Weekly Ramble 8/10/24

This week I ramble about clutter, the consumption of housekeeping, and home decor.

Wow! It was a full week!
Church on Sunday like normal. It was so nice to have a day of rest. I think we all needed it.

(Here’s what I do for Sabbath Prep in case you missed it.)

On Monday I went to the ENT — exactly three months after I originally got sick. The doc didn’t have a lot to say, but he dug around in my ear, removing some scar tissue leftover from the infection. Since he was seeing me so long after the fact, there wasn’t much he could say. He advised always getting real Sudafed, as we have discussed previously, for any new colds and viruses.

Afterward I met Bryan for lunch and did some browsing in Ross and TJ Maxx. Those stores vary so much by location! The ones I visited were good ones. I came home with a new candle and a pretty plant for my book shelves.

Earlier that morning I had realized that the front room had gotten a bit cluttery, so I dejunked the books and games before adding the new plant. When we moved here, I taped all the games closed and told the kids that the ones that didn’t get played in a certain amount of time would get ditched. We would know based on the sealed tape.

Note: this strategy will not work if someone wants to deceive you and slit all the tapes. Ahem.

While I couldn’t actually bear to part with some of them, I did weed out quite a few, do a little rearranging, and the space looks much better. The plant fits as I hoped it would, but I’m thinking a bigger lantern would be better in that space?

Thoughts? Head to the comments and advise.

That night, we attended a weekly bonfire event that FisherMan23 organizes for local college kids and young adults at the beach. We’d been meaning to go all summer, as they invite parents and older believers to come as well as a host of local pastors.

The event goes much later than my regular bedtime, so we had never been. However, seeing as our pastor was speaking this week, we needed to represent!

It was fun to see some of the kids’ friends and to hear the preaching, which was excellent, by the way. (Once again, I’m so thankful our church blip appears to be over!)

We left in good enough time that I wasn’t a total zombie the next day.

But by Tuesday morning the house was looking pretty trashed. And since signing the new lease has put me back into nesting mode (see decluttered shelves above), I did a fair bit of tidying and sprucing. That day, I focused on the front porch.

Funny how just knowing you’ll be somewhere for the foreseeable future (after wondering if you’d have to leave) can refuel your energies to making things nicer. I’d like to want to make things nicer no matter how much time I have, but I’m not there yet.

You know what I mean?

The front porch was a blank canvas as you can see on the far left. Since I don’t know how often we’ll use it, I didn’t want to spend a ton of money.

Instead, I shopped the backyard and found the table, chairs, and pots. I found the pillows for $5 each at Walmart. And I bought solar powered outdoor lights for less than $30 after tax. So far, my investment in the porch is $45.

Oh, actually it’s $51 because I bought a set of suction cups for hanging wreaths. Wreath yet unknown, though I do have one in storage.

Unfortunately, I came up empty looking for flowers to fill the pots so they’ve gone back in storage. It’s August in zone 10a so I don’t think it’s quite the season. I seem to recall that the nurseries are bursting in another month, so I’ll add some plants in September.

Bryan hung the lights as soon as he got home from work yesterday, so I’m pleased with our progress so far. It’s a welcoming space and since it’s not super visible from the street could provide a nice space for reading or chatting.

If we don’t end up using the space that way, I can always move things to the backyard.

Also on Tuesday a new friend came over with her three littles, five and under. It was a lot of fun to chat with her and watch her kids explore. They were really fascinated by the FishKids’ picture on the wall.

It was a new concept for them to consider that the kids in the picture weren’t around to play with. I mean, they were, but they’re all growed up.

I wonder if that’s what it means that God’s not in time…. He remembers all our iterations and loves us still.

On Wednesday, I had planned a kitchen morning that became a kitchen day. I knew I wanted to prep Muffin Mix for church, get one batch of muffins frozen, and make Bryan some freezer burritos for work lunches.

In the middle of that, I unloaded the dishwasher twice, loaded it twice, and made lunch for all the kids, a rare occurrence that all five would be home midweek. I also made a quick run to Ralphs for the Danimals that they have on digital deal this week.

I signed up to bring snacks to church once a month. Last month after much hemming and hawing I landed on a formula that should work really well and be a good mix of homemade and not.

In July I baked a variety of muffins and then took cuties and string cheese. I was pretty chuffed that the church kids (of which there are many!) liked it.

My plan going forward is to bake muffins or scones (all that I can freeze prior to baking so it’s easy on the day of) and then supplement with a seasonal fruit and a protein.

