Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Discovering what's important...

Well, I'm back in the kitchen!  Sorry it has been so long.  I ended up being in Louisiana for a month then enjoyed family that came to visit for a couple of weeks.  After a week of cleaning my house after and packing a suitcase, my honey and I went on a trip to explore the Carolinas to celebrate our 30th anniversary.  It was a great trip, but it will be good to be home for awhile.

I tried to blog last week and was unsuccessful - my post wouldn't save and I couldn't download pictures.  This week I can post but still can't download pictures.  That will have to be remedied! I have great pictures from our trip and it's really hard to have a section on projects without pictures. I'm just sayin'...

This last week was interesting as I had to quickly pack what I felt was important; not once, but twice, because of possible evacuations due to wild fires in our area.  I now know that I have to make a list of what items to grab and pack from each room and closet and put the list in our bug out notebook

Some of the items I packed were:  our study Bibles (they contain years of notes), phone chargers, my grandmother's teapot, my dad's cowboy boots, family pictures (boy, we have a lot of them!), photo albums, our daughter's artwork, special gifts from my hubby and our children, my recipe box and notebooks, Christmas ornaments with unique meaning to our family, our daughters' bridal gowns, our computer, a bag for the dogs, some travel momentos and of course, some clothes, accessories, shoes and a getting ready bag.  I had a clarifying moment when standing in my closet - I don't like most of my clothes! They just aren't my style...  I guess I better figure out what my style is so I don't waste any more clothing money!

I also went around the house and garage, opened doors and drawers and took lots of pictures of items that would need to be replaced if our house burned down.  I figured it would be easier when making an insurance claim if they could see what we had.  Hopefully, we will never need those pictures!

The whole experience made me take a good look at what material possessions are important to us. The first time I packed, I also grabbed things that I wouldn't want to replace simply because I don't like shopping. Yeah, I know...poor reasoning.  The second time I just asked myself, "Is this something that can't be replaced or is it a gift that meant a lot when it was given to us by someone we love?"  I also thought about what things would be important to our kids and grandkids when my honey and I are finished with our work here on earth.  And I do know that someday, none of it will be important. But, for now...

Tip:  laundry baskets and reusable shopping bags are great for quick packing and hauling to the car.


Today's Recipe - Homemade Lemonade
This recipe came from my mom and is always a hit on a hot summer day.  Because of the sugar content, this is a special occasion beverage.

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup lemon juice
fresh water

Mix the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and water.  Makes one gallon of lemonade.