Currently :: May 2020

Hi there, friends, and…well, it just feels weird to say “happy May.”

But I do wish you a happy May. I hope that whatever stresses and anxieties have gotten you are at least starting to pass, and that the sun has come out and that you’re enjoying that perfect little bit of mild spring weather where both your heating and electrical bills are low. That if you, like us, got your seedlings into the ground that they’re all taking beautifully and starting to grow and promise you the freshest of fresh veggies. That you have enough time between frantically trying to keep up with your work and emails and calls to still manage to enjoy some family time, to cook a meal, to take a breath, to talk to friends and relatives over Zoom or Google Hangouts or whatever your fancy. That you have enough and that if you don’t, you still have people looking out for you.

It feels especially important to look out for each other these days. We are creatures that rely more than we would ever want to admit on contact with and support from others, and when that very thing has become dangerous to us, it’s hard. Take care of your peeps, even if it’s from a distance.

Here are a few highlights from our April.

1. People have likened the emotional response to isolation to the stages of grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. It’s so true. We moved very quickly from “it’s not a problem” to “people are being idiots” to “if we just wash our hands/stay socially distanced we’ll be okay” to “dear God, I miss people” to “well…this isn’t so bad.” But unlike grief, there’s been a sixth stage here. Not just acceptance, but…embracing? See #2.

2. There are a surprising amount of things to celebrate right now. I started making a list on Facebook of things/habits/practices I picked up during quarantine that I didn’t want to give back, and friends piled on with great suggestions! Here’s where we are so far:

1. A two minute work commute (from the bedroom to the coffee maker to the computer).
2. Fresh clean air and the best sustained air quality DC has seen in ages.
3. Sharing yummy home cooked meals at home with my family.
4. No fast food or dining out for over 50 days now and I don’t miss it. Including Starbucks!
5. People washing their hands and not getting all up in your personal space {I hate people who practically crawl up your back when you’re waiting in line – back up, y’all}.
6. Everybody baking bread. Our neighborhood smells delicious!
7. Teaching my son to mix cookie dough, whisk pancake batter, and watching him find joy in cooking and helping around the house.
8. Taking meetings digitally. They require varying degrees of attention and when I don’t have a speaking role, I treat it like a podcast – listen and run!
9. Planting our vegetable garden on time.
10. Taking pride in and fixing up our home with materials we can order and have delivered!
11. Using our cloth napkins {seriously, why did we go through so many paper products before?}.

I’m going to keep the list going as we continue our isolation. It helps me look at things positively, and it’s also going to help us figure out how much of “normal” we actually want to get back to.

3. Running has not only become part of my routine but part of my sanity. It’s been wonderful to get out and run and be out in nature. One turn out of my neighborhood and I’m in open road with rolling fields and forests and a horse farm, and I’m grateful to not have to worry about being around people {although I carry a mask in my pocket}.

4. Blogland is bringing their cocktail game. I shared the Strawberry Pineapple Daiquiris we’ve been blending up {if you haven’t had a frozen daiquiri from a mason jar, have you really quarantined?}, and I have these on the list for ones we want to try!

• Jungle Bird Cocktail
• Frozen Traditional Daiquiris
• Blueberry Lemon Thyme Smash
• Strawberry Gin Smash
• Orange Hibiscus Mai Tai

5. Skillet pizza – especially this Sausage Caprese Skillet Pizza – has to be my favorite recent discovery. It’s ridiculously easy to make and so delicious! The hot skillet gets the deep dish dough just the right amount of crispy and you can load it up as much as you want with goodies. And it’s about the perfect portion size for the three of us!

6. We’re in the middle of putting in our backyard vegetable garden, and I’m beyond excited – not just for having fresh veggies to harvest, but being able to introduce my husband and son to the fun and the pride that comes from cultivating your own food. We always had a backyard garden, no matter how big or small our yards were, when I was a kid. I’m putting together a few posts on how to do this {or at least how we do it} but here are some references for you if you want to get started on putting in your own backyard garden:

• The Old Farmer’s Almanac guide for beginning gardeners
• Christina Maria’s beginning gardener prep
• The Old Farmer’s Almanac guide to starting seeds
• The Daily Gardener’s recommendations for best seed starting kits

I also recommend calling up your local nursery. Not only might you be able to order seeds or starter plants appropriate to your climate zone, but you support a local business.

7. I typically bake my “fried” chicken instead of frying it, but Girl Carnivore’s Cajun Fried Chicken Sandwich with Creamy Ranch Slaw has just about everything I crave right now! I love the combination of Cajun spice and buttermilk, and I’m working on perfecting the combination of spices I use in my own Cajun spice mix right now. Coming soon!

8. What’s for dinner tonight? We pulled some delicious ribeyes out of the bottom of the fridge {courtesy of my dad’s last visit – he thinks we never have enough protein in the house} and Scott has been experimenting with them in his smoker. That adds a wonderful layer of woodsy summer flavor to all of our dishes – especially these favorite Grilled Steak Fajita Bowls!

9. The last week or so has been hard. It feels like my office has more meetings than ever and totally has forgotten that a lot of us have working spouses and children and no daycare. It has really shown us who really understands the idea of work-life balance and who is just paying it lip-service.

Hang in there, friends!