I make no claims to a bottomless well of joy. I don’t have definitive answers on how anyone else can find joy in their life, but I think I have a few clues. I think the most important detail is to be open to joy. Life is hard and hard tends to close us down.… Continue reading Being Open to Joy

Yes, I am plagiarizing the title a bit.  Shamelessly. Those who know me personally are aware that my life over the past several years has been anything but smooth.  A knee injury that lead to disability, the deaths of my mother and son, husband’s non-fatal heart attack; all stacked up to leave me with a… Continue reading Joy in the Time of Covid

I finished my walk this morning by picking a sprig of chocolate mint to flavor my coffee.  I dehydrate it to use during the winter months, but fresh is just so much better. While out walking I got to thinking about weeds, mainly because they are growing rampantly after the 2 inches of rain we… Continue reading Weeds and Wildings

A few months ago, I bought rosewater online.  Mainly because I love the scent of roses, but also because I wanted to make some rosewater and glycerin hand “lotion” like Grandma used. In early March, with the rumblings about Covid-19, I looked up a how-to on making homemade hand sanitizer.  Hm.  It also requires glycerin. … Continue reading Of Rosewater and Glycerin

We got seven inches of snow yesterday.  It started with freezing rain, so even without the stay-at-home order, I really don’t think I would have been able to drive in to church.  Since Grace Episcopal, Menomonie, has been doing church services online for a few weeks now, I didn’t miss out. Our Hereford beef cow,… Continue reading And Just Like That, Winter is Back

There are all kinds of new phrases being bandied about these days:  the new “normal”, social distancing, stay at home.  People are looking different, too.  Many of us wear face masks when we are out to pick up groceries or fill the gas tank.  A few weeks ago, I noticed that children were holding close… Continue reading The Virus

  When I woke up yesterday morning, the sun was shining and the breeze was blowing.  It was only in the upper 20’s Fahrenheit, but it looked like a perfect day to get the bedding washed and on the line.  We haven’t had line-dried sheets since last fall. When I was a little girl, we… Continue reading Clothesline Memories

In the scheme of things, buying a new refrigerator may not seem like much.  But at 53 years old, this refrigerator is only the second new one I’ve purchased in my entire life.  The old one is 19 years old and was the first new refrigerator I’ve ever own.  Otherwise, I have made do with… Continue reading A new refrigerator

I hate the sound of crickets, especially in multiples. Goes back to when I was newly married the first time and we moved into a townhouse that was new construction. There were crickets in the walls and they never shut up. The thought of it still makes my skin crawl. Anyway, we live in an… Continue reading My Singing Toad

(copied from my old blog) January 7, 2016 Making bread and rolls from the sponge Preheat oven to 170*F, then shut it off for use as a proofing box.  To make a loaf of bread from the “finished” dough, I simply removed approximately half of the dough from the bowl, lightly kneaded it on my… Continue reading Grandma’s Yeast Sponge, Part 2