Sunday Happy

If you were not stupid hot this past week well then weren't you just the luckiest one. Me, I was on the verge of a god damn breakdown. SO hot and humid for so long, I seriously was losing my shit. But I am better now because the heat wave broke and I can move, breath, and think again. And what I am thinking is that summer should be over and I am 100% ready fall.

Beside the heat wave almost killing me and making me the most miserable and bitchy person in the world, the week was great. It started off with family hoopla up in Belvedere. My Dad was here, the cousins, and most of the siblings. We ran around, talked and yelled, complained about this and that, and laughed at the expense of each other. Then the mr and I, with the help of the littles, set up our tent in the field and when were were overly exhausted that night, we crawled into then tent for a little shut eye. ( I barely slept because the tent was set up by the littles and they placed in on a weird incline so I was like rolling around all night.) The next morning I woke up early and took a walk to the river with Megan, drank all of Dads coffee, packed up the tent wit the mr, and then half of us went for a long ass bike ride. By the time we were finished, I was finished and it was starting to get really hot. It was a great couple of days and it was time to go home.

And then it got even hotter and more humid. A freaking heatwave. So I did what I could to not melt or kill someone. I spent most of my time either working in the basement or laying on the kitchen floor. I dis go on a little hike by the lake with the Mr, Megan and So thinking it might be a little cooler (it was not) and then had all the littles over for an afternoon of popsicles, ice cream, and sprinkler action, but ther then that I can’t really think of to much else that was done because well my brain was fried.

But then it rained yesterday. Really hard really fast and the heat broke. Thank fucking god because I could take it anymore. So even though I spent most of the day doing chores, cutting hair, and freaking out about stupid things, I was much better then I had been all week.

I am excited for today. I am not sure if it is because we are tossing the camping shit into the car and getting out of here or if it because it is only suppose to get into the mid 70’s and with no humidity. Either one, I am here and happy for it! A day of kayaking and hiking and sleeping outside. The good stuff.

Internet from the week

-July Was The Hottest Month In Recorded Human History. Yes and now we are fucked.

-Has This Summer Felt Off to Anyone Else?, One hundred percent yes.

-Antivaxers Think Their ‘Pure’ Semen Will Skyrocket in Value. Wow. Wow, wow wow.

-One of the nephews ins moving into a dorm for the first time and let me tell you, his mama is losing her shit and buying it all. Also, his dorm is five minutes from his house and around the corner from a store if he needed to get anything. The college dorm shopping industrial complex is real

-A Great British Spraycation.

-Where there is a risk for fire well it is a no brainer. It’s Time to Cancel Campfires

-Cake season is coming upon us, especially me. At least 2 birthday cakes a month for the next 8 months! Cake Is Hard—Here Are 7 Pro Tips to Make Cake Baking Easier

-This is exactly where I should live. Completely in love. The Soot House: Conjuring the Ghosts of Old New England on Spruce Head in Maine

-Don’t Throw Out Your Olive Brine!. I always use olive brine to splash on veggies. It is delicious. Don’t Throw Out Your Olive Brine!

-Ducks, Otters, and Other Wildlife Plunge into Water in Intricate Split-View Embroideries. I want these, they are so fantastic.

Pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

I am ready, ready for summer to be over. It was so nice for a few days. Not hot, cool nights, but then it started to get hot again and I started to get real bitchy again so yeah, done with it. Plus I am really craving apples. 🍎🍏🍎

We had a good start to the week with a great camp adventure. Sure it rained a whole bunch but we knew that going in so we were prepared. Rain jackets, a canopy to put over the picnic tables, extra clothes. And really, most of the day it wasn’t pouring to badly and hiking around in the woods, the rain doesn’t get you ad bad. We did decide not to bring the kayaks because I wasn’t feeling lightning and water, but hey, that is just me. And we were able to have a nice big warm fire after dinner thanks to the mr been smart and good with flames and wood. It was great and perfect timing too because once we crawled into the tent for the night, well that was when the rain really started to come down. But again, no worries, we started dry.

And we woke up, still a little rain coming down, made coffee, tossed everything into the car and headed back to the rest of the week.

What did we do? Nothing much different then all the rest if the weeks. Hung with Barb, Had the littles over for food and play and then had a girls afternoon where Barb, Miley, and I made cookies and cakes for the upcoming weekend. I have been harvesting lots of goodies from the garden, pickling and freezing all the zucchini, and watching my pumpkin rapidly grow bigger and bigger. I thew some pots, but things have been drying really slow so that means studio stuff slows down too. And thats about sums it up I guess.

