Five Random

 

I was just looking at my snowy header and thinking that now that it's March -- and more than likely mine is not the only soul yearning for anything but snow -- I need to change my header. It's too muddy and gross outside right now, though, and my house needs painting, and I don't want to embarrass myself by taking a fresh picture, so in the interest of honesty, please note that the new header is an old header. Until we get the house painted -- and the mud dries up -- and flowers really are blooming.

 On the subject of home improvement, though, and a topic much on our minds these days: our son, Dominic, with his wife, Monica, and their two little girls (under 2!) are scheduled to move in with us in about two weeks! In preparation for that life-changing event, Dominic has already repainted the entire upstairs -- where they'll be setting up camp -- and is in the process of ordering new flooring. My job, in prologue, has been to empty out the upstairs bedrooms and closets. (Wince) I'm still not finished, and I'm questioning: How on Earth did we get so much stuff?? And why, since all but two of our children have flown the nest (and those two are gone most of the year) do we still have so much stuff??

I think it's just a fact of Big Family Life that we collect and keep more than most folks -- and there are legitimate reasons: 1) you-never-know-we-might-need-it-later; 2) if-we-have-a-zombie-apocalypse-everyone-will-come-home-and-we-might-need-it. ; and 3) Awwww-we-can't-throw-that-out-remember-when...

So my almost impossible task has been to separate the the things we might really need in case of a zombie apocalypse from the things that we really wouldn't. Like, how about that treadle sewing machine? Would there ever really be a culmination of events when we both lost electricity for an appreciable time and couldn't get ahold of store-bought clothes and my own clothes wore out? Or, perhaps it's more likely that, with all the growing grandchildren, one of our little families might some day need a treadle sewing machine to keep the kids clothed. In which case, who can I pawn this thing off on?  

But the worst winnowing I've had to do has been through the stacks and bins full of books and school papers. Seriously. This one hurts. How could I possibly get rid of all the old tattered Dr. Seuss books -- even if I do have them all memorized and could get a new copy for the grandchildren stash for less than $5 on Thriftbooks.com? Or the original Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs that is barely hanging together with packing tape on every page -- but has the original, much preferable text. (Can you believe they had the nerve to change the wording in subsequent CWaCoM printings along the way??)

 And how could I ever part with Fr. Philip's outstanding book reports for Sr. Gertrude that were shaped like book jackets? Or Kevin's strategic army battles so meticulously drawn out with hundreds of little stick figures? Or Paul's bird list? Or Cathy's recipes? Or Gabe and William's creative writing books full of monkey stories? Or Sister Antonia's whole trunk of piano music?  Or Michelle's paper dolls? Or Anna's poems (there are hundreds!)? Or Dominic's weird foot cast and bizarre crutch he made for when he had foot surgery?

Sigh... It's not like there will ever again be a use for most of these things, I know. But I just can't make myself throw them away. 

But, here's the rub: Dan and I are seriously considering the efficacy -- spiritually and otherwise -- at this point in our lives, of becoming almost minimalists, because...

We're pricing out RVs, with idea of retiring into that sized space -- plus a couple bonus rooms on either side of an RV shelter that we would build on our property. I know. Sounds crazy, right? But there's method to the madness. By doing this, Dominic and his family can spread out into the entire house (because we know, with a growing family, they'll need to before long!), and with an RV as part of the equation, we gain autonomy and mobility. Also,  we found out while doing the homework on varying ideas that there are few regulations about the size and usage of a barn-type detached shelter, and more than we want to deal with if we chose to build a detached "mother-in-law" cottage. (For one thing, we'd have to buy a half acre more and annex it to our existing acreage to do it at all -- and then we could only build on a 600 square foot footprint!) And the cost of building an attached mother-in-law apartment is giving us sticker-shock because of the rooflines we'd have to change -- and we worry about affecting the value of the house adversely by adding an ungainly addition. The RV (plus bonus rooms) idea is just easier and cheaper! And it gives us so many options! It's a thought for the future, anyway, and we're still investigating, but we'll see. May happen sooner than later if everything goes right! Like my ability to downsize that much... (grimace)

We want the RV shelter to look something like this. And we'd probably put it where the old original barn used to be at the top of the hill, opposite the house (for anyone who's been here who wonders).

 

I also want a Jeep. ;) But I'm not counting on that...( A truck to
pull the RV makes more sense.) The right side of the RV garage
 would be storage and a small spare bedroom/office instead of
car space. And I don't know if we'd do the room above or not,
but it'd sure be neat, wouldn't it?

On a completely different random topic: I don't think I mentioned on here that our son, Kevin, (the one who lives in Germany) is hosting a wonderful series of podcasts for Traditional Catholic Families that we highly recommend. He's been able to access interviews with a broad range of subject experts, from priests to Moms to Trad activitsts, and they run the gamut of topics, from the history (and devolution) of music to a program on staying fit from a Catholic perspective -- with lots in-between. I even have a regularly scheduled chat with Kevvy about the lives of the saints of each coming month!  Run over and have a listen. They're my go-to for interesting and informative background when I'm doing chores! Go here to browse. There's something for everyone!