I was going through my lists of stuff we needed to do and what we had done. Then, for some reason, I got sidetracked and didn't write again. So here is the next bunch of stuff:
We finally got driver's licenses, car registrations, car insurance, and hair cuts. I have a doctor now and have had an eye exam. We celebrated Thanksgiving and ate one of the ducks. I have decorated for Christmas, mostly and baked cookies.
But the most wonderful thing for me right now is that my sewing, weaving, spinning studio is up and running. There are still boxes in the other room that need unpacking. There are bags of fluff on the floor in a pile. But I have been able to complete one table runner and two blankets, with a third blanket about to go on the frame. I have spun the cotton crop for 2018 and am spinning some wool roving I have had for three years. Slowly, I am working the piles down and getting through the projects I had planned.
We had the dead tree cut down along with some other near dead trees and have a giant pile of wood in the yard that needs to get split into fireplace size pieces. I have been very busy and the list is getting shorter, but I am no where near the end.
So, now that we are settled in, we are planning a trip down to San Diego. Just can't seem to stay away. I am having a party for my mother's 92nd birthday, visiting my son and daughter in law, and spending time with some friends. It is a long drive and we will take pictures along the way.
I have worked really hard to get to this place. It seems kind of weird to go back and visit as a tourist, but I still have many people I love and adore there. It is worth the time and effort to go for a visit once or twice a year.
And it will give me a break from all the work here.
Still no winter weather- 50f today and a slight drizzle in the evening. Maybe the weather will get cold in January.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Run over by the Moving Van
Well, not exactly, but I feel pretty tired and achy.
We managed to get moved. Total stress, total fatigue. And we are still unpacking. The house closed on Aug. 24 with the tenting for termites. We had already moved the furniture and camped in the house until we packed the last stuff and stayed in a local BnB until we were ready to drive.
We took the long way home, via the coast route, 101 north, until we just needed to speed through at the end. It was beautiful.
We are now unpacking and getting repairs done. The fireplace works, the water system works, the water heaters work, the heater works, the kitchen works, the garage door works, the septic works, the ....list has been long and we are working slowly through it. We have internet, and a phone signal enhancer. We have made some friends and are working toward finding what we need- Doctors, dentists, hair stylist, driver's license, car registration, insurance... the list is long.
So the question is, "How do we like it?" All the rain, dreary overcast, cold. We so far love it. There has only been 4 inches of rain so far this fall and summer. The driest year on record. So much sun, warm days, the warmest year on record. We got here just in time for the California heat to move north with us.
I have managed to get some of my personal goals met. I have 1/2 cow and a whole veal in the freezer from a local butcher. I have 2 ducks cleaned in the freezer for the holidays. I have canned some apple butter and made apple sauce. I have gotten us set up for a long and lusty winter. I hope it shows up. We have had two fires in the fireplace and the wood pile is full. It just has not been cold enough yet.
So hopefully all this planning will actually pay off. We plan to hang out at home most of the winter until it is time to chase the birds. I will keep you posted about what that means, but it is around Christmas time.
We managed to get moved. Total stress, total fatigue. And we are still unpacking. The house closed on Aug. 24 with the tenting for termites. We had already moved the furniture and camped in the house until we packed the last stuff and stayed in a local BnB until we were ready to drive.
We took the long way home, via the coast route, 101 north, until we just needed to speed through at the end. It was beautiful.
We are now unpacking and getting repairs done. The fireplace works, the water system works, the water heaters work, the heater works, the kitchen works, the garage door works, the septic works, the ....list has been long and we are working slowly through it. We have internet, and a phone signal enhancer. We have made some friends and are working toward finding what we need- Doctors, dentists, hair stylist, driver's license, car registration, insurance... the list is long.
So the question is, "How do we like it?" All the rain, dreary overcast, cold. We so far love it. There has only been 4 inches of rain so far this fall and summer. The driest year on record. So much sun, warm days, the warmest year on record. We got here just in time for the California heat to move north with us.
I have managed to get some of my personal goals met. I have 1/2 cow and a whole veal in the freezer from a local butcher. I have 2 ducks cleaned in the freezer for the holidays. I have canned some apple butter and made apple sauce. I have gotten us set up for a long and lusty winter. I hope it shows up. We have had two fires in the fireplace and the wood pile is full. It just has not been cold enough yet.
So hopefully all this planning will actually pay off. We plan to hang out at home most of the winter until it is time to chase the birds. I will keep you posted about what that means, but it is around Christmas time.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Things Are Moving Fast
We are now in Escrow on a contract for sale of our house. I have been wandering down memory lane as I sort and pack, but now I have to get really focused and let stuff go. No more time to goof off and wonder about whether or not I will eventually use stuff. STUFF must GO. Our original plan was to move the furniture and boxes out, clean up the house, and then show it. New plan now. Package every thing as fast as possible and get the hell on the road.
We are still trying to determine the best way to get both cars up there. The end of August is looming large. We may have to park a car here, somewhere, for a couple of weeks so that we can get Stuff moved. Or drive separately for three or four days.
