Sunday Happy

What. The. Fuck.

We are all thinking it in some shape or form because this new world we are living in so strange, and kind of scary. But I am ok. Are you ok?

So the week, well it’s been a blur. Ever since Sunday we have stayed away from everyone except my two older sisters with the littles and Barb. And those guys are staying away from everyone too. We are in our own quarantine bubble. With Megan still working and Erin being a single mom with 3 kids, the mr, Barb, and I have become child care for the other guys. A kid walking service as it may seem.(HA)  Everyday we have been taking the littles hiking in the woods. It is so good for them and so good for us. Fresh air, trees, the sound of bird chirping… Nothing beats it. And I think after this is over, that’s what I’m gonna do. Dog walkers are a dime a dozen. Little walkers, that is where it’s at. I’ll pick up your littles, run them through the woods and then drop them off exhausted and covered in mud. Now that is genius! I am so smart!

Other then that, just staying away from everyone! We are not doing any jobs at the moment and are lucky that we can still do a few things that need doing without having to worry about being in contact with people. The mr has done a few things for some elderly people this week that are to vulnerable to go out into the world because he is an amazing and generous person, but he is being safe and keeping all the distance. I know that this has been harder on him then on me. He is a very social person and usually sees and talks to dozens of people everyday. Usually in and out of multiple peoples houses, in stores, just basically all over, so this week he has been home and I think he might be going a little nuts! But he is fine and is dealing pretty well. Then there is me. Besides from not working at the studio or going to the gym, my life has not taken a hit what so ever. And my food diet has stayed exactly the same and I know I am very lucky to have been living the life of a vegan hermit for years now. Beans, oh I got beans. Bread, well that gets baked here everyday. Boared, um, heck no, I have a million things on my list of things to do and my studio is in the basement so there is always work to be done. And no, I would rather not you come over to my house. Ever. This has already been my life. I think the hardest thing for me at the moment is just the worrying about the world and worrying about my parents and those that are high risk. It is overwhelming and that is when I start to feel crazy and scared. That is when I open a book and read. Everyone is doing all this TV watching right now and I get that. You do you. Me, reading is what is keeping my brain sane, it’s my escape. What about you? Are you a reader or a watcher? If a reader, what are you reading now? I think after I finish this book I am currently on I’m going to go for round 5 of re-reading all the Harry Potters. It’s been a few years and I think it’s the perfect time, don’t yo think?

Today. Well the mr and I are going to drink coffee together, talk about the news that happened over night and then some things that are a little less heavy. Then I am going to bake another loaf of bread for lunch, rake the yard and assess the garden beds, and drink more coffee. After lunch we are grabbing the littles and walking them down to the waterfront to get their daily dose of sunlight and exercise and yes, we are going to feed the ducks.

Oh, and Happy SPRING!!!! And stay healthy.

Internet that I have looked at this week.

-Even though shit is mad crazy right it is not an excuse to waste food! What to Do With Ingredients That Are About to Go Bad. Also. The Right Way to Freeze Basically Everything

-I think this is a lot of peoples truth right now. I Can't Stop Eating My Coronavirus Food Stockpile

-Let the fart jokes begin! Let the Music Play: Joe Yonan’s Guide to Minimizing Bean-Induced Flatulence

-These are the coolest puzzles. A LITTLE SOMETHING OLD SCHOOL.

-America's Shopping List: Here's What We're Buying The Most. Do you have your oatmilk?

-Nows the perfect time. How to start birding in any US city

-Important. How to Clean Your Ears (Properly), According to ENTs

-Wow. This is awesome Japanese Chef Has Filled Notebooks with Delectable Illustrations of All of His Meals for 32 Years

-I Tried the “Whipped Coffee” Trend Taking Over the Internet. Here’s How It Went. Thinking this could be a great way to frost a cake!

-Now more then ever it is important to know what you are eating! The dark side of convenience food, and what the future holds for ready-to-eat meals

And pictures from the week.

