I’ve been thinking a lot about the word simple. I want to live a more simple life. But when I really think about it, simple might mean something totally different to me than it does to others. By simplifying I want to do things more like those before me did. But this will have to be a balancing act as others in the family might not want to go as far as I would like to! As I was snapping beans today for lunch I was thinking about this and I realized that simplifying for me certainly doesn’t mean making things simple or easy. I could have easily opened up a can of green beans, dumped them in a bowl, stuck them in the microwave and served them. Simple. Instead, I walked out to the garden, picked the beans, snapped them, washed them, put them on the stove and steamed them with a little bit of water, butter and pepper and then put them on the table. Definitely not simple. But, they tasted so delicious. Drew commented on how good the beans were. And I know exactly what was in them and where they came from. After all, I did all the work to get them on the table. Well, almost all the work. Joe tilled up the garden for me this spring. Then I planted the seeds, weeded (sometimes) the garden, kept an eye on them as they grew, picked them, etc., etc. And this wasn’t the first time. I have picked beans several times and have put several quarts in the freezer for winter. That is what simple means to me. The simple act of gardening is so very fulfilling. Lots of work, yes, but so fulfilling knowing where your food is coming from and filling your larder for winter. And it’s what my grandmother did to feed her family. And her mother before her. And what makes the most sense to me.
Not only did we have fresh green beans from the garden for lunch, we had leftover jalapeno popper chicken using jalapenos from the garden, along with cherry tomatoes from the garden, pickles made from last year’s cucumbers from the garden made earlier using Grandma’s recipe and cucumbers and onions using cucumbers from the garden. A very simple meal but oh so fresh and yummy.
Simple. For the past two years I have not had a clothesline. We had a clothesline for years and had struggled with it for years. It was made of metal poles and no matter what we did, we could never keep it so the lines were taught. They would constantly sag. Still usable but not always easy to use. Then Drew drove through it one day with the Mule and took out the lines. I asked Joe if we could get it put back together as I really miss my clothesline. I was thinking we were going to piece the original line back together and it would take a little part of a day and I’d have a usable clothesline again. He had another idea.
Yesterday morning he started digging a couple of holes. Then he sent me to Dad’s to borrow the posthole digger. So I gathered up the garbage, ran it to town to the recycling center, dropped off a dozen eggs to an older friend and past coworker who lives in town and then to Dad’s before heading home. When I got there Dad had me come out back because they had company he knew I would want to see. My Uncle Jerry and Cousin Todd had stopped by for a visit! I was more than glad to spend a few minutes chatting as I never pass up a chance to visit with them. Such a simple thing, spending a few minutes on a Saturday morning visiting with loved ones. Then home with the posthole digger. The holes got dug and next come the poles. We used two poles that were originally part of the old building we tore down last year. To that Joe connected the boards to hold the lines. Again using wood from the old building. After getting the poles all put together, he sanded everything down and painted them. This took all day. Definitely not what I had in mind. But, recycling parts of the old building – that I love! That old building is all over our property now! We are definitely putting the salvaged lumber to use!
Then the next morning we sunk the poles. I added dirt while Joe tamped, and tamped and tamped some more. It took most of the morning to get those two clothesline poles in the ground and secure. Now to let them sit for a few days and really get set. Next we’ll add the hardware and the lines. And I will have a clothesline that should last for ages! We will have to purchase the bolts to hold the lines but everything else will be salvaged. Definitely not a simple project. And if we had done it the way I was thinking it would have been a pretty simple project but it would have been something I would have fought constantly. So, I think Joe is starting to look at things a little differently too. He’s starting to think the same way. No more doing something quickly and easily just to get it done. We’re going to take our time, do it right and have something that will last.
Which brings me back to simple. I am so excited to have a working clothesline again. There’s nothing better than bedding that has been line dried. Oh that smell! And I just enjoy hanging out the laundry. And taking it off the line and folding it as I go. Such a simple thing. Does it save time? Absolutely not. Throwing wet laundry from the washing machine to the dryer and pushing a button to start the drying process. Simple. Carrying wet laundry out to the line, hanging each and every piece up, waiting for it to dry, taking each and every piece off the line, folding it all, carrying it in. Definitely not saving time. But for me, it’s a simple and fulfilling process. And, it saves on electricity and saves on wear and tear on the dryer. For me, this is simplifying. Hanging clothes on the line takes me back to my grandma. I’m not willing to get rid of the washing machine yet, and probably never will. And I can’t see myself out hanging up laundry in the dead of winter when it’s freezing cold and blowing snow. But I always think of all the women before me who hung out their laundry because they had to. Because they didn’t know anything else. You can really slow down and think when you’re outside hanging clothes on the line. It’s another fulfilling home keeping chore. For me, another way to add simple to my days. And going for a walk down to the corn patch is a nice way to end a day of hard work and simple living!
