This is a flower blog now, so let's start off with that! More flowers grew, I picked them. There's always a moment in May or June when I look at the tiny plants and say, "This is useless, these dumb plants will never do anything!" But a few weeks later I have to eat my words because they showed me. In fact I think they get some sort of complex and grow extra fast just to spite me.
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Leaving the House
Friday, May 20, 2022
The Merry Month of May
Tulip season came and went, fast and furious. When tulips are ready to be picked, they are ready, kind of like avocados. If they stay outside too long in the heat, they'll blown open in the sunshine which negatively affects their vase life. So at times, I was harvesting tulips 3 times a day. They're kind of a pain in that way but oh, I love them! They come in almost every color, and there are many fancy types with fringe, multiple petals, and stripes. I planted about 460 this year and I'm trying to decide if I can handle 700 next year.
After tulips, things calmed down a bit, but then it was time to put in all the seedlings. I've planted between 600-700 seedlings which (not surprisingly) is hard physical labor. I forgot that I am 40 and not 20, and kneeling, squatting, and bending might not be as easily shrugged off as it once was. It will all pay off in a few months when I'm questioning my sanity. By that point I'm sure the weather will have "improved" to 90+ degrees and 100% humidity.
It has not been a nice spring, weather-wise. It has been cold and gray and wet; and then immediately it's warmed up to what is supposed to be a 105-degree heat index tomorrow. I'd rather be hot than cold though, so I don't mind.
Reading
As soon as the weather warms up, I find that I want to read summery, lighter books. I always return to mystery series around now, with some thrillers and modern romance sprinkled in. One of my favorite things in the world is sitting outside in my hammock chair reading as the sun goes down. Here's a few books I finished lately:
Thursday, April 14, 2022
The Flowering
Some people think that gardeners are born with a "green thumb", a natural ability to make plants grow. I'll let you in on a secret: gardening is 10% research, 60% physical labor, and 30% crossing your fingers and hoping things work out. Getting to see the actual flowers is the reward for many months of mud and hope. And the flowers have arrived!
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Things That Are Actually Totally Fine
Last year I turned 40. I've never been a person who cared much about what others thought, but there is something about aging that makes you really not care. I think you just realize that life is too short to put up with things you don't want to, and to live in ways that are not authentic. Here is my permission slip to do things that actually totally fine.
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Watching TV while wearing a firefighter costume, living her best life. |
Letting your kid watch TV or use a tablet: Anytime I read a parent's shameful admission that they let their kid have any sort of screen time, I am a little sad. This admission is usually followed by a caveat like, "But they only play educational games" or "She only uses it on the weekend/days off/certain number of hours a day." I am here to tell you that letting your kid watch TV or play games on an iPad is totally fine. Ok, don't let your 3 year old watch Nightmare on Elm Street, but if they want to watch every Disney movie 500 times, hallelujah! Letting my kids watch TV is literally the only thing that allows me to have any rest, downtime, or time to work on any of my own projects. I grew up in the 80s, so of course we didn't have tablets or streaming. My family didn't even have cable. But I sure played a lot of Nintendo, and I managed to become a contributing member of society. Let the guilt go! Do what you feel comfortable with and what works for you, and don't judge others for how their families work.
Reading whatever you want: I know several people who describe their preferred genres as "trash." How did certain types of books get labeled as trash anyway? I'd guess it was by Judgey McJudgersons who believe that only classics or literary fiction or award winners are the only worthy types of literature. There are many different reasons for reading, but most people read to be entertained. We don't judge people who watch superhero movies over black-and-white classics, right? (Well, we shouldn't.) If you like to read vampire romances, fantasy in outer space, or the same police procedural format over and over, have at it! We only get to read a finite number of books in our lifetime, so make sure to read what you like.
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Chocolate mini wheats for a snack. They're really good. |
Eating without guilt: Honestly this could be a whole post in itself. Diet culture is everywhere, telling us what food is "bad" and what food is "clean" or "healthy." These determinations are completely arbitrary. Bacon is bad if you're on a plant-based-whole-foods diet, but it's just fine if you're on Paleo or Keto*. Fruit is good for you because it has antioxidants and fiber but it's also terrible because OMG so much sugar! Most of us have been conditioned to think in a certain, limited way about food. These thoughts have the power to literally destroy people's lives. Everyone is on their own journey so please seek professional help should disordered eating impact your mental and/or physical health. For everyone else, I just ask that you question your beliefs.
