Back on the Blog

Well, my last post was over 8 years ago. Should we start from the beginning?...just kidding. I'm bringing this blog thing back, as I've signed off the social media circuit. Here is where I'll update whomever, wherever what life is looking like. Read it, or not. The posts will probably be less exciting than the ones I wrote 8 years ago when I was living in a foreign country, having adventures in a culture as different as a camel on a pogo stick.

Covid and winter time has been HARD. It's been cold and wet, but not much snow, so really it's just been the hard parts of winter. We have been able to have some fire-side chats with friends. To do that, I need the kind of fire that's so hot, you don't even want a jacket on when it's freezing out. I'll usually start building it an hour or two before anyone comes over to get it that hot. Really, it's become an artform. Aside from these once-in-awhile social "events," we've been home with the dogs, everyday and every night (just like everyone else). Below are the Instagram-like posts I would have made over the winter to keep people updated.

Mike and I started our very own side-hustle this month. We've been trying to cut down on plastic for a long time, and have been making our own laundry detergent for about a year. Mike (the staunch business man that he is) thought other people may be interested in it, so we created a laundry soap subscription service. We make and deliver soap to people's homes once a month. When we drop off the new soap, they leave the old jars out for us to take and refill for the following month. We've already got 7 customers! If you're interested, we sell them for $12/jar (which is about 30 loads), and deliver within Black Mountain and Swannanoa. If you're outside that zone, we welcome you to come pick it up!

In the time it took Mike to have 2 surgeries, build an addition onto our shed, build the nicest dog house in the tri-state area, and bring electricity to our outbuilding, I grew some spinach and arugula in the garden window we have behind the kitchen sink. Not to brag, but I grew veggies in the winter. Mike just nailed some pieces of wood together.

I've been making myself train for a half marathon, just as something to do. There's no official race - just me, some woods, and 13.1 miles of old, logging roads. It went pretty well. The ice at the top had all melted, but it wasn't soupy yet, and I saw the biggest turkey I've ever seen surrounded by the creepiest fog I've ever been in. Mike brought the dogs to the finish line to help bring me in. They did great!