The Porch Postscript

First stop Green River, UT. Laugh if you want to, our family did. This was the first stop that wasn’t a family mooch-docking spot, and it was a perfect place to lay down stakes for a couple of days.  We started out the trip in Silt, CO where’d spend the night at my nephew’s.    Green River, UT is about 173 miles from Silt, CO.  We found in our trip down from Alaska that 150 to 250 miles per day works best for us.  We spend less time on the road during the busiest times of the day and  Driving across I-70 through Colorado and into Utah was a beautiful trip.  The farther west we traveled the more Fall colors we found, and then we popped into the beautiful desert with its stunning rock cliffs and mountains.   I’ll admit the desert isn’t my happy place but it sure makes Hubby’s heart sing.  He loves the arid climate and the miles of sand and sagebrush.  I love the sand, but I prefer mine with a side of sea rather than sage. We put down stake...

Hello! If you’re new here, we’re the Petersen’s and we fell into retirement a year earlier than we’d planned. We put our Alaska house on the market and in June we moved in to a 37 foot toy hauler fifth wheel. If you’re a SLMPetersen newsletter subscriber, you already know we left Alaska at the end of July and took a 12 day journey through Canada to Wyoming. We’ve spent the last two and a half months mooch-docking on my brother’s ranch, waiting for our house in Alaska to close.   The house still hasn’t closed and we officially ran out of “camping weather” mid October we picked up stakes for the next leg of the journey. While we continue to wait on the house closing, and continue to put all the place for our forever home we’re headed south.   The plan was always to travel in our fifth wheel, but the early retirement added a fun twist to the plan.  We’ll spending the next six months traveling the US, while we wait for our forever home to be build in Baggs, WY.  For ...

Good morning!  Yesterday I had Hubby Help me do a bit of a rearrangement of furniture in my studio.  this has been on my mind for a couple of months.  I wanted more natural light on my work and to get my computer out of the big window.  Mission accomplished! A few minor things need to happen, like touching up the edge of my big table that was against the wall and never painted white.  The result brought in so much more natural light, made my large table more accessible for larger projects, and created a fresh space I'll enjoy working in.   I was able to stash my sewing machine table under my large table and move some shelving under one end of the table and will now be able to cut fabric without setting up a small space in the hallway.  Moving the shelving under the table opened up a new space for watercoloring as well. In the photo above you can see my large window, before the work of rearranging the space it was partially covered by my large comp...

I've only talked about getting a new camera for what seems like a decade.  Yesterday I finally splurged on my first large-format camera.  I also purchased a super zoom lens that I can not wait to get my hands on for wildlife photography.  So what did I buy and why... Nikon Z5 Mirroless ( Adorama.com ) I bought a Nikon Z5 Mirrorless Camera, a 24mm to 400mm super zoom lens, and the Nikon Mount Adapter.  The adapter will enable me to continue to use my F-mount lenses on the new Z-mount large-format camera.   I've been shooting with Nikon since the early 2000s and getting another one was a no-brainer.  In some aspects, camera people are like car people.  You're a Nikon, Cannon, Fugi, etc. just like there are Ford, Dodge, or Chevy people.  Why mirrorless?  I've been watching mirrorless cameras since they came out a few years ago.  The prospect of a lighter camera with lens options has intrigued me from the start, but when they first came...

This morning I posted the following on all three of my Insta accounts:   I'm returning to blogging - right now you can find me on my blog - https://www.theporchpostscript.com/ and you can find my photography - https://www.stacypetersen.com/   I haven't made the decision on a specific place for the art part of my life yet, but I'll announce that on The Porch Postscript when and if I do. You can also find me on Substack - https://theporchpostscript.substack.com/ In the last month, I've left the IG completely. Was it because of all the changes? No not really. The changes made me lose interest. I joined IG for photography and a place filled with artists and makers. This isn't that place anymore. It's time to go back to blogging and build something I want rather than chase what the algorithm wants.   I plan to delete all of my accounts in a few weeks. Yes, I did say delete. I've downloaded the data and am now ready to cut the cord and delete it. About a month ago...

Just how many times have I reinvented myself?  It's hard to say.  I've changed career paths a half dozen times in my life.  I've moved states three times, getting ready for a fourth in a couple of years.  I've written four different blogs, counting this one.  I've dabbled in a handmade card business.  Attempted a marketing business under the ideas of others' influence.  I abandon things when I lose interest or get bored.  Yet here I sit at the crossroads of reinvention and coming back to something I used to love. I wrote recently about Sharing Without Social  Sharing Without Social .  About kicking Insta to the curb and being unsure of making a home on Substack.  The truth of the matter is that I really need to come back to writing and sharing for the sake of my own enjoyment, not because it's the latest place to share or an algorithm tells me this is what gets the clicks.  Doing it because I enjoy having a record of what I've ...

I’ve been pondering this topic of sharing without social off and on for a while now. Maybe even off and on for a couple of years. I enjoy sharing the food our house consumes, my artwork, and other fun photographs I take. The rub is with social media. I don’t want all the toxicity of F-book nor do I want the constant scroll of videos you now get on the gram. Where does one go to share without the dopamine hits of thumbs and hearts? Without the flood of memes and other chain-letter modernization. Where does one go to share for the sake of conversation and discussion? I’ve been taking a good hard ponder about blogging again, but do people still read blogs? I like Substack, but I’m already seeing it slip into the land of all the other socials with the addition of notes. It’s far too reminiscent of the bygone days of social. I will continue to write here for a while, but I’m also wandering back toward the blogs I used to write. The place that was mine, where conversations could happen and t...

