Sunday Happy

What. The. Fuck.

We are all thinking it in some shape or form because this new world we are living in so strange, and kind of scary. But I am ok. Are you ok?

So the week, well it’s been a blur. Ever since Sunday we have stayed away from everyone except my two older sisters with the littles and Barb. And those guys are staying away from everyone too. We are in our own quarantine bubble. With Megan still working and Erin being a single mom with 3 kids, the mr, Barb, and I have become child care for the other guys. A kid walking service as it may seem.(HA)  Everyday we have been taking the littles hiking in the woods. It is so good for them and so good for us. Fresh air, trees, the sound of bird chirping… Nothing beats it. And I think after this is over, that’s what I’m gonna do. Dog walkers are a dime a dozen. Little walkers, that is where it’s at. I’ll pick up your littles, run them through the woods and then drop them off exhausted and covered in mud. Now that is genius! I am so smart!

Other then that, just staying away from everyone! We are not doing any jobs at the moment and are lucky that we can still do a few things that need doing without having to worry about being in contact with people. The mr has done a few things for some elderly people this week that are to vulnerable to go out into the world because he is an amazing and generous person, but he is being safe and keeping all the distance. I know that this has been harder on him then on me. He is a very social person and usually sees and talks to dozens of people everyday. Usually in and out of multiple peoples houses, in stores, just basically all over, so this week he has been home and I think he might be going a little nuts! But he is fine and is dealing pretty well. Then there is me. Besides from not working at the studio or going to the gym, my life has not taken a hit what so ever. And my food diet has stayed exactly the same and I know I am very lucky to have been living the life of a vegan hermit for years now. Beans, oh I got beans. Bread, well that gets baked here everyday. Boared, um, heck no, I have a million things on my list of things to do and my studio is in the basement so there is always work to be done. And no, I would rather not you come over to my house. Ever. This has already been my life. I think the hardest thing for me at the moment is just the worrying about the world and worrying about my parents and those that are high risk. It is overwhelming and that is when I start to feel crazy and scared. That is when I open a book and read. Everyone is doing all this TV watching right now and I get that. You do you. Me, reading is what is keeping my brain sane, it’s my escape. What about you? Are you a reader or a watcher? If a reader, what are you reading now? I think after I finish this book I am currently on I’m going to go for round 5 of re-reading all the Harry Potters. It’s been a few years and I think it’s the perfect time, don’t yo think?

Today. Well the mr and I are going to drink coffee together, talk about the news that happened over night and then some things that are a little less heavy. Then I am going to bake another loaf of bread for lunch, rake the yard and assess the garden beds, and drink more coffee. After lunch we are grabbing the littles and walking them down to the waterfront to get their daily dose of sunlight and exercise and yes, we are going to feed the ducks.

Oh, and Happy SPRING!!!! And stay healthy.

Internet that I have looked at this week.

-Even though shit is mad crazy right it is not an excuse to waste food! What to Do With Ingredients That Are About to Go Bad. Also. The Right Way to Freeze Basically Everything

-I think this is a lot of peoples truth right now. I Can't Stop Eating My Coronavirus Food Stockpile

-Let the fart jokes begin! Let the Music Play: Joe Yonan’s Guide to Minimizing Bean-Induced Flatulence

-These are the coolest puzzles. A LITTLE SOMETHING OLD SCHOOL.

-America's Shopping List: Here's What We're Buying The Most. Do you have your oatmilk?

-Nows the perfect time. How to start birding in any US city

-Important. How to Clean Your Ears (Properly), According to ENTs

-Wow. This is awesome Japanese Chef Has Filled Notebooks with Delectable Illustrations of All of His Meals for 32 Years

-I Tried the “Whipped Coffee” Trend Taking Over the Internet. Here’s How It Went. Thinking this could be a great way to frost a cake!

-Now more then ever it is important to know what you are eating! The dark side of convenience food, and what the future holds for ready-to-eat meals

And pictures from the week.

-C

Sunday Happy

I think this might be the week. The week were I take off the down comforter from the bed, wash all of my winter hats and mittens and pack them away, and stick the snow shovels back uderneath the back porch. After this past week of warmish spring weather I am calling it. I am now pretty much officially over winter. Bring on the sandals, the open windows, the leaving the house with our layer after layer! Every year I forget how much I love spring until we get a little spring weather and then I remember how glorious it is. Don’t get me wrong, I have lived in VT my whole life and know that there is bound to be at least one more snow storm but whatever, it won’t last long so pack up winter I will and into spring mode I go!

