May Recap

Summer plans, gardening, a Marketplace find, and book and show recommendations.

Oregon is headed into a major drought this summer, and in some places it’s already in effect. But as of now, it’s still rainy and chilly enough most days to keep the fireplace lit in the evenings. My kind of weather.

The good news is that the flowers are bursting—especially the roses. When it’s drizzling, you’ll find me outside in my robe and slippers with my camera in hand, trying half-heartedly to protect the lens from the rain as I line up my shot.

I love taking rainy rose photos. It’s becoming an annual thing.

Summer Plans

A few people have asked if we have vacation plans this summer. The answer is absolutely not.

We’ve lived here for almost three years now, but we’re still working on foundational projects around the property. For example, we had logging done last summer, and now there are piles of wood to chop, and wood sheds to build to store it all in. I can’t imagine leaving the house for any true length of time right now, which is fine. Going anywhere or doing anything in this economy is a buzzkill.

That said, we now have easy access to the creek thanks to my mom and all her work with the excavator last summer. Hopefully we can make fun memories splashing around in the water on hot days.

In the Garden

We finished planting out the garden last week. Once again, we’re starting a month or two later than intended, but better late than never.

We used starts from the local nursery, leftover seeds from last year kept in the fridge, and potatoes from last year’s harvest that sprouted in storage. I did have to order a few pumpkin and zucchini seed packets from Johnny’s, but nothing too crazy.

Now I just need to go through our pantry and freezers and toss out old jars of jam and vegetables with freezer burn. The chickens will be so happy.

Last year, I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t get as much preserving done as usual. Instead, we gave away veggie boxes to friends and family, which felt good because at least they got used.

I intend this to be a much better year for preserving the harvest. I’m at my best when I do a little every day, even if it’s just dehydrating herbs. It keeps me in the rhythm of it.

A Marketplace Find

There’s a nook in our home where I’ve been storing all our homeschool supplies and children’s books, and try as I might to keep it tidy and organized, it’s always a mess.

What we’ve really needed in this spot is a large storage piece. I’ve been stalking Facebook Marketplace regularly for over two years trying to find something suitable, and finally my patience paid off. Last week, I found the perfect listing—an antique Arts & Crafts-style armoire with hand-carved details. It has all its original hardware, and tasteful shelving installed by the prior owners.

I sent the seller a message on Facebook thinking, fat chance—things like this always get snatched up fast. But she actually replied! We were able to set up a time to come see it.

She lived in a beautiful Craftsman home with her husband, who was a woodworker. Unfortunately, he recently passed away, so she was selling her things to move out of state. She said we were lucky we came when we did because she was having an estate sale at the end of the week.

Lucky indeed. This piece is exactly what we’ve been looking for. It’s perfect.

Books/Show Recommendations

James by Percival Everett

This was an impulse read. I saw this book come up time and again on my social media feeds, but I had no idea what it was about. I could tell people loved it, though, so I decided—what the heck? I’ll give it a go.

Because I went into reading the story blind, it took me by surprise to encounter familiar characters. I quickly caught on to the fact that it was a retelling of Huckleberry Finn, but from the slave’s perspective. Honestly, I don’t remember much about the original story, but that’s okay. It didn’t take anything away from the book.

What caught me immediately was the dark humor and the themes around the use of language. I knew I was going to love the book by the end of the first chapter. Plus, I’m a sucker for a story about a chronically underestimated main character. Highly recommend.

Girls and Famesick by Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham has been making the rounds to promote her new book, Famesick, and every time I stumble on a clip, I find there’s something about her that draws me in.

I obviously had to go watch Girls, which I’d never seen. I know—I know.

After finishing five seasons so far, I can’t help but feel like I missed out on a major rite of passage in not watching this series back when it came out in 2012. It’s hard to find a show that genuinely makes me laugh, but this one does it for me.

As for her book, I’m only a couple chapters in. So far, the thing that strikes me most about her writing is her ability to articulate little human behaviors. It’s satisfying to read, and I can’t help but relate to her constant pull toward self-expression.

The Count of Monte Cristo

If you’d told me that Sam Claflin was cast as Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo after only seeing him in The Hunger Games, I would have been skeptical. But I’ve since seen him as Oswald Mosley in Peaky Blinders, and felt confident he was the right choice for the role.

Admittedly, the first episode is slow. It was almost enough to deter me from continuing, but we stuck with it through episode two with no regrets. The rest of the show only continued to improve from there.

As for May making, I’ve been knitting with a capital “K,” and I’ll share all about it… but that’s a story for another post.

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