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  • Brunch! Croissant with scrambled eggs, roasted fingerling potatoes, salad and veggie sausage. 🍳

    Had to cancel our trip to the coast because of the snow, so we’re trying to do vacationy stuff at home this week. Watched the new Matrix last night, and I’ve read a bunch of books.

    β†’ 12:11 PM, Dec 28
  • πŸ“š Really excited to read Out of Office! Before the pandemic I hated working from home but I’m fully a convert now. Hoping to find some arguments to convince my director to only make me go in once a week instead of twice a week when I have to go back. 🀞

    β†’ 3:41 PM, Dec 10
  • Had fried eggs, roasted potatoes, salad and strawberry biscuits from the freezer for breakfast. Not sure why the biscuits didn’t rise! 🍳

    β†’ 8:51 PM, Nov 26
  • Got inspired by some recent posts about fountain pens to figure out what my hand-me-down vintage pens are πŸ–‹οΈ Seems like I got a decent bunch: 1946 Parker 51 1950s Esterbrook Deluxe SM 1980s Pelikan M200 Sounds like the ink I’ve been using isn’t recommended, need to order new.

    β†’ 12:25 AM, Nov 26
  • Today I finally finished my novel rewrite! I’ve been working on it on and off for several years. Tons of work still to do before it’s done done but a big milestone! πŸ“

    β†’ 3:53 PM, Nov 24
  • Made biscuits from The Food Lab today and am mad at how well they turned out because I had to laminate them πŸ˜‚ Mushroom gravy and a salad, should have done a fried egg too. 🍳

    β†’ 1:12 PM, Nov 20
  • Just got my booster! πŸ’ͺ Went for the mix and match, we’ll see how I feel with Moderna 🀞 I didn’t have much reaction to the Pfizer.

    My husband has different insurance so we need to find him another appointment πŸ™ He’s on one waiting list, haven’t looked around much yet.

    β†’ 3:40 PM, Nov 16
  • Two fun new inspiration books in the mail this week! πŸ“¦πŸ“š

    The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig (pretty cover!)

    tat* by Andy Altmann (chunky boi, lots to look at!)

    β†’ 1:08 AM, Nov 11
  • Excited to see Buy Nothing has an app now! It was the only thing on Facebook I regretted leaving behind when I deleted my account. I got a cedar tree and backpacking cookbook back in the day, mostly used it to get rid of my own stuff πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 8:18 PM, Nov 8
  • Attempted to make soft boiled eggs for the first time with instructions from The Food Lab… I think I didn’t use enough water so my 7 minute eggs came out more like 4 ½ min eggs πŸ€·β€β™€οΈπŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬

    β†’ 11:31 AM, Nov 7
  • Yesterday’s brunch: sour cream coffee cake with pears. I didn’t have enough pecans so I subbed hazelnuts, wasn’t totally sold. Added 1/4tsp ginger but couldn’t taste it. I’d vote more pears. 🍳

    β†’ 9:56 AM, Nov 7
  • Been on the library wait list for this beast for months! Weighs like ten pounds. Not sure how to physically read this thing πŸ˜‚

    The Food Lab by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt πŸ“š

    β†’ 10:42 PM, Nov 5
  • Who else is doing NaNoWriMo this year? πŸ“ This will be my 11th time (with plenty of Rebel projects) - considering being a Rebel this year and aiming for a time goal rather than word count. We’ll see what I decide!

    β†’ 3:25 PM, Nov 1
  • Beautiful fall color at Kubota Garden today! I’ve read some about the family’s history since I went last and learned that Kubota’s designs are behind the PNW garden style of incorporating stone into the landscape!

    β†’ 6:12 PM, Oct 22
  • My rainbow wall 🌈 I saw the piece on the leftΒ onlineΒ immediately went to the artist’s website and rejoiced that it wasΒ a print 😍 Maybe should have framed it in black, oh well πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 6:18 PM, Oct 9
  • Made an apple crisp to celebrate fall! I love fall flavors πŸ˜‹

    β†’ 9:33 PM, Oct 8
  • Survived our mini backpacking trip! We had a perfect sunny afternoon, and woke up to a spattering of rain and lovely fall mist. Discovered my sleeping pad has a bad leak at 10:30 last night, so it was a colder night on harder ground than planned πŸ˜‚πŸ• Very sore today!