This post will continue as things develop.
So we have a plan, I think. Furniture is moving. We are boxing almost everything. There will be a bunch of stuff going in the Green van first. We will follow the movong van by two days to head up and meet the furniture. Then we will leave the van there and take the train to the airport. Well, to the city and then the light rail to the airport. Then fly home and ask my son to drive us from the airport to the house. It is a plan. It sounds tiring and long. And involves many steps.
The last phase of the plan is to clean the house and pack the small car with all the remaining stuff, have the junk guys haul stuff away and go to a party.
Sometime during this plan, my computer gets disconnected, or moved onto the top of a box in a different room. It is a plan, even if it is a really inconvenient plan.
I have hauled toxic waste away. I have had junk hauled by the Junk guys. There will be at least one more load. I have worked to clean out the garage of stuff and hauled 4 more loads to the Goodwill. I have taken papers to be shredded. I have cooked down lots of food. I have cleaned out the garden shed. It still looks like there is two weeks of work and not two weeks left. I must work faster and toss more stuff.
The kitchen is not empty yet. We have at least 4 boxes of food items to pack. And I have not even started the sewing room. I know I will get this part done, but I am fighting the panic anxiety. 18 years in one house is about 10 years too long.
Ok, we are on the final countdown. Today, Aug 4, Moving van Aug 9 instead of 10. I have started packing the food items. The laundry room cabinets are cleared and cleaned. Wooly room is packed out and I am starting to clean it. Sewing shed is packed and waiting for large items to move. House is so full of boxes I can 't find any place to put more. We are taking more stuff to the shredder today. I am still on course to pack 4 or more boxes every day and have done 3 already, before breakfast.
It is so hot I can only work in the early morning and late evening. Sweat pouring down, multiple showers.
Eduard was funny today. He said it is so much easier to put things away in the cabinet when there is lots of room. He put away one thing and left the rest on the counter. Apparently, no that much easier.
As we pack out stuff, we have a pile that will travel in the van with us and a pile that will travel up at the last minute in August. The van will be packed to the max. THe list is long and the items large. TV, computer, and valuables. Need a bigger car. I will look into it when we get up there. But I suspect, I will have the van for another 5 years.
We are still trying to determine the best way to get both cars up there. The end of August is looming large. We may have to park a car here, somewhere, for a couple of weeks so that we can get Stuff moved. Or drive separately for three or four days.
This post will continue as things develop.
So we have a plan, I think. Furniture is moving. We are boxing almost everything. There will be a bunch of stuff going in the Green van first. We will follow the movong van by two days to head up and meet the furniture. Then we will leave the van there and take the train to the airport. Well, to the city and then the light rail to the airport. Then fly home and ask my son to drive us from the airport to the house. It is a plan. It sounds tiring and long. And involves many steps.
The last phase of the plan is to clean the house and pack the small car with all the remaining stuff, have the junk guys haul stuff away and go to a party.
Sometime during this plan, my computer gets disconnected, or moved onto the top of a box in a different room. It is a plan, even if it is a really inconvenient plan.
I have hauled toxic waste away. I have had junk hauled by the Junk guys. There will be at least one more load. I have worked to clean out the garage of stuff and hauled 4 more loads to the Goodwill. I have taken papers to be shredded. I have cooked down lots of food. I have cleaned out the garden shed. It still looks like there is two weeks of work and not two weeks left. I must work faster and toss more stuff.
The kitchen is not empty yet. We have at least 4 boxes of food items to pack. And I have not even started the sewing room. I know I will get this part done, but I am fighting the panic anxiety. 18 years in one house is about 10 years too long.
Ok, we are on the final countdown. Today, Aug 4, Moving van Aug 9 instead of 10. I have started packing the food items. The laundry room cabinets are cleared and cleaned. Wooly room is packed out and I am starting to clean it. Sewing shed is packed and waiting for large items to move. House is so full of boxes I can 't find any place to put more. We are taking more stuff to the shredder today. I am still on course to pack 4 or more boxes every day and have done 3 already, before breakfast.
It is so hot I can only work in the early morning and late evening. Sweat pouring down, multiple showers.
Eduard was funny today. He said it is so much easier to put things away in the cabinet when there is lots of room. He put away one thing and left the rest on the counter. Apparently, no that much easier.
As we pack out stuff, we have a pile that will travel in the van with us and a pile that will travel up at the last minute in August. The van will be packed to the max. THe list is long and the items large. TV, computer, and valuables. Need a bigger car. I will look into it when we get up there. But I suspect, I will have the van for another 5 years.
Monday, June 18, 2018
New stage of packing
In May, I was tossing and sorting and packing items to ride up in the van to the new house. Now I am back with a lot of empty boxes and a rather confused plan. Where to start?
This batch of boxes will go to the new house in the moving van. It must be items that we want but don't need here, so there is plenty of sorting and donating to do. But we also need enough stuff here to "live" and "work" until the last minute, when ever that is.
I am preparing to toss towels that are really old and nasty. And bedding that is no longer comfy. But there are other things that need to be disposed of- like tools. Getting rid of tools is like getting rid of spinning wheels. I just can't seem to let them go.