Today is the annual Stem family get together. (We didi’t do it last year cause, well you know.) After I spend the morning doing some chores we are heading up to Belvedere to the cabin and hanging with my people. Camping there too. I am really excited to see my family, see the Dad, and also see them in the comforts of the woods in the middle of nowhere so I can run away if need be. And its great that we have camping built in to the day. It is one of my favorite places to camp so it will be good, even if it is suppose to thunderstorm all afternoon. We are getting use to camping in the rain.

Internet from the week

-August 8 Is One Of The Luckiest Days Of The Year. And it’s today! So should I play the lottery?

-Summertime And Vacationing Isn't Easy. Blame It On Climate Change. And blame that on humans.

-Basically the only time I wear a bra is when I am running and that is only because I don’t have pockets in my shorts to shove my phone into it (in the winter I have pockets so no need for the bra). It acts more like a pocket than anything else. HA! Why So Many Women Are Turning Their Backs On The Bra

-Yes to all of these. Designers on Holiday: Modern, Minimalist Tents, Cabins, Guest Houses, and More

-We Tried 9 Ways to Shuck Corn (and Really Get the Silk Off!) and Found a Clear Winner. How do you shuck corn? And does the silk really bother you? I don’t care if there is a few strands but that is me.

-I take a lot of pictures but I also don’t take a lot of pictures. Sometime I just don’t want to it is going to interferes with me being present. To Remember The Moment, Try Taking Fewer Photos

-Homeownership can bring out the worst in you. There is a lot to think about when owning a home.

-Just like antibacterial shit, hand sanitizer kits the bad and the good. You might be overusing hand sanitizer

--A Serendipitous Photo Captures an Acrobatic Goose Contorting Its Body to Fly Upside Down

Pictures from the week

Sunday Happy

It has definitely been one of those weeks that just blew on through. I feel like we just got home from our weekend away in Maine but it’s been almost a week. It’s that mid summer vibe I guess.

So yeah, we started the week off in Maine. We drove up (or over?) the few hours and pitched the tent on Megan and the fams campsite, right behind her camper and next to the trees. It wasn’t our usual jam but not a bad place. And it really didn't matter because we were barely there. We spent most of our time exploring light houses, state parks, eating Dairy Queen (them, not me) and playing on the ocean beach. It was a fast, super fun trip. Best part was probably when the mr brought So into a giant candy store and she came out with bubbles gum tape. (remember that shit? Freaking loved it!) . Once she starting chewing it, her face lit up and she said it was the best tasting gum she had ever had AND it felt like a blanket on her tongue. And now tongue blankets are a thing.

Once we were home (we drove through the night due to heavy rains. (We didn't feel like waking up soaking wet in tent.) Once home we both kind of crashed, although the mr went on right to work. He spent the rest of the week finishing up a custom shelving job at a local pizza place. Me, I spent a good chunk of time in the studio woking on more mugs, feeding Megans cat, harvesting all the zucchini, electrocuting myself(yikes!) and thinking about back to school supplies. We also had the boys over for an evening of spaghetti eating and volley ball playing in the rain. Nothing better then playing in the rain.

Today is going to be good, if not a bit wet. The mr and I are packed and ready to go. Camping season has begun! Which state park? Well it will be the one that we can get a site in because it seems that a lot of the campgrounds are damn near full. I am not going to complain about it yet, but I really hope that we find a good spot away from all the people. I just want to in the trees, alone and quite. Is that to much to ask for? Maybe but thats ok, I’ll ask anyway. Plus its raining so hopefully that drives some people away. (I am an asshole.) Wish us luck!

Internet from the week.

-I think this is where I should live now. A Young Couple’s DIY, Totally Off-the-Grid Cabin in the New Hampshire Woods

-Why do we buy what we buy? I am just glad that buy nothing. Expect food, but I buy that to eat.

-The Complicated Future of the Handshake. I am not a fan of shaking hands or anybody touching me ever, special occasion of not.

-The bizarre botany that makes corn a fruit, a grain, and also (kind of) a vegetable

-This drives me nuts! An Explosion In Visitors Is Threatening The Very Things National Parks Try To Protect.

-The lie of “expired” food and the disastrous truth of America’s food waste problem. Haven't people learned yet that “expired” is bullshit?