    β†’ 1:56 PM, Oct 3
  • Tomorrow’s mini adventure: teaching two gals how to backpack. Late in the season but forecast is good! We’re doing a cheater skills intro, setting up camp close to the car so I can offload tent etc to put less weight on my bum knee before we take a hike. Now 29lb without water.

    β†’ 10:12 PM, Oct 1
  • Pumpkin patch with some friends this morning! Nice foggy ambience when we got there but it burned off to a warm sunny day. Got a cinderella pumpkin and one of those lumpy pastel pink ones πŸ˜πŸŽƒ

    β†’ 12:09 PM, Oct 1
  • Omelet, salad and (oops overbaked) strawberry biscuits from the freezer for Sunday brunch today. Had quite a week, needed a little something nice this weekend. 🍳

    β†’ 8:49 PM, Sep 26
  • Releasing myself from the burden of these recipes I’ve clipped over the last fifteen years and for the most part haven’t even tried. They’re so old there are recipes from when I still ate meat! Saving just the handful of winners.

    β†’ 10:20 PM, Sep 20
  • Homegrown potatoes(!), fried egg and strawberry biscuit for Saturday brunch 🍳

    β†’ 9:56 PM, Sep 11
  • Gasp, I just realized it’s time to order bulbs! 🌷 The annual question of do I want to… πŸ€” πŸ˜‚ I think last year I “cheated” and only planted them in raised beds so I wouldn’t have to do so much bending over (and having to dig in my junky soil πŸ˜‰) - might go for that again!

    β†’ 5:51 PM, Sep 10
  • After getting off screens 2 hours before bed, I’ve been revisiting albums I loved in high school/college, but haven’t listened to much since 🎡 Seeing if I hear them differently with 15 more years of musical exposure. I’m realizing I’ve listened widely but not in an educated way πŸ€”

    β†’ 9:19 PM, Sep 9
  • My latest brilliant idea (that I probably saw somewhere and have forgotten) is actually turning out brilliantly! Deciding on dinner is a nightly struggle in our house, so I made index cards with lots of cuisines, and we draw two and choose between them. Tonight, Greek or Indian!

    β†’ 5:37 PM, Sep 8
  • I did a smell comparison between my old vanilla and a new bottle I just bought and 😳 there is a HUGE difference. The Spicely vanilla smells harsh, like straight alcohol, with barely any vanilla aroma. The Nielson-Massey vanilla has a smooth warm vanilla smell. Same price πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 11:33 AM, Sep 6
  • Labor Day breakfast: cream scones with strawberries and homemade creme fraiche (didn’t taste like much πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ), and scrambled eggs. Made a half batch of scones. Would make again πŸ‘

    β†’ 11:10 AM, Sep 6
  • We headed out to Port Townsend for a one night getaway. Surprisingly quick to get there. Caught sunset at Fort Worden after takeout pasties on our hotel balcony. Seagulls woke us up much earlier than planned, but then we saw river otters playing in the Sound to make up for it 🦦

    β†’ 12:52 PM, Sep 3
  • More comics and books on paper to help me follow through on getting off screens at 10pm πŸ“š

    β†’ 12:38 PM, Sep 3
  • Did a lunch date in Ballard yesterday, with a stop at the locks and Golden Gardens. Saw an osprey chilling in a tree, salmon swimming up the locks, and seal/sea lion hunting them.

    β†’ 2:32 PM, Sep 1
  • Hired a landscape company to deal with my blackberry jungle and now it’s like scorched earth back there πŸ˜‚ Lost a few things I wanted to keep but so it goes. What am I gonna do with all that space to make sure the blackberries don’t come back immediately 😳🌱 (before and after)

    β†’ 12:46 PM, Sep 1
  • Sourdough french toast, potatoes and a salad for brunch today. 🍳

    β†’ 11:44 AM, Aug 29
  • Haha, made banana bread this morning but didn’t follow my usual mise en place and forgot the sugar πŸ˜‚ (And of course a double batch πŸ€¦β€β™€οΈ) Edible but tastes salty! Needs the sugar for balance. I put honey on top, but maybe will try a syrup solution for the rest?