So a good week weather wise. And life wise it wasn’t bad either. The mr and I got out of town and checked out some land (no go). We voted like good citizens then got rid of the Christmas tree that had been frozen in the front lawn for the past 3 months. I went to the dentist and received all the praise for very clean teeth and walked out with lots of free dental floss because I floss A LOT. Went for lots of walks whenever I could. Went over to have dinner at moms. Spent a good amount of time in the studios. Picked up farm share and almost got the car stuck in a mud pit but didn’t so that was a win. And I replaced the nasty ass shower curtains in the shower. Plus good on me, I even made a dent in the pile of paperwork I am currently going thought for the taxes. I have been so productive and accomplished. Its a great feeling. I owe it all to the windows being open and all the fresh air. And coffee. I have been drinking a shit ton of coffee this week but I guess what’s new?

Oh an I almost forgot, my website to buy pottery is up!!!!! Started small and simple so there are only a few mugs up as of now, but I am planning on doing a big shop update with lots more in the next few weeks. Until then, at least it exists for real now. And if you need a mug, go here. stem+node.

Today I am going to try not to think to much about what time it is because daylight savings (did you remember that?). Every year I do it, play that game about how yesterday it was an hour earlier and what time is it really when I need to just forget about it and adjust accordingly. It’s just hard when your body is on one schedule and your brain is on another. But other then that, just going to stop in and hang with the little for a bit, maybe go for a nice long walk, and then do some chores that need doing that I am not looking forward to. Or not. I might just skip that last part and sit on the front porch and read all afternoon…. Tough call here but I have a feeling the porch might win out, at least for some portion of that day.

Links from my week of interneting.

-These things are so popular right now. I freaking hate them. Is a Weighted Blanket the Sleep Solution You’ve Been Waiting For?

-Reupholstered and it feels so good. What it’s really like to get a sofa covered on a budget. I love our couch and hope to one day get it reupholstered but have wondered if it is worth it. Especially when the mr eats on it and get butter stains all over it……

-A lot of people don’t realize this. Your Fancy Honey Might Not Actually Be Honey

-We need this. Step-by-Step Instructions on Making the Paper Airplane that Broke World Records

-Blueprints for an Aframe. Our future!

What’s the Point of Panic Shopping? I am slightly shocked at how worked up some people seem to be about having months of food on hand. I figured everyone would just order all their food and stuff form amazon like usual.

-I can smell smoker from a mile away. And I avoid them. Smokers expose you to ‘thirdhand smoke’ just by being in the same room

-Should You Do It in Jeans? Once in a while I’ll see someone at the gym working out in jeans. It freaks e out. Worst yet, trying to do yoga. How? HOW!

-Simple and clean. SERENITY NOW.

-Holy shit that is a lot of sugar. Your favorite childhood cereals, ranked by sugar

And pictures from the week.

-C

Sunday Happy

Wholly Guacamole is it really March? The passing of time can really mess with my brain. I swear it’s still like 1998 and I should be wearing baggy jeans with my portable CD player, listening to Hanson, on my way to soccer practice. But no. Now I am sitting here, looking at pictures of all the littles who are growing oh so fast, waiting for the coffee to be brewed so I can go on being a functioning adult and shit. And now it’s a new month with new bills and taxes are due soon so I better get on that. But hey, that is life right?

The past week. It came and it went. We were busy busy with all the normal stuff. The littles are all out of school for vacation so we saw them a good amount, had a couple sleep overs, did the usual there. We had dinner with Mom, had coffee over at Barbs, I finally took the Christmas lights down off the front porch, and now I want to rip my entire house apart, repaint, and put to all back together. (I am getting the spring cleaning bug.) I spent a lot of my time working on pieces here at home and at the studio that will be for sale soon and yes, the website is done, just not live yet. I just need to figure out the glitchy PayPal crap (I am such a slow poke), so by Wednesday, by Wednesday for sure it will be up and running?!!!

Anyway, how was your week? Did you enjoy your extra day of the year or did you not even realize that we had that extra day this month? Me, I didn’t take the day as anything extra, but I did think a lot about how when I was a little kid I wished that I was born on leap day and that those people who were born on leap day were somehow extra special. I mean, how cool would it be to have a birthday once every four years? If it were me, I would totally have the best birthday celebrations on those years. Then the other years when the day doesn’t exist, I could just pretend I don’t have a birthday and I could just hide away as usual. HA.

