A Few of My Favorite Things ~ A Comedy of Errors Version 1.2021

While 2020 could be summed up as "fell down the stairs while carrying the chamber pot," so far 2021 has been "tripped on the stairs but caught myself." Personally at least. I can't speak for the rest of the world.

Innovation

Necessity is the mother of invention. And think of all the time and money we save in finding alternative solutions for fixing things!

As a "part two" for this favorite, we have inadvertently added another member to our family. Whenever something strange or not quite pleasant happens around the house and I either didn't see what happened or no one fesses up to it, we say it was "the ghost who hates me." It's become a catch phrase for our family. Example:

"Who cracked this plate? No one? Hmm, must be the ghost who hates me!"

"Who ate all the frosting from the fridge? Not you? Must be the ghost who hates me!"

The dryer is particularly admired by this ghost, and in the last couple months it has been turning itself off and on. Also, the dryer door randomly pops open mid-cycle, spurring me to comment, "AH, the ghost is checking on the laundry again." Addie asked me recently if the ghost lives in the dryer, squinting her eyes to maybe spy some evidence of her (because, of course, a male ghost couldn't care less if the laundry was dry).

Childlike Adults

Snow has the magical ability to turn adult men into little children, of whom I can never get enough. Children, that is. While I was lost in the romance of swirling snow and relishing our on-the-road-date meal of a gourmet Hardees burger, my husband made abundant use of the lack of traction and negotiated every corner we turned with the rear end of his truck swinging wide and fish-tailing back into place. It was so romantic it made my heart pitter-pat.

DIY Home Improvement Projects on a Budget

Little beats the satisfaction of knowing with a bit of duct tape and maybe a few screws you can completely remake your living spaces. Take this computer chair, for example. For some people it would have long ago joined thousands of its comrades in the dump, but in the Berst home it has enjoyed several new lives. 

Same with our 3 year old sectional, part of which ceased to function several months ago when certain children mistook it for a trampoline and diving board. Along with going sledding in a Silverado, watching your husband go at a metal couch frame while the sparks fly with a Sawzall also makes the heart pitter-patter. 

He even Sawzalled (because that's a word in our house) the arm off the old reclining section and screwed it back onto the raw section that was left (after I sewed up a rip in the fabric) on the left side of the sectional. I'm not sure if we should call this procedure a sectionectomy or a furniturplasty? Couchopsy?

My Children's Flair For the Dramatic

My children have been talking like Smeagle from The Lord of the Rings movie for the past three weeks. It has been quite entertaining and a pleasant deviation from the British accent they had been using for the past several months.

Having a Shoebox Bathroom

I can't stress enough how convenient it is to have a bathroom so small that everything is literally at your fingertips.

Life Lately ~ December 2020

It feels good to be writing here again. I wish this wasn't so late. I was trying to organize my personal life and kept putting off writing in favor of filling out a planner, but let's be honest here. I'll probably never end up sticking to meal planning anyway, and I'd prefer to waste my time on other less productive pursuits.

We all survived Covid. I feel like we should have T-shirts made. Symptoms emerged the first week of December for most of us and included headaches, runny noses and congestion, body aches, chills, gastrointestinal issues, and fatigue. I am just now slowly regaining my senses of taste and smell. I could not taste Christmas dinner or smell the cinnamon and pine candles burning or determine when the cookies should come out of the oven by smell. I still cannot smell outdoor smells and most unpleasant odors (the house seems unusually clean!) and nothing tastes right. It is as if the world has lost a dimension. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, we lost my Grandpa December 5th. His funeral was the only of my grandparents that I was unable to attend. 

Since there was so much extra time at home with all our appointments and errands cancelled, I mistakingly assumed I had loads of time to finish Christmas projects. I was going to sew all the quilts and paint all the paintings as gifts, and whip up a bunch of wood-burned ornaments. Some day I'll stop deceiving myself. I was hand-quilting a quilt (the one and only) up until a day before it needed to be done. And I had the brilliant idea to use a cozy fleece blanket as the backing to the quilt. And I didn't have a quilting hoop. And it was all a lumpy mess. I called it the Covid quilt. I gave it to my brother and sister-in-law anyway because I thought maybe they needed an extra blanket to roll up to stop a draft somewhere. Ha!