While we were at the new house, we bought a new chainsaw. Wonderful thing. We had to take down a tree for some of the repairs and we cut it up and stacked it in the wood bin in minutes. Eduard was actually enjoying it. Old chainsaw down here- donate. It is not coming with us. But those are the easy things. The tough stuff is- socket sets, wrenches, screwdrivers, boxes of nails and screws. Just how much stuff to we really need to take with us? There is an entire strip mall up there of those things.
So part of the sort/toss experience will be about changing life expectations. There is much work to do up there, but how much of it will we actually do ourselves and what will we hire done?
I have the most lovely power drill, but I still need some tools for the work on wheels and looms. I have decided to clean out the drawers of stuff and pack only the most obviously useful item, in small boxes. And get rid of the obvious stuff I will not use- like glue guns. 10 years and have not glued a thing.
So this blog post will continually be updated until the end of July with info on how the tool toss is going.
Day two- tool sort from lower cabinet, left side. We pulled out all the tools from this side and started sorting, which led to other areas of sorting. Things I had pulled from drawers in the brown cabinet- mostly socket sets- needed to get tossed. We now have about 3 full US measurement socket sets and the remaining duplicates are in a box to donate. Today, I sorted all the metric sockets and removed duplicates. It is ready to pack. We have maybe 5 socket drivers of different sizes. The little size sockets need the tiny end extender. It is packed in one box somewhere. There was no duplicate. What is that about. We have at least 3 of everything, but that. All small socket ends rely on the one reducing extender.
BUT- this is a really big clean out. After I get the top of the cabinet cleaned off and sorted, the cabinet will be almost empty. We have chosen to keep out a few tools we may need before the end, but as we use the to finish projects, those tools are packed up. The Right side of the cabinet has the soldering iron and solder, a hand saw that is leaving, and some detritus also leaving. I am packing the soldering iron today and the others go with the junk guys. Eduard will buy a new hand saw when he is ready.
Tomorrow- we will tackle the top of the cabinet. I want to get the cabinet cleaned out and only leave tools we are going to use to fix up the last stuff in the house. They will be in a cabinet that we will donate at the end and we will take the tools with us in the van. It is a plan. Yet, once again, I see the van as having way more room that it really has.
RANT- when Eduard's mother would go to the store, she would buy lots of different chemical cleaners, and yet never clean her house. I think she was hoping that it would clean itself if there was enough stuff there. So when she was sick her housekeeper caretaker only used vinegar or windex and dish soap. Pretty much what I use. All the unopened cleaning supplies came to my house for inspection and disposal. 6 years later, I am still disposing of this stuff. Today- 4 bottles buried in the back of my regular cleaning items hit the land fill/ and sewer system. This took 1 hour.
This blog is getting long. So much cleaning and sorting. The junk guys come today and will haul off a full truck load of big stuff. We have needed to get rid of this stuff for years now. Old ladder, building materials from three years back, old furniture pieces, old tools. As I clean out the garage I find more and more stuff that was just, well, stuffed. I am hoping to have only one last load before we leave, but I suspect there will be more. The last items may include appliances. I have not tackled the freezer in the garage yet, but most of the fruit in there is years old and needs to be dumped into the composter. Guess what happens today.
I abandoned the Macadamia nuts. The freezer was full of them and I really don't like them. I never liked them. But I felt obligated to eat the nuts from my own tree. Why, oh why, do I feel guilty about this. I made Macadamia milk. I used the milk in cooking. I made a torte with the remains of the milk. I didn't like it and don't want to do it again. Really, I prefer almonds or pecans. The trash is so heavy from the macadamia nuts - must be 10 pounds of them. Guilty and at the same time, kind of free.
I also packed up the larger, newer dehydrator. I have decided to let the old one go to the thrift store. I bought it sometime in the 1990's after S and I divorced and it has been with me since- making jerky and dried fruits and pastes. Time is up. I still have the newer, bigger one and I really only need one. Truth be known, I "need" none, but I am keeping that one.
The kitchen cabinets are starting to look bare. The hutch is empty. The bookcase is empty. Half of the cabinets in the kitchen are empty. I packed a lot of tea. I tossed a lot of tea. Things are getting simpler here. Fewer tools to work with. Fewer pots and pans. I am ready to head to the wooly room for a bunch of boxes there.
But first, I found a couple pairs of shoes in the closet that still fit!!! And look like new. I will pack them in the red suitcase and take them with me when I fly up to the new house.
This batch of boxes will go to the new house in the moving van. It must be items that we want but don't need here, so there is plenty of sorting and donating to do. But we also need enough stuff here to "live" and "work" until the last minute, when ever that is.
I am preparing to toss towels that are really old and nasty. And bedding that is no longer comfy. But there are other things that need to be disposed of- like tools. Getting rid of tools is like getting rid of spinning wheels. I just can't seem to let them go.
