Unpacking and more (ADDED)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by LeeAnn

The unpacking continues along with the frustration of figuring out what to do with all of our things. Once again, we have left behind bookcases and even with all the books we gave away, we still have more than our bookshelves hold. So that is a struggle.

We also left a well-organized kitchen with lots of cupboard space to a small kitchen with few cupboards. Here is my attempt to create more space out of virtually nothing.

For all our kitchen utensils, I found a clear, hanging shoe rack:

For spices and other sundry items:

The hanging shelves on the door are on the inside of the pantry closet door. The utensils bag is on the kitchen side of the laundry door. I have a hook on the other side for aprons and the purple bag holds extra hot pads. I also use a magnetic file holder on the side of my fridge for more convenient access to hot pads. I haven’t found a really good place for towels and wash cloths yet though.

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Yesterday my daughter and I went to the Cincinnati Museum Center. My sons chose not to go much to my disappointment, but it was a whole lot of fun to go with just her. She engages in the activities and information differently (and more quietly) than the boys. I rarely get to do things with only her so it was an unexpected pleasure.

In the Museum of Natural History, they have built a cave-like atmosphere that drops 3 levels with displays of the Cincinnati area during and post-ice age era. They also have a distinct cave with some of the insects, waterfalls, and other formations of an actual cave with a more difficult (narrow and twisting) route and an easier way for those not as fond of tight places and strollers.

Some pictures with my daughter hamming it up:

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Today’s events have been much quieter as I’ve battled a heat-related headache, but I just watched this video that really touched me. I hope you enjoy it.

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Family history finds

Posted on May 10, 2012 by LeeAnn

It was going to happen but at least I got my dining room table unlocked from all the boxes surrounding it. What was inevitable? Unpacking family histories and cracking them open again. One of them has a preface that was presented by my mother for my grandmother’s 80th birthday on June 6, 1987. I don’t know if she wrote it; she only wrote “Presented by . . . ” so Mother do you remember if you found it in your files or did you write it?

Here it is. I thought it entertaining.

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Mother was born before TV, polio shots, antibiotics, frozen foods, and frisbees. She came before nylon, dacron, Xerox, and credit cards, radio, fluorescent lights, and Chiquita Banana. “Time sharing” meant togetherness, not computers or vacation homes. A chip was a piece of wood, “hardware” meant hardware, and “software” was not even a word. She was born before pantyhose and drip-dry clothes, and certainly before men grew their hair long and wore earrings.

She was born before ballpoint pens, yogurt, Dear Abby, plastics, the forty-hour work week, and the minimum wage. She and Dad were married first, then they lived together. “Making out” referred to how well you did in a school exam.

Closets were for clothing, not for coming out of. The man in the moon was not an astronaut. Mother knew bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits were not Volkswagens.

She lived before Grandma Moses, even before Frank Sinatra and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Women thought a deep cleavage was something a butcher did to a piece of meat.

Mother was born before disposable diapers, Jeeps, pizzas, Cheerios, frozen orange juice, instant Postum, and McDonalds. Grass was mowed, coke was something to drink, and pot was something to cook in.

There were five-and-dime stores where a person could actually buy things for five and ten cents. For a nickel she could ride the streetcar, make a phone call, buy a bottle of soda pop, a newspaper, or enough stamps to mail a letter and buy two penny postcards.

She could buy a new Chevy for $659, but who could afford that much money? Nobody! A pity, too, because gas was eleven cents a gallon. A good pair of shoes that would last a full year cost $2.98.

If anyone asked Mother in those days what CIA, MS, NATO, UFO, NFL, SAT, ACT, JFK, ERA, OR IUD meant, she would have said, “Alphabet soup.”

Mother was born after the difference between the sexes was discovered, but she was the last generation that was dumb enough to think a woman needed a husband and not a test tube to produce a baby.

We are happy that she was born when she was so her children could be born in this “enlightened” age.

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We’re here!

