Good morning everyone, welcome back to my little corner here on the web. It's been a while since my last post, so I thought it was time to come in, and show you what I've been up to.
Be prepared though, I have a lot of pictures to share, so you may want to grab a cup of coffee or tea, before you settle in for a little chat. I just felt I needed to get these pictures and my thoughts, on the blog, but there really is no sequence or events, so I'll be kind of just jumping all over the place, hope that's ok.
So what has been happening around here? A lot of homemaking and getting back to the core of who I am. I was feeling so discombobulated for a while. Felt like I couldn't get back to the things I wanted to do and loved doing. But that kind of changed about a month ago, when I pushed myself to just get on with it and quit allowing life and my convoluted mind to keep me in a unmotivated, stuck place.
The first few days were hard, I wanted to revert back to old habits, to sitting around, to not wanting to do anything, to making excuses for not baking this, or making that, or gardening or whatever it was that I had floating around in my brain. It was like a bubble of all these things just brewing in my mind, but being stuck there and not really coming out and being accomplished.
If you've ever been in that state of mind, you know how difficult it is to snap out of it. But I did, I forced myself and I am so happy to be where I am at this moment. I've regained a renewed love for homemaking, cooking and baking, taking care of the home, working on projects, making things and watching the kind of shows and movies I've always loved.
So, I've bounced back and I couldn't be happier for it. I just hope that it also keeps me focused on the blog, and putting out posts like I used to, whether it be something I want to show you, a day in the life, a recipe or whatever it may be. Life goes by so fast, and I'm letting it go by without documenting it. Well that's a sad thought, isn't it?
Anyway, that little intro went on longer than I thought it did, but that is what happens when you haven't talked in a while, then open your mouth and it all comes tumbling out.
Let me now shift gears a bit and show you in pictures, what I've been doing.
Little man Elliott, was a bit sick on Sunday. Being the cat that he is, he sometimes gets into things he shouldn't, like Kaia's peanut butter treats. He vomited them up on Saturday night, then spent most of Sunday feeling quite sick, threw up two more times and just wasn't his usual bubbly self. Thankfully, after much prayer and no doubt the offensive treats making their way through his digestive system, he bounced back and got back to his sweet, funny, naughty nature.
I've been quite busy faffing back and forth, between the inside of the house and outside. Thought truth be told, it's been more in than out, because the triple digit temperatures we've been enduring the past few weeks, have been way too much to endure.
We are desperately needing rain, our rivers and ponds are drying up, our grass is all dead, our plants and fruit trees are struggling to survive. It's been quite the dry summer for us.
Inside though, the plants are thriving. So much so, that this gorgeous Peace Lily above decided to flower after about 3 years of not producing anything.
Let me tell you a little story about this specific plant. My sweet mother in law Pat, gifted me this Lily when my equally sweet grandmother Odete, passed away in 2016. Had this been years ago, this poor thing would have been dead within a month, tops. I just could not for the life of me, keep any plants alive.
But to see it not only thriving but now flowering, is just amazing. I am so happy to see this beautiful Lily in all it's glory.
In between my homemaking, I have also started a college course. Brace yourselves, I know you're probably wondering what on earth, and where did that come from?
But, this is a free course, amongst many others that are offered by Hillsdale College. It is called The Great American Story: A Land Of Hope, and is available for anyone who is interested to take. I must admit, I am quite enjoying it and learning more about our beautiful country.
They have quite a few free courses to enroll in, and I'm going to take a few more of these, just for fun. Wanna know my next?
No surprise, is there? Hahahahah
I have also been reading, a lot, like a lot. (That just reminded me of Johnny Depp's trial when Amber Heard on the stand said that when she met him, he drank a lot of tea, a lot of tea, like a LOT of tea. LOL)
This wonderful book pictured above, is for an upcoming review. It is called The Weekly Gratitude Project.
Also am on book 2 of Janette Oke's Women of the West series.....Julia's Last Hope.
