March in Review

And here we go on to March.

But since these photos are still from Feb, let’s recap that: Birthdays, snow, sun, reading, and family get togethers. Some beach, some cats, and lots of work, but time for relaxing, too.

In March: More beach, more work, getting healthier, eating well.

Does everyone know I have a booktube? It’s something I’ve become very passionate about. I find it and interesting and new form of creativity and expression. I talk there all about books. But also zero waste and sustainability, and other things. It has over shadowed this space a little. I struggle with the whether there should be a lot of overlap between my channel and my blog. I’m inclined to say yes, with subtle variation and uniqueness between the two. But what do you think?

It does not feel like spring yet. Does March every? Will April swing us into Spring?

February in Review

When was February? Years ago now? It was a full month and a great month from what I recall!

I’ve gotten quite behind, in many respects. March saw a semi unexpected full break from the blog. But if you want to know a bit of what I was up to, you can always check out my Booktube Channel.

I’m also behind in posting my 365 photo project over on insta! I’m still taking the photos, but posting them slowly. We’re still IN Feb over there, if you want the nostalgia. I used to always post my favorite insta pics for my month in review. Now, they are the previous month. These photos are from Jan 2022. If you know me, you know change and change of routine is often a struggle for me. That may explain my recent absence from this space.

But here we are getting back on track; for March wrap ups, for continuing the year!

How did you February go, how has March went, where will April lead?

January in Review

I’m really liking how this year has started out for the most part. I feel able to get things done, take time to relax, and settle into the goals I have for 2022. Not every minute has been great, and all months and years come with ups and downs, but so far so good. We gotten to explore some places that we like, but perhaps were neglecting at the end of last year. We’ve seen or checked in with family pretty often. We have started out getting doc appointments and other maintenance out of the way and are hopefully setting a precedent for wellness in the new year. Creative outlets have been a bit of a priority. And best of all Jan hasn’t flown by. I feel rooted in January and the new year.

This year I am working on a 365 Photo Project over at my insta as a way to post there, but not spend too much time on the app. I started taking the pics right at the beginning of the year, but am posted them behind the actual dates. So far I’m really returning to this style of project. It requires some thought and intention each day.

Are you starting any projects for the new year? Let’s dive into month two together.

December in Review

Here we are reviewing and recapping the last month of 2021. Can you believe it?

December felt quite hectic. Even though ew don’t xmas shop, done do much for our celebrations, don’t really see anyone or do much that takes up a lot of time, this month felt full.

We seemed to work a lot of this month, but also had quite a bit of time off. Perhaps it was just that this year was abnormal, unusual, brisk and chaotic in many ways and that is why Dec felt that way as well.

We saw family, supported family at home (yes, I mean the cats), we got to explore some, but we mostly spent time at home when we could.

Over all this was a great year, all things considered. There was growth, there was change, there was routine and new adventure. There was also some missed opportunity to effect change, create and be creative. But we have another year to try again!

I hope you had as good a 2021 as you could have, but also that your 2022 is as good as you want it to be!

Happy new year!

November in Review

November brought some changes. The weather’s has officially changed and winter is fast approaching. Despite change, routine also reigned, how is that possible?

This month, we tried to get outside, but the most plant and sky observations I had were from my work view.

We worked a lot for a month that is known for the start of festive season. But we were also able to see family and friends and celebrate in that way. Our Thanksgiving was, thankfully, low key.

A change this month was a remove from instagram. I still love the idea of the platform, but I need a break from some aspects of it. If you follow there, follow here or on my youtube instead for any updates. Or text me, if we are friends!

November was a good month, but it had a nose to the grindstone type feel. I’m hoping that December eases into the new year slow and easy.

October in Review

October went by so fast! We travelled a bit, going to some of our favorite seasonal events. We saw friends and family. We generally soaked in the end of the warm months and lingering summer pleasures.

Although I felt that there were many things to share, and many photos taken this month, I only had a few insta posts to collage here. But I think this sums up our month pretty well. As usual Oct was dominated by spooky season, plants, the last of the summer flowers and the last of our garden prizes, reading (of course), and, not pictured, every fun adventure.

Also not pictured was working hard at the end of the season.

November is here, and it’s a fun one, so let’s go.

September in Review

I think most years, September is my favorite month of the year. in 2021, I think it went too fast to really appreciate it. We worked, and enjoyed local’s Summer, we saw cats, and flowers, and traveled around our state. But the month flew by.

People (adults) always say that time moves faster as you get older. Now that I’m an adult, I find that to be true. Why is that and how can I make it stop?

Don’t get me wrong, Sept is still in the running to be my favorite month of 2021. We’ll see if another month can beat it. The weather will be hard to top.

