Exploring Minimalism

What words and images are conjured up in your mind when you hear the word "minimalism"?

At one time, I would have said "deprivation", "stark", "bare", "boring" and maybe "void". I would have assumed that a person who defined themselves as a minimalist would live in a home void of personal touches. In my mind, a minimalist could not be sentimental, because they throw everything away. I assumed that a person embracing minimalism would resist the impulse to purchase desired goods with white-knuckled determination and will power. Kind of like fasting from food.  Anyone who endorsed minimalism would undoubtedly be a snobbish, stuffy environmentalist (not that environmentalists are snobs, but the minimalist ones would be!).  Oh, and they'd probably be ovo-lacto vegetarians, too!

I assumed it was mostly a losing proposition.

My brief experience has shown me that I was wrong.   As I've moved towards decluttering my own life, my perspective has increasingly aligned with the concepts of a minimalist life.

Each tentative step I take towards living with less brings more freedom and clarity in my life.  As I remove items from my home, my wardrobe and my schedule, I am left with the things that have meaning to me and support me in the life I want to live.  As I usher out things that hold little or no value to me and my family (and I'm not just talking monetary), I usher in free time and a stronger sense of who I am and who I want to be.  It may sound extreme, but it's the best way I know to describe it.  When I see an empty shelf in my closet, I think "that shelf that does not cost me anything".  It requires nothing of me.  That same shelf full of "stuff" requires something of me, at some point.  Maybe it needs to be fixed, read, dusted, sorted, filed, picked up, moved around, washed, searched in, replaced, and on.  Now, if fixing, dusting, and replacing stuff is my life's goal, then perhaps that bulging shelf is serving a purpose.  But if I would rather spend my life nurturing my family, growing in my relationship with God, giving to those around me, and discovering and pursuing my dreams, then all the "stuff" is only a distracting obstacle.

If I was asked to describe minimalism now, I'd use the words "clarity", "choosing", "freedom", "stress-free", "being conscious", "increased awareness", and "exhilirating".  It's not about having as little as possible, but it's a growing sense of awareness that every purchase has a price, in addition to the price tag.  It's about being intentional in decision-making.  It's about doing some soul-searching to discover what I really want in this life.  It's not about less, it's really about more.

It doesn't sound like losing to me.

Here's A Riddle For You....

Today, I walked into Bethesda Hospital carrying my wallet.  Four hours later, I walked out of the hospital carrying my wallet, one boot, one sock, an unopened can of pop and a straw.  Can  you guess what I was doing in the hospital??

I'll give you a hint.....

Yup.  It's happened again....two bones in the foot this time.  Apparently, doing stand-up tricks on a slide has some unforeseen negative consequences......

Here's the face attached to that sweet foot.....



I don't think he could be any more delighted or proud.....

Somehow, it seems to me that we've been through this before.......like maybe just under a year ago, with another sweet babe of ours????

Ah, yes, it's all coming back to me now.......

Basement Reno - Blah to Aaah!

The night I returned home from Australia, Jeff surprised me by showing me a "few things he'd been working on in the basement while I was gone".  I wish I had pictures of the navy blue wallpaper with a pink and yellow floral design that graced the walls of our basement when we first moved into this home 13 years ago.  It was something to behold.  It went well with the stucco/stipple stuff that was plastered all over the upper half of the adjacent walls.  Pine boards, laid diagonally on two walls and vertically on another wall, along with dirty ceiling tile, completed the look.  Oh, no, there were also huge arched mirrors hung on the wallpaper wall, reflecting all this 70's and 80's loveliness back into the room (as if seeing it once wasn't bad enough).  

Here is what this area of the basement looked like at the start of the reno process (please ignore all the  clutter junk piled in the middle of the room.  I've looked carefully at each photo, and I don't think there's anything embarassing or incriminating lying around - just everyday life mess piled up in horrible reno heaps.).....