While we were at the new house, we bought a new chainsaw. Wonderful thing. We had to take down a tree for some of the repairs and we cut it up and stacked it in the wood bin in minutes. Eduard was actually enjoying it. Old chainsaw down here- donate. It is not coming with us. But those are the easy things. The tough stuff is- socket sets, wrenches, screwdrivers, boxes of nails and screws. Just how much stuff to we really need to take with us? There is an entire strip mall up there of those things.
So part of the sort/toss experience will be about changing life expectations. There is much work to do up there, but how much of it will we actually do ourselves and what will we hire done?
I have the most lovely power drill, but I still need some tools for the work on wheels and looms. I have decided to clean out the drawers of stuff and pack only the most obviously useful item, in small boxes. And get rid of the obvious stuff I will not use- like glue guns. 10 years and have not glued a thing.
So this blog post will continually be updated until the end of July with info on how the tool toss is going.
Day two- tool sort from lower cabinet, left side. We pulled out all the tools from this side and started sorting, which led to other areas of sorting. Things I had pulled from drawers in the brown cabinet- mostly socket sets- needed to get tossed. We now have about 3 full US measurement socket sets and the remaining duplicates are in a box to donate. Today, I sorted all the metric sockets and removed duplicates. It is ready to pack. We have maybe 5 socket drivers of different sizes. The little size sockets need the tiny end extender. It is packed in one box somewhere. There was no duplicate. What is that about. We have at least 3 of everything, but that. All small socket ends rely on the one reducing extender.
BUT- this is a really big clean out. After I get the top of the cabinet cleaned off and sorted, the cabinet will be almost empty. We have chosen to keep out a few tools we may need before the end, but as we use the to finish projects, those tools are packed up. The Right side of the cabinet has the soldering iron and solder, a hand saw that is leaving, and some detritus also leaving. I am packing the soldering iron today and the others go with the junk guys. Eduard will buy a new hand saw when he is ready.
Tomorrow- we will tackle the top of the cabinet. I want to get the cabinet cleaned out and only leave tools we are going to use to fix up the last stuff in the house. They will be in a cabinet that we will donate at the end and we will take the tools with us in the van. It is a plan. Yet, once again, I see the van as having way more room that it really has.
RANT- when Eduard's mother would go to the store, she would buy lots of different chemical cleaners, and yet never clean her house. I think she was hoping that it would clean itself if there was enough stuff there. So when she was sick her housekeeper caretaker only used vinegar or windex and dish soap. Pretty much what I use. All the unopened cleaning supplies came to my house for inspection and disposal. 6 years later, I am still disposing of this stuff. Today- 4 bottles buried in the back of my regular cleaning items hit the land fill/ and sewer system. This took 1 hour.
This blog is getting long. So much cleaning and sorting. The junk guys come today and will haul off a full truck load of big stuff. We have needed to get rid of this stuff for years now. Old ladder, building materials from three years back, old furniture pieces, old tools. As I clean out the garage I find more and more stuff that was just, well, stuffed. I am hoping to have only one last load before we leave, but I suspect there will be more. The last items may include appliances. I have not tackled the freezer in the garage yet, but most of the fruit in there is years old and needs to be dumped into the composter. Guess what happens today.
I abandoned the Macadamia nuts. The freezer was full of them and I really don't like them. I never liked them. But I felt obligated to eat the nuts from my own tree. Why, oh why, do I feel guilty about this. I made Macadamia milk. I used the milk in cooking. I made a torte with the remains of the milk. I didn't like it and don't want to do it again. Really, I prefer almonds or pecans. The trash is so heavy from the macadamia nuts - must be 10 pounds of them. Guilty and at the same time, kind of free.
I also packed up the larger, newer dehydrator. I have decided to let the old one go to the thrift store. I bought it sometime in the 1990's after S and I divorced and it has been with me since- making jerky and dried fruits and pastes. Time is up. I still have the newer, bigger one and I really only need one. Truth be known, I "need" none, but I am keeping that one.
The kitchen cabinets are starting to look bare. The hutch is empty. The bookcase is empty. Half of the cabinets in the kitchen are empty. I packed a lot of tea. I tossed a lot of tea. Things are getting simpler here. Fewer tools to work with. Fewer pots and pans. I am ready to head to the wooly room for a bunch of boxes there.
But first, I found a couple pairs of shoes in the closet that still fit!!! And look like new. I will pack them in the red suitcase and take them with me when I fly up to the new house.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Sort and Toss
While packing delicate things to take to my new home, I have found way too much stuff that I don't want anymore. Excess jars, kitchen gadgets, towels that are way past the rag stage. Really, how many measuring cups do you really need?
So much of the stuff that is heading north will be duplicates. The less desirable ones are staying here and will be donated at the end.
Three turkey platters. We don't eat turkey. How did this happen? His mother, my mother, and one I had for myself for the duck. I don't use any of them even one time a year. So only one is heading up with us just in case we have a party. But there are many other serving pieces that I am not going to keep. I have three gravy boats. Don't need. And many serving bowls in all different sizes. How about those little individual salt and pepper shakers? or crystal salt cellars with tiny spoons. Too much stuff.
