books – Garden State of Mind

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…

May 12, 2025

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…

May 4, 2025

Good for the Soul, Bad for the Back

Yesterday was the first day in months that I worked outside extensively. It. Felt. So. Good. It was probably no more than 55 degrees, and cloudy. But blue jays were rustling in a bush, a woodpecker was going to town on a tree, and the dog has finally learned the concept of “fetch” and ran…

March 16, 2025

And the Candle Burns Another Night

Well well well, another week of almost zero spending. Several of the crunchy/minimalist/frugal Instagram accounts I follow have said lately that they see not spending as a form of protesting this administration. For me, I wouldn’t say it’s the main catalyst behind my non-spending, since I’ve done it to different degrees for a long time.…

February 2, 2025

The Junkyard of My Life

Really this post should be titled “Pantry Challenge – Week 2.” Not gonna lie, I feel like I knocked it out of the park this week. The pantry/freezer and my meal imagination powers just kept coming through for me. When last I left you, I had gone out to eat with a friend and the…

January 26, 2025