BEFORE:

DURING:



AFTER:

This facelift is, by no means, jaw dropping; but for us, it makes this room feel much fresher, friendlier, and modern.  It no longer hails from the 70's (not that I think the 70's didn't produce anything worthwhile - after all, the 70's produced ME!!).  It feels more serene and peaceful.  Less visual clutter.  It's a blank canvas that we will, no doubt, stamp our signature on as time progresses.  Or we'll just let the kids go nuts and destroy it.  Or both.

Because I was in Australia during all this, I  wasn't aware of all the contributors to this project, but I heard later on that credit is due, in part, to the generosity of both sets of parents, Jeff's brother, and my brother.  So, thank you to all, for showing up when you did, ripping walls apart, scraping walls, painting (ceiling tiles and walls), messing around with moulding, taping, babysitting, and feeding the clan. We, er, Jeff, could have done it without you, but you made the process way more fun!

Lastly, thank you to my hubs, who knew just what kind of thing gets me fired up.....Diamonds....meh......expensive clothes.....yawn......drywall and silicone?  Now we're talkin'!!

Halleluyer! It's Spring!

Spring is here!!!  Though it's not official until next week, we see signs all around us. This morning, Taelyn wisely informed me that when there is water on the road, it is a sign of spring.  Yes, my love, you're so right, and I couldn't be more excited.

I have a notebook where I record random lists.  One of these lists outlines a growing number of occasions or happenings that I love and look forward to each month of the year.  I love the diversity of our Canadian weather, and the new, unspoken nuances that each new season brings to our daily family rhythm.  So, in anticipation of spring, here are some things I'm planning to embrace and savour in the upcoming weeks: 

• The melting snow.  It's what us Canadians talk about for weeks on end.   We never tire of it.  It's a nice change from "Sure is cold out there!"  "Yup, sure is."
• Love the smell of the earth thawing. OK, around here, it's maybe more like cow manure, but it's equally intoxicating.  At least to me.  I may stand alone on that.  But there's gotta be at least a few farmers out there who would agree. :)
• Spring break
• Rubber boots, anyone?
• "Vacuuming" the lawn with the lawn tractor to freshen up all the grass that's been burried beneath mounds of snow....and inhaling the smell of freshly cut grass. Mmmmmm.....
• Picking the first green onions out of the garden.  This usually happens before the last of the snow has disappeared.
• Happy to choose a spring jacket or sweater over a heavy winter coat more often.  It's equally fun to grant permission to my kids to allow them the same freedom.
• Actually enjoying the walk from my vehicle to the grocery store, without having my shoulders scrunched right up to my ears.
• Resuming our family walks.  Warmer weather always seems to inspire our family to get out there to get some fresh air together.  Oddly, -30 temps don't have the same effect. 
• Setting up the trampoline.
• Planning the garden; considering new seeds.  At this stage, anything is possible!
• Seeing our yard with a fresh perspective, and dreaming up summer projects.  We do love our project scheming around here!
• Going for walks/runs after the kids are in bed, while there's still daylight.
• First bonfire of the year.  Yum-o!
• Celebrating several family birthdays.
• Considering which new animal faces will make an appearance on our yard.  Last year, it was a bunny; this year, we're considering lambs.
• Spring cleaning.  I actually don't dread it. I create a plan of action and attack my house. Perhaps more about my plan of action in future postings.....
• Opening up the windows and letting that gorgous fresh air in.
• Hanging laundry outside to dry.
• Celebrating Easter!
• Biting into the first piece of fresh, warm rhubarb crisp (ok, I took a quick peek into my May list, but it will be here before we know it!)

What do you love about spring?

Clean Eating - Heard Of It?

About a year ago, while waiting in the classic Superstore checkout line-up, this magazine caught my attention: 

Hello, beautiful magazine.  I know I love you and we haven't even met. 

This is what the Clean Eating Magazine website has to say for itself.....

"Clean Eating takes you beyond the food you eat, exploring the multitude of health and nutritional benefits that can be yours when you subscribe to a clean lifestyle. In every way, clean eating is all about consuming whole food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible. Taking a creative yet doable approach to cooking, you’ll find it easy to enhance the natural flavors of any meal without compromising the integrity of your food. When it comes right down to it, Clean Eating is not a diet; it’s way of improving your life – one meal at a time."

