I enjoy my online time immensely. I spend it writing my blog, reading other blogs I enjoy, browsing Facebook, processing the day’s photos & Flicking them (Flicking? The verb form of Flickr, of course), responding to email, processing orders, working on websites for design clients, working on my own websites… and many other things I […]
Read More: The work of my handsCategory: domesticity
Morning Coffee with Julie Smith


Good morning, friends! Ready for another installment of Morning Coffee? Brew yourself a cup, pull up a chair, and have a seat here with me while I chat with Julie about her engaging slice-of-life blog, Under the Tulip Tree. Under the Tulip Tree I stumbled across Julie’s blog sometime early this year, I believe, and […]
Read More: Morning Coffee with Julie SmithBack in the backyard
Our back patio has been depressing me ever since the summer started. I hadn’t gotten around to cleaning it up or to buying a new kiddie pool for the ever-important mid-afternoon foot-dunking, before the weather turned brutally hot and humid. I didn’t want to be outside without the relief of the little pool, but I […]
Read More: Back in the backyardA lesson in perspective
Oh, look! Jars of jam, cooling on a shelf next to the window. That’s quaint. When I see images like this, my mind fills in the missing details – a row of jars on a vast, otherwise-empty shelf in a brightly-lit, well-organized room… Let’s zoom out a little bit. Ah, yes, that’s what I’m talking […]
Read More: A lesson in perspectiveFoodie for the summer


Something about the appearance of the first local strawberry every year puts me on a local / organic / sustainable food and green-living kick. Ideally, I’d like to think along these lines all year round, and I do try, but it’s just so much easier when the farmers markets open up and the fresh local […]
Read More: Foodie for the summerFavorite uses for rhubarb
The boys and I went to the farm on Saturday, and it turned out it was their opening day. I think we may even have been their first customers. There wasn’t much set out in the shop just yet, but I did pick up some fresh rhubarb. My plans for this batch? I’ll chop it […]
Read More: Favorite uses for rhubarbBrown (or aqua with cherries) bagging it


I figured I’d take the momentum of having a new reusable lunch bag, and see what else I could do to reduce the waste involved in lunching away from home. First thing I did was make myself a set of Lunch Box Napkins like I have for my kids. Theirs are lemons, but I made […]
Read More: Brown (or aqua with cherries) bagging itJoy in the daydream


Skirt weather has arrived, and oh, how I have missed it! I didn’t realize quite how much until I spent yesterday twirling around in my favorite a-line. Skirt-wearing brings a sort of effervescence with it that I find hard to capture in other ways. I suppose it’s just that it makes me feel “girly,” which […]
Read More: Joy in the daydreamOh, March.


Oh, March, I am coming to dread you ever year. When you’re not visiting unfortunate loss upon us (2007), theatrically raining destruction over our front yard (2008), or infecting us with the flu (2009), you are bringing a weekend storm replete with whipping winds, driving rains, power outages, and flooded basements. I’m not superstitious by […]
Read More: Oh, March.Better living through podcast listening


Every now and then I post about the various tools I like to use to get organized. Then a few weeks go by, and I am usually posting about what a mess my house is. The truth is, the best organizational tools in the world won’t help you unless you use them. Sticking with the […]
Read More: Better living through podcast listening