Mental health and what the sunset has to do with it.

 On Decemer 2nd, right as it was getting ridiculously cold, I decided that for the sake of my mental health, I was going to get out every evening at sunset and photograph the sky, even if there was nothing to photograph. 

I read somewhere that getting outside, getting out of the house, just standing outside...it's good for you. 

I'm proud to say that I have kept to my promise, even if there were days where I stood on my front porch with a camera, and didn't venture out. Below zero temps are no joke, folks. 

I will say that I've noticed a difference, and that I look forward to my sunset walks. Sometimes, one or both of my girls will come. Sometimes, it's just me. Sometimes, Haroldeen (the cat who showed up at my house a few years back) will join me. 

Anyway, all of this to say that some evenings there is no sunset. Some evenings it's so foggy I can't see my hand in front of my face. Sometimes I gasp and gawk. But I'm out there every evening...and I love every evening. 

Please enjoy these pictures that I've taken here and there. 

This isn't the sunset but it's from tonight's sunset walk. Goose and Haroldeen. 

This is the beginning of sunset, this evening. 

This is the other day. The sky was the color of cotton candy. 

Late January

Also January. Pretty sure that was the day we were heading for below zero temps. What on earth I was doing on the running trail I'll never know. 

December. There wasn't much of a sunset that day, but the sky was so, so pretty. 

Also December. Just a little hint of pink. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is please find whatever little shred or scrap of joy you can, and hang on to it. I feel like we're all struggling right now, for one reason or another. Maybe it's always been that way, and I never noticed it before. But I can see how tired people's eyes are, whether it's in line at the grocery or while I'm out on the running trail. Life is hard, folks...and we should treat ourselves and each other kindly. 

Take care of yourselves 

Happy Homemaker Monday: Monday February 17, 2025

 This will be my second blog post of the day...I know, I know. I don't post for a year and a half and then TWO posts in one day? I'm trying, folks. I really am. So here we go. 

The weather in my neck of the woods: Well, it's definitely still Winter here in the mountains, and we've been given a stark reminder of that. I woke up to 14 degrees and snow. We have lows in the single digits for two nights this week, and then back up to almost 50 degrees in ten days. This is all honestly pretty typical of February, so I'm glad for that. 

As I look outside my window: My side yard is covered in snow, but it's sunny outside. The wind is still blowing, but not howling like it was last night. My neighborhood is blanketed and mostly quiet. 

Right now, I am: Typing up this post from the comfort of my bedroom and singing (badly) along with Noah Kahan to "Bury Me." Watching Ren the cat sleep at the edge of the bed. 

Something fun to share: Target has a whole fun batch of scents from a brand called Finery, and the Magnetic Candy scent is pretty darn great. Sorry, that's all I have. Ella and I hit up Target last week and I found this body mist and I am pretty excited about it. 

Thinking and Pondering: A lot, especially how we carry our childhood trauma around, and how we have to be so careful not to let it spill over onto our children. I had to have a very difficult discussion with my youngest daughter about her Dad and it cut my heart to the core because what the heck, man. We need to be trying so much harder for our kids. 

Also, I'm excited to be heading out with a friend today. I needed a break from work and all things house-y, and work-y. (Last week was a real long week, y'all).

On my bedside table: Journals, planners, post-its and paperclips I had to buy last week for work. 

On my TV: Degrassi High, School Spirits, Will Trent, Scamanda (what am I WATCHING?!!!), Next Level Chef. 

Listening to: The hum of the heat, Goose turning pages in a book, my Noah Kahan playlist on Spotify. 

On the menu for this week: Tonight, we're having Hamburger Soup. Tomorrow is Chicken Ramen Stir Fry. I haven't planned beyond that, as I go grocery shopping tomorrow (Wednesday we're supposed to get real bad weather and I don't much feel like going shopping in real bad weather)

On my to-do list: Make dinner, change some light bulbs, tidy up the living room. 

Happening this week: Thankfully, not much. I'm grocery shopping tomorrow, and some of the local crafty ladies are meeting up on Friday, so I'm looking forward to that. 

What I am sewing, knitting, creating, etc: My favorite ancient skirt (it was given to me a bunch of years ago and it was old then) needs mending so I'll be doing that. Also! I have a macrame kit that I'm going to make with the kids. 

My simple pleasure: Reading, you guys. Holy heck. I read two books in the last week and I've forgotten how much I love it. Also sunset walks. 

Lesson learned this past week: I go hard for my kids. Do not mess with them, even if you are "family" to them. Having grown up the way I did, it makes me extra protective of my girls, and heaven help whoever hurts their feelings or upsets them. 

Looking around the house: It's bright and cheerful, and I'm glad for that because it's disgusting outside. I love how our homes become our little sanctuaries from the outside world. 

From the camera: 

I have suncatchers in both of my kitchen windows and they make me SO HAPPY. 

Prayer list: My friend (God knows who she is), this country, the whole entire planet. 

