for now I'll T A K E it

LONG week ahead for us... I'm trying to keep an eye on the end result- a new house. It's not super fancy or anything extra special, but it's perfect for our family for the remainder of our time here in Germany. We can't wait to get in and make it our own peaceful haven.

I stand in our new kitchen and just love looking through the huge windows and using what feels like an enormous sink. Then, I have to laugh a little realizing again it's all about perspective. After using a mini RV-size sink for eight months, this one feels like luxury. Compared to an average US kitchen, it's probably similar to a nice apartment-sized space. For now, I'll take it.

It's been a lot of hard work, but we're still more than excited to get moved and settled in Mackenbach.

With just a couple days left here, it's getting down to the wire. I'm wondering now if it's easier to start packing three weeks in advance and moving bits and pieces at a time, or just to cram it all in a couple days and call it good? Usually, we end up killing ourselves when we do it all in a couple days. Maybe spread out is better but it sure feels like we've been doing nothing but moving f o r e v e r.

Boxes filled with nothing but odds and ends in serious need of organization, a dirty fridge in need of cleaning and another shower with hard water spots to somehow get to disappear. Going on suggestions from friends to clean these hard water stains, we have bought Scrubbing Bubbles MEGA shower, CLR, Mr. Cleans, tons of white vinegar. Hopefully, one of the above {or any combination} will work. Jim also bought a squeegie to keep in the shower to hopefully minimize these hard-water nightmares in the future.

As I always worry about having things clean enough, Jim's reminded me that we usually clean up a house as well or better than most. We like super clean and try to leave it that way.

I'm thinking next time, I need to just hire it out to someone else... the cleaning, packing, moving... all of it. That sounds much better. That, and quit moving. That sounds even better.