Sept was a busy month, but we explored, read, rested, and hung out with cats. The beach was a major theme, but #SeptemeberSwims were at a minimum, unfortunately.

I often think of the Star Trek Next Gen movie where the planet they visit have a way to slow time, stop and live in a moment, and stretch the feeling and experience. In September, there were several moments I would have slowed and lived longer in.

Let’s find those moments in October.

August in Review

And just like that, August is behind us. It was a great month, but a month of changes and a month to anticipate change. Isn’t it always? We explored a bit both at home and a far (but not too afar). We saw #watchercats, went swimming, read, worked, and relaxed when we could.

1) A local landscape. 2) A confused flower. 3) A hidden neighbor. 4) Two good finds.

It’s been a wet summer and a hot summer. But we have gone around to a few places in NJ, sometimes driving around is the only want to escape the rain or heat. We also stayed home and kept the cats cool. Or thrown the windows open to let in the rain cooled breeze.

1) A bright spot on a dreary day. 2) Blep. 3) July’s read stack. 4) And another little friend.

The end of August heralds the end of Summer, but where I live, we look forward to Local’s Summer in September/October!

So let’s go!

July in Review

Well, July didn’t exactly go as planned. July was the month I had intended to get back to blogging, the month I had intended to get back to posting on instagram, the month I had planned to take some small trips, had intended to clean the house. But really July just flew by and not only did I not get this done, I can barely remember what even happened this month.

Sometimes summer months are just like that. I know we traveled a bit in our area, saw Little Free Libraries and a few #watchercats. We got to the beach several times, once even having a full on beach day!

Was your July as busy and hectic as mine?

Will August see a change in the summer madness, or will it be even busier than July?

June in Review

What even happened in June? It was cool, warm, hot, rainy, dry. Things grew, things bloomed, things moved slowly, some things moved at a fact pace. We mostly stayed at home or worked.

We saw some #watchercats, took some walks and drives, saw friends and family, worked hard and tried to relax.

The beginning of the season is always a strange time. Work ramps up, but there is a undercurrent of unresolved anticipation as the season is proclaimed to be the end of May but doesn’t really gear up Until the end of June. By that time, you are so deep in it it’s hard to believe there was ever an off season.

How was your June? Are you read for July?

May in Review

What a weird month May was…. Have I said that about every month this year?

It was cold, summery, rainy, hot, busy, restful, and unexpected. The month started out cold but sunny. Seemingly, Spring had totally passed us and we were in a weird limbo between Winter and Summer. Flowers were out and blooming, pollen everywhere, animals were out. We saw #watchercats, deer, rabbit, and new birds. By mid month, it was hot, all Summer all the time. Plants were happy, the tomatoes shot up. We had peppers, peas, and herbs. But by the end of the month, storms rolled in. It was torrential rains and strong winds for memorial weekend. The temps have dropped and we are back to Spring like 50s and 60s as we start the new month.

We traveled and explored a little this month, ate in a restaurant (but still sat outside), and get a lot of big looming, but boring tasks crossed off our to-do lists. We are back down to only one car which is very exciting!

I’m totally thrown off by this year so far. Much more than last year, so that’s saying something. What will June look like? I have no idea.

April in Review

April is done and it was a good month, classically a month of lots of change. We had changes in our work, our jobs, our home and the world outside.

It was a very busy month and one with few pictures. We explored mostly at home this month. We tried to get the hang of the weather which was up and down all month. We saw some #watchercats and a #riderdog! Flowers popped up all over this month, the garden started growing in earnest, and trees got their leaves.

The year is almost half over and it’s happened before we could even think about it. Now we are on to May.

March in Review

ahhh, March. Where did you go? Is it spring yet?

1) Love my yearly sightings of these croc. 2) Zero waste snack tip. 3) #watchercat. 4) Almost time.

1) A home in the magnolia. 2) Oysters stomping grounds. 3) City in the fog. 4) Or more more familiar places.

Um, I guess it’s April now.

February in Review

In some ways I love Februarys and in some ways they drag for me. I love to fill this month with lots of activities, adventures, and events. This month we celebrated milestones, walked on the beach, saw friends, and explored our neighborhood.

February’s weather was pretty wintery with lots of snow and cold days. Partly bc of that we didn’t get out as much as we could have. But we did go to the beach, explore some close neighborhoods, check our local little free libraries, and take some snowy walks. There were some #watchercats here and there.

We spent a lot of time inside, cleaning, taking care of cats, and trying to keep up with creative endeavors.

By the end of February, it seemed like the snow would melt and perhaps spring was around the corner… Waht do you have to say about that, March?

January in Review

Wow, how can January be over already? Where did it go?