    β†’ 12:29 PM, Aug 28
  • Started vacation with dutch apple pancakes (suggested by @Miraz) 🍏 Baked in a small cast iron and two ramekins. Would have been prettier if I’d followed the instructions to keep the apples on top πŸ˜‚πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 10:28 AM, Aug 27
  • At last! Vacation! Eleven whole days off 😍 I’ve been needing a break, last time off was December.

    Staying home but hopefully will find a couple fun activities. Maybe a one day overnight so we don’t have to get a cat sitter? Otherwise, I’ll probably just read a lot πŸ™Œ

    β†’ 8:51 PM, Aug 26
  • HR is approving my WFH request through October! Positive reinforcement that I should ask for what I need 😊

    β†’ 9:27 AM, Aug 23
  • Mmm, got enough peaches and nectarines to make this fresh raw tart. Hadn’t made it in a few years and forgot how tasty it is! It’s technically vegan but I served with creme fraiche, in the past I’ve had it with yogurt and ice cream. Didn’t have flaxmeal but didn’t miss it.

    β†’ 8:27 PM, Aug 22
  • Ugh, this week I’ve been trying not to use screens two hours before bed, including my Kindle, but reading paper books is so annoying πŸ˜‚ Doesn’t help that I only have nonfiction in paper, which I only want to read for twenty minutes at a time πŸ˜‰

    β†’ 10:14 PM, Aug 20
  • πŸ€” This past week I took no-alarm naps on Saturday, Monday and today, all 1 hour and 7 minutes πŸ˜‚β±οΈ

    β†’ 8:40 PM, Aug 20
  • Did an awesome local date afternoon with DH - went to a new-to-us waterfront park for a dinner picnic, walked to see the biggest tree in King County (600yo “Sylvia,” 26.3’ circumference, topped in a windstorm in 1993), and cones at Salt & Straw🍦

    β†’ 7:04 PM, Aug 19
  • Pleased with how my latest “sense memory” turned out, about a dayhike through the flower meadows at Mt. Rainier/Tacoma! Just a few more weeks in my summer season, then a short fall season, then I’m done?

    A Day in Paradise with the Whole Crew πŸ“·

    β†’ 9:19 PM, Aug 10
  • I cooked dinner for the first time in a few months today: boxed mac and cheese with sauteed veggies. Even a mostly-boxed meal has been beyond the energy I’m willing to spend cooking. But, I actually see this as a positive mental step.

    The burden of dinner and learning to say no

    β†’ 9:10 PM, Aug 8
  • Haven’t done brunch in a while! Used my u-pick blueberries in my fav Smitten Kitchen coffee cake. Cut ¼ c sugar from the batter, still plenty sweet. Added ¼ tsp nutmeg but couldn’t taste it. Home fries and a little salad for that fancy cafe feel πŸ˜‰ 🍳

    β†’ 12:03 PM, Aug 7
  • U-pick blueberries today! A heritage berry farm with bushes planted in the 40s - we picked Rubel, Concord, Stanley, Pacific and Weymouth. They encouraged us to taste and pick the types we liked, a culinary adventure 😁 1.3 pounds for $4 πŸ™Œ Now what to bake…πŸ€”

    β†’ 1:47 PM, Aug 1
  • Granting myself a Major Adulting Badge this week! Submitted a request to keep working from home. After several stressful days my documentation was submitted and HR agreed to let me work remote until they make a decision. No guarantees but I’ve done what I can to honor my needs.

    β†’ 11:24 PM, Jul 30
  • WordPress users: how do you feel about the block editor these days?

    I use it on one site and classic on others. I find the block editor buggy, clunky and hard to move elements.

    Am I just clinging to the familiar and need more practice? Or do you think it sucks too?

    β†’ 1:01 PM, Jul 24
  • Today’s brunch: blueberry muffins and potatoes.

    Subbed buttermilk for yogurt, added nutmeg and vanilla because I had no zest, and went shy on the sugar inside and on top. Could have gone even lighter on sugar.🍳

    β†’ 12:51 PM, Jul 24
  • Library haul πŸ“š Five graphic novels and a nonfiction. Admit I feel a bit misled by the title Gorgeous War which has less than ten images and no plates. Also should have checked the page counts on these comics, they’re all long! πŸ˜…

    β†’ 8:29 PM, Jul 13
  • Spent a sunny afternoon at Padilla Bay. 8000 acres of eelgrass!

