Moving Pains

So, we survived the move.

We barely fit into our new place. It’s a lot bigger than what would count as a tiny house in the Tiny House Movement, but for Texas (and us), it’s pretty-small. I notice that none of the neighbors have children and many do not have spouses. I’m pretty-sure that has more to do with the square footage of their homes than their individual lack of desirability, because so far, they all seem very nice. Many, I am sure, just don’t want to give up some of their furniture, which would be necessary to fit another person into their home.

And I totally get it. We got rid of so much stuff when we moved and it was painful. Then we put a bunch of stuff in storage and still, we have too much stuff. Where does all this stuff come from?

I read an article in Real Simple magazine that told me everything I needed for my kitchen utensil drawers to be perfectly content. They surveyed a bunch of professional chefs including one in NYC who said her apartment had an impossibly small kitchen. I kept the article and before we moved, I laid all my utensils out on the counter just like in the magazine, with every intent of tossing anything not shown. After all, I’m not a professional chef and if they could be happy with just those things, surely I could too.

When it got right down to it though, I realized they left out a lot! Where was the cherry pitter? The egg separator, anything having to do with grilling, extra serving spoons, a zester, that garlic smasher thingie, an ice cream scoop? People in NYC don’t eat ice cream and only use whole garlic? Good god man, aren’t we still a civilized society? Maybe those fancy chefs have fancy tricks for how to do all that stuff without fancy tools, but I needed twice as much as they suggested. In the end I got rid of 4 things, most of which were repeats of something I already had.

The magazine went on to cover other areas of the home, but I just skipped the rest. (Here is a link to the article, called Streamline Your Supplies, if you want to see how you fare.)

So how do people do it, how do they decide what goes and what stays? One friend says if she doesn’t use it in 6 months, it’s out the door. Something you only use one time a year can be borrowed. I had a giant roasting pan that I only used one time a year. It’s huge. I took her advice and gave it away, but when Christmas rolls around I might be knocking on her door to borrow a cooked turkey.

A Plan in Action…

Step one: Make a plan!
First we settled on the best course of action and set off without abandon, just like we knew what we were doing. We patted each other on the back for coming up with such a brilliant plan. We would sell our pretty house in the suburbs and move into town, closer to work and school. What a great plan!

Step two: Oh crap, what have we done?
Success! We sold our house and now we move in 10 days. The plan states we should pack all our stuff, get rid of a bunch of it along the way and move to a rental house in town. I don’t know if you have looked at rental houses lately, but let me just tell you what I have recently discovered, they are the elderly mutt in the no-kill shelter that has no bladder control. They are neglected and abused and held together with duct tape. Whose plan was this anyway?!

Stay tuned in two weeks for Step 3: Home sweet home
This segment could go one of two ways, depending on how well our furniture fits into the new rental and whether our neighbors turn out to be sane.

Summer Stuff

Summer is here and in Texas it’s coming on strong. With high 90 degree temperatures (99 today and tomorrow) everyday, here are the things I NEED to help me get through the summer months.

 

Lets start with this awesome water bottle by www.mybkr.com. It’s made of glass, it’s wrapped in a silicone sleeve to keep it from breaking, it’s BPA-free, phthalate free, fits in a cup holder, 100% reusable + recyclable. At $28, it’s the coolest water bottle in town. My only real decision is, should I buy them all in the pool color or in different colors, so we can tell whose is whose?

Porcelain Berry Basket on Etsy. Do your berries a favor and let them live out their final days in this adorable basket, with a great view on your counter. These are similar to the Anthropologie carries, but I LOVE the white color and also that they are handmade in Brooklyn, New York by forestclearing on www.etsy.com. I just know my berries will thank me by tasting that much yummier!

Ashley English is a member of Slow Food USA and has published a series of books on getting back to the basics of handling and producing our own food. Canning and Preserving, Home Dairy, Keeping Chickens and her latest Keeping Bees. My summer reading is going to start with Canning and Preserving and I am planning to work my way through the whole series. By the end of summer I may be wearing denim overalls and a straw hat! I may be more of a farmer in knowledge than in practice, but if I can figure out a way to incorporate any of these activities into our city lives, it will be a successful summer.

Step Right Up! by OPI is my new favorite Nail Polish for the summer and as any good farmer knows, pretty nails are essential in any type of growing of things. Plus, what better way to get your summer reading in than to do it while having your toes prettified. I intend to keep this on my toes and fingers all summer through the 90+ temps to remind me that fall and winter are just a few months away.

Your summer correspondence will get a good chuckle from these notecards on Etsy written by dearblankpleaseblank.com and printed by Sapling Press. They have put together an entire series that will appeal to everyone from your grandma to your elementary school best friend.

On my way to an environmentally aware lifestyle, I think I’ll start with these Organic paper towel alternatives. Handmade in Jacksonville by AthenaCreates, these are a great investment. If you go through paper towels like we do, they’ll not only ease your conscious, they’ll also ease your pocketbook over time.

Superhero and Sidekick

This is E, he is the star of the show. He is a kind and good hero who is always thinking of others. Usually. Unless it involves lego kits he has spent a lot of time putting together or possibly vegetables he has to get through before rescuing cookies from the jar of darkness. Then it’s a different story. But those scenes are few and far between in comparison to the heroic, action-packed scenes where he saves the day. Or at least shares the cookies with M.

This is M, he is the trusty sidekick. He is always around lending a helping hand to our good hero, while providing comic relief. Every once in awhile he toys with the idea of stepping into a leading role. He thinks maybe that hero cape would be fun to wear. I see the gears turning, but eventually he realizes he’s not ready yet. I hope he realizes. I mean seriously, those capes are heavy. Someday soon, when his training is complete, he’ll be a Superhero too. His day will come.

Together they make up my own personal reality show. Last week was the end of a third grade season. Summer has begun and I am relaxed and excited about it because, I already know the show has been picked up next year. In the not too distant future though, my Superhero and Sidekick will realize they need to move on to another network for bigger ratings and then my show will be canceled. It’s still a few years away, but already the thought of it makes me sad. I just want my show to be the longest running show in the history of prime time personal reality shows. Is that so wrong?

Kudos to you, Jerry Seinfeld

Jerry Seinfeld started his own website a few weeks ago at www.jerryseinfeld.com. Every day he puts up three clips from his personal archive of stand-up shows and interviews he has done, starting from the early 80′s through to today. They are as funny as you expect Seinfeld to be and I only wish I could see the ones from yesterday again, but once they are gone, they are gone. You have to check in everyday to see them all.

On the website he states he began watching stand up comedians on television when he was 10 years old. “Somewhere out there are ten year olds like I was just waiting to get hooked on this strange pursuit. This is for them. I’m just hoping somehow it will keep this silliness going.”

As the proud owner of a 9 year old, who appears to have comedic aspirations of his own, I appreciate Mr. Seinfeld sharing his comedy online and opening up a whole new world of humor to a younger generation. Many of the comedians on television today fill their acts with profanity and vulgar innuendos, some of which I admit to finding funny, but that I won’t be showing my 9 year old.

Plus, I am not above admitting that if I am going to support someone’s humor through the years by laughing at all their jokes, it doesn’t hurt for that person to be influenced by someone I think is hilarious and admire for his ability to speak to everyone.