-C

Sunday Happy

How are you doing? You good? You taking all the care you need to with yourself and other? Good good. Keep positive, wash the hands, and think about the fun things one can do will maybe being stuck in one spot for 2 weeks or so.

Which then leads me to think about all the babies that are going to be born in 9-10 months from now.This would be a great time for you to learn to knit a baby blanket or something…And that is where my mine goes. Hehehe.

So yeah, this week has been a week for sure. Nothing really feels normal at the moment which is a hard feeling to processes. The mr and I are still doing the things we need to do, but with caution and know that at any minute, things could change. But that is life in the great scheme of things so we do and we live and that is that.

At the beginning of the week I did manage to go for a lovely walk with Megan and Barb, which I think for the next few weeks at the very least, is going be our mode of interaction. We also managed to get to my moms for a dinner and some good trash talk with the boys. Then on Tuesday morning, I had just got home from a very nice walk with the mr and clumsy me, I opened a desk drawer a little to forcefully and pulled it completely out. It dropped on my foot and everything fell out. No big right? Well after I picked up the contents of the drawer I was left with a giant puddle of blood. The drawer hit my toe so hard it ripped my nail completely out of the toe and split the toe in half. A toe disaster if ever there was one. And me being me, decided no doctors (I probably should have gotten stitched). Needless to say, me and my foot were in a bad place. I couldn't walk and it fucking hurt like crazy. So yeah, that really screwed up my weeks well but it’s doing all right now. I am walking, I am doing normal stuff, just keeping a close eye on my bandaged toe and hope that it doesn’t fall off.

Other then that, I did work at the studio and managed to move over a thousand pounds of clay. I did a little grocery shopping (that was madness and pissed me off. No flour anywhere. So if you are a person that bought flour that usually doesn’t, good for you. I am excited for you that you are planning on baking. But please don’t be an asshole and not use it to only toss it in a a few months. Make sure to USE IT!), and we stopped in on the littles to suck in there youthful happiness. I did end up at Costco this weekend at opening time. That was something. The line out the door alone freaked me out. But I was lucky. Got in, got my flour, and got out. I was hearing of talk from fellow shoppers of how much toilet paper they could fit into there cars and it seemed like people were starting to get toilet paper crazy. I was worries a t.p. riot was about to happen. But what I want to know is how much freaking toilet paper do people really need anyway? Are they building bunkers out of it? I mean you can’t eat it or do much of anything other then wipe your ass with it. But apparently when shit starts to hit the fan, people want to clean the shit up with something and toilet paper certainly does clean up shit. HAHAHA, I am so funny.

So yeah, crazy times. I have just been trying to stay put as much as possible which is easier then you think when for a good chunk of the week I could barely walk. And honestly, the social distancing thing, well I have been living this life for a long time now. I am very, VERY, good at social distancing. Not that a pandemic is anyway shape or form good, I do love the excuse to not have to talk to anyone or get close to anyone, or be social at ll. Stay the fuck away! But that’s my normal so this is working for me. HAHA!

And now it is Sunday. A day to decompress. l I think the mr and I are going to pack up a lunch and go find an easy hike in some woods. I can walk well enough, it’s been gorgeous out and the woods, they be calling to me. And then I need to run to the library because while everyone is talking about all the binge watching they are doing right now, I am just super happy to read my ass off. I see days ahead, me sitting on the front porch with a big cozy sweater, humongous cup of hot beverage, book in hand, feeling the spring air on my face.

I am really too good at this.

Stay healthy and responsible friends!

Internet from the week.

-These are very good rules. The Etiquette Rules of Coronavirus Grocery Shopping: Be a Good Person and Follow These!

-Covid-19 Fears Shouldn't Trash Your Zero Waste Efforts, I worry people will say fuck it and go all crazy being wasteful for the foreseeable future. Lets not do that ok.