    β†’ 8:39 PM, Jul 11
  • Came back to this blueberry crumb cake for a third time. Realized I’ve been putting in half the blueberries called for! Extra good with more berries. Also used buttermilk instead of milk and baked in a larger pan. 🍳

    β†’ 6:47 PM, Jul 11
  • Wanted something different for breakfast, made these strawberry cornmeal griddle cakes. Nice and light though probably won’t make again. Remembering some southwest johnny cakes with prickly pear syrup I had in Phoenix on a sunny patio, aiming for that vibe this morning 🍳

    β†’ 11:30 AM, Jul 4
  • Sea holly is looking its best right now! Bees and other bugs are loving it too. 🌱 🐝

    β†’ 12:25 AM, Jul 3
  • Today’s library haul! Four comics, a cookbook and a photography art book πŸ₯°πŸ“š

    β†’ 2:30 PM, Jul 2
  • Oops, wore a new face sunscreen without testing it yesterday and my skin turned bright red ☹️ Testing a different brand (zinc-based) on my arm now 🀞 I have sensitive skin so I shouldn’t have skipped that step!

    β†’ 4:27 PM, Jul 1
  • Led a meditation for my coworkers at lunch today for the first time! I think it worked out all right, although I think I talked too much at the beginning πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ Twenty minutes went by fast! Played ocean waves as the background sound which seemed to be a hit.

    β†’ 7:58 PM, Jun 17
  • Took a drive out to Eastern Washington today and hiked up this river a bit. Cool old growth forest, and we saw kayakers running this rapid on our way back. Tail end on wildflowers but still saw a variety.

    β†’ 5:26 PM, Jun 13
  • Second library comics haul post-vax! A couple I’ve been looking forward to (They Called Us Enemy and A Bride’s Story) and a few random ones that sounded interesting (Money Shot, House of Women and Chasing the Bird) or I’ve heard good things about (Ice Cream Man). πŸ“š

    β†’ 1:18 PM, Jun 11
  • Baked a poppyseed bundt cake tonight. New recipe - I would say too sweet. Usually I make it a rum cake but we’re out πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ Topped with a potent lemon glaze (halved).

    β†’ 11:39 PM, Jun 4
  • I’m practicing paying better attention to my actual preferences – what my body’s telling me, what boundaries I want if I’ll let myself have them.

    Reading a book set on the ocean brought back memories of boating, and a surprisingly strong visceral reaction. Then I remembered how relieved I was when a boat trip I was meant to go on last year got cancelled due to COVID. I grant myself this: I never need to sail on the ocean again.

    I hate the diesel and saltwater stench and the funky smell in the cabin, I hate the cramped quarters and low ceiling and storing my junk in wall hammocks, I hate the lurching roll that doesn’t quite make me sick just bleh so I have to stare at the horizon line to keep it that way, I hate the tackiness of salt spray on my skin and salt crusting my hair.

    I hate feeling scared when the waves are too strong or the boat’s heeling over too much or the tide is stronger than the engine. I hate how slow boats are and being trapped for hours longer than I wanted to be finished. I think the ocean concentrates powerlessness.

    I’ll stick with ferries in the Puget Sound. Big boats in not open waters. Even there I find myself eyeing the safety instructions and gauging whether I could make the swim to shore (no).

    β†’ 11:52 PM, Jun 1
  • Wandered through a lovely rhododendron garden today. Surprisingly few rhodies in bloom compared to my neighborhood but still pretty. I’ve missed public gardens this past year! Too many people for my preference but trying to trust in the vaccine and open air πŸ˜‰

    β†’ 3:02 PM, May 30
  • Went to a great exhibit at the Pacific Bonsai Museum about how Japanese internment during WWII impacted bonsai. Bonsai sold by Japanese people forced into camps, bonsai grown in camps, bonsai untended while their owners were imprisoned and retrained afterwards. This dead bonsai is dedicated to the memory of those lost in WWII.

    β†’ 2:51 PM, May 30
  • I’ve been doing a fun newsletter this spring, picking an outdoor memory to share three photos and a song from. I expected it to be a breezy little project but I learned a ton about curation!

    What I learned curating Sense Memories

    β†’ 2:31 PM, May 24
  • First library haul in a year! Been waiting till I was vaxxed. So excited for comics πŸ“š I prefer them on paper.

