Let the Good Times Roll...

Have we done it?  

Have we managed to make it through another year with all of our marbles? 

Cheers!

Let Your Heart Be Light

Firelight, Firelight, Firelight Gleaming

"I like misty Autumn mornings, 

and cold, snowy Winter nights.  

Rainstorms bring me inner-peace, 

thunder sets my soul alight. 

 

I care not for Summer, 

days too long, the heavy heat.  

Give me candlelight evenings, 

early darkness, a silent street."

-Natalia Crow

Every Time a Till Rings ...

... A Corporate Shill Gets Its Wings!

FTC Affiliate Disclosure 

Aw, I'm not just having a go at you, I'm making fun of me too ... We all know consumerism & American holidays are snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be, so we may as well get something back for it, right?  

Witch Weather

"I don't know, my favorite was always witch weather.  That moment that in a gust of wind or in the rumbling sky or at the edge of a fog bank where suddenly, you feel different.  A restlessness, a sense of longing for a place that does not exist.  I don't know if anyone else has felt the electric tense changing of that moment.  It calls the magic to your skin.  For a moment, you feel ancient and powerful and lonely, as if you forgot something important.  Witch weather.  For some reason, in that wild instant: you remember you are alive, and that means some part of you belongs to the everlasting."

-inkskinned

Storms

Racing the Rain

As I sat in the dark morning hours listening to the fog horns from the passing cargo ships blow through my sleepy little bay, all I could think about was the rain mere hours away (that won't stop until next May June July).  This piece of information has had me in quite a state ... You know when something vibrates so fast that it appears to be still?  That's pretty much how I spent this entire past week.  I am working my way through my massive to-do list, but my head is whirring and zinging, and even though things are getting done, it doesn't really look, or feel like it.  The most potentially paralyzing aspect of this week, as I feel myself slipping into the comfy coping mechanism of procrastination, has been that this isn't even my end-of-season to-do list, this is just all the junk that needs to get done now because I don't have a garage, or barn, or lean-to, or even a SunSetter retractable awning to work under during the swiftly approaching deluge.  I still have my to-do list, the one full of all the things that can be done in the rain that I am already completely dreading.  I'm trying to finish the season strong so I have as few of the rainy day tasks as possible, but I know I'm still going to spend at least part of this Fall as a drowned rat.

The Reel in the Flickering Light

—Actual footage from my garden right now—

Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Makes Three!

Meanwhile in the back yard, the playpen is hopping!  My dahlias are finally, finally, finally blooming, and with the explosion of color, some new babies are arriving as a result of last year's matchmaking program.  It's been a long slog to this point, and so often it just felt like it was never going to happen this year, so in celebration I thought I'd share a little of what's going on back there.

The Lion, The Witch...

And the Audacity of This Bitch.

How was your Summer?  Mine?  Pretty weird, to be perfectly honest, which is kind of becoming the common theme around here.  So, I guess that means it's not actually weird anymore, but then again, just because a thing begins to happen on a regular basis, it is by no means a reason to accept it as normal, so there's that ... But also, of course, sometimes you just need a laugh, and I suppose it's been good for that.    

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Got you on my miiiiIIIiiiind...

It all started with a flower pot, a clearance rack geranium (half off, and half dead), an overwhelming dose of sadness, a blistering case of burnout, and a glimmer of hope that things wouldn't always be the way that they were in that moment.  Fourteen years, and three hundred and ten posts later, and I can tell you with great certainty that things are definitely not the same.

"Geeks are people ...

who love something so much that all the details matter."

