Some like their butter cold, and others like it at room temperature.

I refrigerate my butter, mainly because I use it for cooking, and not for toast or sandwiches. But I like my beverages, beer or otherwise to be room temperature and not refrigerated. Go figure. It only comes up now because my girls are finally at an age where they want to make themselves breakfast, whether that’s a bowl of cereal, a fiber filled brownie, or toast (I don’t much care which) to fill themselves up in the morning. Cold butter doesn’t spread. So now I’ll leave my “cooking” butter in the fridge and will keep out a 1/4 or 1/2 pad for morning toast consumption. No need to be a prick about it. Tearing up the toast with cold butter isn’t a nice way to start your day, especially if they are sorting themselves out, so that I don’t have to. I can focus on lunches, back packs, agendas, homework, and outdoor gear for the day. At some point they will become responsible for those items too, but today isn’t that day. I believe in layering on the new responsibilities as they move up a grade in school.

Had a very, very productive day around the house yesterday. Both of the kids bedrooms, and closets got cleaned out, and the ruined, permanently stained clothes got removed, and outgrown items became hand me downs. All together we pulled out a garbage bag and 3/4’s from both rooms combined. That’s alot of wrappers, boxes, busted toys, and plastic junk. I do have a bag of shoes to look through. And a bag of socks to go on to my niece along with other clothes items. Coats of all sorts can go too. I give them credit, they helped out a lot, but also didn’t fuss about pitching the junk that was eating up space unnecessarily. Now you can see their floors, and e everything fits in the closets – for now. I fear we left a lot of clothing at the cottage which will need to be worked into the program too. Back to overflowing drawers that won’t shut, and piles on the floor that don’t have hangers or space to fit into the closet either. Ugh!

I would be more ruthless, but I can go overboard at times. I’ve gotten better about not doing so with my kids stuff. I can take it if I get overzealous about my own things. Clothes, books and what have you. I don’t want to hurt my kids by being too callous about trinkets and whatnot that perhaps mean a lot more to them than I know. I will go after the common areas with more vigor once everyone is back to school, as that’s something i have to look at, and walk around daily. I’m going to move quite a bit of the accumulated toys to the cottage. Open up the shelves on my display unit for baskets of sorted play things we’re keeping here. But out of sight inside the bins, and not on the floor where they stab me in the heels, or balls of my feet. Lego injuries are a real thing! One day in the future, three or so years from now the doll houses will go downstairs, and we will have to decide on if we’re going to keep any of that kind of stuff for potential grand kids, foster kids, adopted kids, or just sell it off along with our collection of hundreds of different dolls. No need to ponder that question now. Both kids still use both doll houses in the living room.

Tuesday August 27th, 2024 is here, and it’s going to be a hot one! High 30’s Celcius if what I’m hearing on the news is correct. Another day fit to float in the pool unbothered by life’s quibbles. I have approximately 35 books to take over to the care and share in the next hour or so. That will lighten my book shelves just a hair. I think I took nearly 60 books over in the fall, and had given away another 50 to schools and such prior to that, so I am making headway on thinning out my collection too. Every four months or so I can look at my books as a whole and figure out (after living with the reduced numbers) which are the next ones to go on the chopping block. Those two I held on to, did I even crack the covers to read them. Did I think about reading them? Do I feel like reading them right now? If the answer is no, unequivocally no, then I should get rid of them, along with any others that fit the same model. I only want the books I loved so much I would read them a second or third time without hesitation. Meh! Books, and mediocre books can go too. If I had to move again I don’t want 30 plus tote boxes full of books to lug around. Cut it down to 10 totes full of just the best stuff I absolutely love! Reasonable compromise I think.

I love the idea of tiny house living, but I also know that I love lots of things, rather than experiences. People whom go do “stuff” don’t need to load up on things. But I like to make things. Paintings, drawings, sculptures, model kits, war gaming terrain, wood furniture. I need room for these things. Not to mention books because I can’t read long term from a screen. I need the physical book in my hand. The smell of their pages filling my nose. Power cut or internet outage be damned, I’ll have my book(s) please.

With finite space available inside our home, all we can control is how we utilize that space, and what we choose to fill it with. The best stuff we love, or mounds of junk. Two things cannot occupy the same space at one time. You might miss out on something grand because of holding on to waste/junk. Shame too. “We don’t have the room!” is a popular refrain around here. New stuff in means older stuff needs to go. It’s a constant battle, and not one I am always up for fighting for/over. Hence the need for a purge every couple of years. I get worn down by tears and tantrums, so we start to get closed in by things, papers, wrappers, boxes, cardboard crafts, drawings, paintings, used canvases, lego creations, on and on it goes. Just to start the cycle once more. Whee!

How is your last Tuesday in August going? Ciao Bella!