-Do Different Colors of the Same Vegetable Have the Same Nutrients?

-I have noticed, have you? Luckily I don’t really buy much that comes packaged. Beware Of 'Shrinkflation,' Inflation's Devious Cousin

-Here’s Why Every Apartment You’ve Ever Rented Is Painted in “Landlord Off-White”. Ours is a semi gloss mocha white that we do floor to ceiling. but we paint well!. And doing all the apartments one color really helps not go crazy when walls need touch up. No miss matching and I think it looks good!

-The world is crazy so why not? We Regret to Inform You That Van Leeuwen’s Kraft Mac and Cheese Ice Cream Is Very Good

Pictures from the week.

Monday Happy

The mr and I just got home form camping in Maine and I am tired as fuck. After 2 days of running around with Megan, Justin, and the kids we got no sleep then left late last night (to avoid the flash flood warnings) and got home at like 2am. The drive home sucks ass. We were both exhausted, it was raining, the GPS took us to an imaginary road so we got lost. But we made it home and I assed out for a few hours but I still have barely slept so I am not really that interested in anything other then cleaning the car out of camping stuff, starting the laundry, getting some food into my face, and taking a freaking nap.

These are pictures from last week. A good week with lots of outdoors and littles and yeah. I have all the pictures form Maine to go through but this is all I got in me for now.

Sunday Happy

Happy first day of Summer!

What a classy week we had. Not hot, some good morning thunderstorms and a few good sunsets. The flowers are coming in and the zucchini are producing. Summer like it should be. I like this.

The doings of the week. All the stuff with some other stuff. Started off with a kayak adventure (first of the year). Didn’t go too crazy, just tossed the kayaks into a pond and paddled around for a while. It was calm and nice and a good way to start off the kayak season. Then I had to go to the eye doctors. I biked into town, did the appointment (got yelled at for not wearing my glasses) and then had to bike home blind which was kinda scary because I had my eyes dilated. I was blind as a bat and the bike ride home was not the most fun I have ever had to say the least. But I made it home alive and now I need to get a new pair of glasses.

And the school year is over! Cameron graduated from high school!!!! Miley is officially in high school (barf), Judah in middle school (barf again), Alex is in like 11th, and little So is in 3rd. Everyone is getting so freaking big and old and I can’t even. So to celebrate we had a graduation/end of school BBQ at the house. Th mr grilled, almost everyone came and ate food, the kids all played nice with each other, (Well kinda. They were running around the yard shooting each other with nerf guns.), and then everyone ate their weight ice cream sundaes and then left. It was fantastic. The first big family get together we have had in over a year. No one fought, my house didn’t get trashed (we stayed outside) and we got to see almost everyone in the family all at once. But wow did that much interaction kick my ass. Took me a full few days to recover from all the stimulation. HA!

Other then that, the mr and I have been going about the usual. Went for a rainy umbrella walk with Barb, Almost ran over a turtle on my morning run, picked up pounds of greens from the farm, and spent a fair amount of time in the garden weeding. Good times there.

Back to Sunday. The mr is doing some work (We start camping soon so this Sunday work shit has to stop.) so I am going to spend some time at the studio glazing today. I’m also going to attempt my first fade haircut. I have been shaving Mark’s head every other week and I decided it is time to give it a go. Worst case is I fuck it up and just have to shave again so biggy. Other than that, I am going to make a pot of coffee and sit by butt on the porch and read away. Summer style.

Oh and also I need to call my dad. It’s Fathers Day so Happy Fathers Day to the dads out there!

Internet links form the week.

-This is my life. The mr is a harder and I want to get rid of everything. Clutter Wars

-The trend that’s shaking up the food industry. Local is where its at!

-What All Those Knives in a Knife Block Are Actually For

-cool ass trees. A Magical Series Captures the Gnarled Branches of Socotra’s Dragon Blood Trees

-After a night or two sleeping on the ground any cup of coffee is gonna be a great cup of coffee. With that said, I got my camping coffee on point. The Barista’s Guide to Troubleshooting Your Camp Coffee

-More on coffee. HOW THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BECAME A COFFEE PARADISE

-You Need a Cast-Iron Skillet for Nearly Everything. I sign off on this too.

-Are bidets really better for the planet than toilet paper?. Those “flushable wipes”. So BAD!

-I did not become a better person during lockdown or do anything spectacular. Lockdown was not a sabbatical.

Pictures from the week.