Dispensing with Pleasantries

I keep a stash of disposable plates, cups, and flatware for when we have guests - but I am forced to wonder why? Think about it. A generation ago we kept a set of lovely china for when we had guests, now it's too much of a burden to clean up behind them so we force them to eat off bits of paper and plastic. When did our society begin to devalue guests like that and how did we get this far without noticing?

We used to sit and talk with our guests, about life and things we enjoyed. Sure we sang and danced and played games - but there was a depth and breadth of relation that is gone today. Now we watch a movie together or play a game - but there is a lack of depth to the interaction. Do you trust those who visit you and who you visit with your dreams and fears? Or do you chat about current events and gossip about others?

Perhaps it is because we are so mobile now that guests are nearly an everyday occurrence, or perhaps they are rare because we are never home. There is never time to "spend" just time to "Save" but to save for what? We have so many timesavers in our lives. Now we have 'everyday' dishes and *special* ones used only for special occasions. Why don't we have more special occasions? We certainly have more free time than our ancestors did.

Our grandparents had china but no dishwasher. We have a dishwasher but not the time to load it? Where did that come from? They made wonderful homecooked meals because there were very few convenience foods. It's a headache for us to have to go to the supermarket to pick up a frozen meal, take it home and stick it in the microwave and then (Heaven forbid!) WAIT 6-10 minutes for it to finish. Then after we eat it we throw the dish away. We *might* have to wash a fork and cup (if we drink something other than a can of soda and don't use disposeable forks to eat with).

I think the answer lies in part in the fact that life expectancy has nearly doubled in the past 100 years or so (in the US at least). We have so much free time and such long lives (comparatively speaking) that we take for granted that there will always be time to do *whatever*. That is why we are so obsessed with saving time but never spending it. Do yourself a favor, make a withdrawal.

Think of it this way - you save 20-30 by having a dishwasher, and 45 minutes if you buy a prebought meal. You have several choices regarding that saved time but only two that make any sense to me. You can go ahead and spend the time to make a wonderful meal that you will enjoy, or you can spend it doing something that brings joy and value to your life. That's over an hour a day to 'spend' with someone you love or doing something you love. Get away from the computer and make a REAL investment.

On Gods Errands

A beautiful day again. Yesterday was filled with mundane running around, errands. It's so hard to make days like that enjoyable. It's so hard to be blessed by the mundane; to see God's hand in a grocery list or an overdue library book. Does He really use these moments? I believe he does. We just need to listen carefully over the din.

The first step is to acknowledge that we are stewards of all that passes through our lives, whether it be our time, money, an overdue library book, or what goes in our trashcans. My errands include several stops for recycling various items. I always think carefully before throwing ANYTHING in the garbage. While I accept that gas prices are skyrocketing, and extra stops mean extra gas and time, I also think that we must be responsible in our consumption. I don't usually make extra stops JUST to recycle something - but it's so simple to just drop off an ink cartridge while I'm in Staples (sometimes they give me a $3 coupon when I do it), or drop off the plastic grocery bags at the grocery store entrance when I go in (some stores give you credit for reusing them).

Organization is important when running errands, it saves time and gas. We have a basic preset route that we take when running errands. Our "loop" is about 25 miles. We make each stop as we come to it. If planned properly this prevents backtracking and wasting gas and time retracing our path. We also try to make sure we have plenty of books and drinks so the children can still be doing something enjoyable and constructive.

The second step is to be thankful for the abundance that is brought to our attention while we're doing the errands. I would not need to go to the Salvation Army if we didn't have 3 beautiful healthy children who grow quickly and need new clothes regularly. Not to mention that the clothes they have are so durable that I can pass them on to someone else. I'm so blessed!! A lengthy grocery list reminds me that we live in a land of abundance and we can pick and chose what we like to eat, and an overflowing pile of grocery bags means that we are wealthy enough to have plenty of food on hand, even to such an extent that we regularly donate to the foodshelf. LIbrary books mean that we live in a free country where we can read what we please, and a wealthy country that can afford to have books available for FREE use. We are educated and can read those books. How much do YOU take for granted in your daily life.

Finally, I have the opportunity to consider what it would be like having to do everything for myself, and to be thankful for those things I don't have to do. We pay a neighbor to do most of our mending. I can do it myself but it's not a chore that I relish so I pay her a couple of dollars now and then to mend torn seams and add patches to my beloved's military uniforms. He is, by nature, a mechanic and a handyman - but I can imagine the joy of realizing that I don't have to figure out how to repair something myself. Not to mention the time I save by having someone else do it.