    β†’ 7:10 PM, May 22
  • Fully vaxxed today! πŸ™Œ Easing in with a non-mealtime hangout with a couple friends this afternoon - touring their pandemic kitchen remodel that “broke ground” the day before lockdown last spring πŸ˜‚

    β†’ 11:08 AM, May 22
  • Saturday brunch: strawberry biscuits redux, fake home fries from leftover sweet potato fries, and fried eggs 🍳

    β†’ 11:05 AM, May 22
  • Neighbor described my yard as a jungle, he’s not wrong… πŸ˜‚

    Maybe this will be the year we finally hire someone to install a path πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ Right now the strawberries have filled it in.

    β†’ 6:09 PM, May 18
  • Took too long of a walk earlier and can’t summon the energy to bake, so I’m satisfying my sweet tooth with a chocodilla 😎

    β†’ 9:04 PM, May 14
  • Made black bean burgers for dinner. Flavor on these was good, but kinda goopy texture. The problem I find with so many homemade burgers is the softness. We tried to think of them as tidier sloppy joes.

    β†’ 12:43 AM, May 11
  • www.niemanlab.org/2021/05/i…

    At my old job, I brought in baked treats all the time, organized fun staff actvities like Vegan Food Week and Afternoon Sketching Breaks, led our Bike Month team. My contribution to office culture wasn’t reflected in pay or respect from management.

    I stopped doing so much when I switched jobs - I’ll sign up for birthday duty and host happy hour once a year, occasionally bring a dish to a potluck. I tried to help organize Bike Month for a couple years but the dudebros in charge treated me like I didn’t know what I was talking about even though I’d been bike commuting for more than five years πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    I think there’s something lost in connection with colleagues, at least on my end - as if I’ve held back my caring some because I tend to do these things for people I care about - but I don’t want to be the office mom. I want my emotional labor to be valued, and I don’t see it valued in the coworkers who do all these things. And I wouldn’t want to be valued by my coworkers just for what nice things I do for others anyway πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 2:53 PM, May 9
  • Sunday brunch: tortilla baked eggs and homemade granola parfait. 🍳

    Baked eggs were tasty! Might have to accept a little wobble in the whites for runny yolks. Haven’t made granola in a decade but I’ve been eating more yogurt so finally worthwhile πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 12:28 PM, May 9
  • Second crop from my mushroom kit! First crop was accidental - I wasn’t ready to start it yet so threw it in a closet still sealed…but life, uhh, finds a way πŸ„

    β†’ 5:40 PM, May 8
  • Saturday brunch: my favorite strawberry biscuits, eggs with smoked salmon, and avocado. Usually add an extra 1/3c cream but it needed probably double that today πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ Comfort food for post-vax achiness 🍳

    β†’ 10:46 AM, May 8
  • Second shot πŸ’ͺ The 25 people in the waiting room are the most I’ve been around in a year!

    β†’ 1:18 PM, May 7
  • πŸ“š Devoured half of How Stella Learned to Talk yesterday. I don’t even have a dog but it’s fascinating! Her videos of Stella talking on Instagram are so compelling, to think how much dogs have to say πŸ•

    β†’ 9:33 AM, May 7
  • Been joining in with the Indie Web lately, and am noodling on a mascot. Two ideas have come to the top: mushrooms and honeybees. Wrote up some thoughts and am soliciting votes ;) indieweb.org/mascot

    β†’ 9:45 PM, May 5
  • Healthy-ish dessert: flourless granola cookies.

    Used all peanut butter, subbed half a banana for the chia seeds and added a quarter cup extra oats to compensate. Used hazelnuts and cranberries, chocolate chips might have been better. A little too sweet, probably because I used Jif not natural peanut butter πŸ˜‰ and maybe from the banana. Would drop the Tbsp of extra sugar. Might add a smidge more salt?

    β†’ 9:41 PM, May 2
  • Learning to not covet my neighbor’s plants πŸ˜‚ Appreciating the brief spring flowers of cherries, magnolias and lilac in others’ yards without needing to grow them myself πŸ˜‰ Would love a dogwood though 🌸

    β†’ 7:32 PM, May 1
  • Saturday brunch: mushroom leek quiche and roasted potatoes and golden beets. Keeping frozen crusts around makes it doable for the morning. Even though I cut the beets much smaller they still needed more time, shouldn’t make in the same pan next time πŸ˜‰

    β†’ 11:24 AM, May 1
  • Stopped at an honor system roadside stand and got a tomato plant on my way home from my walk! πŸ… Didn’t figure I’d be planting starts this year because I don’t feel comfortable in a packed nursery, so I’m stoked. Never tried this kind before: tiger blush. Looks pretty!

