Stuff and Stories

I don’t do spring cleaning. I’ve never seen the point of it. After being stuck mostly inside for months,  the second the weather warms I am out!  The best that can be hoped for is that I will remember to open the windows before I go.  Fall, however, turns me into a compulsive cleaner. When

The sounds of spring

Spring at Reachwood is my perfect heaven. The second the snow went away the flowers emerged in force. Spring beauties, wild coltsfoot, honey suckle, crocuses and literally hundreds of daffodils, my absolute favorite flower. Everything else turns every shade imaginable of green, you can hear the stream through the trees, the early morning light on

Here’s to the New.

Starting a New Year in the middle of winter feels odd, doesn’t it?  I have to confess, I always get all the feels when faced with a blank calendar or planner waiting to be filled with all the things that will be done. It’s a lot like the draw and trepidation of a blank page:

Balance

For those of you who were lucky enough to still have see-saws on your childhood playgrounds, did you ever stand over the fulcrum with a foot on either side trying to balance the whole thing on a level? (Side note: kids like me are probably why you don’t see many see-saws anymore). That balancing act

Unreliable

Unreliable was about the worst thing you could be called in my family.  If you were not 15 minutes early you were considered late.  My grandfather took lateness as a personal insult and drilled promptness and reliability into all of his children.  “Why don’t you like this person, Grampy.”  “Well sweetie, he’s just unreliable.” His

Reboot and return

I’m back! Much later than planned to be sure. I certainly had no intention of putting this down for over a year. I still cannot believe it’s been that long despite the fact that it has been a very long year, full of changes and adjustments…some of which are still ongoing. Don’t worry, I promise

Puppy Power

There’s nothing like having a needle toothed bundle of adorable in my house to flare up my already strong tendency toward extreme distractibility.  Add puppy training, snuggling, and constant rescuing of all the footwear to the ever growing list of projects. I haven’t forgotten you all. But this little bright spot and all his shenanigans

Nope. Just Nope.

I’m officially just over the roiling suck fest that is this pandemic life. I’m blown.  This is me talking. I spent my young life training for these conditions growing up in the middle of nowhere.  Grocery shopping 1-2 times a month? No probs. No going out to dinner? No worries. Isolation? Mastered that by the

Happy New Year’s Eve!

I always feel like the beginning of the move back toward the light makes more sense as the start of the new year, so I’ve had a nice 10 day lead to think over this past year.  It’s been a doozy, that’s for sure – full of grief and growth and more transformation than any

Season’s Feelings

It’s been a minute. Part of it is that the season has been consuming a fair bit of my time, but let’s be honest: this time of year isn’t easy on anyone, even if you love the season the way we do. There’s always just a ton of feelings that tend to crop up around