July 4th. Independence Day. America's birthday. What were you up to that day? A parade. A BBQ. Fireworks. Work. Did you eat too much, stay up too late, let your kids have too much sugar and almost burn themselves or their siblings with sparklers? My husband's place of employment was in the parade this year,…
It's been a month. It's seriously been quite the month. We've lost four of our almost-full-sized chickens, one hen, one turkey, and Little Boy. And I'm so tired. Of loss. Of futile feelings. Of powerlessness against outside forces. And I miss my kittens, who weren't really kittens, but who won't get to grow up to…
Are you on Twitter? It's not just a place where people argue or live-tweet television shows or political debates. Yes, there are all kinds of annoying people there. But you don't have to follow them. I don't. I've decided that I want to be informed, but I can choose who to listen to and where…
I know you've all been wondering how my garden is doing--especially since I've not posted any pictures of it so far. The very first tomato of the season! A ready-to-eat salad Soon to be producing way more zucchini than we can eat. Marionberries My new favorite color/type of marigold--the strawberry blonde Looking at all of…
Does it ever seem like it's too much to handle? Maybe not life. Maybe your emotions and mental health are in a good place. But then you watch the news. Or glance at your Facebook or Twitter feed. And then you see it. Whatever the headlines are that day. There's a new conflict in another…
It's that time of year again! The days are getting longer. Everything is blooming. Pollen is coating the cars. And the blackberry vines are growing like mad. I spent all day working in the garden this past Sunday. After my fall in February that injured my back, I am in quite a bit of pain…
For as long as I can remember, I've been in pain of one kind or another. I broke my wrist at 6. I started getting headaches when I was 8 or 9. I injured my back while sledding when I was 11 or 12. I sprained my wrists and ankles a lot in 6th &…
This May, it will have been 20 years since I graduated high school. Seriously hard to believe. How is it that 1999 was 20 years ago? That means Y2K was just about that long ago, too. In contemplating all of this, I thought that I would do the cliche thing and write a letter to…
Have you ever watched a nature show and the narrator says some stuff that you just can't help but talk back to? No? Maybe that's just me. Sometime last year I was watching this show about some cheetahs in the African Savannah (I think). And the narrator was saying in his fine, British-accented voice, "If…
If you like books as much as I do, you will be able to relate to how excited I was when I learned that Emily P. Freeman was releasing a new book. I pre-ordered it as soon as it was available for pre-ordering. And then I had to wait. Waiting can be so hard when…