Today both the mr and I have a few things we need to do but then we are going to take off for a few hours, find a place to eat lunch out in the wild and try to go for a hike of some sort. I am craving solitude and trees and by dang it, I will find it. Also I think today calls for a lot of coffee because I am just want to drink all the coffee in the world,all the time. I woke up with my mouth watering just thinking about it.

Internet to brows at your leisure.

-Do you know why we leap year? Why leap years exist. Apparently shit would go crazy If we didn’t.

-This is how much exercise you need to get to see a benefit to your brain. Every little bit counts!

-I think I have to watch this. Martha Stewart’s New TV Show Sounds Like a Cross Between “The Great British Baking Show” and “Survivor”

-Everyone and there mom either has or wants a Kitchenaid. Not going to lie, I had one for a little while but had the mr sell it. I didn't use it. But I still think they are pretty. How the KitchenAid Stand Mixer Achieved Icon Status

-Never Deep-Cleaned Your Mattress? Now Is the Time. I usually do a deep clean ever 2 months. If you have any dust allergies at all, it really is a must.

-Tiny Habits' Are The Key To Behavioral Change. WE have to start somewhere and all those tiny things add up.

-I hate drones but I love a good aerial photo. Aerial Photographs of Vast Ocean Landscapes by Tobias Hägg Observe Earth’s Propensity for Change

-4 Surprising Reasons People Love Not Having Laundry in Their Apartments. Don’t get me wrong, I will never go back to not having a washer and dryer again, but the mr and I used to have so much fun at laundromats.

-So whats your take on this? There’s a fly in my waffle! Scientists experiment with larva fat to replace butter.

-I have wondered about this before so it was interesting to read this article. Do Butterfly Wings Overheat Under the Sun?

And pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

We finally got us some real winter around here and I couldn’t be any happier! YIPPE!

How was your week? Mine was good, if not a little on the hectic side, but what is new?

I started out Sunday at the art market. Of course by the time I got there I was feeling like complete shit. The ick that was in and out of me all last week was in at the time and I just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep. But I trudged on and had a great time, hanging out, talking to people, checking out the other vendors. Iit was cool, and completey exhausting. I learned real quickly that the hardest part about selling stuff in person is having to be a person and talk to a lot of people. HA. So after the market, I came home, ate soup, and slept. Spent the next day not talking to anyone and keeping myself on the low key trying to keep the ick a bay.

And then Tuesday and Wednesday came any went with the normal stuff of work, family, life.

Thursday was very productive. Woke up to snow which started the day great, and the mr and I (but mostly the mr) spent the day tearing out old cupboards from the basement and building out shelves for my studio. And let me tell you, having a wall of shelves, fantasticly built shelves mind you, in my studio is a game changer. I have so much space now and it is freaking amazing. That mr. He really is just a pretty great dude.

Friday started off with me chipping away at least 1/2 and inch, if not more, of ice from the car. Seriously took me like 20 minutes to get it cleaned just enough to drive, which was the last thing I was interested in doing at 5am. But what are you gonna do? Anyway, I managed to de-ice, and go along my way, even if I did break the stupid ice scraper. Oops. But it was all worth it because after the night of ice, we got the snow storm! I think it was reported we got 15 inches, all within like 10 hours. Heavy, big, beautiful snow. I was home early in the day and the mr came home around lunch and tried to leave again afterwards but the roads were complete shit so we were stuck. And I LOVE being stuck in snow weather. It makes me feel like a kid again and that nothing but being comfy matters. So I spent the afternoon interchanginging my snow boots to shovel and walk around in the storm, and my respirator because when I was inside, I was in my studio, with my new shelves,c leaning away. I am trying to get all the dust and grossness out which is a hard task to do to a 100 year old basement that is now a pottery studio, but I am trying!

Yesterday was amazing. All the fresh snow, the bluest of blue skies, crisp, clean, cold air without much wind. A+ perfection. Sure my shoulders were a little sore from all the shoveling that Friday brought, but good sore if that you know what I mean. And so the day went. Did the usual, got the chores done, the grocery shopping in, the work done. Then we hung out with the littles for a while. The mr and Miley shoveling out the driveway, me and Judah attempted to make paper flowers, and hung out while waiting for Coco to come home from the hospital. (He had to spend a few days there because he choked and aspirated but he is doing alright now.) When he finally did come home, the first he did was throw a fit because he wanted chocolate. So all was good there and so we left and came back home to eat and sleep.

