New State, New Plans

Well, months pass and things change.  My husband's job was not renewed in Nashville, and his boss wanted him in the Twin Cities, Minnesota.  A great thing for me, because I grew up south of the Cities, and wanted to move back anyway.

We have spent the last three months living with my parents while we sold our house in Tennessee.  It has been pleasant - I have to say, I have great, understanding parents! (Who else would house a family with four children under 10 for three months and not go crazy?)

We close on our house in the suburbs next week.  It's going to be a big change!  From over two acres of land to 3/4 of a acre (a huge lot here!)  There are a lot of projects in this house but there's also a lovely sun room and a space for my husband and his musical equipment farther from the bedrooms. A nice thing, for sure!  The people who own the house now have put a lot of work into making the house energy efficient and landscaping in an ecological friendly way.

Here it seems the biggest challenge is to not slip back into using convenience items - my dad's coffeepot broke and he bought a K-Cup dispenser.  Paper towels, quick meals, etc.  The house isn't set up for a more reusable lifestyle.

(As an aside:  We all are at different levels of sustainability.  We have our powerhouses of ecological friendliness, and we have people who are still working on simply putting things in the recycling bin.  It's not for us to judge where someone is at - not only is it something very personal, but it is fluid; each person changes from day to day, based on circumstances.)

I've been knitting and spinning like crazy, too.  Hey, it's Minnesota, and winter's coming!