The Groove: Getting into It

Okay Farmgirls, I’m getting into it: the groove of new surroundings and new digs.  I also have a little disclaimer: I’m getting over the flu…so this might be a bit disjointed/uninspired.  I’m sorry, but please send me some healing thoughts to chase this headache and these body aches back to where they came from (not a nice place).

One of our last working days on the farm this season!  Preparing to take the plastic off of a high tunnel.  Ava is a daredevil on the ladder.

One of our last working days on the farm this season! Preparing to take the plastic off of a high tunnel. Ava is a daredevil on the ladder.

After a fairly stressful late September/early October (a bit about that in my most recent post), I have enjoyed over a week of relative relaxation.  Moving is hard and stressful, it is a universal truth.  Tensions run high, we eat terrible food, our bodies get tired from lifting and our minds fatigue after too much organizing and decision making.

When we first started the talk about moving from the yurt to the city, I had this pipe dream that we would do it slowly over several weeks.  We’d have the luxury of packing everything up properly–i.e. We would not be moving any miscellaneous boxes of “I don’t know what to do with this right now, but it fits in this box! tape it up: go! go! go!” To be fair, I describe these boxes in fewer words, they are labeled with descriptive words like “stuff from bookshelf” and “things on dresser” or the colorful, obviously fed up “box of (insert four letter word here)”  These boxes end up staring at us, menacingly, begging to be unpacked and organized…we stare back and think, “Why didn’t I deal with that when packing it up? Argh.”

Ava labeling boxes for me.  I think her handwriting is more legible than mine.

Ava labeling boxes for me. I think her handwriting is more legible than mine.

Anyhow, after we lost our good car, we decided to move everything ASAP.  We scheduled a moving truck for the next day (a little impulsive, I know).  We had packed up about four boxes at that point.  So, packing up the truck was a bit hectic, but luckily we had some good friends help and it actually ended up going pretty smoothly.  However, I ended up with the dreaded boxes of miscellaneous stuff.

Look at what the dog dragged in! I swept this up just four hours after I had already swept.  I guess you can take the dog out of the country but you can't take the country out of the dog...

Look at what the dog dragged in! I swept this up just four hours after I had already swept. I guess you can take the dog out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the dog…

I’ve taken it upon myself to unpack these boxes slowly and methodically.  At first I was overwhelmed by it all, but just kept reminding myself: one box at a time.  Some people unpack everything the day they move, others take years.  I fall in the middle.  It’s been a couple of weeks and all of the cardboard boxes are EMPTY.  Victory!  Now, there are still some plastic bins that need to be sorted, but they don’t feel as oppressive as cardboard boxes for some reason.

Taking time to eat some delicious chicken that we processed ourselves.  YUM!

Taking time to eat some delicious chicken that we processed ourselves. YUM!

Of course, just because the boxes are empty doesn’t mean that what has come out of them is organized, but it’s out and filling our space–making it feel like we actually live here.  For my sensibilities it works like this: unpack a few boxes, place items where we feel they should go, clean up a bit, live in the newness for a day and move items/furniture around until it feels right, repeat. I’ve been trying to keep the troops happy while unpacking, as well.  This means playing with Ava a lot, walking the dog, preparing good food and attempting to keep the common areas clean.  Ava “helps” unpack which adds on a lot of time, but I’m just going with it.  It’s cute, it keeps her happy, and I’m really in no rush.  It’s been working for the most part even if it is a bit slow.  The art isn’t up, there are some errant piles here and there(we have so many books!), the contents of cupboards continue to shift as we find the “right” places, and plenty of clothes remain unhung.  However, we are all remaining sane.  We are getting into the groove of city life and non-yurt life.  The first few days of taking walks here were nerve racking–the dog isn’t used to traffic and either are Ava and I, but it’s getting exponentially better. We’ve found some excellent walking routes and local spots to pick up a yummy treat.

A nice field nearby where Moki and Ava can both be free to run...as long as there aren't moose around.

A nice field nearby where Moki and Ava can both be free to run…as long as there aren’t moose around.

Oh, and having a dish washer is proving to be as amazing as I’d hoped and expected.