I love, Love, LOVE making muffins and scones because there are so many flavors and you can make it fun and seasonal. For August I landed on blueberry, chocolate banana, zucchini-chocolate chip, and cherry limeade as well as the aforementioned Danimals, cheese sticks, and cuties.

Anywho, I was in the kitchen a lot on Wednesday but it felt like I didn’t make a lot of headway. It felt like I was chasing my tail.

Thankfully, I also listened to the latest What Have You podcast and this thought was resonating in my head:

Your housekeeping is disposable. It is getting used and consumed.

rachel jankovic

My housekeeping is consumable. It’s not a work of art, frozen in time, to be enjoyed forever.

Unlike art or compositions or writing that last forever, what we do in our homes is temporary. The laundry and dishes will get dirty again. The bookshelves will get cluttered again. The messes will be made.

But, that is how it should be.

I loved the example of the chef sending out an exquisite plate of food. If it came back untouched, the chef would have failed at her job.

The same is true of homemaking. You’re making a home, so the success of that is the people living and doing life in it. So, there will be messes because life is messy.

That was a timely lesson to ponder as I washed more dishes. And honestly, I don’t know that I ever thought those thoughts about housework before. It’s a game changer to be sure!

I was incredibly encouraged by the podcast as well as by the song, Your Work is Happening Here.

Bryan had sent me the album earlier in the day, and I’ve been enjoying it tremendously. If you’ve got Spotify, it’s definitely worth listening to the whole album, Worship for Workers.

The rest of the week was more of the same, making muffins to freeze and doing dishes. LOL! FishChick15 and I have enjoyed a few Garage Sale Mysteries and Midsomer Murders and we’ve messed with the labyrinth of community college registration.

I’m not quite ready for back to school. Ugh.

Anywho, those are the epiphanies of the week. Now for some things that made me smile.

Five Favorite Things

These Covers for Folding Tables

Folding tables are ubiquitous when you have temporary crowds or temporary spaces. We use 6-ft folding tables for Game Nights and smaller ones for supplementary seating outside. There’s even one for the snack table at church.

Even in prime shape these plastic tables don’t look amazing, but after a few uses they look kinda beat up. Recently, looking for tablecloths on Amazon, I found these fitted vinyl covers which come in several sizes and covers.

They aren’t as formal as tablecloths, obviously, but they are an upgrade over the plastic tops and they are water proof. I like that they are fitted, too, so they aren’t going to be sliding around.

So far, I’m very pleased with the 6-ft size. I’ll let you know about the smaller one next week after I try it out at church.

Photo Trays

I shared these last week, but they bear a second mention because I really, really like them. I can switch out the picture frames without trying to nail into the wall. Bryan likes them because I won’t ever have to ask him to hang more things on the wall.

We bought ours at IKEA awhile ago, but these picture ledge shelves are similar on Amazon.

Three College Kids

This is the first year we’ve had three college kids, so it’s wild to have a picture like this. This week FishChick17 started her campus job. I love it that Bryan snapped this shot when he dropped them off.

He joked that he didn’t have the grade level signs with him, so I added them in Canva. lol

I’m very thankful that my girl will have two big brothers on campus as it’s honestly a jungle out there.

My Glassware Purchases

I don’t usually make many glassware purchases, especially after our Big Dejunking of 2023 when we moved after 14 years in one spot. I only buy what has free returns and I’m quick to return if I don’t absolutely love it.

These two items are winners. FishChick15 and I were both thrilled to unbox these water goblets. The set of 12 was very affordable, came well packed, and feels super sturdy. We’ve been using them each week for Sunday Dinner.

Another purchase was thanks to my friend Emily. You’ll remember her beautiful baby shower decor. She told me that she had found a great deal on a set of mismatched bud vases on Amazon — she also offered to loan me hers anytime.

I decided I wanted my own set and I’m so thrilled with the purchase.

Our Sunsets

While the sunrises have been hit or miss these days, the sunsets have been stellar. We don’t have a great view from our house, but as Bryan and I top off our steps for the day, we can usually catch the sunset.

I’m on a 16-day step streak, and the sunsets are a perfect motivation to keep it going. The local military base plays Retreat at that time and the sound drifts our way. It feels quite meaningful.

Did you get to the end of this ramble? Wow. Look at you. It was a doozy, wasn’t it?

A few last things…

Don’t Miss Easy Summer Dinners

Don’t miss what’s new in the shop: Easy Summer Dinners! It’s free to members of the GCE Club in August.

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