Category: Cooking

  • Hearts and Flowers

    Hearts and Flowers

    The random urge to craft struck me again this weekend. I was taking down our remaining Christmas decorations and wishing for something to replace them with. Inspiration struck in the form of the Baker Creek seed catalog. I had wanted to make a garlands of hearts for the fireplace mantel, but had no red paper.…

  • Cozy Christmas

    Cozy Christmas

    My homemade, handcrafted holidays are finally over, though I’ve still got time off coming up to enjoy. Last Tuesday and Wednesday I was on my feet a lot, and definitely had moments of “never doing this again.” Two of the kids were sick and thus I didn’t have a lot of help in terms of…

  • Sprouts Is Bankrupting Me

    Sprouts Is Bankrupting Me

    This past week I was off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It wasn’t quite as satisfying a staycation as the one I had in August. I had dreams about work from Friday night right on through, frustrating dreams in which nothing was going right. But it was still relaxing and peaceful. I got some things done…

  • Calm Before the Storm

    Calm Before the Storm

    Sitting here getting my grays covered up and my hair cut, ahead of my work trip to Arizona. I leave next Sunday. Trying to enjoy fall in New Jersey before heading to the desert. However, we’ve got a nor’easter blowing in today, so we can’t do much outside. The worst of it will be tonight…

  • The Suburban Semi-Rural Sweet Spot

    The Suburban Semi-Rural Sweet Spot

    I have been watching a lot of homesteading videos. I’ve never been one to sit and watch YouTube, but in an effort to stop doom scrolling on my lunch break, I looked up the videos of More Than Farmers, an Ohio family I follow on Instagram. I have since watched quite a few of their…

  • The Trying

    The Trying

    Lots of crawly friends in the garden this week: The swallowtail caterpillars are growing. And this spider, perhaps a cross orb weaver or spotted orb weaver, built a web between two of the garden posts and now has a tasty treat stored there. Sunsets are creeping earlier and I have to rush into the garden…

  • Mad Scientist

    Mad Scientist

    Hold up… do Ted Cruz and I agree on something? Cruz called the FCC chairman’s threats to media outlets “dangerous as hell.” Yep, Ted has gotten it right for once. ABC can do whatever it wants as far as Jimmy Kimmel is concerned, but the FCC has zero business getting involved. So zip it, Brendan…

  • Relentlessly Dorky

    Relentlessly Dorky

    The title of this post came to me as I was falling asleep the other night. I was thinking about how I’ve been waiting all my life to be an old person who prioritizes my rest and my nonglamorous hobbies. I’ve been middle aged at heart forever. Sure, there’s some things I miss about my…

  • Firsts of the Season

    Firsts of the Season

    This was a beautiful weekend from start to finish. Yesterday, Tom and I took Rocco to Timber Creek dog park and got our steps in. It was a little breezy, in the 70s, and sunny. Back at home, T. and I sat down and knocked out some of our college-related tasks: filling out forms, watching…

  • Birthday Wish Granted

    Birthday Wish Granted

    My birthday weekend has turned out to be amazing! I came home from work on Friday (my birthday) to find that my garden fence was complete with a working, locking gate! It’s hard to express how happy this little space makes me. When I sit inside there, I feel like all is right with the…