We have been camping for years. At least 25 I would say. Our camping friends have changed throughout the years. Our campers have changed throughout the years. But still we camp. We got our first camper after Joe roofed a house for a friend. In payment, they gave him a camper. An old, dilapidated little camper actually. All the water lines were ruined and the refrigerator didn’t work. It was pretty much falling apart. But, we were young and thought we had hit the mother load! And we had so much fun in that little falling apart camper. We had friends who also had a little old camper, although it was in much better shape than ours, and we spent the weekends at one campground or another with them and their daughters. Their two girls and our two kids were so close in age and had so much fun together. They were from a neighboring community and the kids would never had gotten to be friends if we hadn’t spent so much time camping together.
That’s why we camp. We have made friends throughout the years with people we probably would have known as acquaintances but that would be it. Instead, when you spend weekends camping together you really get to know each other. In a whole different way! We have developed lifelong connections with these people and our kids have developed connections with others that they wouldn’t have in any other way.
It’s different now that we only have one little to take along. And times have changed too. At one time there would no less than four kids and usually many more and those kids would take off in a “pack” and hit the playground or go hiking or ride their bikes all over the campground. They had to check in so we knew they were okay but otherwise were free to roam. They would inevitably make new friends from around the campground. Friends they probably would never see again but they still touched each other’s lives for a day or two. They also spent most nights in a tent and not in the camper. They had way more fun together in the tent away from parents! Camping was a whole different world for them and they loved it. Even as they got older they would want to come with us and camp.
Today is not quite the same. All of our camping friends are our age and so their kids are either teenagers or are gone and so Drew doesn’t get the same experience as our older kids did. And times have changed. You don’t just let kids roam today and check in once in awhile. It Drew wants to play at the playground or ride his bike, an adult goes along. There is no letting him take off on his own and explore. But he still makes new friends. The last time we camped he met the little girl who was staying next door with her grandparents. They would ride their bikes and play with chalk and had a great time. Over the weekend we visited my sister who was camping and Drew spent the evening playing on the play equipment set up where we could sit and watch. He loved playing with a group of kids he’d never met before. Kids don’t get to do that much anymore. We have to be too much on guard at all times to let them make friends with strangers.
I finished this little cross stitch yesterday. I condensed the pattern to fit into this frame I already had. Love grows best in little houses. After almost 27 years in this little house I like to think this is true. We’ve looked at different houses over the years but never found anything we thought would be the perfect fit for us. We’re not that picky – at least not where the house is concerned. Our pickiness is directed more towards location. We have to live in the country. In my younger years, I wanted someplace that was far far away – gravel road, long drive, no neighbors. Now that I’m older, I can appreciate the fact that we live along the highway. We can always get to town, no matter the weather. And very little gravel. You have to turn onto the gravel to get to our driveway but that is all. I would like to not even have that at this point. Gravel dust is not fun when it’s dry out. And neighbors are nice to have. We have great neighbors. They aren’t that close but it’s nice to know they are there!
This time we found sandstone bluffs. It was so much fun climbing up and down the bluffs – sometimes between them! There was graffiti all over them – it doesn’t take much carve a name into sandstone. It amazes me that we had never heard about this park. It’s not too far from home. We even stopped for a potty break and mom asked directions and the lady at the counter had never heard of Wildcat Den – and it was just around the corner from the convenience store! I love finding places like this – so much better than anything commercialized.
The park had this beautiful, easy to walk trail. We walked and walked until we found the end and then back to the truck. So much to see, everything was so green and pretty. I hope to go back this fall when the leaves are changing and the air is crisp and cool. I bet it would be breathtaking!
Two full days of hiking, up and down and all around. Hopefully this will keep this little guy content for awhile until our next “adventure”!
