Emptying the Freezer & Packing

If you have ever moved a long distance, then you know how it is to go through every nook and cranny, and empty your entire refrigerator and freezer.  Our freezer was packed with pesto, tomatoes, carrots, turkey, turkey broth, pumpkin, sausages, strawberries, and blueberries.  With some planning, I carefully spaced out our turkey vegetable soup and pesto dinners.  Even Paul said, "We're having soup...again!!"  We've pretty much exhausted ourselves of the same dinners over and over.  Thankfully we have eager friends who have joined us for dinners the last couple of weeks.  It is nice to see someone else get excited about turkey pot pie and pesto pasta when I can only manage a half-smile after eating the same ingredients for 2 months.

I am very anxious about moving the several hundred full jars of canned goods across the country.  Oh, my beloved peaches...I hope to enjoy you next year!  I expect the worse...saturated cardboard boxes full of broken glass; but I am trusting the "professionals" who pack homes for a living.  To ease the anxiety, I decided to put all the rings back on the jars to keep contents from spilling completely out just in case a seal breaks.  In the process of attaching the rings, I found this...an unsealed jar of grape juice.  This is my first jar that has gone bad!  The seal failed and the contents grew mold...Yuk! 



Besides emptying the freezer and using up condiments, our biggest area of purging has been in the garage!  The moving company won't move lumber or logs.  So....Jon and I had to look at the big sustainability picture and decide which pieces of wood were really worth moving 2,500 miles.  Without argument, we decided to keep all of our aspen logs that we collected in Laramie, WY back in 2005/2006.  To some, these logs look like firewood, but to us...furniture!  We have been holding onto these logs for 5 years hoping to make more chairs, beds, and sofas for when we have a larger home.  As for the remaining 2x4's and plywood, we gave them away to friends even though the wood could be used for our next project...a chicken tractor for our new home.  It is silly to say we are attached to our wood, but we are constantly in the garage making toys, bat houses, furniture, and other things out of small pieces left over from larger projects.  I included a few pictures of our log furniture for those who may be interested.

We are attempting to sneak these logs onto the moving truck by packaging them ourselves (the moving company supposedly doesn't question items we pack) We wrapped the logs in burlap bags tied with rope and string.  The bags came from a local coffee shop and are primarily used as bee fuel for the smoker. 

In 2005/2006, Jon and I snowshoed the Rocky Mountains and cut down dead aspen trees using a hand saw with a fire permit.  We were very selective when choosing the logs and went long distances to ensure we left behind some dead wood for animals.  This is how we entertained ourselves when we had no money and a lot of time.

Our first project...a kitchen chair, waiting for the finishing touches. 

Coffee table