We have six large maples that are half a century old framing our house.  I love the dappled light they make on the house in the morning and evening and the shade they provide in the summer.  They put on quite a show in the fall as well. There are a few downsides to having six large maple trees on your property, though.  They shed a lot of leaves in the fall.  A lot.  We have to pick up twigs and branches regularly in the yard to keep it tidy and save the mower blades.  Despite having the trees professionally crowned and cleaned last year, they still lose large branches when it’s really windy.  The other downside is those trees make a mess in the spring.  I didn’t really notice it last year, but I was pretty preoccupied with the kitchen renovation.  Since I’ve been outside a lot more this

On Instagram over the weekend, I shared a confession.  I posted, “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I still have pumpkins on my porch.”  Of course, I meant it to be a bit of self-deprecating humor, laughing at the fact that I had let pumpkins sit on my front porch almost three months past their prime.  Most people got the joke and a surprising number shared that they still had pumpkins on their porch as well.  A few people, though, were confused as to why I still had pumpkins on my front porch and why I would be sharing them on social media. While the post was just meant to be a bit of levity, there was something deeper behind it.  It was a way of saying, I’m a bit behind and it’s okay if you are, too.  I knew those rotting pumpkins would be familiar to

One thing I paid attention to when we were house hunting in Minnesota was light.  What kind of light came into the house?  Would it have mood-boosting sunny rooms that the camera loves?  The house we ended up purchasing had so much light.  Too much at times, in fact.  But, I basked in it and enjoyed it thoroughly.  None of the homes we looked at during our Maryland house hunt had good light.  They were all older homes with smaller windows, surrounded by mature trees and landscaping.  I am pretty optimistic when looking at a house, though; I felt we could brighten up the 1970s home we purchased.  Of course, it felt dark.  The curtains were drawn and shades were pulled in all of the rooms since it was summer and the house was empty.  There were other things that closed the place in like overgrown bushes in front of