Hello, Summer

This weekend we're kicking off a jam-packed summer with a trip up north to the family compound, AKA: camp.  It'll be the pretty typical family weekend at camp - lots of Italians, lots of food. Three days after we get back, Feather Nester arrives for a visit and two days after she leaves, my father arrives for a visit! Yay!!

The upcoming visitors are doing excellent things for my house.  I have very little self-direction when it comes to the house.  I try, I really do, but in the end I need the threat of visitors to keep it tidy. And luckily I don't even need fancy, out-of-town visitors to get a kick in the pants, in-town visitors work just as well.

So yesterday I tackled alllll of those clean clothes in our bedroom that had yet to be folded and hung, and today holds a fridge clean out and a buff and polish of the nursery. We began the house attack last Saturday when B emptied the ENTIRE CONTENTS of the garage into the driveway for a full scale reorganization.  This resulted in us meeting half the population of Albany who stopped by thinking we were having a garage sale.  We actually did the same thing last fall when we thought we could only stay in the house until June, but we recently found out that we don't have to move for another two years, so a more thorough reorganization was in order. 

It was so cleansing to the soul.  I realized that we actually don't have as much stuff as I thought we did.  And I was also able to make a stack of items to come back to since I've developed a far more ruthless attitude about keeping things than I had a few years ago when I was originally packing.  The less stuff we have, the lighter I feel.  Except clothes, I'd like to have WAY more clothes.

I'll try to mobile post a picture while we're gone, but the reception leaves a lot to be desired, so at the very least we'll see you Tuesday with Giovanina's Home Grown Tomatoes column.