Category Archives: Uncategorized

My husband has a scrap wood pile. Correction: my husband has about three scrap wood piles that I’m aware of. He could be squirreling away another scrap wood pile that he’s been hiding from me. But essentially, I believe there are only three and since they are relatively neatly stacked, I’m sorta, kinda okay withContinue reading “The scrap wood pile(s)”

Being a yuppie homesteader isn’t necessarily easy. Sure, it’s way easier than regular homesteading. I mean, wayyyyy easier. But it’s still a little more difficult than regular life. First, we focus a lot on recycling, reducing and reusing what we have. Waste just fills landfills. Pretty soon, the whole world will be one big landfill.Continue reading “Homesteading, yuppie style”

Believe it or not, if you’re going to live like a yuppie homesteader, you have to have a canning plan. Or at least, I do. Otherwise, you won’t be prepared for when all of the vegetables and fruits start rolling in and you’re not sure what to do with them and what to prioritize intoContinue reading “The canning plan”

So, like all good wannabee decorators, I watch a fair amount of HGTV and I’ve got a number of Pinterest boards. In fact, I’d probably be happy if HGTV was the only show on TV. Regardless, I got myself a hankering for a church pew. It seemed to be all the rage. Every time aContinue reading “We bought a pew!”

I remember attempting to write a fiction novel once and the opening scene was of a rambling white farmhouse set fairly close to the road – perhaps 20 feet from the road – with a gravel driveway on the right side leading to a rather rickety two stall garage. The two worn paths of theContinue reading “Slowing down…”

We must cultivate our garden. For a couple of yuppie homesteaders, a French phrase with the double-entendre of taking care of a physical garden and the garden of one’s soul is right up our alley. My husband first introduced me to this phrase when he sent me one of the first emails after we met.Continue reading “Il faut cultiver notre jardin.”

When I was working full-time, I would often get the “Sunday Blues,” which is how my sister and I defined Sunday evening. Depending on the day or the week ahead, the Sunday Blues could hit the moment you woke up or they could creep in slowly over the day. It didn’t matter, by 8 p.m.Continue reading “The Sunday Blues…”

No, that is not a signal that this is about to be a racy post. Quite frankly, that’s not your business. Instead, it piggy backs on living a more natural life. We have four spice barrels just outside our door. One contains basil, easily summer’s most perfect herb. Competing with the basil for top honorsContinue reading “Spicing things up… .”

So, before the pandemic hit, I signed up for one of those “Brushes and Brews” classes that our local arts council sponsored. It was at our local brew pub where you paint while drinking beer. Essentially, the more you paint, the more you drink and the more you drink, the better your painting looks. It’sContinue reading “Keeping it simple”

When I first envisioned slowing down my life, I had all sorts of idealistic images. I imagined baking Christmas cookies, canning everything from beans to zucchini, sewing my own curtains, remodeling the house by hand, lovingly strolling the antique shops for this one particular glorious find that I can bring new life to with thatContinue reading “The view from the exit ramp”