Bible verse, devotional: At church, the pastor talked about giving love away, if you're hoping to receive it. It made a lot of sense...and then brought me to the verses in 1 Corinthians chapter 13...we're not really anything without love. 

Well, my dears, have an amazing day and an amazing week! 

Recipe: Chicken Gnocchi Skillet

 I've decided to resurrect the recipe part of my blog/writing, if only so I have a written record of these things...because otherwise I never write down recipes. Ella's forever asking me how to make (insert food here) and I can never give her even a basic recipe. (Because, as I've said, I never write these things down)

I made this yesterday evening, and while attempting to photograph food I realized two things. 

1) I'm out of practice. My food photography has suffered in my blogging absence. 

2) The kitchen chandelier had 2 burn out bulbs that I hadn't noticed. Whomp. 

But here we go. 

Chicken Gnocchi Skillet. 

Disclaimer: All of my recipes are written with zero measurements, and I eyeball literally everything. If you're looking for scientific, super specific recipes, this unfortunately is not the blog for you. 

What you'll need: 

**Butter and Olive Oil

**Chicken (I use the pre-cut stir fry stuff)

**Mushrooms (either canned or fresh, we just happened to have fresh on hand)

**Frozen veggies (we use the frozen mixed vegetables from Aldi for this one, because it's what we had on hand) 

**Chicken broth (or water and chicken bouillion powder)

**Shredded parmesan cheese (not grated)

**Half n half (or heavy whipping cream, or milk, all of these work just fine)

**salt, pepper, your favorite spices

**pre-packaged gnocchi (pasta aisle at your local grocery)

What you gotta do: 

**Heat up your oil and butter in a pan and use it to saute the chicken. Add your favorite spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, etc) 

**Add your mushrooms and your veggies, and enough chicken broth to allow things to start steaming through  

**Meanwhile boil water for your gnocchi

*Add in the gnocchi into the boiling water. It's ready when it floats to the top. Meanwhile, add in the parmesan cheese to your skillet with the chicken and veggies. 

**Stir that around and add the milk/cream/half n half, to make a lovely little sauce

**Your gnocchi should be ready by now, so go ahead and add that into your skillet

**Stir everything around until it's all incorporated. Top with parsley, or dill, or basil, or whatever you like. 

This was delicious, and well received by everybody, so that makes it a success in my book. 

Happy Homemaker Monday: February 10, 2025

 Good...afternoon. Today's been all kinds of weird, because of scheduling and such, but I'm doing my best to keep it all together, and so far it's working-ish. Some days, that's the best we can do. 

The Weather in My Neck of the Woods: We're back to seasonable temperatures, and rain. Thankfully, not a lot, but there's still potential for flooding and our infrastructure honestly doesn't need more flooding. Not after Helene. We have temperatures in the teens overnight next week, and honestly, that's still not the negatives we saw a few weeks back, so I'm happy enough. 

As I look outside my window: The sun is out, but it's that winter-bleary sunshine, and not bright like it was last week. There's clouds out there and I know they mean rain/seasonal weather, and that's actually pretty comforting to me. 

Right now, I am: Typing this post, debating lunch, lamenting having to finish some pretty heavy-duty paperwork for the dahlias. Basically cycling through my to-do list. Also watching Renfield the giant white cat at the end of the bed who looks annoyed that I'm not paying him all the attention. 

Someting fun to share (a blog, a video, a tip) This is totally not a tip, or anything, but last week, I tried the Starbucks Blackberry Sage Lemonade because it sounded really weird. It ended up actually being really good, so I guess your tip/advice is to try the weird things, they may turn out pretty dang good. 

Thinking and pondering: I want to find an excuse to go outside today, other than just my usual run/walk/whatever. Maybe I'll stop by the thrift store with Goose later. Hmm. I think I need to buy bread, as we are on our last loaf.  And there's my excuse. 

On my bedside table: Books, my planner, my Kindle, a random clip of Goose's that she left here and I'll be returning to her room shortly. My tiny mug of coffee with the mushrooms on it. 

On my T.V: Scamanda, Found (I need to catch up!), School Spirits (anybody else watching, what in the actual heck is going ON?) , Animal Control (if it's back) . Also I found Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, and I've already seen every episode of Degrassi: TNG and Degrassi: Next Class so I guess I'm gonna start from the beginning, hehe. 

Listening to: The clack of the keyboard, Goose in the next room, and myself whistling. My Dad whistled all the time and it drove my mother nuts. I find myself whistling a lot and it makes me happy because it reminds me of Dad. 

On the menu for this week: Today, we're having Winter Soup (like potato soup, but add a bunch of extra veggies), Tomorrow is Oregano Chicken with Rice, Wednesday we're having Cube Steak and Egg noodles, Thursday is Chicken Quesadilas, and Friday is Broccoli Cheddar Soup (in the crockpot because I'm grocery shopping that day)

On my to-do list: Buy bread, finish up that paperwork, make that soup, read my book. I'm so used to burning the candle at both ends that I've had to schedule time to do things like read books and basically lay around and laze about. 

