We have been shopping like crazy. And buying like crazy. Even though we stored most of our household items and furniture in our mission storage unit the year we were on home assignment, there was a long list of items we have had to hunt for. A washing machine (because our's broke right before we left). A sofa (because our's was used, and too small and uncomfortable and not worth storing, which also gave us a chance to get something more comfortable). An air conditioner/heating unit (since our new apartment only has 1 and we need one in our bedroom to get through the hot and humid Tokyo summer nights).
There was also furniture that we bought specifically to fit in our last apartment's galley-sized, only-one-person-at-a-time kitchen that won't fit in our more spacious, but a-bit-oddly-set-up kitchen/dining room in our new place. It feel like such a waist to get rid of a nice quality and gently used cabinet/counter top that we really liked...but it just couldn't be helped. A difficult aspect of our strange life in compact, revolving homes.
At our last apartment we had measured to the last centimeter to be able to fit our kitchen garbage cans in. And now we are doing the same. Racking our brains how to most discreetly and neatly but practically fit in those needed trash cans. But now since our cabinet/counter won't fit in, we've had to buy a rack/shelf for our oven/microwave. Hmmm, what to do???
What a funny life we lead with cyclical rotations of "How can we make this new place work?" "What to get rid?" "What do we need to add?" All of this, so we can make our little new home a little more homey and to make our new life a little more livable. But even in these mundane issues that can pile up and tire and stress us, we know God helps. He knows our needs and so graciously provides...even down to the very last details of oven stands and rubbish bins.
