Having three less kids living at home and living in a smaller house with less stuff has really impacted my daily life. Right away, I noticed how much fewer dishes there were to wash at meals. Sometimes, I only need to run the dishwasher once a day. (I rejoice to report that despite my fears, the dishwasher in our teacher housing is very effective.)
It took me longer to recognize that I was making far too much food at meals, and even longer to adjust. For the first 2-3 weeks, we were mostly eating leftovers at meals. I’ve finally been successful at dialing down the portions so that there are just enough leftovers for lunch the next day, but no more than that. …well…usually…
I made a pot roast this last week that turned out just the way I always imagine pot roast should taste (but rarely does, and never has before when I was the cook.) The recipe I was using called for a dry onion soup mix, which I did not have, so I googled around the internet and then invented my own seasoning mix and ce magnific! I couldn’t find my dried minced onions, so didn’t put any in, and honestly, as much as I love onions, they would have overpowered the flavor. Lucky me that I couldn’t find them! Here is my new delicious recipe for pot roast.
Into the crock pot on low for 8 hours went
2 lbs of beef chuck roast
5 Tablespoons Knorr beef bouillon granules
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 (15 oz) can beef broth
Now I discover that I can do all the laundry for the family in one day per week and get it folded and put away as well. I know that I used to do one or two full loads of laundry every day except Sunday, just to maintain a precarious balance of not-too-many piles of dirty laundry. I do think the dry air here has reduced how often I need to wash towels, and so that is part of the reduction as well. Also, hanging my towels to dry in the sun means I don’t have to bleach them to keep them fresh!
So now my housekeeping chores are greatly reduced, and I’m not homeschooling children or teaching piano. What to do with myself? I gave away most of my fabric and crafting things before the move, but I had several aprons cut out from last Christmas (or the one before…) which I did keep, so I have been sewing those. My foster son, Hunter, is getting married in October, so I am planning a quilt for him. (I better get cracking– a month is not that much time.) Also I promised Maddy (Ben’s niece) that I would sew a blessing dress out of the lace left over from her wedding dress for her baby due in November.
I began substitute teaching for the elementary and high school last week. I subbed 2 days last week and 2 days this week, and enjoyed it a lot. When I had down time, I read Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. I‘ve begun Anne of the Island, and, at this rate, I’ll finish the whole series soon. Haha.
The young women I am working with are just like young women everywhere, but their home lives vary a lot. Some of my girls live in a hogan with no running water and only an extension cord for electricity. Some have a cell phone and some do not. Some herd sheep in the canyon after school. Most have only one parent or grandparent in their home.
The car Ben used for driving to work broke down right before we moved. We were thinking that we could get along with just one car here, but it turns out that we really should have 4 wheel drive because of all the sandy roads on the reservation. Also, Ben will have to drive 6 hours to Bluffdale (southern tip of Salt Lake City) for guard drill weekends. Since all the big grocery stores are also 2.5 hours away or further, having a car that gets high gas mileage is important. So this week we bought a car. The car is a Honda CRV, and it is so shiny and nice that I am afraid of driving it.
The weather here is so pleasant, and the outdoors is beautiful- though the ground is overrun with sharp sticker weeds called goat-head stickers or puncture vine. They are vicious! None of us dare go outside barefoot. We also learned within 5 minutes of moving in to take our shoes off at the door. Otherwise, the stickers get tracked in and stick in the carpet, and you find them later with your bare foot. I don’t really miss grass as much as I expected to, but I do miss trees. There is something so restful to the eyes in looking at green broadleaf trees. In the end of Anne of Avonlea, someone asks Anne if she really is going away to college.
“Yes, I’m going,” said Anne. “I’m very glad with my head and very sorry with my heart.”
I know just what she meant.
Love and Hugs,
GlowWorm
P.S. I learned a new welsh word this week: cwtch
It is pronounced /kuch/ (rhymes with butch) and it means a hug, but not just any hug, the kind of hug that reminds you of the safety of your childhood. When I think of you, I remember your hugs and kind eyes, and it makes me happy and homesick all at once.
Marvelous Pigs in Satin 
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