The month flew by and I feel most of it was taken up trying to do the opposite: I was trying to take this month slow! This was a month of trying to relax, learn new slow habits and be careful and mindful of being present. But I can barely remember what happened over the month, what does that say about it?

We are off to a start to the year, not sure what kind of start, but a start.

I might not be ready for you, February, but you are here.

December in Review

Where did December even go? In some ways the month seems to extend back in my memory indefinitely, but in other ways, I remember the end of November then skip to today. We did do a little exploring in NJ this month, went to the beach, worked on achieving our goals, visited with friends, and made it to the end of the year.

The weather was up and down, so we didn’t walk as much as usual but we tried when we could! We only saw a few #watchercats but weather put a damper on seeing them, I’m sure!

Work was busy, and we used that time to prepare for next year. We made strides at home, as well. Cleaning and organizing were a priority.

Overall, 2020 was a weird year. It had very low lows, not just for the world but for our family, as well. But 2020 was also an amazing year for reflection and introspection. There were so many good things that came out of this year, too. Hopefully lessons we learned and ideas we had will carry on with us in the next year. It was a year to look inwards, but also to look outsides ourselves and care for others.

2020 is over, December is over. Wake up to a new day.

November in Review

The penultimate month of 2020 was… great? ok? not bad! November went so fast! It’s hard to remember! We took a lot of walks, celebrated, stayed home, took care of the cats, cooked and ate good food, and generally got thru life.

The weather was so nice for most of the month, but it did turn colder this month, tho, as well. We tried really hard to get in the routine of going for walks, no matter what that weather was like. We were rewarded by seeing #watchercats!

We did have a big scare this month, when Martin got injured! He’s ok now! It was a downturn right before thanksgiving, but we were able to bounce back, once he was on the mend and have a lovely holiday at home.

We didn’t see family for the holiday, but we were able to have a few socially distanced visits this months, which was nice before the bad weather sets in. I expect we will spend most of the next few month hibernating.

How was your November? Ours went by in a flash? Will December linger, or will we blink and miss it?

October in Review

I feel like this was a very typical October and a very atypical October. Pumpkins, cooler weather, bright skies and rainy days, the winding down of the garden, beach trips, neighborhood cats, spooky walks, and spooky decor. But in other ways, this felt like the beginning of something new. As leaves turned and heavy work load slowed down, other things were ramping up.

In the start of the month we were still eating a lot from the garden, we had our biggest raspberry crop! We spent time outside and some days were warm and beautiful.

We had rainy and cold days this month, too. Bleak and foreboding. But on one of these rainy days we added a new member to our family! More on Martin, soon.

We visited farm markets and picked our pumpkins. We saw #watchercats here, there, and everywhere.

Besides our new life with Martin, I also started a BookTube/YouTube channels and that is a new obsession and a new way of life. I really like to think of video ideas, and even though I’ve only made a few, I want to become better at making videos!

October felt productive, exciting and fast. The month flew by, but looking back, I can hardly remember the start of the month: So much has happened!

The end of October marks the start of the end of the year. It feels like only a short time ago, that I was shocked we were in the beginning of 2020, now we are nearing it’s close.

2020 was nothing like the world expected, October was not what I thought it might be. What will the last two months of the year bring?

September in Review

In many ways, September is always my favorite month. I love local’s Summer, I love the end of season veggies, swimming, beach days, and the crowds of Summer dispersing. I love that back to school feeling you get around this time. There’s so much potential for making plans for the end of the year.

We try to get in as many #septemberswims as we can so we had a few beach days. After not going all summer, due to the crowds and people not following the guidelines to be safe, this was a real treat. Now anyone at the beach is spread out and happy to keep away from others. A big change from August beachgoers.

We tried to get back to walking and searching out victory gardens this month. We saw some #watchercats. We were able to observe the celestial, the garden: the growing and dying off of our plants, insects buzzing everywhere.

We ate a lot of good food this month, even venturing out to a restaurant. September was a busy month and a month to make big decisions and long term plans, but it was also a time to relax. The weather took a cold turn, which can also bring the dread of Winter.

I’m hoping October will extend some of the September themes and feels. We’ll see.

August in Review

August went surprisingly quickly. This whole year has, don’t you think?

This was an extremely difficult month for us as we lost one of our cat family. Most of the month was spent nursing him, caring for him and trying to get the last moments we could together. This dominated most of our thoughts and actions this month.

We did have some plant observations and we did see some #watchercats in August.

We tried to get a few walks in and a few beach trips when we could. Between work and hospice care, we didn’t get out too much.

Although the month quickly, it felt suspended in time in some ways. And in some ways we wished the month would never end and we would never have to let our good friend go.

We will see how time and life moves on in September.