-Marissa Mayer 

Pat Rothfuss' Worldbuilders are back, once again, with their mid-year Geeks Doing Good campaign that works as a capacity fundraiser for the organization while introducing us to cool, never-before-seen products, as well as bringing back old faves & limited edition items, and "as always, all proceeds from Worldbuilders Market go to Worldbuilders to support our mission of uniting the geek community into a massive force to fund education, opportunity, and sustainable self-sufficiency for families and communities worldwide."  So, how can you join in?  By shopping the Worldbuilders Market where new geeky wares are rolled out for you to load up on everything your inner, outer, and everything in-between Geek desires!  Also, feel free to swing by the Geeks Doing Good Indiegogo campaign site for the opportunity to purchase, and pre-order exclusive new items while quantities last.

Of course Pat will be Twitching throughout the week, so swing by, say hi, and be sure to follow his channel, and sign up for notifications so you'll never miss out on his live streams ... if that's your kind of thing.  

The Summer fundraiser officially ends July 21, 2022, but as always, all proceeds from the Worldbuilders Market (every purchase, all year long) go towards making the world a better place, so if you miss the cut-off date this year, your opportunity to make a positive impact still abounds!

xoxo

Peachy Keen

If I had my little way, I'd eat peaches every day

FTC Affiliate Disclosure
Here we are smack in the heat of Summer, and for a lot of us, that means peach season ... Millions of peaches, peaches for me ... So how about cooling down with a little 'shake recipe?  Singing not required, but enthusiastically encouraged.

 

 

 

Peach Cobbler Smoothie

Here's what you need:
10 oz Peaches, frozen
2 Kiwifruits, peeled
1/2 Lime, juiced
1" Ginger knob, grated
3-4 Bananas, frozen + pre-chunked
Mango, frozen - fill remaining space in your blender
1/4 Cup Pure organic Maple syrup (or preferred sweetener)
1/2 Cup Full-fat canned coconut milk (or milk of your choice)
1/2 Cup Water 

Here's what you do:
If you've been here before, you know the drill ... Dump everything into a 72 oz blender (I use this one), and blend the hell out of it!  If you prefer more of an ice cream texture, blend low & slow, with less liquid (adding as required), and remember you may have to scrape the sides of the pitcher a few times throughout.  Also, if you're using frozen bananas, don't forget to peel them, and break them into chunks before freezing ahead of time.  

Need more refreshments?  Go here!

Stay cool, Lovers!
xoxo

Image provided by The Graphics Fairy

Show Me

"People always say the universe is testing them, well I'm always testing the universe.  When I need to, I say, 'Show me.  Show me your miracles.  Show me how wonderful and magical I know you can be.  Show me what I need to know to pass this lesson.'  And it never fails."

-Marym Hasnaa

Liberty, and Justice for All

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."

-Frederick Douglass

24th anniversary of Emancipation, speech delivered in Washington, D.C. (1886)

W. A. I. T.

Why Am I Talking???

It's no secret around here that last year did not go according to plan.  

Like, any plan what-so-ever.  

"Will she ever shut up about it?" You may be asking ... And the answer is, I did ... Throughout most of last year ... As it was happening— thanks in large part to a terrible internet connection.  It must've been because everyone was reworking everything to get kids back into some kind of distance learning of one kind or another, or maybe my account was just being throttled because I refuse to upgrade to the more expensive package, but whatever the reason, I spent the majority of last year being more offline than on.  It's amazing how quickly we've adapted to rely on all of this technology, especially all of us kids who grew up almost totally analog.  I've become so accustomed to, what I call, my Judy Jetson life I'd always dreamed of as a child ... Just the sheer access to everything: People, resources, things at the push of a button, it's wild!  To have it all stripped away in an instant forces a person to confront their own purpose, and really, their mere existence.

Where Is My (Master)Mind?

If you've been around here a little while, you've probably heard me use the word "mastermind" once or twice in reference to creative groups I've been a part of in the past, but what is it really?  Napoleon Hill introduced us to the notion with his 1925 book, The Law of Success, and to me, is best described on Wikipedia (I know, I know...) as "a peer-to-peer mentoring group used to help members solve their problems with input and advice from the other group members."  We could sit here and inject prettier words, and try to spice it up a bit, but that description really gets to the meat of it without wasting any time.  Although, I do find Hill's detail a bit too romantic not to include:  

No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind. 

