I am sitting in my kitchen with the heat cranked (the ground was covered in frost this am. Pickles was scared of it HAHA!), on the laptop, just finishing my latte (gingerbread with some cinnamon thanks) thinking about how much I love my little house. Really. I know that there are lots of folks out there who can't understand how three of us (and two terriers of fury) can share such a small space and not kill each other. Hey, sometimes I agree wholeheartedly (and would indeed LOVE just one more toilet in the house) but you know, I am gonna have to say the smaller life suits me just fine. Less house to clean, less house to heat, less space to fill. This is not to say I don't have lots of crap, because oh boy I do, but if I had a bigger place, the possibilities of crap would be overwhelming to say the least.
I think a smaller footprint is what works for us. Its not to say when we are driving out in the burbs I don't sometimes look at the McMansions and think Ï wonder what it would be like to live in a house where I couldn't instantly know where Chris or Jake is? Or have a room that no one else ever goes in, or you know 2 toilets but I digress.. I do wonder this. Then I realise we are driving less (in our little KIA Rio) as we are closer to everything. We are consuming less space, conserving in our small ways. Paying someone to come collect our recycling cut down on our garbage by 75%. Most weeks we have one bag. We have fluorescent bulbs in our fixtures, and use Bio degradable cleaners. I know its not a whole lot but it makes me feel like I am doing a tiny bit.
Well enough proselytising, here's some socks I finished last night. They are super snuggly, as the spiral rib around the ankle is wonderful for chasing away the chill that is Fall around here. I could actually hear the leaves falling off our next door neighbours tree this am. It was like rain.
Colinette Cadenza in Florentina. I think I used a 2.5 mm needle but will have to check on it. Pattern is my own but I think it will be available soon.. (all part of my Master Plan mwaaaa haaaaa!) just keep your eyes on this space.
I have rediscovered my love of cooking this last week. Hearty things and tasty treats. I can't believe I lived without a Kitchen Aid for so long! I made some yummy pumpkin muffins with Ghiradelli chocolate chips, a fabtastic veggie soup, some bitchin' (my Dad loves bitchin' meatloaf) mealoaf and various other yums. Something about the oven being on in the middle of the day is comforting yes? Whats your favorite thing to cook when it gets chilly?
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Well, as it gets cold out my thoughts turn to soups. I made a wonderful split pea soup on Sunday and we had that and a loaf of fresh bread (gotta love the breadmaker!).
Other things I like to make? Chili, lasagne, spaghetti and stew. Anything hearty and and thick that you feel like you could just curl up with on a cold day, or is my comfort food.
Bonus points: If you have a decent sized freezer, even a medium apartment chest freezer, you can freeze into portions and reheat as needed. Coming home after a long cold day at work and don't feel up to cooking? Just pull it out and warm it up. We do this a LOT with spaghetti and lasagne because even though it's awesome we can't eat ALL that in one or even two meals.
I'm all for a smaller footprint. I live in a smallish condo with two other people - we've got about 1100 square feet and three cats. I take transit to work, and bring my lunch in tupperware. The batteries are rechargeable, my knitting lamp has a fluorescent in it, and I switched to the digital version of the New York Times so I could feel like I was getting full print edition but minus the paper, ink, and travel time from Seattle.
It's working. Or at least, I hope it is.
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