As I sort and toss, I am going to list things here.
Starting with platters and gravy boats.
Excess coffee mugs and creamer pitchers that were hard to clean.
Did I say that I got rid of creamer pitchers? I have such a nice collection why would I let those go? I need to think about this again.
Tea pots- three so far. I don't really drink much tea and had a selection for visitors. Some were gifts from friends. Three left yesterday. I am seeing a bunch of threes here. His mom, my mom, friends... too much stuff from other people.
Awhile back, I decided that I would only give consumable stuff during the holidays. There is way too much stuff here and everyone I know has the same problem of too much stuff. So food items, home made items, gift cards to restaurants or grocery stores, experiences like entertainment places. That is it for me.
Now back to the list-
Clocks- three, one is an antique. I hate all of them. I am totally digital now, and silent.
Vases- you got it, three. I don't keep flowers in the house because of allergies. Why do I have vases at all?
So as I clean out the pantry, I am finding cake mixes and stuff. I am trying to use it up. Today was a german chocolate cake with coconut/pecan frosting. Two more mixes to go. Anyone having a birthday. I could bake a carrot cake, with cream cheese frosting.
I managed to pack up the drawers of the rolling cart. And tossed some things. The top is still pretty busy looking, but I am getting a lot of things sorted (don't look in the garage).
Paper, plastic and glass. I have been looking at my pantry storage chaos and realize that when my mom downsized I took most of her storage containers. At one time, my goal was to have everything in glass jars, within reach. The glass jar thing was good for me, but not so much for other family members. Nevertheless, I found that the jars held a certain amount and the packaging was often more, but the plastic containers were much larger.
As I prepare to move, I am looking to get rid of lots of older plastic containers. As I tell people I am leaving my tupperware years behind- except I still have a massive amount of plastic ware. I am going to re-purpose some of this into the garage to hold- nails, screws and small items as I pack. And some will go into my wooly room to hold small parts and knitting items. And the tupperware is going away- because I can't get lids. I have replaced them several times and am so tired of trying to find a place to get lids. I hope Tupperware company can hear me- lids need to be available without a party.
Three, yes, three cereal containers. Three oval containers with no lids. I am beginning to hate the number three.
Another load went to the thrift store, but the house is still so full. Eduard commented that even with lots of stuff in boxes, and sent to the thrift store, the kitchen counters are more full than ever. As the cabinets disgorge their contents for the sort and toss plan, the counter is where all this is happening. Today- Sterno heating unit for fondue with sterno, second hot water kettle (three if you count the electric one), covered cheese plate, all the chenois (three), and the last of the bowls. I have one smaller box left to pack up stuff and a lot to take to the thrift store, again.
When you contemplate the size of a house- say 1800 square feet- you are looking at the footprint, but often fail to notice the size of the leg, or torso attached to the footprint. I have been clearing out one cubic foot of stuff at a time. I am in fact making some headway. I have empty cupboards now. But it is hard to see the progress because they are behind the closed doors. And the full boxes are stacked in the garage taking up lots of space. This is why it doesn't feel like anything has happened. But I am seeing empty spaces where there once was clutter. I am taking it in stride.
So today's load for the thrift store is beading stuff, art supplies and jewelry making stuff. The last needlepoint stuff is being chased out. And duplication of things is being reviewed. I don't need two dye pots since I don't do the classes anymore. I am not going to make the little wooden cars, so the wheels can leave. No more spindles, no more painting. As I stare at the fairy wings, I am thinking that there may not be anymore Renfaire stuff either. Time to grow up and let the toys go. But there is a little fairy in me left that is not sure about that.
This post will be edited as I sort and toss.
So much of the stuff that is heading north will be duplicates. The less desirable ones are staying here and will be donated at the end.
Three turkey platters. We don't eat turkey. How did this happen? His mother, my mother, and one I had for myself for the duck. I don't use any of them even one time a year. So only one is heading up with us just in case we have a party. But there are many other serving pieces that I am not going to keep. I have three gravy boats. Don't need. And many serving bowls in all different sizes. How about those little individual salt and pepper shakers? or crystal salt cellars with tiny spoons. Too much stuff.
As I sort and toss, I am going to list things here.
Starting with platters and gravy boats.
Excess coffee mugs and creamer pitchers that were hard to clean.
Did I say that I got rid of creamer pitchers? I have such a nice collection why would I let those go? I need to think about this again.
Tea pots- three so far. I don't really drink much tea and had a selection for visitors. Some were gifts from friends. Three left yesterday. I am seeing a bunch of threes here. His mom, my mom, friends... too much stuff from other people.
Awhile back, I decided that I would only give consumable stuff during the holidays. There is way too much stuff here and everyone I know has the same problem of too much stuff. So food items, home made items, gift cards to restaurants or grocery stores, experiences like entertainment places. That is it for me.
Now back to the list-
Clocks- three, one is an antique. I hate all of them. I am totally digital now, and silent.
Vases- you got it, three. I don't keep flowers in the house because of allergies. Why do I have vases at all?
