Within a few days, winter arrived early and in full force. We went from winter wonderland to snowed in. I built a cart to cover and mulch my beds, but then the snow came. We went for long walks in the winter wonderland before the snow storm snowed us in–and I couldn’t even get to class.

After playing catch-up for weeks, I finally get to do some of the things I want to get to. The first snow falls in the forest outside, and I make the best of being stuck indoors–and actually get some things done.

It is so unfair how beautiful it looks outside because it is literally freezing out there. While I am stuck inside, there is a lot to get done around the apartment–a lot of which I won’t get to.

Seeing the trash mountains can be overwhelming. It feels like there is always more trash. But load by load, they shrink and change. After a few days of chipping away at them, I missed Thanksgiving in the US, and made a special dinner: stuffing.

The trash needs to go. I can’t see it anymore. I don’t care that, technically, someone promised to deal with the trash. It doesn’t seem to be happening on any kind of timeline I can work with, so, I’ve filled the car with the first load of trash, and I’m now going to drive it off and just deal with it myself.

Catch-up days often turn into catch-up weekends. My car broke down three weeks ago. School took up a lot of time. Things didn’t get done. So, I set out to finally make some progress. A million thing at a time, of course.

Earlier this year, I started a balcony garden. That spiraled into two plots of land to restore and grow on. It’s high time I give you a tour of the land I am restoring, both the growing garden and the overgrown neglected land.

When I adopted the garden, I dreamed of growing food. I had little illusion, I’d get anything done this year. But I did! I prepared the first bed, and got to planting. For now, I’ve planted some garlic, some onions, and a whole lot of alfalfa.

I set out to make kombucha. And then I got distracted. A few people have wondered just how much work kombucha brewing actually is. So, this time, I show the entire process with you–well, and a lot of the distractions.

I have a compost problem. Or rather, I have a lack of compost problem. A pile has been growing in a corner but it doesn’t even keep my dog out, so it’s time to come up with a better solution. Or, at the very least, a temporarily better one.