Four things – little tidbits about nature, a beautiful human story from a surprising place, true words about hope, and annoying projects… what I’m reading I’m still finishing up a few of the longer books I’m reading, but I’m interspersing a few quotes a day from the little book, What I Know About Nature.  It’s a nice opportunity to hear about nature and why it is so inspiring and moving to us from people who can voice it well.  John Muir, Walt Whitman, EB White, and William Wordsworth are a few of the contributors.  It’s a nice little nugget of a book to pick up now and again. what I’m watching For movie night a few weeks ago, my youngest son suggested A Quiet Place Day One.  We watched A Quiet Place a few years ago and, even though horror isn’t my genre of choice, I thought it was a

Spring break for our boys is less than three weeks away and that means we’re heading back to Isle of Palms to spend a week in the sunshine with the sand between our toes, and enjoying the company of extended family.  It also means I’ll be back on the hunt for shells, one of my favorite things to do at the beach.  In addition to looking for whelks, olives, oysters, and any gnarly shell that catches my eye, I am excited to look for fossils. I’ve kept an eye out for sharks’ teeth and even took some focused time to sift through shards of shells in the hopes of finding some, but I have never found any at IOP.  I did find some at Myrtle Beach several years ago, but never at IOP.  What I did find, though, was a fossilized lion’s paw shell.  When I initially unearthed it from

I feel like I haven’t had a normal week since the Christmas break!  There always seemed to be a snow day, a two-hour delay, appointments smack in the middle of the day, sickness, and just a lot of life stuff that was disruptive to routine.  And, as much as I love winter and even cheer on the snow totals, a big part of me is ready for the warmer days of spring.  I seem to be solar-powered and more light means more home projects are completed.  I come out of my studio hibernation hole and tick more off the list.  I’m looking forward to seeing more birds at the birdbath, seeing perennials come back to life, and seeing the grass green up. The nice thing about keeping a blog is that I have a pretty detailed record of what I work on and when and I know my project season

We had an ice storm last night and into the morning, so Calvin had an “ice day” off school.  The roads were just wet this morning, so Jeff still went into work and Marshall went to his college class.  It made for a slow morning, though, and a day that felt like it should be a staycation kind of a day!  I ended up getting work done, though and took some time to do some meal-prepping as well.  I don’t plan everything in detail, but get some staples ready to make lunches and dinners quick and healthy.  I made a batch of rice and tried some refried beans for the first time. I’ve started working on some organizing with just one drawer, the junk drawer in the kitchen, and now I am getting excited to do more!  Anyway, here are my four things for this week… what I’m reading In

Can you believe it’s almost February?  Didn’t we just start decorating for Christmas?  Someone once told me that when you have kids, you press the fast-forward button on your life.  Of course, time travels at the same pace whether you have kids or not, but it does feel like the days, months, and years are going faster than they used to!  In the final days of January, here are my four things… what I’m reading After being a bit lazy with my daily walks, I am back to walking 3+ miles a day.  I have learned that December and January feel like hibernation months for me.  I just want to knit, paint, read, snuggle in hoodies, eat soup and bread, and give myself a bit of a break.  As an added bonus for my winter-loving self, we’ve had a couple of nice snows along with periods of below-freezing temperatures, so

This has been a quiet week and colder than usual for this area (Washington County, Maryland.)  I’ve spent a lot of time painting, writing, sketching, and other good cold-weather pursuits.  While it’s been in the single digits and teens much of the week, with a layer of crunchy snow on the ground, I’m already thinking about the garden waking up in a few weeks and what I want to tackle in the yard this year.  But, there are a few more weeks of reading, knitting, and indoor projects before we get there.  I’ll enjoy my hoodies, wool socks, and soup as long as I can. Here are my favorites from this winter week… what I’m reading I received an advance copy of Patina Homes & Gardens by the ever-talented Steve and Brooke Giannetti.  It comes out in just five days!  I have their other books, Patina Homes and Patina Farms, which

I’ve heard from several of my blog readers that they enjoy my Four Things series and it’s given them ideas for how to share on their own blogs or social media or even just in their personal records.  I’m so glad to hear that!  I always hope my blog posts will be a jumping-off point for the creative work (and hobbies) of those who read it. For those who have been waiting for my next original art sale, it will be happening next Friday, January 24, 2025.  I’ll post a preview with more details, available works, sizes, and prices on Monday. So, here are my four things… what I’m reading I’ve been researching the history of record keeping for the past few months and, believe it or not, it has been a fascinating subject that has led me down more rabbit holes and to more books.  I’ve been reading about