-;; by default, packages are only loaded after the init file; by loading them
-;; earlier, the call to evil-mode below is made possible
-(package-initialize)
+;; ensure certain packages are installed (actually, we use Debian repos here)
+;(setq package-list '(elfeed ledger-mode))
+;(package-initialize)
+;(dolist (package package-list)
+; (unless (package-installed-p package)
+; (package-install package)))