Not Hustling: At work, I've been a people manager for nearly 10 years. There are people who want to climb the ladder, get constant promotions, eventually be a CEO. There are also people who have had the same job for 15 years and are amazing at it. I love those people! They have found balance in their lives and have committed to what they like doing and are good at it. You don't have to have a side hustle; you don't have to grow your business; you don't have to be constantly seeking improvement. How about that?!
So, tell me: what else is actually totally fine?
*Don't even get me started.
Friday, March 25, 2022
Backwards Post
I bulk loaded these photos through Blogger and they came in reverse-chronological order. I don't feel like rearranging them so here's a backwards post.
My farmer neighbor who runs the sunflower field across the street came over and tilled up my new garden area! It is 18x25 feet, and ultimately will contain 100 feet of flowers. I'm pretty excited to see what this looks like in July.
Saturday, March 5, 2022
Doorstop Crisis of 2022
I figured it was about time for ye olde blog post, but man, looking back through the pictures from the last few weeks, I have nothing but those photos you take to text someone later. I remember those days, pre-kids, when I would bust out the tripod, take many photos of myself modeling knitwear, and edit them all individually. Now you get a picture of the doorstop aisle at Home Depot, which I took to illustrate that there is a severe doorstop shortage WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS.
Next up is a photo of the rear of my car, which I am slowly covering with stickers. At some point in my life I would have been concerned about "resale" and damaging the paint, but I fully intend on driving this car until its death. Back when I was commuting 2 hours a day, I really enjoyed when a car had stickers for me to read when I was stuck behind it on the highway, going nowhere. I do need some more stickers (obviously) so if you have any suggestions, let me know!
This is my usual walking route: after I make it through the neighborhood of McMansions, I walk to this nice little park. Ugh, it's so brown right now! I have been really appreciating the lengthening days and the increased opportunity to get outside and not freeze. But BROWN SO BROWN.
Ice storm! Another reminder from nature that, hey suckers, it's not spring yet!
Despite the weather, I still have several trays of seeds started which will eventually go outside pending an unexpected, sudden ice age (and let's never say never, people, after the past few years we've had). Yes, I am starting a flower farm. Yes, it is a SMALL flower farm. I have a little bit of a complex about it because I think people imagine acres and acres with barns and greenhouses. It's surprising how many thousands of plants you can fit into a small space, but I'm also not ready to write on my website "um actually the farm is in my backyard". Shout out to my fellow micro-farmers!
Books! Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang was excellent. It's a memoir of the author growing up as an undocumented immigrant in New York City during the 1990s. I was constantly imagining where I was during this time and what my life looked like (I'm just a few years older than the author), and the difference was shocking. One of the reasons I love reading is that it has made me so much more aware and sympathetic to the other lives being lived on our planet.
Another shot from real life: reading while sitting on the bathroom floor, supervising bath time. (Ok fine I didn't actually read, I just brought the book with me and then proceeded to scroll on my phone. We've all been there.) I've been aware of the Chris McCandless story, but I had never read Into the Wild. The book itself is wonderful. The way the story is told is not just a linear account of events, but a slow piecing together. I know many people have personal opinions as to if McCandless was a hero or an idiot, but at the end it's a tragedy of a person who died too young.
I took a day off work this week, while everyone else was a work/school, and it was amazing. I spent about three hours laying on the couch, sometimes reading. I finished up a project for the basement gym, started a painting, and then sat on the couch some more. Best day ever!! This meant I had a little more energy than normal for Saturday, and took out my own sketchbook while Cora played with play-doh. So why isn't the 4-day workweek being adopted universally yet? The entire world would be so much more relaxed and happy!
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Mid-February Smorgasbord
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I bulk loaded these photos through Blogger and they came in reverse-chronological order. I don't feel like rearranging them so here'...
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Hello hello! Recently I've been seeing many posts on Instagram about how the video-centric changes and algorithm have changed what used ...