Posted on May 8, 2012 by LeeAnn

We made it. As I sit looking around the boxes and boxes of STUFF in cardboard boxes, I am really wondering what exactly I got rid of. We made multiple trips to the library donating many boxes of books but we still have too many. The Disabled American Veterans and the Victory Mission made multiple trips to our house, many happy recipients stopped by our yard for sundry items I needed to clear out, and friends took many things off my hands. I even had a junk hauler take away stuff.

Many friends came during the middle of a workday to load our 26 foot moving van, and many came to unload it all at this end. It was loaded in about two hours and unloaded in one. The phrase, “Many hands make light work,” really is true. Those who came to help were angels in my eyes.

Now the work of unloading the contents of all those boxes has begun, and I am trying to find homes for all our books that survived the cuts. We eliminated about 3 bookcases and space for the remaining bookcases so this is tricky. Additionally, the kitchen spilleth over with kitchen-type paraphernalia.

Wish us luck!

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What I’ve learned today

Posted on April 19, 2012 by LeeAnn

* that I wish I could call Salvation Army to come haul everything away and drive to Kentucky and start over decorating, collecting books, etc.

* that I’ll never be a noted blogger and that’s perfectly fine. I don’t think I could stand the criticism.

* that my path to perfection will probably take at least several eternities. If I’m lucky.

* that I don’t want to make dinner.

* that Chinese sounds perfectly, incredibly awesome tonight.

* that a Acupressure massage sounds like the most wonderful, relaxing idea in the world. Or even just some reflexology.

* that something is missing in my diet but I don’t know what.

* that I have a hard time coping without my husband.

* that in all my idiocies and thoughtlessnesses, I’m pretty good at caring about the individual.

* that dumb little things like being able to leave my piano in my home to be taken care of by my friend with a daughter who plays just about made me cry. All so I don’t have to permanently lose it.

* that I love to see my kids spending time together and having the time of their lives.

* that I truly appreciate knowing that a few people will really miss me when we leave. It made my day today.

* that someone unexpectedly dropped me a few emails.

* really knowing and feeling that the Lord really cares about my kids.

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Dinnertime at the Smiths

Posted on April 18, 2012 by LeeAnn

Last night, I made a wonderful dish from Cooks.com called Hamburger-Potato Hot Dish. The kids really enjoyed it. It seemed to release a flood of reminiscences when I asked where we lived that brought to mind a feeling of happiness. The boys took a minute to think that over before responding, “Miami.”

There are a lot of reasons for that. Partly because Jim’s company paid our expenses while we lived there so there were no stresses and because Jim worked regular 9-5 hours. The kids lived in the pool and did a lot of sightseeing at places like Seaquarium, the Miami Zoo, and the beach–many times and usually as a family. I took some encouragement from that because we lived in an apartment. A large townhouse-style one, for sure, but still an apartment. All we had to call our own was what was in the kitchen, our clothes, and a few toys. Everything else was in Kentucky. Of course, the apartment was furnished so we had the essentials. (Don’t forget the coffee pot and 2 plates that came with the furnishings! The plates were used; the coffee pot saw the inner reaches of the darkest cupboards.)

So why is it so hard to pare down to that level again? I don’t know, just that it is. Or maybe because I had the comfort of knowing I still owned the furniture, books, etc., that I valued even if they were inaccessible.

Here’s the recipe.

Hamburger-Potato Hot Dish

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (16 oz.) can of green beans, drained
3 cups mashed potatoes, instant (this is before you make it up)
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
9 x 13 inch buttered dish

Brown ground beef and onion and drain. Mix in soup and undrained beans and let simmer. While simmering, make up instant mashed potatoes. Smooth mashed potatoes over the bottom of a buttered 9×13 pan. Pour soup mixture over the potatoes, sprinkle with cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese begins to toast lightly.

Note: I used Deseret brand instant mashed potatoes which enhanced the flavor wonderfully. That’s a must for our food storage when we start building it up again!

As I tried to copy the recipe from Cooks.com, I realized that I didn’t make it at all like the recipe instructed so this is my recipe. The kids liked it so it’s a keeper!

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