Happening this week: I'm meeting with a client on Thursday, grocery shopping on Friday...I'm also going thrifting with the girls on Thursday afternoon. I'm also de-stuffing clothes for the girls and for myself. 

What I am sewing/knitting/crocheting/creating: I'll be designing some client gardens and I'm going to try and make suncatchers with Goose. 

My simple pleasure: My little sunset walks which I do solely for the purpose of my mental health. I didn't realize that getting out of the house (usually alone) for even five minutes was going to have such a positive effect on my mental state. 

Lesson learned this past week: We literally have no idea what people are going through, so just please be kind. Some people do a really good job of hiding when they are having a hard time and don't often speak about what's bothering them, and there are always various reasons for that. For everybody's sake, it's better to be kind. 

Looking around the house: Does anybody else have *THE CHAIR* where laundry and/or coats congregate? We do and it's driving me nuts. Not nuts enough to do anything about it...just yet, but that time is fast approaching. 

From the camera: Goose asked me for a haircut this weekend, and here are the results

Prayer List: The friend I mentioned last week, Gabe (may he learn to take better care of himself), this whole entire country, and the planet. 

Bible Verse, Devotional: I don't really have a specific verse in mind, but we were in the 24th Chapter of Luke in church yesterday, and I noticed that on the walk to Emmaus, when Jesus walked with the disciples (and they had no idea who he was), in hindsight, they realized He was there the whole time, and that gave me a lot to think about, in the times where I've felt "alone."

Until next time...maybe I'll even get a recipe up here! 

Happy Homemaker Monday: February 3, 2025

 Happy Homemaker Monday: February 3, 2025

I'm honestly trying, y'all. I had big hopes of posting early this morning, but things got outta hand pretty quickly and somehow I ended up elbows deep in tubers and then at Lowe's Hardware, buying potting soil. Ah, the flower farmer life, right? Anyway, moving onto this week's Happy Homemaker Monday 

The weather in my neck of the woods: It's unseasonably warm, after a week and a half of unseasonable cold, so I'm enjoying it and keeping my mouth shut lest February hears me and starts behaving like February. We're back into more seasonable temps (high 30's as the high and high 20's as the low) next week, but after -3 degrees, I think I can do that standing on my head. 

As I look outside my window: There's so much sunshine and it makes me so happy. My chamomile is coming back and amazingly, my strawberries survived the frigid cold. 

Right now, I am: Sitting in my bedroom, typing up this post. Mentally cringing on how many mistakes I have to go back and correct because I am not on my phone and there's no autocorrect here, ha. Texting my friend about journaling. She says she wishes she could get more into it, I say there's no time like the present. 

Thinking and pondering: Dreaming about my garden. Rushing myself through this post so I can get outside with Goose and maybe go to the park. Wondering where the heck my camera charger ran off to. 

On my bedside table: My coffee mug, books, notebooks, a carousel of markers and pens, nail polish, a charger cord for my old-school Kindle, two crows: one ceramic, one plastic. 

On my TV: "Found", "Animal Control" (because Joel McHale), Hell's Kitchen, Scamanda. 

Listening to: "Busyhead" by Noah Kahan. Also, the "That Chapter" podcast with Ella every week. Love me some true crime. 

On the menu this week: Well, tonight we're having beef stew, tomorrow we're doing sausace and taco rice, Wednesday is chicken soup, Thursday is chicken strips, mac and cheese and veggies, Friday I'm making beef veggie soup. Saturday may be a fend for yourself day. Sunday will be one-pot spaghetti. 

On my to-do list: I'm gonna make scones, run the dishwasher, and take Goose to the park. 

Happening this week: Tomorrow Goose goes on a play date with her best friend and also I have to clean the fridge (bleh), Wednesday I go grocery shopping and Friday I'm doing the beginning of the garden cleanup so I can just kind of chill and exist this weekend. 

What I am sewing/knitting/crocheting/creating: I'm still pretty hopeless with all of that stuff, but trying real hard to change it. 

My simple pleasure: Waking up before the girls and having a quiet house where it's just me and the cats and rabbit and drinking my coffee in relative silence. 

Lesson learned the past week: Appreciate it when somebody puts in the effort. I spent years being real hard on myself, which later led me to be real hard on people...especially people I love. I may not always slow down and notice the effort that's being put forth into a relationship and I really have to cut that out. 

Looking around the house: It's so bright and SUNNY! I can't get over how much of a difference the sunshine makes to me. We have suncatcher window clings Ella and I impulse-bought over the winter and they are the prettiest things ever. 

From the camera: I got my plants a disco ball for nearly nothing at a local thrift store. The silliest little things make me so happy. 

Prayer list: I have a friend who is in a bad situation and I can't name her, but God knows who she is and what the situation is. Otherwise, this country, this planet. 

Bible verse, Devotional: Did y'all know that "Prayer" is mentioned something like 400 times in the Bible? That just blows my mind. 

I hereby promise to come back to this blog and put recipes and such up. I've missed this.