Balance

Balance seems to be a popular buzzword around here. How to balance planning for a future move when we aren't 100% sure it's going to happen? How to get as ready as possible while not doing anything that is permanently irreversible? How to get a car to germany in less than a month? (without paying european prices--39000 euros ($55,000) for a used car which costs $20,000 here?)

This weekend hopefully we will get rid of some of the furniture we need to junk to clear up space for the staging of a move. And, while the necessity of 3 different categories of moving stuff is going to drive me crazy, the clearing of physical space usually helps me clear out mental space as well.

So, do I go on a mad scrapbooking binge to get the family album up to date before the move? Or, just ship it all over? What if it gets dumped into the ocean? Now I've got to take pictures of everything before we can go

We are moving!

To Germany. Dates forthcoming (we hope)

Ramstein Air Base

Just for Holly: We will be living about 65 miles from the border of France. HA!

Since Liz started all this. . .

In the spirit of Elizabeth challenging us to be frugal this month (and in the spirit of using up as much food storage as possible before we move) y'all might want to read this:

http://www.slate.com/id/2216611/pagenum/all/#p2

It's an article on whether or not things we make homemade are cheaper than store-bought.

Oh, and the recipe she links to is one of my favorite granola recipes, but we make it with craisins instead of raisins. It's almost as good as the stuff from Costco (which we call crack granola around here since I can't stop eating it)

I've been trying for months to use up our food storage, and while the deep freeze is nearly empty, my pantry and wheat/rice/beans storage is not noticeably smaller. Either I have a really great food storage or I'm too lazy to make everything from scratch. Except bread, we've only had store-bought bread about twice this month.

Oxen

This Sunday was a bit hectic, even though we prudently planned (and shopped for) dinner the night before, and my singing time was all finished by bedtime Saturday. The problems occurred when we realized that we were out of white flour because I have been trying to use up our food storage in anticipation of a summer move. (assuming the Force ever gets around to telling us where we're going, BAH!) Luckily we have a wheat grinder and loads of wheat, but as I was loading up the grinder I found myself wondering if grinding wheat is really a 'Sabbath' sort of activity.

As children Sundays were a bit of a drag since we weren't allowed to run around outside or do anything rowdy (which excluded all fun in our minds). I remember one Sunday driving home from church with Mom wondering aloud if we were going to make it home on the fumes left in the gas tank. She could have easily justified buying gas to make sure we didn't get stranded somewhere, but her reply to this suggestion was a statement which has been often repeated in the Slade household: "The ox isn't in the mire if you pushed it in there!" It's sort of loosely based on the Savior's response to those accusing him of breaking the Sabbath day. Luke 14:5: "And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?" (I'm assuming Mom didn't want to cause hilarity by referring to not pushing our ass into a pit. . . )

So, how often does my failure to plan constitute pushing the ox into the mire? By Orthodox standards I fail every Sunday, but we try to keep Sunday a more-or-less mellow family day in the hopes that we can focus on really important relationships. Let's hope that's what the kids remember, rather than the times I failed to plan and had to figure out substitutions for our dinner!

Wandering as I wonder

Spending a week at my parents house is always wonderfully weird. I no longer know which drawer the spoons are in, even though I know exactly where they used to be before the remodel. Being a guest in the place which was my home puts me in a place to reminisce, and also to re-evaluate. All the goals I had for myself as a 'kid' seem so much more present when I am in that 'kid's' home. And so far? I'm pretty sure that the teenaged me would be horrified at the boring, responsible mom I've become. She'd also be horrified at the wrinkles and stretch marks, but as I am trying to overcome my vanity as a useless cause, let's move on. It reminds me of something my grandfather wrote about my mom--that as a teenager she thought her parents were hopelessly old fashioned and out of date, but then she grew up to be an old fashioned kind of mom--which Grandpa thought was the best kind of mom to be.

So, as I move past my horror of becoming my mother I am more able to see the gifts of following in her footsteps. It's a gift of perspective.

We wandered about a fair amount last week, visiting places I love and love to re-visit. Hopefully as my kids grow up and have these same places treasured in their hearts it will bring us closer as they fondly remember. Maybe someday they'll even forgive me for being such a fuddy-duddy and understand.

Although, I doubt they will ever understand the impulse which makes me want to bring home as much fresh citrus as I can pack the van with. ;-)

The rising generation

Be afraid, be very afraid!