Tripping Over Typeset

This is one of my favorite posts as we link up with Emily Freeman at the end of each month and share what we learned.  This can be silly, sacred or just plain informational.  If you’d like to join us, click here.

First off May was a big crazy whirlwind as Dave and I closed on our first home purchase and moved.  We are now readjusting to living 6 miles out in the country away from church, work, baseball, grocery store and all that, before, was just a hop, skip and a jump away.  We love the quiet, privacy and solitude and wouldn’t trade it for the simple convenience of being close to amenities.

After not having a dishwasher for 1 1/2 weeks, Dave and Jon installed it this last weekend.  Emily, our teen daughter said, “I have severely underappreciated the dishwasher.”  And that about sums up about how we all feel about that!  It’s good to have it back!

One item we are still working on is internet.  It seems the hardline cable company just hasn’t made its way out here to us and our need for the internet is real.  They are working on it… as much as companies say that… so we’ll see where it all goes.

In the meantime, I’m writing while offline, then when connected, downloading everything and working it all that way.  I still have access on my phone but the whole computer internet hook-up is quite a different story.

I miss my Netflix and Fixer Upper episodes but besides that we are managing and enjoying the quiet.

A lot of what I accomplished in May is wrapped up in moving, packing and cleaning.  So here’s some tips I learned:

Moving while friends move is a good thing –

• Having friends who move right before you is a great way to obtain moving boxes and packing material.  Then having other friends move after you is a wonderful way of getting rid of those empty boxes, packing paper and bubble wrap.  Thank you to all my friends who contributed to this tip.

Palmolive dish soap with OxyClean is an amazing cleaning product –

• One of my good friends discovered this while helping me clean my stove hood in my old place.  She poured some on and rubbed lightly with SOS pads.  The grease grim and build up came off with no problem.  I loved the ease of this so well I tried it on other grimy stuff like build up on ceiling fan blades.  Just a little dab of the soap with a wet paper towel and it all came off.  I also had duct tape residue on the carpet at the new house.  I diluted the soap with some hot water in a spray bottle. Sprayed it on the residue, rubbed it with an old rag and it came right up.  Amazing stuff.  It’s my new go-to.

All piano keys are individually numbered –

• While moving our piano, a friend who knows pianos took ours apart to lighten the weight.  (I wouldn’t recommend this if you don’t know what you are doing but this guy is awesome so he took it apart and we moved it in pieces.) I was a little shocked when my piano arrived at my new house in pieces but this was a great opportunity to clean the inside.  The keys are stamped underneath with their ordered number.  When putting them back, you just line them up and return them to their slots.  It’s pretty amazing.

The past owners of our new home were amazing gardeners –

• I have peonies in my yard! This might not seem very significant to you but peonies always remind me of my mother.  I planted some at my old house but last year they rotted away from too much wet soil. As we are living in our new house, we are watching flowers and plants pop up around the yard and we love seeing all the perennials and plants come along.

Pampering is needed –

• My hands and feet will need a major spa day after all this ripping open boxes and cleaning is done.  All this moving, unpacking and hands in cleaning water does a real doozy on your nails and skin.  A good pampering is in order when this job is complete.

Strange Brew is a cultural phenomena –

• I have been married to a Canadian, eh, for like almost 22 years, eh… and I had never seen the movie Strange Brew.  It’s hard to imagine, eh, that this wasn’t some prerequisite in the prenuptial, eh… but it wasn’t and eh… he loved me anyway.  But now, eh… I’ve seen it, eh… and there’s eh… no going back, eh. It’s like quite the movie, eh, and you like have to be a hoser, eh… not to like it, eh.  (Yep, that’s about it.)  I love my Canadian friends and those who love Strange Brew.  You’re a special kind of people.

That about wraps up my month.  I hope you had an incredible month with some good lessons and new things learned.  We would love to hear what you’ve been up to or what you’ve taken in this last month.  So go ahead, share with us!

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