    β†’ 5:56 PM, Apr 30
  • I feel like I’ve given it a fair chance, but the new Spotify desktop interface sucks. Who decided to give album name its own column but not artist?

    β†’ 10:07 PM, Apr 29
  • Today’s brunch: challah french toast, breakfast potatoes and golden beets, avo and a fried egg 🍳

    β†’ 1:27 PM, Apr 24
  • Your periodic reminder to back up your files!

    Realized I was missing a whole vacation’s photos from my OneDrive. Checked my external backup: not there. Checked Google Photos. Pulled out an old laptop. No dice.

    Remembered I have a second external backup! And there they were!

    β†’ 1:09 AM, Apr 23
  • Took a longer walk than usual and enjoyed some neighborhood flowers 🌸πŸ₯°

    β†’ 1:52 PM, Apr 19
  • Salmonberry 🌸

    β†’ 10:00 PM, Apr 17
  • Celebration sushi for our first shots! Thought I could be patient but someone linked me a drive-through site an hour away and we went for it. Ironically, that was more appealing than going into Seattle proper πŸ˜‚

    β†’ 8:22 PM, Apr 16
  • Happy accident: chose a matching palette of coffee table books to have out right now πŸ–€πŸ“š But also, I keep the ones that don’t match on a side table πŸ˜‚

    β†’ 10:57 PM, Apr 15
  • Thanks to whatever gardener pruned this tree into a pleasing shape 20 years ago 🌸 Love to go by on my daily walk.

    β†’ 5:54 PM, Apr 12
  • Pumpkin streusel muffins with cream cheese glaze for brunch today β™₯️ On the sweeter side with the streusel and glaze, could get away with less sugar in the muffins. Could probably skip the vanilla too. 🍳

    β†’ 12:24 PM, Apr 10
  • I realized recently how much I’ve accepted physical discomfort as part of professional life. Working from home this past year, I’ve loved being able to adjust the temperature and not freeze all day. And skipping the slacks, sweaters and shoes. Sweats and slippers forever!

    β†’ 3:43 PM, Apr 8
  • Made a moroccan inspired stew last night - fine and healthy but not worth an hour and a half of work (I’m the world’s slowest cook 😭). I feel I can now say I’ve tried preserved lemon in enough dishes that I just don’t like it.

    β†’ 3:17 PM, Apr 7
  • Hunting bumblebees through the window 🐝🐈

    β†’ 7:14 PM, Apr 5
  • Tulip becoming πŸ“· 🌷

    β†’ 7:07 PM, Apr 5
  • Native Pacific Northwest plants πŸ’šπŸŒ±

    I accidentally disturbed a hummingbird on the currant! Lots of big bumblebees out today too.

    Ribes sanguineum (currant), Oemlaria cerasiformis (plum), Oxalis oregonum (sorrel).

    β†’ 6:29 PM, Apr 5
  • Tasty creamy mushroom pasta. Added red pepper flakes and a dash of balsamic vinegar. Subbed portobellos and fresh parsley.

    β†’ 7:03 PM, Apr 4
  • Sword fern submerged in sorrel and strawberry 🌱

    β†’ 9:21 PM, Apr 2
  • Sword fern submerged by sorrel and strawberry 🌱

    β†’ 5:56 PM, Apr 2
  • Baked buttermilk cornbread with a new recipe, nothing special. I did 2T instead of 1/4c honey and it needed the extra sugar. My normal recipe uses only 2T sweetener total, let alone honey and brown sugar.

    Baked in my toaster, which over browned it substantially - I covered it in tinfoil halfway through but should have started that way. Wound up overbaking by 2-3 minutes so it may be dry tomorrow - it’s taking some practice to adapt to the convection oven!

    β†’ 9:02 PM, Mar 31
  • Lightning, thunder and hailstorm here! Really close, less than one second between flash and boom for the nearest. Dogs in the neighborhood barking at the storm. Not super common for Seattle though we’ve had several hail storms this year.

