Catherine Love~ Ramblings from my Heart and Home

Wild Wednesday

We're finally moved into our new home.  This move was frustrating and just crazy start to finish, but it is behind us now, Praise the Lord!  There is much that must be done before this resembles a peaceful Home Sweet Home, though!

I honestly had no idea that we had accumulated so much "stuff" until I attempted to move a large 3 bedroom, two bath, with a storage shed household, into a small (very small) 2 1/2 bedroom, one bath (that is taking some getting used to), with no storage mobile home .  I have thrown or given much away, and still have more waiting to be taken to the local homeless shelter. 

I still have most of my kitchen things in boxes, due to a "critter invasion", yucky...you really don't want to know... and the cabinets still have to be repainted and caulked before anything goes in them. 

Cooking is quite the adventure with having all of the food and cooking utensils stored in totes, just finding the correct spices can be almost maddening  .  I also had no idea how much I used my oven- until I didn't have one.  This is a temporary thing, just until my overworked dh finds time to find out what's wrong with it and repair it, or have it replaced.  I honestly think that I used my oven every day- Oh to have a fresh-baked biscuit or scone!

These are the normal "everyday" things, but today has had it's own store of "stuff" for us to deal with:

1.  To start off the day on the wrong foot, my dh announced "Time to GET UP!"...which I did, of course, and went into the kitchen and started coffee....only to realize his alarm clock and his wake up call were ONE HOUR EARLY !  Oh well, 4 a.m., 5 a.m. what's the difference? Ha!

2.  8:00 a.m. my phone rings,  my friend (actually 2 friends within 5 minutes) called to tell me our kitty cat had been hit by a car and was in the middle of the road.....he is now in a box awaiting my dh to get home and bury the poor creature.  NOT a good second start for my morning .

3.  Before 10:00 a.m. the toilet overflows (for the second time in 2 weeks) and soaks all of the towels I could find, runs under the unfinished linoleum and into my bedroom carpeting .  Which means my first load of laundry......which brings us to:

4.  I cleaned the lint filter on the dryer (my dh would be proud, since I usually forget) and when I tried to put it back in it wouldn't go.  I finally located the "battery free" flashlight (made a mental note to get a "real" flashlight asap) and discovered a purple pony bead lodged in the space where my lint filter should slide.  I tried every kitchen utensil imagineable and a piece of wire coat hanger all to no avail.  It is STUCK!  Is it safe to run a dryer without that silly little filter thing??? (another mental note- clothesline asap)

5.  I am having no luck reserving a park pavilion to have my littlest Love's birthday party at this weekend, soooo..... it may be a mad dash the rest of the week attempting to create enough order to actually let friends come near this place !

OK, those are the not so good or terribly sad things...

But, there are always more good than bad, right?

1.  Being awake an hour early gave me more time to snuggle with my sweetie and to pray.

2.  It was a kitty and not a kid who was hit by a car!

3.  Fans dry out water...even toilet water.

4.  DH does industrial maintenance for a living- a stuck pony bead should be no big deal.

5.  A crockpot does a pretty decent job of cooking a roast, and uses less energy, I'll bet.

6.  Cooking simple meals has quickly become a habit, and at this point my family is thrilled to have anything besides Taco Bell and Jack in the Box .

7.  The garden should be tilled today.

8.  I have seedlings just itching to be planted- tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, squash, and seeds for lots more! 

9.  My children are apparently not allergic to Poison Ivy, as they've been in enough of it lately.  (Poison Ivy spray added to the shopping list)

10.  The sun is shining (for the moment) and the birds are singing.

11.  I can always find the tea, honey and a teacup.

12.  HIS Grace is sufficient, and HIS Mercies new every morning.

Blessings,

Catherine

Moving this Weekend!

We will be finishing up some work on our "new nest" this week, and plan to move in on Saturday .  I have mega-packing to do because I promised my dear hubby I'll be done by Thursday !  Now the pressure is on... I think maybe I should have said, "It'll all be packed by the time you are ready to load the trailer, honey."

