Friday, August 20, 2010

Checking In

Just a quick note to let you know that we are arrived and well in Norway. We do not yet have internet connection at the house, so we have not been able get online yet. I'm posting this from a local computer+for\+hire site, and having fun working with this different keyboard that accomodates the extra characters in the Norwegian alphabet. The best part is that the @ symbol is tricky to get to++a nice challenge to go online!

We are working out the details of everyday living, but things are coming together. We are blessed with wonderful neighbors who have been very helpful and friendly. I have been over to one house with things like letters in the mail that need to be translated (turns out it was a letter from the electric company with instructions on how to report our usage, important to figure out!). I also made the rounds looking to borrow some boots for Young Teen to take on a campout with her new class. We managed to find some about the right size, and also had help with a ride up to the campsite. The kids in the neighborhood gather in the evenings at a play area by our \house, so we have met many of the parents there as well.

Many more notes and photos later, when we get online at home, but for now we are finding our way!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Stuff, Stuff, and more Stuff



This is it, most of our stuff all crammed into a few rooms in our home in order to make space for our renters. What a humbling experience to see it all stacked up like this. My suitcase holds the basics I will need for clothing for the next eleven months, and we are shipping a few boxes with winter jackets and boots, sleeping bags, and some personal items. So, I ask myself, what is the point of all the rest of this? Why do I hang on to so many "things?" If I'm honest, I will confess that the times when I am able to clear out and part with some of my stuff, I feel incredibly relieved. Literally, a weight has been lifted from my life! So, why don't I do that more often, and do a deeper cleaning out of the stuff in my life? Probably for a variety of reasons: time and energy, too much sentimental attachment, unrealistic expectations that I will "use" things in the future (my own crafty inclinations often get the in way here--"gee, I could make x, y, or z with this!"). 

Once again, I find myself resolving to do better. Not all of this stuff will find a place in this house when we get back again! It's time to set it free, get it out there and let someone else discover it to be just the thing they were looking for.