    β†’ 8:05 PM, Mar 28
  • Saturday brunch: fried eggs and potatoes, parsnips and carrots plus a (store bought) cinnamon roll β™₯️ Loving my new toaster / convection oven, potatoes roasted in 12 min with no preheat time 😳 One day I’ll learn how to make fried eggs properly πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 2:34 PM, Mar 27
  • Spaced out on St Patrick’s Day but finally got around to making soda bread tonight πŸ˜‚ Subbed in one cup sprouted whole wheat flour - could have used maybe one or two more tablespoons buttermilk to make up for it.

    β†’ 12:23 AM, Mar 27
  • Caught the evening light after work πŸ™Œ Thanks Daylight Saving Time! Can we keep you? 🀞 C’mon Congress, help us out! πŸ“·

    β†’ 6:00 PM, Mar 22
  • All the red flowering currant we planted in the Back 40 are starting to bloom! Our neighborhood hummingbird will be happy! Spotted him perched in the yard a few days ago 🌱

    β†’ 5:52 PM, Mar 22
  • Last Day of My Insomnia Program

    Finished my fourth (and final) week of insomnia treatment (CBT-I). A whole month of 5 hours of sleep a night. I’m exhausted 😴

    I’m waking up less during the night though haven’t completely stopped, and am falling asleep faster, though I suspect I should have seen greater results. Did my best but never quite followed the rules exactly. It’s one thing to be told, you need to get out of bed at the same time every day, it’s another to actually do it. Seemed like every day I’d get up and say to myself, eighteen hours till I’m allowed to sleep again 😭 (though I was allowed a nap of up to 45 minutes before 3pm.)

    The program is so successful for so many (three quarters of people), it’s hard not to blame myself for not doing better at following the rules - although I honestly misinterpreted them for like 3 weeks. I thought I was allowed to vary my wake-up time by half an hour, not that I was allowed to wake up half an hour early and lay in bed if desired. Hahahahahaha as if I would ever choose to get up early - though I did set my alarm 15 minutes early this week so I could have 15 minutes to summon the willpower to get up.

    I am suspicious that this program was trying to turn me into a morning person (it did not succeed). If I need to get up half an hour earlier a couple days a month I’m not going to build my entire schedule around it and deprive myself of sleep all those other days. Apparently I will just have to suffer being a morning person for as long as I have a day job πŸ™ƒ (Have I mentioned that I hate capitalism πŸ˜‚) Being up at 7:30 on the weekends sucks πŸ˜‚

    It’s been an agonizing month of forcing myself to stay up till my “earliest bedtime” but I think I should have been falling asleep faster? I think this program underestimated my ability to adapt to less sleep, and honestly am scared it has trained my brain to sleep even less, which is the opposite of what I wanted. The coming days will tell whether it’s been a success or a hindrance. I’m hoping it wasn’t harmful since CBT-I is the first line recommendation for insomnia, but mine wasn’t that terrible to start with. Felt weird to be getting less sleep on a program meant to improve my sleep πŸ₯±

    Thoughts I’ll take away from the program: 1) This would have been impossible for me to do if I wasn’t working from home 2) I like having a few minutes to cuddle with my husband at bedtime (instead of slinking in an hour after he’s gone to bed and not touching him as I try not to wake him) 3) Waking up at the same time every day seems to be the most important aspect (also the hardest for me) 4) For me I think the long term solution will be to pay less attention to the clock and try to go to sleep when I’m tired - forcing myself past fatigue and into a second or third wind where I feel less tired has seemed to be a counterproductive element of the program for me 5) Mid-day 20 min relaxation session really does help - though I can’t see a way to do that when I return to the office since there are no private spaces where I would feel comfortable 6) Building structure into the evening is needed for me if I’m going to be awake for another 8 hours after work 7) Some things I was doing before to try to help were actually hurting - namely laying in bed reading for a couple hours before sleep 8) Having one bad night of sleep is no big deal

    This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I have been miserable a lot of the time these past weeks. It made me question whether my insomnia was bad enough to warrant doing the program - but it was so hellacious I decided to see it through because I never wanted to have to do it again if it did work.

    I am so looking forward to going to bed at like 12:30 tonight.