Ah, isn't that beautiful?  It resonates with me soooo much.

So much, that when I saw the magazine sitting in the rack, I grabbed it, and immediately began memorizing a recipe that looked good (my daughter was already perusing the Archie comics, so what else was there to do?  If I don't busy myself with a magazine, I usually tend to clue into the fact that I've picked the slowest checkout line....again.  In this case, ignorance is bliss). 

A few days later, I told my sister-in-law about the fantastic magazine I had discovered. Over the next several months, she bought me several issues, at random times.  Just for kicks.  Because she's nice like that.  And I accepted them with a grin, one after another.  Because I'm a mooch like that.

For Christmas, she gave me a subscription to Clean Eating!  And my first issue arrived on my birthday.  How cool is that?! I guess she figured that it'd be a better deal for her to get me a subscription than to buy me each magazine on the stand.  Smart girl.

A few days ago, I whipped up the Country-Style Beef and Green Pepper Soup, found in the February issue.  I doubled the recipe, because there is no point making six servings of soup in my house.  I chose this soup because I've been having a love affair with Balsamic Vinegar lately, and am making anything that lists Balsamic as an ingredient.  Yes, a crazed woman lives within the walls of our home.

2.5 tbsp olive oil, divided
12 oz extra lean ground beef
2 medium green bell peppers, diced
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 lb fresh tomatoes, chopped (I cheated and used canned)
4 oz fresh green beans, trimmed and broken into 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed and patted dry
2 cup coarsely chopped green cabbage
3 cup low sodium beef broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (or a few twists of the 'ol pepper mill)

Heat 1 tsp oil in a dutch oven on medium-high coating bottom evenly. Add beef and cook for 3 minutes or until browned, stirring frequently. Drain beef on paper towels; set aside. Heat 1 tsp oil in dutch oven on med-high heat. Add bell peppers and onion and cook for 6 minutes or until edges begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Add beef back to Dutch oven along with tomatoes, beans, corn, cabbage, broth and oregano. Bring mixture to boil over same heat, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until beans are tender crisp. Remove Dutch oven form heat, stir in remaining ingredients, including remaining oil, and let stand for 10 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Number of Servings: 6

I added shaved, fresh romano cheese, before serving.  Oh, and we also crushed Nacho Cheese Doritos on top. Because life is short, and a healthy lifestyle is all about balance, right?  Just don't tell the publishers of Clean Eating. I could be wrong, but I don't think the cheese on the Nachos is freshly made, locally produced and additive-free.





Birth Announcement!

Oh, the joy of brand new, fresh, hot-off-the-press kittens!  The long-anticipated day finally arrived!  Born to Paws Rempel, on Thursday, March 3, are two yet-to-be-named kittens.  They were discovered by Makenna in the shelter, under a pile of insulation, on Friday afternoon.  After considerable deliberation, we moved them into the garage, under a heat lamp, surrounded by coziness.  Mother and babies are doing well. In lieu of gifts, please just send money. :)

One Man's Junk.....Is Perhaps My Treasure

Hello, my name is Sharon, and I am a garbage picker.

This weekend, we made a routine trip to the local garbage dump.  Normally, we are instructed to drop off our bags in Bin #2, which is not very exciting because just black garbage bags are thrown into that bin - nothing worth snooping around in. This time, however, we were told to drop off our garbage in the Dry Cell, which is way in the back of the dump, away from the sinister eyes of the fellow garbage-drop-off people.   As I got out of the truck to help Jeff unload the trailer, I became, er, distracted by a desk that I saw laying at the edge of a pile.  After inspecting the desk, I decided I wasn't interested in it (after all, I'm no lowly garbage picker - I have standards!), but hey, how about that chair - it has nice lines (hmm, it only has two legs), and, hey, what's that over there?  Before I knew it, I was climbing over TV's and boxes (which were nicely folded - why didn't someone put them in recycling?), scavenging my way into oblivion.  In reality, it was only for about a minute or so (I'm sure my dear hubby was watching me out of the corner of his eye, and was emptying garbage as fast as he could to get me out of there before I had any "ideas"). Then, I saw a book laying on the ground.  Curious, I picked it up, flipped it over, and saw this:

In. perfect. condition.  No banana peel stuck to it.  No gum.  No pages water-stained from some mom dunking the edges of the book in the tub while reading (has that happened to you?).  Just an orphaned book, crying out to be loved by a new owner.  At least that's what I heard.  I recognized the author and  title. I did a brief happy dance, envisioning that the keys to being a perfect mom lay within the pages of my new find. 

On the drive home, I heard my husband's mutter something about disinfectant or something. I enthusiastically and cheerfully dismissed his gentle rebuke, assuring him that the infinite wisdom I would attain from reading this book would far outweigh any germ-derived disease I acquired from its pages.  For good measure, I did spray and wipe it when we got home. :)

I found one more item this weekend, but I will keep you in suspense because it needs a little tweaking before I can show you all.  I know, you're all holding your breath with anticipation.......

How about you? Has you ever picked up something from a garbage dump, or curbside on garbage day? 

How To Make A Meal For 5 For Under $1

As an incurable cheapskate prudent spender, I'm always looking for meal and household ideas that reduce our cost of living, without sacrificing quality.  Homemade chicken noodle soup fits the bill.  It contains mostly local foods (many ingredients not further away than our backyard), minimal processing, contains protein, carbs, and veggies, and cost under $1 for a 6-quart pot. 

Chicken - leftover chicken from yesterday's roast.  The grain used to feed this chicken was factored into our food budget last summer, so I'm not including a price in today's recipe.  "Aw, that's cheating," you say, "Not everyone has a free chicken to work with".  True, and I sympathize deeply with your situation, but don't you think I should score some points for all the work I did last summer? After all, I was the Poultry Feeding, Watering and Strawing Manager.  No matter that my children did most of the actual work.  I was the one responsible for asking, ordering, cajoling, and bribing my younguns with popsicles to get the chicken chores done.  Yep, it's a tough job.  Sometimes they didn't hear me when I called to them from the lounger I was suntanning on, and I had to go looking for them to remind them about chores. I even lost my page in the book I was reading a few times.

Chicken broth - compliments of aforementioned chicken and a bit of tap water.

Noodles - homemade with the help of my 4-year-old.  3 cups flour (I buy big bags of flour when they're on sale, so I'm guessing I didn't use more than 30 cents worth - I can just picture some of you figuring this out in your head - I'll say right off the bat that I may be off on my numbers:)), 2 eggs (free due to an unfair deal we have going with my parents - we offer them eggs in the summer when we have chickens, and they give us eggs the other 9 months of the year.  We end up giving them about 4 dozen eggs per year, and they give us about 1446 dozen, in return.  If you do the math, and even if you don't, it's clear to see this is a very unfair deal, and I should feel very ashamed!), 1/2 cup milk (15 cents) and  a bit of salt (5 cents?).  So the noodles cost me a whopping 50 cents.

Peas, carrots, and parsley - compliments of 2010 garden.  Cost: $0.00 (excluding the cost of freezies that were used to bribe my kiddos to weed "just one more" row of produce).

Corn - I regret to record that I have no garden corn on hand, and I used about 1/4 cup frozen corn.  Cost:  about 10 cents.

Bay leaf - I'll estimate this cost at around 8 cents.

Ground Peppercorn - 8 cents.  I wouldn't want the bay leaf to get a complex, thinking it was worth less than the peppercorn.  I want to keep jealousy at bay.  Sorry, I'll stop peppering you with corny jokes.  I'll leaf you alone now.

GRAND TOTAL:  $ 0.76
Yields:  About  24 cups of soup

Not bad, eh?  What el cheapo, healthy meals do you make for your family? Am I the only one who figures out how much meals cost?