-I definitely bake when I am stressed. Good thing I keep a pretty decent stock of ingredients on hand, just in case I need to bake 14 days of cakes, breads, and cookies. Quarantine Baking in Times of Crisis

-Impacts of Technology During Mealtime. One of the top arguments of every person I know.

-What would happen if the world reacted to climate change like it’s reacting to the coronavirus? Seriously. Why aren’t we freaking completely the fuck out about global warming?

-Oh how I wish I had a cabin in the woods right now. This All-White A-Frame Cabin Mixes Rustic and Scandi-Modern, and It’s Dreamy

-Bread goals. Twisting Vines and Leafy Botanics Carved into Crusty Breads by Blondie + Rye

-Speaking of bread. Introduction to tangzhong. On my list of things to try these next few weeks.

-Dolly Parton Wants to Recreate Her Famous Playboy Cover Four Decades Later. You do you lady.

-Do you use vegan butter? We Tasted 10 Vegan Butters in the Name of Science

Pictures from the week

Sunday Happy

I think this might be the week. The week were I take off the down comforter from the bed, wash all of my winter hats and mittens and pack them away, and stick the snow shovels back uderneath the back porch. After this past week of warmish spring weather I am calling it. I am now pretty much officially over winter. Bring on the sandals, the open windows, the leaving the house with our layer after layer! Every year I forget how much I love spring until we get a little spring weather and then I remember how glorious it is. Don’t get me wrong, I have lived in VT my whole life and know that there is bound to be at least one more snow storm but whatever, it won’t last long so pack up winter I will and into spring mode I go!

So a good week weather wise. And life wise it wasn’t bad either. The mr and I got out of town and checked out some land (no go). We voted like good citizens then got rid of the Christmas tree that had been frozen in the front lawn for the past 3 months. I went to the dentist and received all the praise for very clean teeth and walked out with lots of free dental floss because I floss A LOT. Went for lots of walks whenever I could. Went over to have dinner at moms. Spent a good amount of time in the studios. Picked up farm share and almost got the car stuck in a mud pit but didn’t so that was a win. And I replaced the nasty ass shower curtains in the shower. Plus good on me, I even made a dent in the pile of paperwork I am currently going thought for the taxes. I have been so productive and accomplished. Its a great feeling. I owe it all to the windows being open and all the fresh air. And coffee. I have been drinking a shit ton of coffee this week but I guess what’s new?

Oh an I almost forgot, my website to buy pottery is up!!!!! Started small and simple so there are only a few mugs up as of now, but I am planning on doing a big shop update with lots more in the next few weeks. Until then, at least it exists for real now. And if you need a mug, go here. stem+node.

Today I am going to try not to think to much about what time it is because daylight savings (did you remember that?). Every year I do it, play that game about how yesterday it was an hour earlier and what time is it really when I need to just forget about it and adjust accordingly. It’s just hard when your body is on one schedule and your brain is on another. But other then that, just going to stop in and hang with the little for a bit, maybe go for a nice long walk, and then do some chores that need doing that I am not looking forward to. Or not. I might just skip that last part and sit on the front porch and read all afternoon…. Tough call here but I have a feeling the porch might win out, at least for some portion of that day.

Links from my week of interneting.

-These things are so popular right now. I freaking hate them. Is a Weighted Blanket the Sleep Solution You’ve Been Waiting For?

-Reupholstered and it feels so good. What it’s really like to get a sofa covered on a budget. I love our couch and hope to one day get it reupholstered but have wondered if it is worth it. Especially when the mr eats on it and get butter stains all over it……

-A lot of people don’t realize this. Your Fancy Honey Might Not Actually Be Honey

-We need this. Step-by-Step Instructions on Making the Paper Airplane that Broke World Records

-Blueprints for an Aframe. Our future!

What’s the Point of Panic Shopping? I am slightly shocked at how worked up some people seem to be about having months of food on hand. I figured everyone would just order all their food and stuff form amazon like usual.