    β†’ 8:49 AM, Mar 21
  • Playing Masks tonight for the first time, being a Batman knockoff with evil parents. I’ve only played DnD and one other system, curious how well I’ll pick up the rules since I still don’t know them in DnD after a year and a half πŸ˜‚ Picrew

    β†’ 5:50 PM, Mar 20
  • Forced myself to go outside and throw some seeds in the garden. Got some pretty pink lettuces it would be a shame not to grow. Pink carrots and Chiogga beets too. Can’t be fussed to do it well this year, just happy to do it at all. 🌱

    β†’ 5:37 PM, Mar 20
  • Fluffy buttermilk pancakes for the first day of Spring!🍳 Blueberries for the first batch too πŸ₯°

    β†’ 9:39 AM, Mar 20
  • Hellebore in the rain πŸ“· 🌱

    β†’ 9:18 AM, Mar 19
  • Pulled out the watercolors to play with while hanging out on video chat. I was scared of adding in a background but I’m glad I did! One day I’ll get around to writing the comic concept I have for this character… Good to try to put her on paper. 🎨

    β†’ 12:10 AM, Mar 16
  • I should make crisp more often! So much easier than pie or even crumble. Good recipe, not too sweet, lots of topping with good texture. Plus astonishingly not freezer burned ice cream 😎 www.thekitchn.com/apple-cri…

    β†’ 9:24 PM, Mar 14
  • Wasn’t up for making a pie for pi day but a crisp will do instead πŸ˜‰ Used some mystery apples that have been in the fridge since our fall CSA🀞 Easy recipe, hopefully it’s tasty: www.thekitchn.com/apple-cri…

    β†’ 8:24 PM, Mar 14
  • Somehow it’s been a month since I started my art project email newsletter! Sent my 4th weekly email today. I’ve been wary of taking on new projects this past year but realized lately I need the variety. 🎨 sensememory.substack.com/p/my-last…

    β†’ 7:44 PM, Mar 14
  • Euphorbia is the best plant. I love it all year. πŸ“·

    β†’ 9:33 AM, Mar 12
  • Planted onion starts from a friend and strawberry plugs. Only found spots for 11 of the 25 strawberries, will need to take another crack tomorrow! 🌱

    β†’ 5:24 PM, Mar 6
  • Saturday Brunch

    Blueberry crumb cake with spicy potatoes and fried eggs. Recipe had me mix the sugar and lemon zest before adding to the batter and wowza! Totally worked. Smitten Kitchen pulling through again. Might skip the walnuts. 🍳

    β†’ 11:02 AM, Mar 6
  • Started reading Discovering Dahlias by Erin Benzakein πŸ“š I pre-ordered and they included dahlia seeds! Totally gorgeous flower photography. Maybe I’ll give dahlias another shot, last time I tried deer ate them πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 12:46 AM, Mar 6
  • I met up with a friend for the first time since last March. Besides one quick doorstep chat, the last I saw someone I know in person was July 😳 Really nice to talk in person after months of video chat.

    β†’ 10:48 PM, Mar 5
  • Haha, I’ve been putting it off setting up SSL on my websites for like a year because it was annoying the one time I did it, but today discovered my web host generated free certificates and all I needed to do was install a WP plugin πŸ€¦β€β™€οΈπŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

    β†’ 9:33 PM, Mar 5
  • A sunny day in Seattle! 🌱

    β†’ 12:23 PM, Mar 3
  • Sunday Brunch

    Made my first breakfast casserole, a mashup of two recipes 6 eggs, 2/3c milk, shoulda skipped the salt. Not sold on the sundried tomatoes.

    β†’ 5:56 PM, Feb 28
  • Crocuses! πŸ’› I love seeing all my bulbs come up as winter fades 🌱

    β†’ 3:29 PM, Feb 27
  • Saturday Brunch

    Baked cinnamon streusel oatmeal muffins and made yukon gold hash 🍳 Dense but still moist. Streusel made extra but I just put a thicker layer.

    β†’ 10:29 AM, Feb 27
  • Decided to walk around the block for the first time in weeks. Immediately started hailing, so I took some hellebore pics and came inside instead πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ πŸ“· 🌱

    β†’ 5:37 PM, Feb 26
  • Cat has discovered the heating pad 🐈

    β†’ 3:36 PM, Feb 26
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