And I am writing this from my super secret remote hide-out while my regular posting location is, you know, FLOODED!  We came to Tulsa this past weekend and as usual returned to B’ville Sunday evening in time to watch the only show on TV that matters right now.  Anyway, leaving on Friday we noticed the Go Kart place was flooded.  “That’s too bad.”  We sympathized and drove on.  Driving back into town on Sunday we noticed the soccer fields were flooded (as in you could only see the tops of the goals).  Nearing downtown we saw streets three blocks from our apartment covered in water.  We also ran into traffic which wouldn’t be that unusual in many downtowns but on most Sunday nights in B’ville cars are sparse.  We got into our apartment (2nd Floor) and stepped out onto the balcony to watch a constant trail of cars, SUV’s and pickups loaded to the hilt with mattresses and other misc furniture.  It was like some eerie, mass exodus.  We went inside to watch our show.  Half an our later my mom calls to say parts of I-75 are closed and the floodwaters in B-ville are rising. 

“Oh, mom we’re on the second floor.  It’s no big deal.”  I step outside to survey the situation and calm her silly concerns.

“Uh, mom…. we’ll be home soon.  I gotta go.”

Why the sudden change?  Floodwaters that had been three blocks away are now visible at two.  Will and I quickly pack (again).  Within another 30 minutes we’ve gathered enough clothes and other sundry items to last a week.  I peak out the balcony one last time. The new shoreline has advanced from two blocks to one.  That averages out to about a block an hour.

Today we are in Tulsa at Grandma’s (oops, I mean a secure remote location).  Since our B’ville place is on the second floor and the building itself is on a bit of a rise, I don’t have much concern for our stuff but we recieved word that today downtown is basically closed which means that had we stayed we probably would have been stuck there. Four people and a cat in less than 700sq ft for an indeterminate amount of time is not on my list of fun things to do for Independance Day.

Anyway this experience has gotten me to thinking about a few things:

• First, we got apartment insurance last week so if anything does happen it’s covered.  I almost didn’t because I thought I didn’t need the expense and really what could possibly happen?  Now I’m glad to be paying my $13/month.  That’s not a typo.  $13/month for $19K in replacement coverage.  Renter’s insurance is incredibly cheap so if you live in an apartment get some.
• Second, even though I’m in Tulsa I’m typing this on my computer through the wonder that is GoToMyPC.  Before we left, knowing that I wanted to do bills and such this weekend I hopped over to their site and signed up for a free thirty day trial.  It’s not really a trial for me because I’ve used the service before.  It’s outstanding.  If you’re mobile but you don’t want to lug around a laptop, get GoToMyPC and hang out at internet cafes.  You’ll get your work done and be cool all at the same time.
• Third, we cleared out of our place within 30 minutes of making a decision to do so.  We left with the equivilent of 3 small laundry baskets worth of stuff.  I feel confident that we have everything we need.  I’m not worried about family photos because I use Phanfare.  I’m not worried about important documents because I grabbed the single folder that contains them all.  I’m not worried about digital documents because my computer backs itself up to someplace in AZ every night.  I’m not worried about anything else because It’s. Just. Stuff.

I invite you do do an evacuation check.  Could you leave your house in 30 minutes without worry?  I hope so.

My Mommy’s Place is giving away copies of The Motherhood Manifesto on DVD.  Go, leave your comments on “Balance”  here to enter.

Remember the guy at the circus who would spin plates on top of sticks.  He’d start one after another and when he got to the end he’d rush back to the beginning to re-spin each one before it toppled.  I used to think that achieving balance in your life meant that you finally got all the plates going.  I thought it meant that nothing was crashing and breaking.  On top of that as an American I have been so brainwashed to do/have/be more that I thought the best example of balance was to have more plates going at one time than anybody else.  Can you be a spouse?  Yes.  Can you be a mother to two kids?  Yes.  Can you work part-time? Yes.  Can you be a partner in a start-up retail business?  Yes.  Can do all the books and such for your husband’s company?  Yes.  Can you teach childbirth classes? Yes.  Can you be a doula?  Yes.  Can you volunteer at church?  Yes.  Can you do any of it well?  *CRASH!!!!*  And at that realization I started putting away my plates and sticks.  For me, balance means being done with the competition.  Currently I maintain only two plates.  That’s how many hands I have so I have determined that is what I can hold without stress.  I am a wife and I am a mother.  And I am getting better at each of them every day because I have time to think about how to get better and I have the energy to put those thoughts into practice.  This is not to say of course that I don’t do other things just that now those other things are not critical.  They get done when they get done IF they get done and that keeps me balanced.

On the one hand, I like it when my home smells nice.  It makes me smile and feel good about myself as a homemaker even if everything else is *ahem” less than perfect.  On the other hand store bought air fresheners, besides lasting only a few minutes and being a complete waste of money better spent on chocolate, spray a host of unwanted chemicals in the air along with their fake scent.

What to do? What to do?  No problem.  My home almost always contains the ingredients for a simple potpurri.  I bet yours does too.  Here are some of my favorites.

In a small crockpot, add lemon wedges, apple slices, and half an orange cut into pieces.  (I say half an orange because I usually eat the other half as a snack but you can use the whole thing if you like.)  Leave the rind on each of these and add a couple of cinnamon sticks and a few cloves.  Fill the pot with water just above the fruit and leave to simmer.

