This was my daughter’s first mise en place. She took a culinary art class this semester and it is really bringing her out of her shell. She is preparing for her final assignment and is far more confident and comfortable in the kitchen (and in life) than she was when this course began. I am so thankful for the class experiences like these that my children have had online, even if it meant that I had to be a sous chef. After all, I did learn an awful lot about cooking by being one of my mother’s assistants.
So we had the house exterior painted, the ac unit replaced with a heat pump, changed out lighting fixtures, sinks, faucets and linen closet shelves, and had the cabinetry repaired. The time was quickly approaching when we’d be getting interior painting, flooring and appliances switched out and there was no way I wanted to balance getting those things done while I tried to keep myself and my kids away from any of that new stuff. My original idea was moving into an apartment near Vancouver so that the kids could complete their school year while we finished the house.
The only problem was that we could not find anyone to rent an apartment to us. I take that back. We could not even get our calls or emails returned to look at a place, which I found strange. Then I had an idea that since my husband was working in the Seattle area and we would eventually move there, he could find us an apartment up there while we completed the house, he’d send me photos when he found something for our family and we’d get the place we liked the most.
I found a wonderful chandelier for the dining room. It was everything I thought I needed. It had beautiful bronze scrollwork and alabaster and provided all of the warmth and light I thought I could ever need. As pretty as it was, it was too big and thus wrong for the room. And on top of all of that one of the lights did not work so I had to return it. After I had it installed. I let that get on my nerves for a few weeks while I worked on other things around the house. The replacement was less exciting, but far more functional and harmonious.
Some people and situations in my life have been the same way. As wonderful, kind, dazzling, amazing as they were (and most still are), they did not fit the space of my life and whether because of my choices, theirs, both or neither, they are no longer a part of my everyday existence. Every now and then I wonder why and then I remember that they simply did not fit the area of my life or that our time as friends or whatever had come to an end.
My husband accepted a position in the Seattle area, but he found a way to commute home most weekends. I rearranged the younger kids’ evening routines so they could adjust more easily to the changes. I also put some trips to Seattle on the calendar so they could get more familiar with the area. And I could get more familiar with the area, too. Our house had to get specialty paint to ensure that it properly dried, but the painters did a beautiful job. I got all of the too old fixtures switched out including the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that politely, yet loudly, inform you of a fire or elevated carbon monoxide. The heat pump got installed without incident it got a neat new thermostat that could be controlled via cell phone or Amazon device. On one hand, it is so great to get these things fixed up, but it is a little sad knowing that it is mostly in preparation for the next owners of the house. I have been praying for them and I am thankful for the time we have had.
TJs Things 