It has felt good to just go with the flow and release some of the stress I had been harboring.  What’s the point of being stressed out about unpacking?  I guess stressing out would mean that we’d be done by now, but I think it would have been at the expense of some levels of happiness and health.  Let’s see how long this laissez faire attitude sticks around.  I’m liking it for now.  Hopefully it sticks around longer than the flu.  Laissez faire attitude also means I’ve taken dreadfully few photos…sorry!  I will get some when we we are all moved in (might be next year! haha).

Ava the Yogi loves the carpeted stairs.

Ava the Yogi loves the carpeted stairs.

Thanks for reading, hope Halloween treats you all well and this finds you well and happy.

Until next time,

Sending peace and love from Alaska,

Alex, the Rural Farmgirl (living in the city)

  1. Maureen says:

    Hope you feel better soon! Lots of upheaval in a short period of time can certainly take the stuffing out of a person. At a recent meeting of my quilt group, they asked how I was so prolific in my quilting. I told them “I don’t cook (my husband is amazing in this department) and by the looks of my dust collection, I apparently don’t do that either”.
    If you don’t take time to do the things that sustain you, you become no good to anyone. It’s just something I’ve learned the hard way over the years. When asked what I plan to do with my weekends, the answer is usually “Hide out and hang out with my sewing machine”. Gets me through the work week!

    Maureen

    PS I eradicated the dust collection on the main level of the house, but it’s alive and well upstairs!

  2. Barb says:

    Having moved 12 times in 37 years, I know what you mean about stress…just going with what feels right at the time is the way to do it! Whatever makes you feel ‘home’ is the right way….just getting done with the flu myself…tons of positive healing energies your way…(you’re stronger than me…moving to a city at this point in my life would kill me off. 37 years in the country, I’m not sure I could do it)

  3. Deb Bosworth says:

    Oh Alex, I sure hope you are on the mend. The flu is not fun at all and especially on the heels of a move. What is it with ” stuff” anyway? It breeds like rabbits… I bet we spend an hour a day purging papers, recycling containers, old household items. Somehow we just seem to be skimming the surface all the time. Not to worry! You’ll get there… little by little.. I do think once you share your home with children it’s much harder to maintain ” clear space” for very long. Sometimes I can accept it and other times I want to call that company called ” Got Junk” and let em loose in my basement while I’m out for a pedicure!
    Best to your little family in your new ” digs”.
    Hugs!
    Deb ( the Beach Farmgirl )

  4. Deb Bosworth says:

    PS. Ava just gets cuter and cuter with each posting! 🙂

  5. Krista says:

    Sorry to hear about you sickness. I hope you feel better real soon. I’ll be sending healthy vibes your way! I couldn’t agree with you more on how much stress moving causes. I have moved 3 times in the last 4 years and strictly lived out of our cardboard boxes. It wasn’t until we finally bought our house that I began to unpack them. I will even admit that we have been here 2 years now and still have about 5 boxes that remain unpacked. All of which are labeled “stuff”. Thank goodness there is not rule for how quickly those boxes need to be emptied. Hope all is well for your family and you will feel back on track in no time.

  6. Denise Ross says:

    Going with the flow is the best way to go. Be kind to yourself Alex
    Hugs from Australia x

  7. Joy Pascarella says:

    We are glad you are over the hump, with the actual move and starting to mend with the flu. It’s going to be interesting to see what your life is going to be like. Keep up the good work!

  8. Dori Troutman says:

    Alex,

    When we moved to Tennessee and put our stuff in storage for the two years we built our house, I just yearned for my things and could hardly wait to get moved in and everything in it’s place. When we finally got the house finished and all of our stuff out of storage, found that it took me a really long time (like a year) to actually get things unpacked and in place. It was a much harder job than I thought it would be. Things were unpacked from boxes, but I just never could quickly get them in their place. A lot of things never did work in the new house and I took them to goodwill! 🙂 So take your time. It’s a process that requires a lot of mental energy and frankly that is far more exhausting than the physical. So give yourself a break to just breathe and enjoy! Big hugs… – Dori –

  9. Diana Henretty says:

    Rest, rest, rest.
    And remember that old poem….

    “Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow,
    For babies grow up, we’ve learned to our sorrow,
    So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep,
    Im rocking my babies and babies don’t keep”.

    You have the rest of your lives to get settled in, enjoy your moments now!!
    Hugs from the Ozarks, Diana, Noel, Mo

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