The Word & The World

How old were you when you learned the word compersion?  Oh this is wild, spell-check didn't even recognize it just now.  Back to the topic at hand, how old were you?  Are you learning it right now?  Let me tell you, I was thirty-eight years old before I'd ever even heard it, let alone learned what it was.  If this is your first time seeing it, without look it up, what do you think it means?  Some of you word nerds out there are probably able to put it together, but I would have never guessed.  

The Songbirds are Singing Like They Know the Score

On this Crow & Raven Appreciation Day, did you know that corvids are considered songbirds?  I didn't learn that until last year, but once I heard, it actually made sense since they always seem to be so "chatty."  I just never knew that what they were doing was considered singing.  If you have the luxury of living someplace with any type of garden, yard, or green space, I fully support the idea of you befriending your local corvids.  To me, it always seems when most folks write about them, the topic usually skews toward mythology, or witchcraft, or something spooky & mysterious, but what I've come to love about the crew that frequents my place is how sweet, caring, cheeky, and even humorous they are.  

Bloom Where You Are

First year Dahlia seedlings 2021

 "Don't let yourself get in the way of the things that people love about you."

-Machine Gun Kelly
(No, the other one)

 

What's Crackin'?

It is well, and truly Spring now, can you hardly believe it?!  I can't.  Winter did a number on me this year, I can not lie.  Typically, I look forward to the cold, darker months.  I really enjoy curling up with novels of the American Gothic variety, or I'll take all the time stuck indoors as an opportunity to tear my kitchen apart and reorganize things that got ignored during all those months when the sun was shining - instead of Spring cleaning, I'm a big Fall cleaner.  Around the end of September I like to wrap up my outdoor projects, and turn my focus on the interior of my home, and get it ready to embrace and comfort me for the next several months.  I didn't do any of that last year.  A few posts ago I already mentioned how pretty much my entire year last year did not go to plan at all, and for the most part I was okay-ish rolling with the punches, but by October the wheels really fell off, and it was really ... something.  I honestly haven't had a year like 2021 in over a decade, and I'm really hoping I'm good for another ten years!

One bright spot in 2021 was discovering this absolute gem of a rose shop out of Brenham, Texas: The Antique Rose Emporium.

You've gotta get a load of this place!  You might be asking, what's the big deal anyway, all these places are the same.  No.  They're really not all the same.  At first glance, I could understand why a person would think that, I'm sure I probably thought that as well at first click, but then I dug a little deeper.  Y'all these folks are straight up Rose Nerds, and I love it!  They're experts in rare, and obscure specimens, and down right ancient varieties, made even cooler by the fact that you can shop by year of entry.  Exibit A: Sweet Briar Rose introduced prior to 1551. 

"... a favorite English native that has been recorded in literature from Chaucer to Shakespeare."

**Swoon**

You get a free mini-history lesson all while browsing gorgeous blooms!  What is there to not like about that, my fellow geeks?  I'll tell you.  Not a damn thing!  What's even more incredible is that the plants are sold in gallon pots for a solid third of the price other places are asking for the same bushes.  I was stunned when my boxes arrived ... I honestly expected little 2 - 4 inch pots for 20 bucks a piece.  No, Ma'am.  Full, baby shrubs showed up ready to be popped into the ground and strut their stuff this year, not some sad looking twig in a peat pot.  AND THAT'S NOT EVEN AT THE WHOLESALE PRICE!  Granted, they had to scrap the wholesale program this year because their inventory has been severely impacted by several factors converging at once, but I can imagine when it is up and running, it will absolutely melt my mind.  