-I can smell smoker from a mile away. And I avoid them. Smokers expose you to ‘thirdhand smoke’ just by being in the same room

-Should You Do It in Jeans? Once in a while I’ll see someone at the gym working out in jeans. It freaks e out. Worst yet, trying to do yoga. How? HOW!

-Simple and clean. SERENITY NOW.

-Holy shit that is a lot of sugar. Your favorite childhood cereals, ranked by sugar

And pictures from the week.

-C

Sunday Happy

What happened to all the trolls? I was never a big collector of any specific toy, like I was not into barbie dolls or anything, but I do remember really being into trolls for a hot minute. I think it was the crazy colored hair and the being naked and all. Troll style is definitely life goals when I am old. Running around naked with purple hair. Sounds good right?

How was your week? My week came and went by really fast. Not a lot happened other then the usual work/life stuff. I did get the brakes done on the car. Woot woot. And I have been trying to spend more time working on pots and accomplish my goal to have my stem+node website up and running by today. But guess what, not quite there yet. Next week for sure, but honestly, I am just getting little gun shy about it. Don’t really know why, or I do, but whatever. Next week, which was the date I told myself I would have it done by for sure. So yeah.

Anyways, not much thought the week. Friday, after I got out of work, Miley and Judah came over for a sleep over. It was planned all week. Sophia was suppose to sleep over too but she ended up being sick so down to the other two. Then Judah ditched us after dinner to go see a stupid movies so it was just us and Miley. And that was fun except I guess the mr and I are not very interesting to an almost 13 year old girl. Long story short, she basically ignored us until we took her to the mall. (I know, but it was the better of her two options. I couldn’t go to the movies) After that she then went back to ignoring us. Good times. We did go up to the hospital to visit with Coco who is back at the hospital again (poor freaking kiddo) and the mr finally cleaned out the car!. And that’s that and wow I feel lame. HA

Llinks from the week.

-Wash your damn hands! 20 Seconds to Optimize Hand Wellness

-Scientists are Working on a Way to Regrow Teeth in 2 Months Who wouldn’t want their teeth to regrow?

-I love good crispy crisp. Ask the mr. HE says I drive him crazy with my crunching of carrots and raw cabbage… not exacly the same thing, but crunchy is a crunchy. There’s an Entire Industry Dedicated to Making Foods Crispy, and It Is WILD

-Gross and awesome. Burger King Hopes Your Hatred of Preservatives Is More Powerful Than Your Hatred of Moldy-Ass Food

-It’s not just you. A lot of people feel it too. Why People Get the ‘Sunday Scaries’

-The Pleasure of Defying Food Fashions. I get this. But also I might be doing this soon. Gardenscape Focaccia

-I think I need to do this with myself. Do You Take Yourself on Dates? My first date would definitely be library, coffee, and a nice big blanket under a big ass tree.

-How Warming Winters Are Affecting Everything. EV-ER-Y THING!!!!!!

-Would You Pay $13 for a Box of Cereal?. Holy fuck NO!

A few pictures from the week. I thought I took more but I guess I didn’t.

-C

Sunday Happy

We finally got us some real winter around here and I couldn’t be any happier! YIPPE!

How was your week? Mine was good, if not a little on the hectic side, but what is new?

I started out Sunday at the art market. Of course by the time I got there I was feeling like complete shit. The ick that was in and out of me all last week was in at the time and I just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep. But I trudged on and had a great time, hanging out, talking to people, checking out the other vendors. Iit was cool, and completey exhausting. I learned real quickly that the hardest part about selling stuff in person is having to be a person and talk to a lot of people. HA. So after the market, I came home, ate soup, and slept. Spent the next day not talking to anyone and keeping myself on the low key trying to keep the ick a bay.

And then Tuesday and Wednesday came any went with the normal stuff of work, family, life.

Thursday was very productive. Woke up to snow which started the day great, and the mr and I (but mostly the mr) spent the day tearing out old cupboards from the basement and building out shelves for my studio. And let me tell you, having a wall of shelves, fantasticly built shelves mind you, in my studio is a game changer. I have so much space now and it is freaking amazing. That mr. He really is just a pretty great dude.

