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| visitor to our dining room ~ 2.2.12 |
I took this photo a couple of days ago... we had an invasion of ants in our kitchen! There could have been several reasons for the "ant army" attacking us... JPE believed they were retaliating because we had taken away their access to the hummingbird feeders! I thought they came inside to get out of the cold, damp, evening weather.
BUT, I'm getting sidetracked!
After hosing the ants off the trash can & washing down the patio, I came inside & promptly left for an afternoon work meeting. Upon my return, I was all prepared to wipe down the trash can dry when I noticed a touch of brown. Leaning close to the bath towel {used to sop up the water in front of the sliding door}, I found this was NOT MUD, but a teeny, tiny snail. As soon as the dining room light flipped on, that poor little snail wanted out... out... out... of the house.
Quick on the draw, I grabbed my camera, snapping a couple of pictures before he pulled his shell over him for protection. If you've read this blog for a while, you may remember I am NOT GOOD at taking pictures INDOORS, of CHILDREN or ANIMALS & now I can add, SNAILS. This little guy is blurry... but adorable none-the-less! Instead of flicking him outside with a "snap of the towel" {which I would do IF this was a potato bug}, I carefully removed him from the towel, set him on the smiling stone, and off he went.
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| SMILING STONE |
I thought Harriet Beecher Stowe's quote, provided a "thought-provoking" statement... this idea is something JPE & I are working on!
Living simply... adopting a more European philosophy of life... buying fewer things & hanging onto them.
It's working ~ sort of ~ especially if you look in my closet... I have three pants I can wear for work, two pairs of work shoes, two casual shoes, some tops {90% are solid colors}, a dark brown purse & red purse {which I no longer like}... and a smattering of long-sleeve tshirts & camis for layering under sweaters, blouses, & jackets. I'm working on "purging the rest of the items" that haven't touched my skin in the last 6 months. AND, I'll see what I really miss, before I decide to go shopping!
As for our household.... we've noticed we have more recycling than trash... although we ripped out our raised beds {in the garden area}, we still compost our vegie scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells etc & use this richness to feed our roses! Hopefully, we'll see more blooms than ever this year.
BUT, I have ONE little confession... we bought a new TV! yep, a flat screen... which is very unusual {we don't watch TV ~ in fact, the last time I turned on the TV, was January 11th & JPE was out of town}... BUT, JPE wanted to be able to stream programs ~ which is something our older TV cannot do! so, we are looking for a new home for our slightly used TV {which we've found that NO ONE wants because it is the old kind... big, hunky, but 12 years "young"}... any takers???
You see - some days, I have NO idea which direction my blog posts will end! AMAZING what energy a picture of a snail + a quote has!!! My mind works in mysterious ways! a bit quirky but that's okay!
As for JPE & I ~ we'll continue to work on living SIMPLY... how about you? how have you SIMPLIFIED your life?
The "house thing" was one of the first things I noticed when I moved to the US. In Germany, most people live in flats/apartments that they either rent of own. Then there are the lucky home owners who indeed most times live in their house for their entire life. Which also shows that Germans aren't quite as flexible as people here in the US, at least when it comes to moving. The Geek and I are currently house hunting - for the very first time in our life, and we actually as looking for a house where we can grow old and cranky in.
ReplyDeleteAbout living simply - well, we own only one car, a Toyota Corolla, which is just right for us. The Geek can walk to work since it is so close. We wanted a car that is energy efficient, and so far we have been very happy with it (we can make 44 mpg!). We conserve water whenever possible, I haven't bought new clothes in quite a while, our TV is off most times (but not our computers...), we compost, try to be nifty... all those reasonable things. We grew up with it, and I think it's just "in our bones" :-)
I love your little snail - and I love even more that you didn't throw him out (how do you know it's a he?).
ha - you caught me! I googled this and found out they can be either male or female.
DeleteI wish you luck on house hunting. When I was divorced in 1998, I bought the condo JPE & I are living in now. He sold his condo & we paid mine off... fortunately ours backs up to a city owned greenbelt that is ungroomed (meaning loads of trees, grasses & a tiny stream that fills up with a hard rain). We have a gate that opens into the greenbelt & have had various gardens, rosebeds & plants growing in the city space). I lucked out buying this condo because I learned the greenbelt ones are coveted... Condo living suits us fine because we don't have much upkeep - live to be able to button up the place & take off on our travels when time allows. Yep - will be here until we can't climb up & down our staircase (story condo)...
unfortunately we have two cars but they are compact & get great mileage (Honda Civic & Mazda)... until we retire I would imagine we'll need two cars. I'd love to be able to walk to work - or use public transportation. Still have to buy work clothes... but I wash often so I don't have to have much. We are jeans, tshirts, sweaters kind of people on the weekend... we do LOVE our computers though. We don't conserve in that area. AND, I love to spend money on crafting supplies... so I do have a hard time conserving when it comes to paper, pens, glue, paints etc. Is the Geek German also? does your daughter speak any German? will they offer it at her high school (I think I remember her being in 7th grade this year? or is she already 8th grade)?
thanks for stopping by...
As you know me I'm kind of different then you. I don't know how to live simply as you probably can tell. I love clothes, purses and new things. I guess i've been told i'm like our dad! Well, happy you finally got a tv because we just bought new trailor yesterday.Is that a way to say I recycled because our old trailor is going to Australia so the miners over there have a place to live. Kind of like recycling.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo for that quote. I would have loved to stay in the same house all my life, and I'm sure my kids feel the same!
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