I'm seeing lots of things that are headed for the "give away" area, if I can just keep the children (and my dh) from picking up on my ruthless purging plan .  I even tried that with the bookshelves, but my husband vetoed that one .  So, I went ahead and packed all of the excess homeschool books, and after I've gotten settled in, those will be posted for sale.  I purged my closet and filled a large garbage bag with clothes, especially those that have "shrunk" ...and the ones I've had since before my oldest dd was born! 

OK, I've got to get busy with more purging and packing.  This morning we're packing the kids' rooms (oh boy), and if I have any energy left, this afternoon we'll tackle the kitchen cabinets.  

First things first, though- I'm going to check on my newly sprouted seedlings and have a cup of tea .

OH, I almost forgot, I was given a greenhouse!!!!!   Our friends who are renting us our new nest also gave me their old greenhouse.  I can't wait to have a place to start seeds and grow things all winter long!  God is Good!

Moving Day.....

is coming soon!

We still don't have a definite date, but know it will be within the next 2 weeks.  That means I have to get super busy this week packing. 

Our new home will be much smaller than where we are now.  That isn't a bad thing at all; but it will take some getting used to. 

The back yard has space for a garden, and I can have herbs and flowers in the front, too; as well as my containers that go "wherever I can find an empty spot".  There is a small patio under a beautiful old Oak tree in the back.  The girls quickly decided that was the best thing of all about our new home. 

I'll be back to post photos and share more about our "new to us" home when I can.

Blessings,

Catherine

New Beginnings

I love the new year, a fresh slate, a new beginning.  Mine is beginning with the prospect of finding a new place to dwell, seeking the Lord for what His will is for our family, lots of new beginnings are in store. 

Funny, this morning was my new beginning as a stay-at-home-mom, again...and the first thing that happened was the doorbell rang and I was asked NOT to stay at home, but to reconsider and keep my job .  I tried to be very kind to the deacon who so sweetly asked me to say, he is not in good health and I don't want to cause his heart any more stress than it is already under, so I assured him that I would speak to my husband about it; but I really, really, don't think that is going to happen .   I find it quite odd that my husband was told that we "don't fit in" and "a group" met and decided that "something must be done about us"; yet, they want me to continue to be their church secretary......... Am I the only one who finds this odd???  What are they thinking??? 

I am excited about a new home... I just enjoy starting over and getting things all set up in a new place, I guess.  We are praying about where to move, and I've been assured that we will have help finding a new place... I am praying that even if we have to rent a home, that we can purchase at least a little bit of land to garden on, and hopefully one day live on.  RV living is even a thought at this point...

I'm going to make a cup of tea, sit on the porch and see what else this day has in store for me...  Never a dull moment around the Love household.

Around here NORMAL is just a setting on the dryer !

Blessings,

Catherine

Changes Are Coming...

for the Love family! 

Those who know me well, know that I welcome change.  My poor husband never knows what to expect- I rearrange things quite frequently around the home, and I change my mind, well..........quite often . 

The changes that are in store for us in 2008 are a bit bigger than rearranging the furniture, though.  We will once again be on the move and moving into a different sort of ministry.  Things are all up in the air at this point, but 2 things I know for sure:

1.  We will be moving to a new home/homestead....tent, RV.....

2.  I will very soon be back to being a stay-at-home, homeschool Mom!

These along with a few other things mean that I have to focus once again on Simplicity and frugal ways; which is what I need to be doing at all times, anyway.  It is tough to do those things when you are working away from home and have too many commitments on week nights, though.  Cooking has been a challenge to say the least.  

I'm ready to be back in the kitchen and having fun with my "Kitchen Adventures".   I got some great books for Christmas:

Native Harvests, A Taste of Heritage, and Plain & Happy Living;  all of which should help me with new and frugal recipes.

Please pray for us to have wisdom as we seek the Lord for where our new homestead will be!

 Catherine