After everything that went wrong last year, it's been a real treat to have my order from The Antique Rose Emporium arrive healthy, undamaged, and ready to rumble in the garden.  If you're looking for roses to put in your garden, I hope you'll give them a try, my only regret is that it took me so long to find out about this place!

xoxo

Thawing Out

In 2019 I started what I thought was going to be a little project, maybe a throw blanket for watching movies on the couch ...  What ended up happening is I spent the year knitting a Queen size bedspread because, of course I did.  I don't think I've met a thing yet that part of me doesn't love to over-complicate.  The point was, to take a moment out of each day, and do something solely for myself.  The cool thing about using this idea to make a tangible item is that at the end of the year you actually have something to commemorate the process, and something to serve as a physical reminder to check-in, and look after yourself.  I can walk through a room now, and see the blanket folded up, or draped over the arm of something, or rumpled up on my bed, and it prompts me to ask myself if I've bothered to do anything just for me that day, just because it feels good to do it, and for no other practical reason whatsoever.  Could I have achieved the same thing with something a bit smaller?  Perhaps, but I'm not actually sure about that.  I'm not really into hints, and subtleties.  I like BIG signs; things that are unavoidable; things with impact, so maybe this did need to be the behemoth that it's turned out to be.  

Cheer up, things could get worse ...

... So I cheered up, and sure enough, things got worse!  

This was a line my mother and her group of friends used to toss back and forth at each other in the 1960s, and I've tried to pin it down for attribution, but so far I've come up with three possibilities: James Hagerty, Robert Lynn Asprin, or Jerome Lester Horwitz, also known as, Curly Howard.  It seems like such a Curly thing to say, so I'm going with that one, except in my head when I hear him saying it, "worse" is always spelled, "woiyse," because, of course it is.

E - I - E - I - Whoa

Dahlias: First year seedlings, 2021

Last Spring, I talked very briefly about the Floret Flower Farm Workshop I joined; I wanted to share so much more throughout the year than I was able to.  Taking a crack at becoming a flower micro-farm started out okay enough ... The first 6 weeks of the year were dedicated to the class itself, garden-planning, and ordering.  The first two parts were great!  The ordering, however, was a little frustrating simply because stock started running out by the time the planning sections of the workshop wrapped up, so by the time I was ready to buy, and thought I knew what I was doing, almost everything I wanted was already sold out.  

Ready, Set ... No?

New tapestry for my someday art studio

I don't know about anyone else, but I've had the hardest time getting into the "swing" of this here new year.  I'm sure the invasion of Ukraine, and the fact that my family has extended family and friends in, around, and from the affected areas isn't exactly helping ... But even without the chaos of war constantly looming in my mind, it's been incredibly difficult for me to get motivated for anything, which is pretty strange for me, because typically I'm all: Let's plan it!  Review it!  Make a list (many lists)!  And check them way more than twice ... But I just can't, like, get there ... Which is madness in itself, because I have everything I need, and arguably more, and yet, I'm just here in this weird purgatory.  I mean, I haven't even done my 2021 wrap-up yet.

Look For The Helpers **Updated March 20, 2022**

During, and after every crisis the Mr. Rogers quote, "Look for the helpers" makes the rounds on social media, and it's wonderful ... It really is ... But you know he's talking about you, right?  Well, you, me, us, all of us - WE'RE the adults now, and we're the ones that are supposed to be helping.  

A Time to T'winkle?

Twinkle, twinkle little periwinkle!

Now that we're firmly in 2022 ... You know, we still may not know what we're doing, or where we're going, but we've kicked the tires, and adjusted the mirrors ... Or at the very least, stopped writing "2021" on our checks (this is a reference for all of us Olds out here still using paper checks) is it time to talk about the color of the year as crowned by Pantone?  

Will Drive You ... MaaaaAAAaaad!

 

If my relationships aren't this intense, I simply don't want any of them.

They're not a couple.  They're retired.  And the current Winter Olympics are happening right now, but this is the only figure skating program that ever has, or ever will matter.  Capital "P" period.

xoxo

Modify & Revise

Word of the year: Mutation

A little on-the-nose, I'll grant you, but significant, and appropriate.