I watched Frontier House again last week and one thing that always strikes me is that people living in the 1800's didn't have to run errands, and their trips to the grocers were limited to a couple of times a year usually. How far we have come!! Or have we? They didn't have to run errands because they did their own mending, they fixed their own items. Outgrown items, were few and far between, and were probably passed on to someone close by when visiting, or recycled into other items. Broken or worn out tools were fixed, sharpened or refurbished. They made use of everything. They rarely went to the grocers because they raised everything they needed to survive. Our society has become so obsessed with disposable items... it's very sad. My husband is just starting to train his mind to think creatively about "junk". I frequently ask him "is that *really* trash or could it be fixed or recycled?" Even now, 5 years into my own journey away from overconsumption and waste, I am still drawn in by the ease of certain disposable items. I even bought some (deeply discounted...but still) disposable dishcloths. I have to admit... they're handy. But at what cost? I don't just mean dollars and cents.

We live in an unreal world where real effort is a thing of the past for most people. We are a society of thinkers, and even those who do "great things"... well just think about what we consider great things.

Spring again

A fine April wind is blowing and it's definitely spring. We ate our first grilled dinner last night on our new gas grill - marinated sandwich steaks and heaps of grilled potatoes and onions. The snow is mostly gone, but the ground is still icy cold to the touch. There is so much to be done before summer hits in full swing!

Summer is not downtime around here. The children have many activities to keep them busy. There are day camps and vacation Bible schools running from mid-June through early August. The little ones need to get in their swimming lessons. The big ones want to go away to summer camp. We are busier during the summer than during the school year.

GARDENING ~
I've seen gardens going in around my area so I'm of the impression that it's time to till up the backyard. Gardening around here can be tricky for first-timers and the inexperienced (like myself). If you start too soon and get a frost or snowfall (like we had about 10 days ago) then you're efforts are for naught and you have to start all over. If you wait too long, things don't have time to grow before it gets too cold again. This area is not for the faint of heart. I don't think I would have chosen it had I not been born here. I started several plant sets last week; tomatoes, melons, scallions. The rest are to be planted hopefully over the next week or so depending upon our access to a tiller, the weather, and my beloveds work schedule.

LIVESTOCK ~
Our new chicks are due to hatch this weekend - just in time for Ressurection Day!! I missed them so much last year and I just can't wait to have new hens. Rachel is at the perfect age to start enjoying them. A new 12x14 coop is in the plans for this summer. Right now they are "incubating" on the kitchen counter between the sink and the Salvation Army pile. Once hatched we keep them in a steel washtub til they're big enough to go into the pens. I'm not sure I want them to stay in the kitchen that long though! The boys may be joining 4H through a friend who has a farm - they plan to raise livestock as their projects. I've never done 4H before so I don't know much about what I'm getting into. There are rumors of a pig in the works - but we are in agreement that a shelter must be built first.
On top of all that, the boys decided they wanted new pets. So we are now the proud owners of: 1 dog, 1 cat, 1 fish, 2 hamsters, 18 chicken eggs, ... and a partridge in a pear tree.

HOMESCHOOLING~
I've spent most of the last two weeks pouring over stacks and stacks of homeschool resources trying to come up with something fun and inspiring for next year. Endless textbooks just are not our style. It has been a struggle getting through this year and some subjects we are still way behind on. I've ordered lots of interesting quick study type items for this coming year. Short workbooks, classic novels, puzzle books and language games, math manipulatives, anything to 'mix it up a bit'. I've had no problem getting them to read but written work is not a priority to them (unfortunately the state really likes to see that they've done some so I have to be the meanie that makes them do it). The remainder of my school time has been spent threating my sons to get their bookwork done or they will be doing it while watching 4th of July fireworks...

YARDWORK ~
We've spent several days outside cleaning up from the winter. Our (now) beloved dog seems to have a taste for trash. He's strewn several bags around the yard over the winter. We cleaned up each one quickly as they were spread but as the snow melted we found more and more stuff strewn around. The remainders of a remodeling session from last fall are still sitting next to the house waiting for us to haul or burn them (depending on the material of course - 2x4's make wonderful campfire wood, panelling... not so much. Our fieldstone fireplace has given in to the elements over the winter and needs to be reset. Our dirt driveway needs to be graded, mud ruts and a hump in the middle threaten the exhaust on my low riding minivan every time we enter or leave. There is grass to be reseeded and siding to be washed, and a few odd strands of Christmas lights that we simply could not get down after the holiday.

Our aged swingset developed a distinct tilt over the winter - it's going to have to come down. (Rachel will be heartbroken!) Fortunately we have re-inherited one from a friend whose children have outgrown it - we just need to go pick it up and reassemble it.

But the true frosting on my cake... the thing that ASSURES me that spring has arrived... is not the birds singing, or the snow going away, the drive in restraunt re-opening for the season today, or even being able to keep the doors open for more than 15 seconds at a time. The REAL sign of spring (that cropped up unexpectedly on a Tuesday)...

"YARD SALE"

YEAH!!!!!! Just in time, my ebay box is starting to get empty!