Shady Medicine.

There isn't much I can do about the electric teal blue walls right now but the shady rusted metal medicine cabinet got a facelift with $5.00 spray paint. I might actually leave something in it now. I am still going to line it with contact paper.

A penny saved...

So with size restraints comes a new appreciation for the 3 R's. We have reduced and are always looking for ways to recycle and reuse.

After weeks without a dishwasher I still do not miss it.  But I have been putting off buying a dish drying rack. It was a lot of work to reduce our household items and now the purchase of anything new for our home is carefully scrutinized. 

So as I was loading another donation box, this one filled with baking pans that no longer fit in my new apartment sized oven, it occurred to me that paired with a baking rack the two would make a very functional dish rack. Not a penny spent and another problem solved. Now I'm saving on laundry by not having to wash as many wet dish rags!

Home Sweet Home

I'm not one to wish away a year or a month for that matter. The older I get the more I appreciate the value in each day. Having said that, it has been a whirlwind six months and I am glad that is over. As displaced and inconvenient as our summer of camping was... it was also as romantic a summer as I could have hope for, for all of us. 

Where to start? I guess you don't really need to know all the details of our summer in transition. It went fast and furious. We visited our storage locker on several occasions to return items we thought we needed and hunt down new ones we didn’t know we would need. We broke a bike but came away with both pets intact. We learned to appreciate access to basic necessities like a bath, stove and washer/dryer. We got used to being on top of one another, which essentially made the new place feel a lot bigger. The kids made several friends and I learned to relax and let go a bit.

Personally, the whole summer became a revelation to me. I let go of a lot of personal issues and shed many of my uptight ways. I started to become really comfortable in my own skin and appreciate the small things. I don’t know if this was a result of our lifestyle change, which felt like coming “home” to me. Or maybe I am just getting older and I don’t care as much about filling other peoples expectations of me.

The move was messy but fast and uncomplicated. We did get it all done in time to get the kids school and for me to start my new semester of classes. We’ve been living in the space with the furniture and things we decided to keep. Everything fits for now but it is not necessarily the best use of our space. We plan to slowly change out pieces of furniture that will make life here a little more functional but for now there is a lot more stability and tranquility than we have had since the kids first came into our life. Things look good and we are excited to take on the small challenges that will make it all feel like our home. 

Summer of fun...and transition

We have survived our summer of transition. I am back online and ready for the next phase. I will fill you in on how and if it's working.