So as I clean out the pantry, I am finding cake mixes and stuff. I am trying to use it up. Today was a german chocolate cake with coconut/pecan frosting. Two more mixes to go. Anyone having a birthday. I could bake a carrot cake, with cream cheese frosting.
I managed to pack up the drawers of the rolling cart. And tossed some things. The top is still pretty busy looking, but I am getting a lot of things sorted (don't look in the garage).
Paper, plastic and glass. I have been looking at my pantry storage chaos and realize that when my mom downsized I took most of her storage containers. At one time, my goal was to have everything in glass jars, within reach. The glass jar thing was good for me, but not so much for other family members. Nevertheless, I found that the jars held a certain amount and the packaging was often more, but the plastic containers were much larger.
As I prepare to move, I am looking to get rid of lots of older plastic containers. As I tell people I am leaving my tupperware years behind- except I still have a massive amount of plastic ware. I am going to re-purpose some of this into the garage to hold- nails, screws and small items as I pack. And some will go into my wooly room to hold small parts and knitting items. And the tupperware is going away- because I can't get lids. I have replaced them several times and am so tired of trying to find a place to get lids. I hope Tupperware company can hear me- lids need to be available without a party.
Three, yes, three cereal containers. Three oval containers with no lids. I am beginning to hate the number three.
Another load went to the thrift store, but the house is still so full. Eduard commented that even with lots of stuff in boxes, and sent to the thrift store, the kitchen counters are more full than ever. As the cabinets disgorge their contents for the sort and toss plan, the counter is where all this is happening. Today- Sterno heating unit for fondue with sterno, second hot water kettle (three if you count the electric one), covered cheese plate, all the chenois (three), and the last of the bowls. I have one smaller box left to pack up stuff and a lot to take to the thrift store, again.
When you contemplate the size of a house- say 1800 square feet- you are looking at the footprint, but often fail to notice the size of the leg, or torso attached to the footprint. I have been clearing out one cubic foot of stuff at a time. I am in fact making some headway. I have empty cupboards now. But it is hard to see the progress because they are behind the closed doors. And the full boxes are stacked in the garage taking up lots of space. This is why it doesn't feel like anything has happened. But I am seeing empty spaces where there once was clutter. I am taking it in stride.
So today's load for the thrift store is beading stuff, art supplies and jewelry making stuff. The last needlepoint stuff is being chased out. And duplication of things is being reviewed. I don't need two dye pots since I don't do the classes anymore. I am not going to make the little wooden cars, so the wheels can leave. No more spindles, no more painting. As I stare at the fairy wings, I am thinking that there may not be anymore Renfaire stuff either. Time to grow up and let the toys go. But there is a little fairy in me left that is not sure about that.
This post will be edited as I sort and toss.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Shifting my world north
For most of my life, I have wanted to move out of the southern desert and into the northern weather. Weather- like spring, summer, fall and winter. Weather- like rain, snow, wind, dark days and long daylight days. Weather- like cold nights by the fire place and hot days by the bay, for more than one day at a time. I have finally made the move. Well, almost. My sweetie and I have found and bought a home in PNW and will be moving there in a couple of months.
It is very exciting and difficult. Trying to pack everything and stage each trip so that we accomplish all the stuff that we need to do. Sorting stuff, getting rid of stuff, packing stuff. Eduard and I have great quantities of stuff. Many duplicates. Some antiques, so new, some just worn out.
Stuff- what stuff do I want up there? cooking stuff for sure. My addiction to gadgets is noteworthy. And spinning/weaving/sewing stuff- all going. Tools, you bet. I love tools. Camping? hmmm. Time to sort stuff. Gardening- old tools leave, new tools will be purchased. Furniture? lots of stuff leaving.
Garage is full of stuff. Most of it I can't recognize any more. Old paint, wood, extra parts to items we no longer have. Time to fill the dumpster.
I have done a lot of work on this place. Painting, tile, landscape, caulking, electrical and other minor issues. It is time to let it go. I was sorting spray paint awhile back and emptied about 4 cans. Still have lots to go. Stain- mostly gone now. Paint is old and needs to get dried up. There is so much stuff here that I can't really begin to do it alone.
But this must be done soon. My time is running out. In three weeks I will drive a van load of stuff up to the new house. It will be essential to move some clothing to keep there, most of my craft stuff, and all of the china and crystal. It will barely make a dent in the great pile of stuff.
Boxes, bags, bundles and a few shelves. Room by room, this house will empty and get cleaned. I am feeling lighter just thinking about it.
It is very exciting and difficult. Trying to pack everything and stage each trip so that we accomplish all the stuff that we need to do. Sorting stuff, getting rid of stuff, packing stuff. Eduard and I have great quantities of stuff. Many duplicates. Some antiques, so new, some just worn out.
Stuff- what stuff do I want up there? cooking stuff for sure. My addiction to gadgets is noteworthy. And spinning/weaving/sewing stuff- all going. Tools, you bet. I love tools. Camping? hmmm. Time to sort stuff. Gardening- old tools leave, new tools will be purchased. Furniture? lots of stuff leaving.