For a lighter, less “holiday” scent, use several sprigs of mint and water.  Or just use the citrus and water without the rest.  There are any number of possibilities.  If you like the scent of it in your cupboard chances are you will also like it “mulled”.

If you must have a spray freshener consider adding five to ten drops of essential oil and 2 cups of water to a spritzing bottle.

A lovely scented home without chemicals works for me.

Can I just share the cutest, little thing I found in the chicken coop?

The one on the left is a “normal” Araucana egg and the one on the right … not so normal.  And yes, I’m sure it’s not a robin egg.

Speaking of chickens, specifically Auracana’s, I have one (Let’s call her Hazel) that just insists on flying the fence.  We have started free-ranging our flock on some property behind their run.  I used some lattice to create a not so bad looking way for them to get to the new grazing ground which was a MUCH better solution than allowing them to roam about the yard (too many undesirables left lying around).  At least we thought it was a better solution.  Hazel either doesn’t agree or she’s a loner because every morning she flies out and spends the day wandering the yard in chicken solitude.  I suppose I will have to clip her wings to keep her in.  I’m hesitant though because she’s pretty to look at (the other chickens are mostly out of sight) and it’s funny to watch her follow the children around like a puppy.  She even occasionally follows the dog around like a puppy.  Strange but cute.

In other chicken news I am wondering about dressing out our own hens when their laying days are over.  This poem was one of the best descriptions of the process I could find.  While it doesn’t sound hard in the logistical sense  I still remember visiting Aunt Helen’s House of Poulty Purgatory.  Therein existed a certain smell one never forgets.  This may be where I draw the line on simple living.

Long before the start of this blog, journaling was a habit in our home.  There is something therapeutic about putting one’s thoughts on paper.  Tonight, Will & I had a lengthy discussion about our current situation and our plans for the future; about what we think is important and what’s not.  It reminded me of this journal entry from May 2006 - back when our intentional pursuit of simple living was relatively new.

When we decided to live with my parents, I was afraid of what people would think … that it was not “normal” for a woman and her husband and two children to sell their perfect home and choose to live with her parents for no obvious reason other than they wanted to. In the long run, there will be no great financial gain.  In fact, there will be some loss as far as selling the house goes but still it seems like the right thing to do.  And then I ran across this quote by Ellen Goodman.

Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.

That’s when I decided that “normal” is not something I want to pursue and it is not something I want to teach my children to pursue. I want “unconventional” to be the defining factor of our family.

What about you?  Are you “normal”?  Are you chained in by society’s should’s and should not’s or do you find comfort and safety in them?  This unconventional way of living works for us but would perhaps be stressful and unfulfilling to others.  What say you?  Define: “Normal.” 

When a touch of the sniffles or crabby throat tries to invade our home we attack it with prayer, a little echinacea and hot, peppermint tea with honey.  With the prayer we take our authority.  The echinacia we take with water and the tea we take fireside, reclining on the sofa.

Simple cures to be sure.  Not easily packaged.  Effective nonetheless.

• Fill a coffee cup half full of water and add a pinch of salt. DON’T SKIP THE SALT!
• Microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes
• Remove CAREFULLY!
• Wipe down the microwave with a damp cloth.
• Most of the gunk will easily wipe away and you can always repeat for the tough stuff.

 I don’t remember where I read this but it is hands down the best chemical free method I’ve found.

Oh, BTW the salt doesn’t actually help with the cleaning.  It’s to prevent the boiling hot water from blowing up in your face when you move it (very low on the probability scale but still - DON’T SKIP THE SALT!)

From now on the majority of my wardrobe will come from here.  How can you not buy from a company who so clearly understands - “LIFE IS GOOD”.  Another statement on one of their products:  “Not all who wander are lost.” - it occurs to me “Not all who wonder are lost.” either.  Sometimes our simple life seems to puzzle people.  It is certainly not a direct route to “success” … whatever that is.  It is a rambling, winding way full of questions and backtracking and smelling of the roses.  It is “The Road Not Taken” and “Walden” only in hesitant, baby steps.  But if the converse of Socrates is true then our examined life grows more and more worth living each day.

Courtesy of Kiddley - we have found that a Scavenger Hunt in a Bottle (Scottle) can be just as much fun as one outdoors and much warmer on a blustery day such as this one.  We filled our clear container with oat flour (not too full!) and these items:

• key
• screw
• paperclip
• cough drop
• smallest babuska doll
• golf ball (orange)
• packet of splenda
• sonic girl
• green rock
• gold rock
• plate of spaghetti
• potato head tongue
• rainbow mouse
• bow
• the # 8

Turning the bottle this way and that we finally spied them all.  A half an hour worth of fun which required no batteries, screens, button pushing or annoying beeps.

Part of my “between Little Gyms” routine is a stop at the gas station.  Six months ago I was so busy I had to fill up twice a week.  About three months ago things calmed down a bit and I could make it through the whole week… mostly.  Today I only needed half a tank.  I am glad to be conserving fuel without even trying but I am even more glad to no longer be driving around town on countless errands.  What a blessing to not be stressed and save gas too.