day here in the Northwest!  Weird that the weather turned nice once we entered into September.  But it has been nice to be able to enjoy it in the evenings and on the weekends.  Here, the evenings cool off, so it makes sleeping easier. 

Well, we are making progress towards our move.  It is hard going through old papers and things and trying to get rid of as much as we can.  But it is good too.  I mean REALLY good.  Freeing in a way that I haven't felt for a while.  Tim even said this morning, "You know, I think we should just unpack six dishes.  It has been nice having just six to deal with."  I think he is catching the fever too. 

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  Tim is singing in a memorial concert.  It is free and it is at the Performing Arts Center in downtown Olympia.  It should be really great.  200 people singing together.  Yee Haw! 

Let's see, I haven't talked about the dogs lately.  Belle has learned to come most of the time.  That is sweet.  She knows that she can go back out after she comes and eats usually.  She loves being outside, that if for sure.  I think I am going to be challenged trying to keep her exercised in town, but that will be good for me too.  Carl has a scooter now and can scoot or bike or ride the surrey too.  He is an active boy and it will be interesting to see how he uses his energy.  Gabby is pretty laid back.  She isn't as good on a leash as Belle is.  Maybe I will have to get one of those pinch collars.  I talked to a friend of mine about it.  It seems to be less harmful than a choke chain.  Hopefully Gabby will figure it out quickly. 

This morning I heard the Blue Heron "Blue".  I didn't get to see her, but it was good to know she is around.  And I saw a lizard this morning too.  I am happy to say that they don't freak me out like they did when I first came here.  And I am not surprised by snakes or hopping mice either.  And I am not as freaked out by my worm bin either.  I love to see the worms doing their work.  They have been working hard lately.  But they don't get as much to eat any more since the chickens came.  They only get what the chickens don't want. 

Ok, well this has been all over the place, but I am glad I wrote.  Hope you enjoyed it too.