Holiday trifecta part 3

For once we had a really nice chill Thanksgiving. The last two years we did big projects - moving furniture to the cabin one year, upgrading the boys’ room the next, and years before that traveling like gangbusters. This time we just drove out to Spaghetti Western without a reservation (nobody ordered the Thanksgiving food, which I thought was hilarious), spent a day in the Mojave National Preserve (one of my favorite places!), plumbed the sink, and then drove home. It was very relaxing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me feel less guilty about not participating in any Thanksgiving traditions anymore - a few years ago I was decided I was done with all that, for many reasons; a) I’m a vegetarian and hate the food, b) problematic in-laws, c) icky colonialism. I do sometimes miss it, and wonder if things might change if my sister moves here. But then I remember if I want to do a big elaborate meal, I can always do that at Christmas, and we’re seeing the whole family over new year’s in Florida anyway.

We took two giant leaps in the desert - one, getting the shower properly set up and using it (the portable dog groomer water heater I bought years ago finally had a dead battery from lack of use and couldn’t be revived, so I bought a new portable water heater that uses D batteries and it worked great) and then getting the kitchen sink plumbed, which happened on the last day so I still squatted on the ground washing dishes in a basin the first two days and never really got to use it, but still. Things are about to get a lot more sophisticated out there, and I love it. Having a working hot shower also means I’ll be more likely to invite friends. 

The kids have two more weeks of school before their break. I’m struggling to figure out gifts for them - Bobby is easy because he always makes a long list (at his age it’s all clothes and electronics - which is great, except we can’t afford the electronics and he really should pick his clothes out himself). Theo has no idea what he wants, so at this point I’m just improvising - I figure he could use a new, better robe than the one I got him last year, and some pajama pants he can wear around the house, and a Lego set (a nice bonsai tree I can display), and we’re looking into used snowboards for both boys to use sand surfing at the Kelso dunes which they seem especially keen about doing (after they got to do it at the pink sand dunes in Utah last year). We’re also going to get a basketball hoop for the desert. As you can imagine, boredom is a huge issue out there so we’re desperate for things for them to do. But, no joke, buying presents for these kids at this age is hard. Unless it’s computers or iPhones they don’t really care. It’s the first year I’m really struggling. 

I’m obsessed with figuring out an off-grid hot tub for us for the desert. It would be amazing to have a nice long soak out there on a cold winter night. I’ve been scouring YouTube videos and Reddit threads, mostly populated by Mormon preppers. Right now it seems the best, cheapest solution would be a galvanized stock tank (well insulated) with copper coiling set up in a chiminea. It would take a lot of maintenance - at least a couple of hours of tending the fire and stirring the water. But if we’re just out there hanging out anyway, why not…? Still a lot more research to do. Every time I think I’ve found the perfect set up, something cheaper and better presents itself. It’s not something I would want to seriously look into until next fall anyway. 

Today we’re going to do Christmas stuff. It always feels a bit late a week into December, but with my schedule shaping up to be night before Thanksgiving gig, then drive out to the desert on Thanksgiving, I’d really rather stay until Sunday night rather than come home a day early just to do lights and a tree. I’ve got my cards out, ordered a photo Christmas ornament, made all the photo books of our trips, ordered some gifts, and started plans for candy making which I’ll do next week. Everything is in order. I’ve also been strangely energized to start purging different parts of the house - I’ve purged all my clothes, gone through cabinets in both bathrooms, cleaned out kitchen drawers. Next I’d like to tackle the hallway closet (full of abandoned board games and vhs tapes), the office (tons of e-waste I need to find an event to dispose at), and a couple of pieces of furniture in the living room that have become the “I don’t know where to put this” depositaries. It’s amazing how fast a small house fills up with crap when four people live in it. I’m in a ruthless mood, though - everything must go - which is the right mood for this project. I’m seeing the writing on the wall - these kids are growing up - so it’s time to get rid of the baby spoons and carriers and car seat travel bags and boosters. On to the next phase.