Ann Leach

I have 8 - 12 weeks to prepare for the move.  While there are a very few items we are allowing ourselves to take, for the most part, we're selling everything and taking nothing. I've been thinking I would pack about 3 outfits each for DearDaughter and myself, which would easily fit in the carry-on piece.  That way the checked suitcases could be used for the quilts and embroidered pillowcases I'm allowing for myself.  They will be used to pad the new computer and printer which would be about double the price in Australia compared to here.  There is also a matched set of great works books which my husband is taking. Really, it's all up in the air and no final decisions have been made, except all the furniture, kitchenware, tools, bicycles and whatnotall has to go.

                I am in a book group and we're discussing this book and since I'm leading the discussions, I thought this would be a good place to share the discussions.                 There is a subculture here in the USA which came through the 2008 crash without experiencing huge lay-offs and financial distress.   The Amish, with their simple lifestyle and tight communities, clotheslines and buggies, are doing some things right, and the rest of us, the Englischers, might learn something from them.                 “When compared to our Englischer money bungles, the Amish way of wealth is a whole inverted lifestyle of thrift, self-control, carefulness, sharing, and community.   It’s a curious prosperity—a rootedness, simplicity, and a step back to “q...