Why?

Well, we're digging out.  OK, not me.  But SK & Gus did a hell of a job this weekend.  Total snow accumulation: 20.5 inches.  15 of those came in one day.  Here's how Gus helped SK with the shoveling duties.

I'd love to say that I got a ton of knitting done being stuck in the house, but that'd be a lie.  I haven't done much knitting lately.  I can't even blame the kids.  One night last week, I watched TV without a needle in sight.  I wasn't even sick!  I can't remember the last time that happened.  But there's some changes in the Lola household.  Shouldn't there be some with the addition of a child?  Probably.

I've blogged about my food nuttiness while I was pregnant.  I expected it to disappear after I had had Tuck.  Everything else does.  But I actual made granola this weekend because I was tired of reading cereal labels at the store.  I thought that switching to natural cleaners was a pregnancy precaution.  Still using club soda to do the windows & won't go back.  I thought that once we started using cloth diapers, I'd see them in a different light.  One full of poop & tired trips to the washer.  Nope.  I'm actually really pissed that daycare can't use them.   Here's what's on my nightstand (Little knitting means more reading):

There are two good reason why these books have made it into our house.  First, Tuck is now in daycare.  Two kids in daycare is no easy task.  Things have to change in order for this to happen.  Second, every couple of years, I have this WTF period.  Maybe it's Catholic guilt bubbling up or just a need to understand why things are happening.  Usually it's proceeded with a big bout of depression & followed by a creative spell.  The first time, I started to knit after a hitaus from the grade school swatching days.  I knit an 8-foot gray garter scarf (how in the hell did I get out of that depression?).  Thankfully, no depression this time.  We'll see about the creative spell.  During the pregnancy is when the WTF period began.  It started with food and worked up to stuff.  The sight & thought of clutter made me ill.  We still live with a fair amount of junk, but I'm working really hard to reduce it & not add to it. 

Do I need more yarn?  Nope.  I have plenty for most future projects.  And I'm already destashing some of it. 

I have enough fabric to blanket my entire family plus grandchildren.  This is my last purchase of unnecessary fabric.  The Ginger Blossom cut serves another reminder of why I like to see the fabric before I purchase it.  I love the color, but in the catalog it was more of a kelly green.  Who can resist the frogs?

I also have enough unread books to build a small library right next door to Ava's much larger library.  I decided to work on books that make me insane, "What the fuck is he trying to say & why am I trying to read this during Idol?  Ego, what?!"  During my WTF periods, I love a good spiritual read.  I get that from our father.  At anytime he's reading the same Bible companion from the 70's or something like "How to Find God in your Game of Golf".  So yes.  I'll jump on the Oprah bandwagon.  No, I haven't signed up for the classes.  I don't feel like adding things into my schedule.  Remember, reducing?  But the book has actually helped confirm my need to not overload on junk right now.  Sure we can't because we've got to stick to budget, so that makes the WTF period more understandable & doable this time around.  And really, do I need another pair of dressy pj pants?  Nope.  I also think making a purchasing adjustment is going to be easier now rather than trying to explain to the boys when they're 4 & 6 that we just don't need every blinking toy we pass.

For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try really hard to not bring anything new in our house.  Beside the basics: coffee, food, wipes (I can do cloth diapers.  I can't do cloth wipes), wine (mommy needs wine.  And after this weekend, a good amount of it), etc.  Lately, I've been watching these 2 blogs.  I'm not ready to make the kind of jump they've made, but we'll do it in smaller steps.  We signed up for Freecycle.org, selling some of the junk of ebay, & overall just went a little granola-y.  Ava said that she'd stop me once I started making my own yogurt.  That won't be happening.  Yet.

Couple knits in progress.  The Snail Mitts from The Knitter's Book of Yarn out of Baby Ull.  I'm using ML-ing with Knitpick's US 0.  Because they hurt & I've got to count, these are slow going.  Once Tuck starts going to bed earlier than 9 or 10-ish, I'm sure they'll fly off the needles.  I forgot how wonderful Gus' bedtime of 7:30 really is.  I'm also still working on the Saddle Shoulder.  The joining, matching of cables & steeking are the hold-ups on this project.  I need to throw fear out the window & get cracking.  I have one sleeve to go before the "fun" starts.  I also spent Sunday deconstructing & crocheting.  I'll blog about that later.  There's some shame involved & it deserves its own post.  Until then, I'll be riffling through the fridge (another problem.  Do you know how much food I actually had in the freezer?) & using the two cookbooks in the pictures.  Probably some of my favorite cookbooks in a while.  How could I have gone so long without even flipping through Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone?  We aren't going meat-free in the house, just less of it.  And A Year in the Vegetarian Kitchen will be excellent once the farmer's market reopens.

-L

Comments

[Chelsea]

I want to live with less stuff too. Right now, I am trying to find a place to start. Our impending move will help, but I want to start the process before then. Good luck with your stuff reduction!

[meg]

this email freaked me out. first off, never commented on here but i love you two. always make me laugh.

i started decluttering my house in january and also going through a similar "catholic guilt / wtf" phase. we're on a serious consumption diet and eating much less meats and lots more veggies. i'm also trying to read a new earth and next in line is fast food nation and the omnivore's dilemma. the new year started off for me exactly the way you said it here.

anyway, you maybe said it all way better that i ever could but i COMPLETELY relate.

[Ava]

Ah, but if you figure out how to make a good Greek yogurt, all bets are off and I will join in the merriment.

Honestly, sweetie, you're preaching to the sister who willingly took three months off work (well, it was subbing) to scour each room and clean. Look how well I did with that. My WTF moment is coming in the form of a college tuition bill . . . sooner than I would like.

[LizKnits]

Wow... your post is very inspirational! I've checked out a few of the links and am going to spend more time exploring. Thanks for sharing this info!

[Shannon]

I love the frog fabric!

I prattle on and on about it, but when I moved from the US to the UK and reduced my possessions by 75% well the weight of that stuff leaving me was pretty awesome. Stuff I never even looked at 'cause it was in boxes in the garage or closets, but it still caused some sort of burden. Outside of the large pieces of furniture I got rid of, I couldn't tell you what the other 50% of teh stuff was...

Today I had a guy come around to see how much stuff I have to give me a quote to move it. I think he expected my place to be packed with a ton of stuff. I still have more than I'd like, but most of it is necessary or holds a very important memory.

Oh and I love Freecycle! People will take ANYTHING.

[mamie]

i love riana and amy's blogs, they are so inspiring. i cannot believe the things rina can make on a woodstove, it makes me cringe when i think of feeding our kids some of the things we do...her links are informative but so scary. i think it is awesome that you are pursuing the change in eating...makes me want to apply myself more to it. wish i could say that about cloth diapers, now that the twins are 11 months and pretty 'regular' i might entertain switching. that or early potty training (yeah right).

[Cath]

I've got the Omnivore's Dilemma on CD in my car right now. Recently listened to Botany of Desire. Interesting stuff.

[Sarah]

Funny, I just read Omnivore's Dilemma as well. I didn't enjoy it as much as In Defense of Food, but it was an interesting read nonetheless.

Homemade granola rocks (though mine never comes out quite as good as my mom's) and Ava needn't worry if you start making your own yogurt, it's really really easy!

[Lauren]

I'm right there with you sister. I am joining a community garden, gave up ground beef and am working on cutting out pre-packaged foods. I recently got "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" out of the library and really liked that. You might want to check it out too.

You'll have to keep us updated on how it's going!

[Peacock Chic]

oh wow that mitten color combo is fab!