Merry Christmas! To anyone that reads this, I hope that your Christmas (if you celebrate it) was beautiful and completely free of stress. As for us, we couldn’t have asked for a more low-key holiday. Honestly, as the sun slips away and darkness arrives once again, I find myself maudlin. Continue reading
About me
Christmas trees, musicals, and making a community
I’m taking a break from dinner preparations to get this post up. I’m having a “Transplant to Seattle” Thanksgiving dinner today at my house, and I’m hosting a few of my co-workers and their spouses who also uprooted their lives this year and moved out here to join our team. Being two thousand miles from home means that, if we let ourselves, we can become very insulated out here. With no family and no “community” to speak of, it would be very easy to say that we live here, but do we live here? Continue reading
DIY: Christmas tree yo-yo garland
I love fabric yo-yos. I’ve made them for years and I use them to make table covers and decorative throws. I decided to use all my older yo-yos to make a garland for my Christmas tree, and I finally got it done tonight. Continue reading
DIY: Processing my herbal apothecary
Back in early September, not long after we moved out here, I ordered a bunch of dried herbs, including Dandelion Root, Devil’s Claw Root, Feverfew, Peppermint, Oatstraw, and several others from Mountain Rose Herbs so that I could try out different herbal tinctures. Well, it’s been about 8 weeks so it was time for me to process those batches. Read on for more information on how to do it and what these herbs are used to treat.
Raging winds and lessons learned
Author’s note: Post started on 11/12 and finished on 11/14…
The past few weeks have been a flurry of activity, book-ended by mornings that start long before the sun comes up and end hours after it’s already set (which here in the Pacific northwest is at about 4:30pm right now!) During these busy times, I’ve learned a few lessons that I’ve been reflecting on today, which happens to be not only a day when I’m stuck at home with bronchitis while a wind storm rages outside my door, but also my 36th birthday.
Materializing memories
When preparing to move, rooting through boxes of crap is inevitable. You find things like your high school yearbooks, which you haven’t looked at in years because you’re friends with most of those people on Facebook anyway. You find your collection of New Kids on the Block memorabilia from when you were just a kid, and your husband urges you to throw it all away, only to receive a heated glare because your Joe McIntyre doll isn’t going anywhere. Continue reading
Character study, or the day I met Hottie McWow
He looks like he belongs inside the issue of Men’s Health that he’s clutching in his hands. Muscled, veiny hands, with thick, long fingers and veins that convey strength. All of him looks strong, really, which is why I notice him sitting on a bench. We’re both on the third floor of the parking garage at SEA-TAC Airport, waiting to take a shuttle into the city. I’m sitting 20 feet away, but even from that distance, I can’t miss him. He’s broad – his shoulders are so broad that all I can think is “lumberjack” or “personal trainer.” He’s wearing a simple white t-shirt, but it clings to his biceps in a way that makes my mouth water. A white t-shirt never looked so good. When he stands to grab his bag, I can see that he’s easily 6 feet tall or more. Narrow hips. Strong thighs encased in worn denim that fits him ridiculously well.
Room with A View
I’m sitting on the floor of my hotel room. The sliding glass door is wide open, the air swooping through the room, carrying with it the sounds and smells of the city I love. The sun is sinking away now, taking the blue sky with it and leaving soft, burnished beauty in its wake. There is an occasional call of a seagull as it careens between the skyscrapers before heading back out to Elliott Bay. Air brakes hiss. Music thumps. The air smells like food – Chinese, Thai, Mexican – sweet and spicy, but with a hint of salt.
Life on Wild Hare Farm 