I've been seriously neglecting my blog of late and thought I'd just do a quick post. We are finally closing on our mortgage today and are thrilled to be getting a rate of 5%. We will actually have a working budget that makes sense for the first time in I don't know how long. We still have quite a bit of work to do on the house but I think that will always be the case. We'll have carpet in the basement the first part of next week. Having bedrooms to move into will be like living in a real house instead of a dormitory. Getting the beds out of the living room will do much for my sanity as well as the aesthetics of the house.The house is still a mess as usual. I was thinking about how I do things the other day and trying to determine what I can do differently so the house will be more orderly. I realized that I spend much more of my time on interesting projects than on the normal repetitive chores that need doing. Like, making bagels for example (which turned out awesome if I do say so myself) or homemade gingerale and carbonated grape juice, artisinal breads, homemade hot dog buns,and researching future projects. I have all the ingredients for making soap which I will be attempting for the first time sometime soon (when all the wee ones are asleep so I can work safely with the caustic lye), and a recipe for fermented kimchee I can't wait to try and I could tell you all kinds of things I've been reading about how to put in and manage a small pasture, rotational grazing of pigs, dairy cows, and chickens, and how to build a root cellar--all future projects in the works. But then I wonder, how on earth I'm going to find the time to milk a cow and feed and take care of and clean up after a cow, a pig, a dozen chickens, and a garden when I don't seem able to feed and clean up after just my family.
The other thing is that most of my projects are consumable--we eat them and use them up and then there is nothing left to show for my efforts except the disaster that now needs to be cleaned up. If I knitted or sewed things (which I do occasionally but not very well) or made quilts or dolls or anything that you don't eat, for that matter, I might feel that I had been more productive. Oh well. Life goes on and maybe oneday I will have a clean house too.
3 comments:
well, if you eat enough of your projects, it may show eventually...in fat. ;) I think life can be hard to balance at times, and it can be tricky to figure out what project or thing is most important.
5 kids are a lot of work, but each day they get older and older and then one day they can do some of those jobs like, milk the cow, feed chickens, work in the garden, etc. - my thinking is they eat the food when old enough they can pitch in to help get the food here. Also, way cool on the hot dog buns, bagels and bread!!!!
Reni, you are awesome! Just keep on keeping on and stay faithful. Having a root cellar is sooo cool. One of the things I remember from my childhood. I'm back in Munich at Ole and Annelie's with the family for spring break. No time to blog now either. Love ya!
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