so much … stuff

We just finished our self imposed challenge to get rid of 100 things in 100 days.  A highlight was gifting on Buy Nothing a bike I’d been meaning to sell for over two years.  Jack also got rid of some soccer cleats he’d had at work for well over a year, having intended to sell them on eBay.  Most items went to Goodwill, including many kids’ books which had come from there in the first place.  I was surprised by how much the small gesture of listing a discarded item was just enough of a reward to be motivating.  We have a long way to go to make our house and lives more manageable.

This weekend D and I are going to two birthday parties, for which we are bringing gifts.  I think I managed to think of good ideas for the brithday boy and girl, but I certainly appreciate that the vast majortiy of kids’ parties we are invited to request us to not bring gifts.  It is better for everyone.

Perhaps I have a warped image of myself, but I really don’t think I’m particularly un-generous.  Giving meaningful gifts or ones where I’m confident that I have a great idea is really fun and rewarding.  Unfortunately most gift-giving occaisions are just not like that.

On the recent occaision of D’s fourth birthday, we limited the grandparents to only giving one gift.  They mostly stayed the course and he got very nice things: one hand made ukelele case, a game he’s played several times already, an easel he’ll use for years and “experience” gifts that make memories instead of clutter.  

Looking around our house, there are so many things Jack and I have given each other as gifts.  Some are great, but they can’t all be.  As we embark on our second 100 things in 100 days challenge, giving Jack some tangible gift for Father’s days just seems perverse.

In a few months we’ll have been in our house for two years, with more space than we’ve ever had before.  We stayed at our Boston apartment for three years, followed by a major possessions purge when we only kept things that we mailed back to Seattle.  In Seattle we spent about  two years in two different apartments on the same floor of the same building.  Prior to this, moving has been the primary method of controlling the volume of our possessions, so we really need to stay on top of it so that we don’t drown in stuff in the decades we hope to spend here in our house.

tangy rhubarb lentil soup

While searching for a non-dessert rhubarb recipe, we stumbled on this recipe on Epicurious last spring.  We’ve made it on multiple occaisions, so it qualifies to be preserved here on the blog.   As you might be able to tell from the few recipes we’ve posted, we make a lot of soups.  In the last couple years we got a soup thermos, which makes soup, along with some tasty bread, a great option even for hiking lunches or other picnics.

• 3 rainbow chard leaves
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ginger (?)
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 3/4 lb. rhubarb (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 cup French green lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 Tbs packed brown sugar; more to taste
• 6 Tbs whole milk greek yogurt
• 3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
• Kosher salt

1. Coarsely chop chard leaves and slice stems 1/2 inch thick and keep the leaves and stems separate.  Dice the onion.  Chop up the rhubarb.
2. Heat the oil in a 4 to 5 quart heavy duty pot over med-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, cumin and coriander seeds, stir to coat, and then cook until the mustard seeds begin to pop, about 1 min.
3. Turn the heat down to med low and stir in the ginger, garlic, turmeric, and cardomom. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 min.
4. Add the chard stems and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 min.
5. Add the rhubarb, lentils, brown sugar, 2 tsp salt and 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Add the chard leaves. Continue to simmer until the lentils are tender but not falling apart, about 5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and brown sugar.
7. Immersion blend as desired.  Serve topped with a dollop of greek yogurt and the cilantro.

play ball

Jack’s been playing baseball for 29 of the past 30 years, in preparation for his new role as a….. T-BALL COACH.

It’s been fun for all of us.  There’s one pratice and one game a week.  The kids each swing away until they hit the ball and then they run one base per batter until the last kid hits and gets to run all the way around the bases.  We attempt to get them to field and then throw to first.  They run a lot and look cute in their uniforms.

roof pavers are done!

After two months, we’ve finally finished installing the 200+ pavers on our roof.  Jack did almost all the work, but my dad and I also moved and laid down quite a few (and my mom did extra babysitting).  We never did weigh them, but they are 18” square and we think each is about 40 lbs.  The roof was engineered for the weight of them but it was kind of alarming to realize that making a tall stack of them in one spot on the roof could actually exceed the allowed load.   We got them delivered and then we moved them from the parking spot to the yard, to the basement and up the elevator in small batches.  The we installed them on plastic pedestals with adjustable heights and angles to counter act the slight slope of the roof.  Good work, Jack.

The next step is to build planters around the outside and for the four square cut outs.  Also we need to fix the starter to find out if our buy-nothing barbecue works or not. 

allowance time

A few years ago I read [some of] The Opposite of Spoiled (http://ronlieber.com/books/the-opposite-of-spoiled/), which is about teaching kids to be smart about money.  Basically the idea is to give them an allowance so that they learn about personal finance before they go out on their own.  He argues that allowances should not be tied to chores, because chores are just part of being a family member and older kids can decide that they make enough through some other job and therefore don’t have to help around the house.  He recommends a larger and larger allowance as kids get older, where they are responsible for more and more of their expenses (like sports, clothes, gas etc). 

We’re starting with $4 a week.  I was struggling to think of where we could take D to spend such small amounts of money on something other than just candy.  My solution is Goodwill!