While I sewed and painted I listened to books on Audible. I've mentioned before what a pleasant way it is to get through tedious chores--well, it turns pleasant hobbies into mini-vacations. I finished The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings book 2) around the first week of December and then dove into a series of E. Nesbit and Gene Stratton Porter books. By Nesbit, I read Five Children and It and The Wonderful Garden. I recommend them both, though they are technically children's books. Hilarious and thoughtful, the children in her stories are always getting themselves into mischief though they try so hard to be good. Nesbit does such a good job of bringing the children to life that I miss them dearly when the story is over. By Porter, I read Freckles and The Harvester. I loved A Girl of the Limberlost and Laddie, and by book four I realized all of Porter's stories would have a central theme of nature intertwined with an impossible romance that eventually works itself out. Always a happy ending, which is comforting in a way.

Christmas was so nice this year, and quiet. We all made it out of quarantine on time so we were able to attend Christmas Day Mass as a family. That is always my favorite gift.

We put half a ham in the oven on low heat before we left, and when we got home I made ham gravy and mashed potatoes. I had made dinner rolls the day before, and several dozen cookies had been pulled out of the freezer. Then the kids opened their gifts. It was a simple Christmas, but one of my favorite.

We had a tight budget this year, so instead of a specific number of gifts, we had a dollar amount that was not to be crossed. As a result, no "oops, that added up quick" purchases were put on the credit card. I got Eli an ox horn mug (he's holding it in the photo), a permanent match, and new socks. He got me a set of unpainted nesting dolls, travel watercolors, and watercolor books. 

And that sums up our December!

A Few of My Favorite Things - November/December 2020

Though this one is a bit tardy, writing these posts has become so rewarding to me that I don't want to let it fall away. I, for one, need the reminder to stay grateful for the simpler things in life.

CHILDREN WHO DON'T FIGHT. I was sitting here one day trying to remember the first thing on my list of favorite things over the past couple months...with boys arguing about everything and nothing all around me. I couldn't think. I (loudly) called them over to read what I was typing (which is that above) and after it got them to stop and think I thought that I could probably just leave it here because it is true. It's very cold out (it's been down in the 20's and below here) and everyone is getting less sun, and it makes none of us super happy.

House plants. Although my drive for planting this time of year is at rest with the trees, I miss the lush greenness outdoors, the layers and patches of color from blooms and variations in leaf tone, and the privacy of our yard. Having a mini garden of sorts in my dining room and hardy green friends here and there throughout the house makes the brown months easier. I often sit by the window and soak in the sun when it shines, and just recharge. 

Moisturizing products. Gone are the soggy, humid days of summer and everything is dry. Especially my skin. I feel as though I can never drink enough water. My favorite lotion for the last few years has been Burt's Bees Ultimate Care Body Lotion (for very dry skin). It's more like a cream than a lotion, but is not super oily, and has a pleasant, natural smell that isn't over-powering (described as "green tea.") The boys say I smell like leaves after I use it, which is fine by me. Occasionally I also get patchy dry spots on my face, and for that I use Jásön De-Stress Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Moisturizing Creme, which also has a natural, pleasant smell. And my favorite lip balm is one that was gifted to me, Soothing Touch Vanilla Rose lip balm.

Creative projects. Addie's dollhouse has been in the forefront of my projects lately, but I love making anything beautiful. A dear friend recently gifted me the latest book her mom wrote, Called to be Creative, in which she proposes that we are all called to be creative in imitation of the Creator in Whose image and likeness we were made (though being creative looks different for each of us). I was stunned to read her description of what I call "the zone." In her book, Mary Kenyon calls it "flow"... the act of totally losing yourself in a project, when space and time cease to exist and you are totally focused with what's at hand. Watercolor and pyrography put me in the "zone." After an entire night engrossed in one of these projects, I feel refreshed as if I just had a spa day (or what I imagine a spa day would feel like if I ever had the opportunity to experience one). Just knowing I have two or three projects waiting for me leaves me with an almost perpetual excited anticipation. I recently picked up a small embroidery kit, although I kept telling myself I had enough fabric and thread and I could just sketch up my own design. It took away some of the hassle that usually keeps me from starting new projects. I also got a travel watercolor set and books for Christmas that I'm so excited to use, and unpainted nesting dolls that I get to design. These projects are one of the best treatments for anxiety.

Our health. We survived Covid. It was not pleasant, but not as awful as the flu. After an illness it's easy to appreciate how good you feel when healthy.

My Parents. I'll throw a 6th last favorite in here because...so many reasons. But as they say, this is not even close to the least. My Mama is my best friend and my Daddy is my rock. They are always there for me when I'm in need, and even when I'm not. They tough-loved me when I was being stupid and cried with me when I hurt. They spoil me and my family rotten, and I love them to death.