Thank you to all who left bright, shining bits of encouragement for me on our big news. It meant a lot to hear such positive comments; there was not a 'WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?!" in the bunch. But then again~ I haven't shown you the inside....
The truth is, the outside is the NICEST part of the deal (even though it isn't the least bit Victorian and lacks my much-coveted wrap around porch). It is the inside that gets me all squirmy. Frankly, I just don't know if I am brave enough to share the 'before' pictures with you, to expose her nakedness to the world? That might be cruel. AND it will undoubtedly illicit some of those comments I was just referring to.
But I digress.
(and the packing begins....)In answer to the few questions I received about it: Yes, it is nearby...only 20 minutes away. No, it should not affect Matts work in any way or our church going or our extended families. In fact, it is very, very, VERY near to Matts family, giving us only about 5 minutes breathing room-er---commute. ;-)
And to the question how will I do it all?
Ummmm.....
I have no idea.
OR better yet, I WON'T.
These two pictures capture it rather well:
Lovely, homemade laundry soap. So clean, so bright, SO cheerful! (cue Evita, there is no SOAP, no soap like that!)
...and then of course, reality.
(and no, that is not all the laundry. Are you kidding me?! It is MONDAY, people!)
I already feel myself treading water, something that happens to me when I get so overwhelmed I slide down into this pit of mental exhaustion that then becomes physical exhaustion, though I haven't done a lick of work.
I have 2 bushels of pears to can up, beets to pickle and 65 pounds of grapes coming on Saturday. I have homeschooling to do (consistently but bare minimumly-if only that were a word). And that isn't even including the two weeks we have to repair and empty out the new house and the following two weeks of emptying the old house into the new house.
But it has to all get done, so it will. My prayer is that it gets done in a way that is PLEASING TO THE LORD. I don't want to turn into a bear and I am SURE my children don't want me to either.
The one consolation is that up until this point whenever we have moved (and we have moved many times) I have either been great with child or newly postpartum and have either been lugging furniture along with a tabletop belly or unpacking while nursing a suckling babe. Seeing how this is not my dilemma presently, this time it should be a piece of cake. Right?! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Okay. This blog post is me, treading water.
How about a stroll through the blessedly dead October garden? Yes? yes. splash, splash.
~ I wanted to grow enough pumpkins to sell some along with our eggs on the side of the road. Since the flood however, and all the bridges being washed away~ we are left on a dead end road and no passersby. We will have plenty of pumpkins this year for ourselves!
~ Delicata squash. LOVE. Nothing better than Delicata roasted with seasalt and pepper. Of course, some of these were left entirely too long and are not quite so delicata anymore. ;-)
~ pears. I did not grow these. I do not have the luxury of owning my own pear tree. Or the partridge, for that matter. I ordered them. This years' price: $16.00 a bushel.
~ Since my last big harvest of tomatoes, I have thought we were out of luck with tomatoes. Late Blight, you know. But when I went down to harvest all the beets and winter squash, I discovered a few unscathed volunteer vines in a different part of the garden and voila! A season, extended! Makes for a lovely table centerpiece too.
~ Evie. She is my favorite of the three little kittens that we, for some reason that I can not fathom, still HAVE.
She is fearsome.
A bouquet or two left, for sanity's sake. They won't be for the table. They will be for my bedside. I always feel very much like a princess when I wake up to flowers by my bed.
And now...I need to go dry off and get to work.
10 comments:
Your photos are, as always, stunning. You're in my prayers, and I know you need them. Seems you and I are so much alike, pushing, doing, going because if we don't, who else will? Praying you have the stamina to do what needs doing, and the wisdom to know when to rest and let go of what you have no control over.
xo
But, in order to truly appreciate the things you're doing, we need to see pictures of the inside! ;)
((((hugs)))) You can do this dearie! One step at a time.
At least have before pictures to show us when you also show us the after pictures.
Perhaps a local food pantry or church festival could use some of your pumpkins? Just a thought...
How in the WORLD did you get a bushel of pears for $16??!! That is insanely inexpensive. I thought I was getting a deal at $17 for 20lbs. Are you getting them directly from a orchard?
And if I could drive by your home, I'd come by some of those lovely pumpkins!
LOL. I took a picture of a box of pears almost EXACTLY like that today. ;) Someone GAVE them to me...working up the courage to CAN them (well, them in the form of pear sauce) tomorrow. This gal from the PA area encouraged me that I CAN can! ;)
Love your photos...just keep swimming, just swimming! ;) Prayed for you!!!!
Blessings, friend!
I just want to read this post over and over again. Wow. I am in awe.
I wish I lived close to you because I would most certainly come over and HELP! We have moved more times than I can count in our 23 years of marriage (ministry moves) so I've become quite the expert.
I think we must use the same detergent recipe, but yours looks much lovelier. Could it be because I store mine in an old coffee container on top of the dryer in our cobwebby basement?
I love these photos. We've been doing the same fall harvesting, though my delicata still sits in the garden. I've been waiting until the first frost scare and am hoping they all turn light peach-ish first.
Let me know if you want some turnips or rutabega. They're still in the ground, too! :)
We bought my husbands grandma's house after she passed away. And had to re-do everything. Took the roof off and worked our way down :P And we did it with 3 kids, then had a baby in the midst. I took pictures the whole way. Im glad I did. I was able to get photos from when the house was built and have an album from 1943-present. Still constant projects. Your strong. It can be done :) And you'll love that you guys did it together. We involved the kids when we could. And lots of power tool lessons. I looked at it as we were teaching them valuable skills. We even survived a winter , wait 2 winters, with no insulation and only a wood fire place. And we made sure we were happy doing it. Even though I had my moments every few months where I thought i'd cry. Then I would, get over and move on, lol. <3 Ill be praying for you! On this exciting adventure. I wouldnt have traded it for any new house. I love that we did it together.
Read the post about weeds as flowers and the one with the worn arm chair. Read your post about the party with almost zero dollars. I have them printed out for inspiration . I learned from you that beauty need not be expensive. Where many may see a shell of a house, you will see the fruit of your labor in your mind's eye. You are not afraid of hard work , neither is your husband. So what are you afraid of ? You can do it . With God's help you can.
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