Thinking about stuff

I was thinking today how much better it is to just not buy stuff we don't need. Then I started wondering how we determine that. I know that we have too much stuff. However I pass it all along when we're done with it so it gets another life with at least one more family (possibly more since a lot of our stuff has been passed on to us). Then there are things we want. I will be going in a few hours to hopefully score a Wii system as a combo Christmas (leftover money) and birthday present for DS and I. We have been doing pretty well with not buying stuff we don't need, although there are borderline items (did we need those solar garden lights and glass blender we bought this week at 50% and more off? If we use them a lot will it make a difference?). The Wii just seems so frivolous but if it were not that, what else would we be wasting the money on? We literally have no entertainment budget so we don't waste money in that regard. The internet is basically our only form of entertainment and it only brings me and the kids close together. It would be nice to have something we can physically do together and have fun.

Am I rationalizing? Probably. I often feel our need for a car is an exercise in rationalization, mainly because I'm too lazy to walk anywhere :0

Something else I have been thinking about a lot lately is camping. I am really, really looking forward to it this year. I love Keji. It's my favorite place to be on earth. If I ever get cremated, I would want my ashes scattered there. Tonight I was fantasizing about camping and could practically smell it and feel it.

Then it hit me. By the time we get to go, gas will probably be about $1.50 a liter. It is now about $1.30. A nice relaxing camping trip over 2 hours away will probably cost about nearly $100 for gas. If we get an early bird pass so we can go more than once and that is $58.80 or $73.60 if we can't get it before Victoria Day. Plus it's $25.50 a night to camp, plus last year they charged $6 for an arm load of wood (we'll probably try to get it elsewhere this year) plus all the other stuff one needs to buy.

Jeepers! It costs an arm and a leg to go camping! As badly as I want to go, I think we may try to find other places, like Ellenwood Park and other places. Keji is just one of those places that is so fondly ingrained in my good childhood memories that I want my kids to have a piece of that too. Meh, we probably will go at least once. This time it will be when it's warmer as last time DH and I were sick most of the trip and it was so frigging cold!! (it was a homeschooling camping trip in September)