• 030 Just the normal chaos

    030 Just the normal chaos

    Fall came quickly this year. Nights are getting chilly. My afternoons are spent fixing the roof, but there are all the things that always need to get done. The usual chaos, so to say. I am getting better (and faster) at al of it. Slowly, I am adding more skills, as others become routine. I…


  • 029 I had to accept some help

    029 I had to accept some help

    I’ve missed a deadline for the roof. One side of the roof has been closed for a while now. But there was still the second side. There, I hadn’t even taken off the old roofing material. And the wood was only the first of three layers. Friends were coming to help with the second layer.…


  • 028 I need to make some progress

    028 I need to make some progress

    It’s time to make some progress. The start of the semester is approaching fast. I long decided that the garden isn’t allowed to add stress to my life. Still, some things need to get done. Other things just help to clear the head. I don’t tend to set goals. Meeting deadlines is a game in…


  • 027 Baking sourdough bread by feel

    027 Baking sourdough bread by feel

    I bake my sourdough bread by feel. I’m really bad at following recipes, but baking without always scared me. Until I learned how things need to feel instead. Since then, my breads have been really good–even if I forget them in between. I’m getting visitors this weekend. There is a lot to get ready: The…


  • 026 I had to restart the garden house roof (twice)

    026 I had to restart the garden house roof (twice)

    I was almost done with the first half of the roof. When I put it in, I realized the hut was a lot more off kilter than I’d thought. I’d have to do it all again. The last row was a little shorter than the rest, so I had to learn how to use a…


  • 025 Why I bother canning potatoes

    025 Why I bother canning potatoes

    We eat a lot of potatoes. But I had no clue just how many. I was sure, what I canned last time would last a while. I was wrong. So, I ordered more potatoes, and went back to work. This time, I’ll explain it all. I’ve been preserving a lot of food lately. I’ve frozen…


  • 024 This isn’t how I’ll build my terrace

    024 This isn’t how I’ll build my terrace

    The terrace in my abandoned garden is falling apart everywhere. As I needed a flat surface for a workbench to continue the roof repair, it was time to tear it up and build a temporary new one. Everyone called me crazy when I adopted this neglected land. Most of the time, I don’t blame them.…


  • 023 When everything happens at once

    023 When everything happens at once

    There are times when everything happens at once. You feel like you are always about to start or do something. You’ll “just quickly” do this and that before. At the end of the day, you haven’t started. But somehow, it all gets done in the end. I’d put of dealing with the basement for months.…


  • 022 This roof will be the end of me

    022 This roof will be the end of me

    When I adopted this abandoned piece of land, I knew the roof would be a major project. Some days, I think this roof will be the end of me. I underestimated how long even the simpler tasks like carrying in roofing supplies would take. I can only carry one board at a time due to…


  • 021 The blackberries won this round

    021 The blackberries won this round

    The blackberries are ripe! I had to harvest them but my land was so overgrown that an afternoon of harvesting turned into a fight with the brambles. Three days of cutting and trimming, and I finally had a harvest–but the blackberries are far from finished. Waking up to sunshine is a rare treat. When the…