About mid January David left for Fresno. I only lasted about a week and a half without him. It was surprisingly very stressful to not have him around. I had a hard time sleeping because I couldn't cuddle with him, and I think what made it so hard was not knowing how long our separation would last. After getting a new realtor and some other things in place, I took off with the kids to Fresno too. We went from our spacious 4 bedroom house to a 5th wheel. Here's where we've been staying.
It's a bit cramped but I'm thankful we are together.The thing I miss most is my kitchen. We have a small fridge, not much cupboard space and certainly not a lot of counter space.
Here's a visual comparison of my huge kitchen in Willcox, compared to our little trailer. I know, I know. I'm lucky to have "first world problems."
I didn't bring my Vitamix (what was I thinking!?) and I'm not sure how to work the oven so no baking. I miss eating cornbread, biscuits and gravy and smoothies.
I also miss Marilyn's bread and free organic tomatoes and other farm
fresh produce (although being here we've had all you can eat oranges!
and farm fresh produce is on it's way). I miss the quietness (we are
right next to an airport where loud jets scream through the air, and a
train loves to chime and where traffic never stops).I miss going to the bathroom without having to walk somewhere (there is no septic tank here) and take showers privately (we take showers at the gym).
But all things work together for good and because of our circumstances, we get to have a picnic every day!
The kids LOVE it here. They play outside all day. They ride their bikes, play in the dirt, watch David work, help sometimes and just occupy themselves quite happily. They have become proficient dumpster divers too. There is a dumpster on campus that they particularly love finding toys in. They are always bringing home "treasures" they found.
They play in the dirt a lot. Here is one of the great "projects" they've been engineering. They dug a trench starting from where the hose can reach and then it flows like a little stream where they built a beaver's home. There is one swamp where a crocodile and a hippo live. There is one pond where a frog lives. There is an ocean where sea animals live. And there is a lake where fish live and there is a tunnel they made and on the other side are ducks. They set up their cows and other land animals all along the edge of the stream.
Orion found those welding glasses in the auto shop that is now the farm building. They fit him perfectly so he feels really manly. What's really funny is the whole combo of welding glasses, safety glasses and that cheap necklace...another one of their "treasures".
I don't now what's with Orion sticking his tongue out. Photogophobia I suppose.
Anyway, that's all I can update for now.
Wow, your kitchen sure has shrunk! I don't feel like you're complaining.. that would be hard to feed your family all the time from that tiny kitchen. The kids' project is awesome though - reminds me SO much of the projects Eric and I used to create. Dirt is awesome! (Though maybe less so from the perspective of the laundry-doer??)
ReplyDeleteAnd the welding glasses and mardi gras beads are GREAT. Haha. I'm guessing, however, that it's a trend Orion will outgrow ;) Just like the "I'm a lion attacking my prey!" phase of peach-eating when I was at the farm, yeah? Has that passed?
Hugs all around,
Julie
Ha ha. Yeah, so far he hasn't torn into any of his food pretending to be a lion...so I'm pretty sure one of these days he'll discover that mardi gras necklaces are not so stylish after all. And surprisingly, I have been able to do laundry only once a week. The principal has been letting us use his washer and dryer and they have really fancy front loaders that can wash a huge load.
ReplyDeleteWow! The middle picture at the top looks like they have become real school children, so much older and more mature :) It's so neat that you chronicle all of this and your pictures are so great.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your articulation of their current activities and development. It sure makes it easier to do it as you go along. Better and faster and cheaper than scrap-booking pictures that you had to print and then spend all that time arranging.
There are several posts I haven't even seen before. Am I out of the loop?
I wish I chronicled more often. There's so much I notice that I'd love to write down but forget to and then when I think about it again it doesn't seem as funny or "write-worthy." Thanks for comments! It makes me want to keep it up! You're not out of the loop Mom, I think I just didn't post them on facebook for some reason. I'll make sure to email you if I post a new one. Actually, what you can do is enter your email at the top. I put in a little widget that lets you "subscribe" to my blog.
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