Weekend Wrap-up

   This was a weekend of movement, magic, Mother's Day mania, and much more! (How's that for alliteration?) Despite being on the go pretty much all weekend, I enjoyed a feeling of relaxation, probably because everything going on was stuff I wanted to do and made time for.

     Saturday morning found me and my friend Dev at a Tarot-reading class, the second half of the class we had taken last year (!). I have mentioned before that I read my cards every day, sometimes a full spread, other times just a one card "what will the day bring?" draw. This class explored the ties between Tarot and astrology. I know pretty much nothing about astrology, except to wonder if my mother might have gotten my birthdate mixed up with someone else, because I am the most un-Aries-like Aries I have ever met. I've been given a great recommendation for a site to use to explore my rising sign; this may go a long way toward explain why this Aries acts like a Pisces (This isn't a post about astrology, I swear. In fact, I'm done now). Saturday afternoon found us enjoying libations on the Rendezvous patio. If you are ever in Turners Falls, MA, visit the Voo. I can highly recommend the Bourbonade and the Cheeky Tart. (PS: The Voo is doggie friendly!)

    Following my couple hours of day drinking, I decided it was a nice enough day to attack the disaster that has in former times been known as my back steps. I had a container garden out there a few years running and then got out of the habit. We had gotten a plot in the community garden so I didn't really see the need to do pots on the back steps as well. Well, lesson learned, between work and school, a container garden right outside my door is the way to go. Unfortunately, because I wasn't really doing anything out there except making sure it was (mostly) clear enough for my son to take the trash out, the back steps turned into a junk collecting heap. I should have taken a "before" picture. It's still a work in progress, but currently I have two types of zucchini planted, lemon cucumbers, jelly melons (WEIRD...check them out here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHA2omTzN2U )

I like cucumbers, but these are just too bizarre for me. My husband and my 22 year old son are looking forward to them because the two of them are weird. The 9 year old wanted to plant them just because the melons/cucumbers/whatevers are weird. I also planted Jimmy Nardello hot peppers and Sugar Rush Peach hot peppers. I need to pick up a few more bags of soil, and two types of bell pepper and six types of tomato are going to go into pots; strawberries and dwarf grape tomatoes into hanging baskets, and cucamelons, also known as Mexican Sour Gherkins are going into the same pot as the weird jelly melons. In a fit of cleaning, all of the flimsy plastic pots and cracked/broken ceramic pots went into the recycling bin, the birdfeeder was refilled and hung back in the leggy maple tree, a sweet little wind chime was looped over a grapevine cane, and all the wild unruly grapevine tentacles that keep trying to eat the door were cut back, as were the lilac branches from the not-so-dwarf variety that lives at the foot of the steps and likes to try to kill you as you try to carry trash and recycling out. (In an aside, I am also violently allergic to lilacs, so giving that almost-tree a trimming was very therapeutic.)


   Once I finish planting all of my babies and sweep up all the dirt I've thrown everywhere, my steps will once again be a lovely place to sit and enjoy the sun. I do wish the landings were wider and I could actually put a chair of two out there for when I drink tea and read or browse my favorite blogs (see below!), but renters can't be choosers.


   I'm doubly glad I spent time outside Saturday: it was a beautiful day, not too hot, a prefect May day. Everything looks 1000% better, and I don't even have all my plants in yet! So there's the satisfying feeling of accomplishment. Also, it poured on Sunday. So much for Mother's Day! Actually, it turned out to be a lovely (indoor) day. I surprised my mother with lunch out and a manicure and my husband surprised me with emeralds. AND the Sox and the Bruins kicked butt. Did I mention Sunday was a nice day???


   I have my boy's Taekwondo practice on my plate this afternoon, so I doubt I'll be doing any more work outside this evening after work; plus its drizzly. I like rain, but after the April deluge I'm pretty well set here, thanks. Instead, I think I'll fire up my computer and see what's happening in blog land. See below for some of my favorites, running the gamut from living magically to career advice, fabulous author blogs, and home and self-care!

  

https://tesswhitehurst.com/blog/

Blog | Tess Whitehurst tesswhitehurst.com Blog posts and videos by Tess Whitehurst: award-winning author, feng shui consultant, and intuitive counselor

https://theodoragoss.com/

Theodora Goss theodoragoss.com Welcome! I’m a writer of novels, short stories, essays, and poems. You can read more about me on my Press page. The Novels, Stories, Essays, and Poems pages list my publications, including some that are available to read online.

https://www.terriwindling.com/

terriwindling.com - Myth & Moor www.terriwindling.com In A Book of Silence, Sara Maitland explores the cultural history of silence and retreat while seeking to create more room for silence within her own life. It's a fascinating book, leading through myth, religion, philosophy, sociology, natural history and literature to a place of stillness at the center of them all.

https://www.cleanmama.net/

Clean Mama | Organic and Natural Cleaning Products and Tips www.cleanmama.net Simple cleaning routines and natural cleaning products from Clean Mama Founder Becky Rapinchuk that’s perfect for busy homes.

http://www.dinneralovestory.com/

Dinner: A Love Story - It All Begins At the Family Table www.dinneralovestory.com Since it’s been at least a week since I’ve posted an egg-topped something or other, I thought I’d share my new favorite salad: Microgreens or sprouts (your favorite, these are arugula) tossed with a rice-wine-based-vinaigrette, a wedged avocado, a seven-minute egg, and a generous shake of Furikake.

https://www.thewednesdaychef.com/

The Wednesday Chef www.thewednesdaychef.com About once a week for the past I don't know how many years, I've sectioned a fennel bulb into eighths, washed a handful of cherry tomatoes, put them in a baking dish with a good glug of olive oil (more is better here) and some salt and then stuck it in a 200C/400F oven until the vegetables are tender as can be and the tomatoes have browned and slumped, about 30 minutes, though I confess I've ...

https://www.classycareergirl.com/blog

Blog - Classy Career Girl www.classycareergirl.com As a reminder, this is part 2, so make sure you listen to last week’s episode first! We covered the first five business models I used when I started Classy Career Girl, including banner advertising, sponsored blog posts and social media posts, ebooks, speaking, and online courses.

http://uncustomary.org/blog/

Blog | Uncustomary uncustomary.org Stress is something that affects everyone, and it always will. There are good and bad types of stress (getting a new job, a loved one dying) that pop up across our life span.