Garage is full of stuff. Most of it I can't recognize any more. Old paint, wood, extra parts to items we no longer have. Time to fill the dumpster.
I have done a lot of work on this place. Painting, tile, landscape, caulking, electrical and other minor issues. It is time to let it go. I was sorting spray paint awhile back and emptied about 4 cans. Still have lots to go. Stain- mostly gone now. Paint is old and needs to get dried up. There is so much stuff here that I can't really begin to do it alone.
But this must be done soon. My time is running out. In three weeks I will drive a van load of stuff up to the new house. It will be essential to move some clothing to keep there, most of my craft stuff, and all of the china and crystal. It will barely make a dent in the great pile of stuff.
Boxes, bags, bundles and a few shelves. Room by room, this house will empty and get cleaned. I am feeling lighter just thinking about it.
Monday, April 2, 2018
A Changing World
For a few years now, E and I have been getting ready for his retirement. Not just not working, but finding a place to live that fits our needs and wants. We started looking about 2 1/2 years ago for a place we could call our new home. I have actually been looking for several years, but he was not sure he was interested. Lately, though, he has agreed that what we want is not here in San Diego or Encinitas.
We decided on Bellingham, Washington, which is close to Canada, has wonderful mountains with lots of wild life and many fewer people. Last week, we bought a house there. Our plan is to move slowly over a few months. He stops working in November. By then, there will only be a small amount of stuff here and we will make our permanent exit.
There are many memories here. Some good and some bad. We have buried 3 parents and all of our children are grown and into their own lives. It is time for us to explore the things we want to do before we run out of time. This is a really happy and scary adventure.
I am looking forward to a real winter and some real rain. I have lived in southern California all my life. The desert environment has made me miserable every summer. It looks good on vacation but it is a bitch to work in. I look forward to coming to visit as a tourist.
Eduard and I plan to drive down once a year to visit friends/children and escape the house for a bit in the winter. It is the only time I like the environment here. We may also travel to Hawaii a few times. I like to work in my garden and do my crafts. I will be looking for new friends and people to share time with up there. But I won't forget my friends down here either.
Hoping for a wonderful new adventure with lots of birds and other animals.
We decided on Bellingham, Washington, which is close to Canada, has wonderful mountains with lots of wild life and many fewer people. Last week, we bought a house there. Our plan is to move slowly over a few months. He stops working in November. By then, there will only be a small amount of stuff here and we will make our permanent exit.
There are many memories here. Some good and some bad. We have buried 3 parents and all of our children are grown and into their own lives. It is time for us to explore the things we want to do before we run out of time. This is a really happy and scary adventure.
I am looking forward to a real winter and some real rain. I have lived in southern California all my life. The desert environment has made me miserable every summer. It looks good on vacation but it is a bitch to work in. I look forward to coming to visit as a tourist.
Eduard and I plan to drive down once a year to visit friends/children and escape the house for a bit in the winter. It is the only time I like the environment here. We may also travel to Hawaii a few times. I like to work in my garden and do my crafts. I will be looking for new friends and people to share time with up there. But I won't forget my friends down here either.
Hoping for a wonderful new adventure with lots of birds and other animals.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Spinning linen
It is 2018, March, and I am getting that feeling I get every year that I should be hanging out with sheep at some shearing day. My cotton plants are blooming and making squares. But I am devoted to a project that has been in progress for 10 years.
In 2008, I went to Black Sheep Gathering in Oregon and took a class on spinning cotton and linen- bast fibers. I got so excited about it that I came home and bought a full pound of Irish linen/flax from an on-line seller. I had a few small bags that I had picked up at the gathering. It all went into the pile because as much as I like spinning it, I was not sure what to do with the yarn.
2010-Then I took up weaving. I was told that weaving linen was tricky so I needed to practice a lot on other stuff first. Ok. I finally got enough experience to weave linen and I found that it was really easy and not the problems I had been told about- 2012. Hmm. It was time to find those bags and start working through the flax stash.
Unfortunately, life is complicated and there were a lot of events and time consuming activities happening. It is now 2018 and I have spun through 1/2 pound of my box full of stuff. I have enough yarn for the warp on something. But what loom shall I use. Ok, part of that busy time was accumulating looms and weaving other things. But I have successfully woven linen now and want to finish off this box of stuff. There is bast bamboo in there, too.
I started spinning this batch of linen in October 2017, but had to put my wheel away while I had extended house guest. I was able to start spinning again in March 2018. I managed to finish about 6 ounces of the 8 ounce bag within a week. I now have a full 8 ounces of spun linen. One bag down. I will start the next bag soon, but need to do a little house work first.
At some point I will warp up the loom and weave this as hand spun warp and weft.
I have joined a Yarn Moratorium group with the promise not to buy yarn for 12 months. Easy, peasy. But making my own yarn adds to the stash so I need to weave more to get this stash down.
There is no time for housework now. I just want to spin and weave until my piles are manageable fabric. Then we can look at the sewing room and see what must be done.