Friday started off with me chipping away at least 1/2 and inch, if not more, of ice from the car. Seriously took me like 20 minutes to get it cleaned just enough to drive, which was the last thing I was interested in doing at 5am. But what are you gonna do? Anyway, I managed to de-ice, and go along my way, even if I did break the stupid ice scraper. Oops. But it was all worth it because after the night of ice, we got the snow storm! I think it was reported we got 15 inches, all within like 10 hours. Heavy, big, beautiful snow. I was home early in the day and the mr came home around lunch and tried to leave again afterwards but the roads were complete shit so we were stuck. And I LOVE being stuck in snow weather. It makes me feel like a kid again and that nothing but being comfy matters. So I spent the afternoon interchanginging my snow boots to shovel and walk around in the storm, and my respirator because when I was inside, I was in my studio, with my new shelves,c leaning away. I am trying to get all the dust and grossness out which is a hard task to do to a 100 year old basement that is now a pottery studio, but I am trying!

Yesterday was amazing. All the fresh snow, the bluest of blue skies, crisp, clean, cold air without much wind. A+ perfection. Sure my shoulders were a little sore from all the shoveling that Friday brought, but good sore if that you know what I mean. And so the day went. Did the usual, got the chores done, the grocery shopping in, the work done. Then we hung out with the littles for a while. The mr and Miley shoveling out the driveway, me and Judah attempted to make paper flowers, and hung out while waiting for Coco to come home from the hospital. (He had to spend a few days there because he choked and aspirated but he is doing alright now.) When he finally did come home, the first he did was throw a fit because he wanted chocolate. So all was good there and so we left and came back home to eat and sleep.

Today I am going to hit the gym early, come home and toss beans and pre-chopped veggies (because I planned ahead!) into the slow cooker for dinner and then I am back at it. 11-3, selling my wares at the art market (It’s in Winooski at 2creativecommunity) Rainbows and heart mugs. So if you want to pick up a little something sweet for your sweety and/or yourself, come on down. And yes, Valentines day is next week, but that really shoudnt’t be the reason to buy a heart of rainbow. Treating yourself and/or a lover/friend/sister/brother/mother/crossing guard (you get the idea) to a piece that makes you/them happy is what it’s all about. And it lasts every dang day forever!(Unless you break it so don’t do that.)

Click on the links to read the internet stuff that I read this week.

-I used to nap a lot more. I think I need to make more time for it. How Long Should a Nap Be?

-Why Some Vegetarians (Like Me) Aren’t Excited About Beyond, Impossible, and Other New Meatless Meats. This is my truth!

-I clicked on a thing and ended up seeing this Sabrina Cord Pinafore Dress. And now I want it.

-This Charming A-Frame Cabin. I could live without the hot tub but the stove… Swoon!

This. Bumblebees Are Disappearing Because Of Extreme Heat. And this. It Was 65 Degrees In Antarctica This Week Feeling pretty freaking fucked.

-So sweet and I want it! Carpenter Dad Turns His Kid’s Drawing into a Real-Life Piece of Furniture

-Why Grocery Stores Have Tiny Kid-Size Carts. I just thought it was to keep the kids busy while the grown ups shopped.

-Whats even the point without “Be mine”? Sweethearts Conversation Hearts Are Back, But They're Not Very Chatty

-Most humans don’t have tails. So why do we have the bones for it?….MOST? I miiiight be one of those that have a little tail. HA

-The Dark Origins Of Valentine's Day. It’s not all dark. am a V day lover. The mr and I always take the day to spend together. We usually go for a hike or something outdoorsy, pack a lunch and get good coffee. And a few years ago we started a tradition of buying a new plant for ourselves, together. Because that is what valentines day is, a day to spend together. Chocolate and flowers not needed!

Pictures from the week