And, currently, also reading What Will They Think? Nine Women in the Bible who can Help you live your Life Boldly by Grace Valentine (also for a review)
Desserts, cakes, and breads have also been working their way through the kitchen. Along with delicious home cooked meals.
This delicious looking pasta dish below, will be up on my food blog, hopefully by this afternoon. It is a really inexpensive, yummy meal that stretches quite far, and is the easiest thing to throw together.
The grill has also become our newest friend, and weekends are spent outdoors, under the gazebo, eating yummy things, like steak and these amazing Korean Barbecue Bratwurst, from our local butcher shop.
They are divine!
Homemaking is full speed ahead as well. I've moved things here and there, I've reorganized, cleaned and focused on keeping our home lived in and cozy. There is nothing quite like having a clean, tidy home is there?
For this purpose, I've relied on some trusty and long time favorite cleaners, like the Old English. I've been using it for over 20 years and have never found another that is as good.
You know I believe that when we find a good product, as long as it's still in production, why change it? They make so many. The shelves are usually packed full of dozens of cleaners, which sometimes just confuse a shopper. I just stick to what I know. anyone else like that?
In the garden, we've been having a hard time. The drought that I mentioned at the top of this post, hasn't been kind at all. Our little grape vine, has been coming along for 3 years. We actually thought it had died, but it suddenly sprung to life and has clung onto the wire fence. A few weeks ago we noticed a grape, one single grape. Can you spot it in the photo below?
I am hoping that eventually it will grow into more, but the fact that it has been growing slowly but steadily the past few years, is enough for me to appreciate.
I have two pepper plants, and only one has produced so far, and again, just one single pepper. What is it with the single fruit and veg?
My cherry tomato plant has been consistently providing beautiful red tomatoes, so at least this one is doing well.
One of my Hibiscus plants, has a ton of mushrooms growing in it's soil. Now, for a newish plant lover, as I am, this was a bit of a concern. I first noticed my money tree growing mushrooms, and now one of my Hibiscus.
But I researched it, and apparently it's normal and actually means your soil is quite rich and providing a wonderful ecosystem for your plant to thrive in. I was pulling the mushrooms out, and will continue to do so with my indoor money plant, because I don't want Elliott to get into it.
But as for my outdoor plants, I think I'll leave them be.
Besides, am I the only one that looks at this photo above, and immediately pictures a fairy house? There is something about this picture that is so magical in a sense. I have stared at it for far too long, but I can't help it, it takes me into fantasy worlds, with beautiful English forests.
Boy my mind can travel can't it?
And with that my dear friends, I bring this catch up post, to an end. I really enjoyed sitting with you and chatting a bit, bringing you up to speed with what I've been doing or working on, and showing you a bit of what is around me.
On today's agenda, I have:
- College Course Work
- Feeding my sourdough starter
- Pulling down my bag of fabrics to sort through, for a project I want to get into
- Watering all the plants out on the patio
- Taking more photos for another blog post
- Reading
- Hoping to finally watch the new Downtown Abbey movie
What are you up to today?
1 comment:
Hello. I found your blog a little while ago but don't know if I've ever commented. I'm also returning to blogging after doing it for over 10 years and then taking about a 2 year break. I had some mental health stuff keeping me down but am finally feeling like I'm emerging from it.
Your plant stories remind me of my own plant situations. We had a few rose bushes that we planted maybe 10 years ago. They did fine the first year or two then seemed to die off. Last year we noticed one was growing again, and this year that one exploded with blossoms and more growth! We were so surprised and happy! My cherry tomato plant is small and taking forever for the tomatoes to turn red. There are several on there, just growing very slowly. And my bell pepper plant is small too, with only one lonely pepper. We don't have a garden, just growing these in containers on the back porch.
Well, I love your style of blogging. I've gotten so turned off by all the bloggers now who are just in it for the money. They are all cookie cutter style, all pushing the same thing and loaded down with ads. Nope, I want something relatable and from the heart. So I will be sticking around here. =)
~Deb
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