Lull

We reached a lull in an otherwise very busy month. I decided to suspend my custom sales in the Etsy store, and as a result (I guess) I have had very few orders. Then I almost felt bored (even though I was still doing laundry and washing dishes and sweeping the floors and making lemon bars with Trixie and breaking up squirmishes between the kids) and I thought maybe I should relist my custom products on Etsy. Then I mentioned something about this to Fritz and he said "No, please, no."

And so I didn't.

But I'm not good at relaxing, so then I sat down and started to blog.

We got a new dishwasher! Our last one was almost 8 years old. Fritz had pulled it apart to fix it twice, and one time it leaked all over the wood floors and ruined them. The second time he fixed it, it was not very fixed; such that we were washing the dishes before we put them in the dishwasher. We did the math and read the Whirlpool life span reviews and decided to cut our losses and buy a new dishwasher.

Now... there are 6 people living in this house (plus 2 cats), and we really, really use that dishwasher. I wanted something that truly washed and something that would last longer than 8 years, so I decided to spend more money on a dishwasher (and I used my architect discount) and we got a Miele. I'm excited about this: because they are supposed to last, like, 20 years. And it has this cool 3rd (top) drawer for utensils. I hear LG has the same thing, but their dishwashers don't last 20 years. So we shall see. I am very hopeful. Fingers crossed. Also, I think I should take a moment to be grateful here both that I have a job such that we have money for a such a fancy dishwasher, and also, that I get discounts on such things. Before you feel any resentment about any discount I should confide: architect discounts, which are pretty prevalent for most building supplies and appliances and finishes and even furniture, still don't balance off the cost of my architect education.

Anyway.

Have I posted about the bamboo this year? I think no. Well, this year the bamboo is pretty much exactly like I always wanted it to be. So, that only took 7 years. For years, the deck felt very exposed. Like a stage. However, the bamboo is so dense and so tall this year that in combination with our other plants and trees, you can't see anybody at all walking past, even though the sidewalk is a mere 5' away from the deck. It feels wonderfully private.

The grape vines are also doing really well. We have more grapes than we can eat. The vines are trailing up and around the playhouse. The kids trained the vines to do this. It is, in fact, pretty magical in their garden space.

I've been exhausted by work lately. It's valuable stuff I'm learning, but the pace is not sustainable. I'm not sure if it's just a learning curve, or if the office itself is simply too fast paced for me.

This weekend I made about 8 new Schultüten for my Etsy store. I just.can.not.let.go of my Etsy store, even though I have less time than ever to work on it. Also: the pay is lousy. I'm much better off doing architecture.

The problem with giving up the Etsy store is: it's mine! Even though I have an official job, I just don't get the satisfaction of ownership from the day job that I get from my Etsy store. Also, the TYPE of work that I do for the Etsy store: it's sort of mindless, so I find myself thinking about other things. It's not quite that I daydream while I sew. To be honest: it's more like I'm plotting. Plotting while I iron, plotting while I zigzag, plotting as I stab pins through the fabric. Except for the part about it being the weekend and feeling like I should be doing fun stuff with the kiddos, I feel REALLY HAPPY to be making something and to be plotting while I make. And I feel happy to be more or less working alone.

I don't quite know how to resolve this: on the one hand, I love to think about building teams and finding the perfect niche for every person. On the other hand, there are so, so, so many times when I just want to be left alone to do whatever the heck it is I want to do. My need for alone time is still so great. I feel ashamed of it. I have yet to figure out how to convey to people: "No, no, thank you, I just want to be left alone," without people looking at me like I have a contagious disease.
All the kids are back home now. There are less than two weeks until they are all in school again. I think they are ready. I've been catching them playing school with the stuffed animals. It seems that happens every summer just before school starts.

The boys are visiting grandparents this week. So, it's just been one child at home. WOW! So different. I'm anxious to have all my kids back home – but I'm not looking forward to the mess that comes with all three kids.

Last month I took the plunge and hired a housecleaning service. I gave it to Fritz for Fathers Day. Ha! Actually, first: I sat down at my blog and typed (for the 10th time about how I was *thinking* of hiring a housecleaner. Then I thought to myself: stop talking about it and just do it.

And I did.

So, now we join the somewhat ridiculous ranks people of cleaning for the cleaners. Due to the boys being gone all week, the prep only took, like, 45 minutes this week. But the first week of service, we spent a whole day cleaning for the cleaners. We will see how this goes. Hopefully it will at least (somewhat) lower the level of stress this summer. Because it is definitely stressful around here.

Probably: May was a bad month to start a new job. Have I already mentioned that? Probably.

I recently planned to put pegs in a grid in Trixie's room to hang up a few of her 300 accessories. Honestly, she has more bags and hats and what-nots than me. Some family members find it irresistible to visit without bringing her another accessory. Then I got cheap and lazy about my peg grid. I used NAILS instead of pegs. It still looks pretty cute, I think. And, did I mention, cheaper?

We visited Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons this last month – it was only for about 4 days – way too fast, we will certainly need to return! We saw all the major touristy things. Yet I have the feeling there is a whole hidden Yellowstone to be discovered. The kids did pretty well with traveling so far and camping and etc. We have finally reached that golden age that everyone talks about, I suppose: where you can do things with the kids, and they can keep up, and they're not too cool to be spending time with us.

We also got to visit my brother and see his almost-finished kitchen remodel in Rhode Island. You may notice there is still protective wrapping on his appliances. And painter tape instead of cabinet handles. Good move, brother: show the kitchen to your niece and nephews BEFORE you remove the wrap. Or, you know, just leave it on there forever, like people did in the 60s and 70s with their plastic sofa covers in The Parlor. Well, honestly: the kitchen is super cool. Now, not only do I want to go live in the woods AND do yoga on a red mat in my kitchen, but I would ALSO like some fancy cabinets and shrink-wrapped appliances just like this.