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!


15 comments:

  1. I confess that I didn't know about micro flower farms, but I'm excited to see it take shape!

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    1. I've read that micro farming is anything less than 5 acres, but 5 acres seems massive to me and is waaay more than I intend to grow on!

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  2. I am going to put Beautiful Country on my list! I love books like that, that give me a whole new perspective of the world.

    I am SO excited for you about your flower micro-farm, and I am going to be following this with much excitement and happiness. I hope you post a lot of photos! I love flowers and we have such a short growing season here; I live vicariously through my friends in warmer climates.

    We are currently building a house in another province; it will be our retirement home. I can tell you that *I* knew about doorstop shortages, as well as how difficult it is to source doorknobs. The weirdest things have been hard to get, I HEAR YOU.

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    1. Oh no, not doorknobs too! People don't really need to get in and out of rooms anyway. I did eventually find some on Amazon which wasn't my first choice, but needs must. I will definitely be sharing lots and lots of flower pictures!

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  3. It's it hilarious what things you discover as a parent/home owner etc. I have learned SO much about gutter this year (more than I wanted to know). There is a lot to think through in getting water off one's house and away from the foundation!

    I bought my husband Into the Wild for Christmas. He really enjoyed it, and I'm planning to read this book next week when my kids are off on spring break.

    Brown. Oh I hate the brown. I'm not a fan of snow, but it makes everything seem so bright and clean. I wish we could go right from snow to green, lush fields. But that's not the way it works, so I'll find someway to spot joy in the brown. But I'm not a fan! It's snowing here today, so things are back to looking very white and cheerful, albeit cold!

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    1. You're right about snow - although it's not as cold here as in Canada, we rarely get snow in the winter. Maybe 3-4 times, and it's gone in a few days. We also don't have any winter sports close by, so that also takes the fun out of it.

      Ooh, gutters! Not very fun but definitely important. A badly installed gutter is what caused our basement to flood a few years ago. As a homeowner you end up spending so much money on that kind of stuff. Roofing, plumbing, heating, etc. Not glamorous spending by any means.

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  4. Your micro farm project sounds exciting. I was trying to work out from your photo how you could tell that there were no doorstops in stock, it too me a while to work it out. I guess that is all about moving things around the globe and that has been effected by so many things in the past year or so. There must be a container somewhere in the world with all the missing doorstops in it, lets hope it turns up soon.

    I came across the story of Chris McCandless when I read a book about Alaska, I am not sure that I would want to read this book, I have not been able to read books about harrowing subjects since becoming a mother. I am glad that you enjoyed it.

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    1. You're right, it is a little hard to see that there aren't any doorstops in those little bins! I think that container must also have doorknobs based on Nicole's comment above.

      I've also had a hard time reading about anything bad happening to kids, but since my kids are younger I tend to focus on those ages. I'm sure when they are older I may feel the same way about people in their 20s as well.

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  5. I need a doorstop... should I be concerned? Inventory shortages have been so strangely random.

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    1. I did find some on Amazon - which sucks, but they're out there! You never know when something will be out of stock, and when it will reappear. Strange times.

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  6. Good luck with your micro flower farm . It sounds like a really exciting project and I am looking forward to seeing lots of pictures....please.

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    1. Thanks! Oh yes there will definitely be lots of flower photos. I can't help myself!

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  7. I'm so excited to hear about how your first year flower farming goes! And yes, I totally understand the complex...now I just try to own it as a badge of pride, like, "Yup, I grow allllll of this in my backyard, that's right" kind of thing.

    Are those some ranunculus I see pre-sprouting in there? If so, you're much braver than I was my first year :)

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    1. I love that attitude! I am going to steal it :) Yep, those are ranunculus. I presprouted and planted outside a week ago - and then it dropped to 15 degrees and snowed 4 inches. I think they might be ok though. Stressful!

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  8. I love the idea of small flower farm! I ordered quite a few flower seeds from Floret this year and am excited to put in a flower bed this year. I'm dreaming of going out each week and picking bouquets for my house.

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