Linen is pretty easy to spin. I use a wet method so my fingers are damp most of the spinning. When it is cold out, this is not as much fun. We have had a fire in the fireplace for the last few days and it had made the spinning go very quickly. I don't have to stop to warm my fingers. I am hoping this will be a trend and that I can get through all the linen in a couple of months. Yea, right.
In 2008, I went to Black Sheep Gathering in Oregon and took a class on spinning cotton and linen- bast fibers. I got so excited about it that I came home and bought a full pound of Irish linen/flax from an on-line seller. I had a few small bags that I had picked up at the gathering. It all went into the pile because as much as I like spinning it, I was not sure what to do with the yarn.
2010-Then I took up weaving. I was told that weaving linen was tricky so I needed to practice a lot on other stuff first. Ok. I finally got enough experience to weave linen and I found that it was really easy and not the problems I had been told about- 2012. Hmm. It was time to find those bags and start working through the flax stash.
Unfortunately, life is complicated and there were a lot of events and time consuming activities happening. It is now 2018 and I have spun through 1/2 pound of my box full of stuff. I have enough yarn for the warp on something. But what loom shall I use. Ok, part of that busy time was accumulating looms and weaving other things. But I have successfully woven linen now and want to finish off this box of stuff. There is bast bamboo in there, too.
I started spinning this batch of linen in October 2017, but had to put my wheel away while I had extended house guest. I was able to start spinning again in March 2018. I managed to finish about 6 ounces of the 8 ounce bag within a week. I now have a full 8 ounces of spun linen. One bag down. I will start the next bag soon, but need to do a little house work first.
At some point I will warp up the loom and weave this as hand spun warp and weft.
I have joined a Yarn Moratorium group with the promise not to buy yarn for 12 months. Easy, peasy. But making my own yarn adds to the stash so I need to weave more to get this stash down.
There is no time for housework now. I just want to spin and weave until my piles are manageable fabric. Then we can look at the sewing room and see what must be done.
Linen is pretty easy to spin. I use a wet method so my fingers are damp most of the spinning. When it is cold out, this is not as much fun. We have had a fire in the fireplace for the last few days and it had made the spinning go very quickly. I don't have to stop to warm my fingers. I am hoping this will be a trend and that I can get through all the linen in a couple of months. Yea, right.
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Sausage Day
Over a period of time, usually months, I collect pork on sale and freeze it. the goal is to find time to make sausage. Last year, I made some Medister for my darling husband. We fell in love with this sausage while on vacation and can seem to find it for sale anywhere. So we decided to learn how to make it ourselves.
The first batch, last year, was really tasty. This batch is even better. And I made more. 14 pounds (almost 7 kilos).
Sausage is an all day event. It starts with cleaning out the refrigerator so there is room for the frozen pork to thaw. Then, on the actual day of sausage making, there is a bunch of fussy sterilization of tools. I have a large industrial grinder/stuffing machine, and all the parts have to be sterilized before use. I make sure it is really clean before putting it away, but I often wash all the parts again before I sterilize. I use a boiling water bath to sterilize so this take a bit of time (1 hour).
While the pot is boiling with the tools, I am getting the meat ready. Everything is cut into 1" wide strips so that it is easy to feed to the grinder. 11 1/2 pounds of lean pork, 2 pounds of salt pork, 1 pound of lard. This is now ready for grinding.
Onions- I use fresh onion about 3 pounds for this batch. After trimming them, I cut them into smaller pieces and use my Food Processor to chop them very fine. Then with a couple of tablespoons of butter, I saute the onions until they are starting to sweat and become transparent. Not too long. When the onions are cooled a bit, I put the spices into the onions- 2 tablespoons fresh ground cardamom, 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper, 2 teaspoons ground cloves. Then 2 tablespoons salt. The onion mix is set next to the bowl of meat.
After grinding all the meat the first pass, I add the onions and lard and mix by hand. This goes through the grinder again (second pass). I like to stop at 2 passes on the large grinding blade because I like a bit more texture.
Now for the Casings. I purchase my casings from 99Ranch market here. They are frozen in a small bundle and I have no idea how many there are or how long. The first bundle I made about 7 pounds and had more than half the bundle left. I stored it buried in salt until the next use. I thawed the casings when I thawed the meat and set them to soak for two hours while the tools were sterilizing. There is a second soak in warmer water. They went in while I was grinding the meat on first pass.
It took E and I a long time to figure out how to slide the casings onto the stuffing tool, but we worked it out doing this in water in a pan. We got pretty good at it after about 4 casings.
Stuffing- it took us about 2 1/2 hours to stuff all the mix into the casings. The remaining casings were again packed in salt until the next sausage day. And the beautiful sausages were waiting for steaming. I like to steam them cooked then store them in vacuum bags and freeze them. I don't have to worry about spoilage that way. But they do lose a bit of fresh flavor.
It is not time wise to try to make a small batch of sausage. And we tend to eat all of them within a couple of months. So for me, 14 pounds of sausage is a good day. Now I need to make more pickled cabbage. We ate the last of that last week.The kitchen never stops.
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