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065 Missing dull knives
I miss my dull knives. I sent my knives in for sharpening, so I’ll be without for a few weeks. I had to get creative in the kitchen–and learned to appreciate even very dull knives. I know, I am holding what looks like a knife while I’m telling you I miss my knives. We have…
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064 Splashes of color
Painting holds a lot of trauma for me. I didn’t know I’d shied away from it. Not until my husband printed me a bird house and it took me months to pick up the paint brush. Some of it was anxiety because I didn’t think I could make it pretty. But once I started, I…
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063 Shades of white
I’ve been longing for some light and color in my life. With the outside world stuck in dark, cold, and shades of white and gray, I did the next best things. I recently learned that bee’s wax burns best after a few months of rest for the candles. So far, I’d made the candles whenever…
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062 Turning things around
After a quick walk in the forest, I’ll be turning things around–literally. I’m not out of my winter funk but I am trying to keep busy with projects. This time, we’ll take care of an urgent task: making my plants happy. It’s almost sunset but there’s some sunshine. Pepper and I are just going for…
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061 The stupid machine
With the snow returned, I focus on projects indoors. Fast walks through the forest are all I can bear while it is this cold. But I’ve been complaining enough. It’s time to pull myself out of my winter funk, no matter the weather. I often start my day with tea. Today, there are no tea…
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060 The darkest days
The darkest days of winter can get pretty dark in Northern Germany. For me, the darkest days are the hardest. Without regular doses of real sunshine, I struggle. Where we live, the shortest days of the year have fewer than 7.5 hours of daylight. Seeing the sky is rare–and tends to come with strong winds.…
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059 Overwhelmed by jars
For most of December, our home was an utter mess. Food was stacked in my room with exactly enough room to sleep. Okay, sometimes. After a real break, I finally made progress. After tearing apart the counter of the old kitchen, and building a new shelf in the corner, it was time to find the…
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058 A real break
With the year coming to a close, I finally get a real break. I went for a few nice walks with Pepper and my husband. We even found some mushrooms. But first, I need to check on the garden house roof repair. (Pepper and) I are just quickly here to check on the garden to…
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057 Three things, three days
There are three things I needed to get done in one day to avoid wasting food, but my food processor broke, and things fell apart. Nonetheless, I canned potatoes, broke apart a whole chicken, and got my kombucha done. A day with three tasks turned into three days. There are three things I need to…