Still alive & kicking....

I have been buried in "moving" details the last couple weeks, hence no entry. But I'm happy to report that I am settling into the house in town, though one room is still sitting full of unpacked boxes. I think I'm becoming a minimalist -- since I've trashed more "stuff" than some people own in a lifetime. However, the ordeal of the past few months has made me realize that "material things" are just that: THINGS. One can easily do without 90% of what we Americans acquire out of sheer brainwashing by ads to "have more and more"...even if not needed.

DH was a pack-rat, though he had motive in his madness. He would collect all sorts of stuff, then wait until someone came along who wanted just what he had. And he'd make money. I am the world's worst salesperson, and haven't attempted to make much money off the belongings I had to shed from the farm -- everything from equipment to unnecessary house furniture. My brother-in-law handled most of the selling, and has earned enough so that I can pay for what remodeling I had done on this place, even a bit extra. Yet there are some pieces of furniture still awaiting buyers.

I once remember reading that Ellen Gilchrist (one of my favorite authors) said that at times she'd had lots more money than she needed. And she'd given it away, kept only enough to have a roof over her head and enough money for day-to-day living. Because she said that too much money (and I will add, too much materialism) brings its own bad karma. Amen.

If nothing else, I have learned that I can live relatively well on a modest income, in a small, tidy house with simplicity in style and few personal possessions.

Every afternoon I go on a long bike ride along the quiet streets, and enjoy it immensely. I have even been back to the local park where I used to bike, and it seemed so much like "coming home" at last! The ring-neck doves still coo, and the pines and cedars still scent the air sharply. I LOVE being here!

There were complications, miserable moments (like the night before the move when my sister and I pulled an all-nighter cleaning this house to get it ready to move into), aggravations, financial setbacks and more...but all in all, I can say: "I AM home."