Today I am going to hit the gym early, come home and toss beans and pre-chopped veggies (because I planned ahead!) into the slow cooker for dinner and then I am back at it. 11-3, selling my wares at the art market (It’s in Winooski at 2creativecommunity) Rainbows and heart mugs. So if you want to pick up a little something sweet for your sweety and/or yourself, come on down. And yes, Valentines day is next week, but that really shoudnt’t be the reason to buy a heart of rainbow. Treating yourself and/or a lover/friend/sister/brother/mother/crossing guard (you get the idea) to a piece that makes you/them happy is what it’s all about. And it lasts every dang day forever!(Unless you break it so don’t do that.)

Click on the links to read the internet stuff that I read this week.

-I used to nap a lot more. I think I need to make more time for it. How Long Should a Nap Be?

-Why Some Vegetarians (Like Me) Aren’t Excited About Beyond, Impossible, and Other New Meatless Meats. This is my truth!

-I clicked on a thing and ended up seeing this Sabrina Cord Pinafore Dress. And now I want it.

-This Charming A-Frame Cabin. I could live without the hot tub but the stove… Swoon!

This. Bumblebees Are Disappearing Because Of Extreme Heat. And this. It Was 65 Degrees In Antarctica This Week Feeling pretty freaking fucked.

-So sweet and I want it! Carpenter Dad Turns His Kid’s Drawing into a Real-Life Piece of Furniture

-Why Grocery Stores Have Tiny Kid-Size Carts. I just thought it was to keep the kids busy while the grown ups shopped.

-Whats even the point without “Be mine”? Sweethearts Conversation Hearts Are Back, But They're Not Very Chatty

-Most humans don’t have tails. So why do we have the bones for it?….MOST? I miiiight be one of those that have a little tail. HA

-The Dark Origins Of Valentine's Day. It’s not all dark. am a V day lover. The mr and I always take the day to spend together. We usually go for a hike or something outdoorsy, pack a lunch and get good coffee. And a few years ago we started a tradition of buying a new plant for ourselves, together. Because that is what valentines day is, a day to spend together. Chocolate and flowers not needed!

Pictures from the week

Sunday Happy

Welp, we had a few days of winter. But all that nice pretty snow, well it’s basically all gone again due to all the freaking RAIN. Honestly, what the real fuck. I am starting to think that we won’t have any real winter this year and I am made as hell about it. And no I don’t want to hear it, that you like the warmer days and all that. It is winter, in Vermont, so it it suppose to be snowy and cold. GRRRRRRRRR. (Rant over)

The week came and went with the usual and such. The mr and I went snow shoeing one afternoon, built new shelves on the wall in the living room, and started talking about a time we need to talk about tax stuff. Blah. I also turned a year older, spent a good amount of time working on my pottery that will be up for sale soon (heart mugs are looking good!), picked up farm share, worked at the studio, and did this and that and what have you.

Then the past few days have been kind of crap with me having some sort of head thing. My head feels like an overinflated ballon that is full of jelly and is wrapped in rubber bands. Not exactly sick but not exactly not sick either. And me being me, and as the mr pointed out, when I feel under the weather I tend to feel guilty and push myself to do stuff which is the exact opposite of what I tell everyone else to do when they feel like crap. Not really the best approach to getting better. So I think I really need to work on being ok with feeling like shit and doing nothing and not trying to clean out the basement. HA

Today the mr and I have a good amount of chores to do so that is the plan for the day. I still, as of now, am feeling like real shit so I am going take it easy while running around. And at least with chores comes coffee and no matter how crappy I feel, I won’t complain about coffee.

Links into the world wide web.

-When I am tired for no reason it is most definitely stressed induced. What Kind of Tired Are You?

-I feraking love this. Use ‘Roadside Wildflowers at Full Speed’ to Identify Plants Without Leaving Your Car

Before You Buy a Persimmon, Remember This. I have yet to buy one this year. Maybe today I will seek one out

-THE SUBVERSIVE JOY OF COLD-WATER SWIMMING. I think if I swam, I would be really into this.

-A long read about worms and why they are not as great as people think they are. Cancel Earthworms.

-What Percentage of the Human Brain Is Used? I don’t know about your brain, but I am pretty sure I use a lot more then 10% If I had to guess, probably around 70%. 80% on a good day. Ha

-Super into this house. Look Inside: This Bright Red ‘70s Ski House Is on the Market  

-Winter actiivnites and all the places to camp this time of year. Vermont State Parks Winter Activities.

-Whwnever I hear about anything that ws said by anyone from “GOOP”, I instantly think “bullshit” especially when it comes to anything vagina related. 'The Goop Lab' Is Just 'Jackass' for Girls

-Secondhand screen time may be just as dangerous as secondhand smoking. No shit. I see it all the time.

Pictures from the week.

-C