 Choosing less doesn’t make me less, it might even make me more. Last week I wrote about how Hustle Culture is a Thief and I asked the question - “why is it not ok to be content with less hustle and less busy in life?” Today I’m going to talk about myself and why I choose less. Here’s a bit of background. I’m a skilled admin with a ton of customer service experience. When I say ton, I’m not kidding I’ve been answering the phone for a business since I was about eight years old. My dad ran a business out of our home and there was only one phone line for everything. My skill set is becoming rare in this current cycle of employable people. In my current job, I was hired for this particular skill set, that comes with a side of take no shit. The door opened to me, has allowed me to choose how many hours I want to work, and has given me freedom I’ve never had before. This job also came with an expiration date I set myself. When I was hired I agreed to stay three years, at which point my h...

 Friendships are a lot like pants, you gotta try a copious amount of them to find the perfect ones. We’ve all been there, the dressing room for trying on new friends. It’s a work party, a social gathering, and maybe even the line at the post office. You gather a few bits of information from your interactions and agree this could be a great fit. You buy the pants so to speak. The thing with pants and friends is not all of them are gonna fit. Sometimes they're cuter in the dressing room than when you get them home, sometimes they shrink in the wash, sometimes they’re seasonal, and sometimes they fit perfectly and you can’t imagine life without them. There are those accidental friendships that grow organically, like my best friend that I’ve had for nearly three decades. We met in a bar, his friend thought I was cute. Would have never guessed he’d become the brother I didn’t need and I’d become the sister he never wanted, but here we are. This is the friendship that is akin to cozy leg...

 Why do I need a why? Why do I need to hustle anything? Why do we need to be so busy we can’t live a life? Yesterday in my Instagram feed I saw a reel with a quote that deeply resonated with me - Time isn’t a thief, our “hustle” culture is. Let that sink in. Go ahead, reread that. Those of us living in the US have been brainwashed into thinking our lives haven’t been validated if we aren’t constantly in a state of work, a state of hustle. According to Fobes, 765 million vacation days go unused, and around 52 percent report working while on paid leave. Americans, as a culture, work constantly and when we aren’t at work all we can talk about is work. I find it interesting that valuing your time off or having boundaries for your work is almost frowned upon. I also find it interesting how many people have developed the habitual answer of “We’re crazy busy you know how it is” when you ask them how they are. That answer assumes that everyone in your circle is also consumed by being busy ...

 Knitting is very cathartic, meditative, and soul-soothing. When I put it down for long periods of time I often forget that. I walk away from projects and leave them in a WIP (work in progress) state, often for years. Knitting projects often get finished, but on occasion, they get frogged (torn out).  A couple of weeks ago I picked up one of the WIPs in my knitting basket. I finally finished a cowl that’s been on the needles for in the ballpark of a year, maybe a touch longer. The knitting mood has finally struck and I’ve reconnected with the joy it brings me to create with two sticks and some yarn. Upon completion of the cowl pictured above, I cast a new project onto the needles. I pulled some yarn from my stash and after doing a rabbit trail of a pattern search, I pulled out my much loved Gradient Shawl pattern. Gradient Shawl by Ola Grefling is available on Ravelry if you’re looking for what I’d call a relaxing pattern. It’s very beginner-friendly and perfect for knitting w...

This morning I was thinking about this as we ate breakfast. Our oven igniter went out two weeks ago and we’re waiting on the part, translation I’m unable to bake our weekly loaf of bread. Instead of a loaf this week we’ll be eating flatbread and pita pockets, both of which could be made on the stovetop. I kind of smiled to myself, we’ve been overcoming cooking challenges our entire marriage. Improvise, adapt, overcome is an unofficial slogan of the Marine Corps, and 16 years ago when I married a retired Marine this phrase became a way of life. We’ve lived in four states, owned three homes, and faced countless challenges along the way. Life has given us a lot of lemons, but that never stopped us from figuring out the challenge and moving forward.  When we moved to Missouri, in an ice storm, as newlyweds and took up residency in our first home we had no kitchen appliances. No biggy, we improvised. It was December so a cooler could be put outside our backdoor with groceries until we c...

Home is and always will be Wyoming.  Home is not really about the town I was born in, but more about the state where I spent the first nearly three decades of my life.  I'll always be a Wyoming girl no matter where I live.  At this point in my life when I talk about going home, I'm referring to my brother's ranch, that's home.  My heart is there, my family is there. I've always loved taking photos at the ranch, and when we were home for Mom's memorial it was no different than all the other trips.  Spend a little time here and you'll also learn I have an infatuation or maybe even an obsession with trees, and the ranch has many old cottonwoods and cedars to make my little dendrophile heart.   One afternoon Hubby and I were sitting in the yard listening to the birds and talking about family and what's next in our lives.  I kept studying the same tree.  Eventually, I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick pic.  I mentioned to him that I wan...

Yesterday was my 46th Birthday.  This year I embraced my birthday and went on with my day. I honestly think 46 looks pretty damn good on me! I spent many years as a child sharing birthday celebrations with my brother, who was born two days and 19 years before me.  Lots of years not enjoying my birthday as a kid, because it was never just my birthday.  I have one fond memory of a sleepover with girlfriends, in late grade school or early junior high.  I cherish that memory, as it was one of the few times when my birthday was just about me. I spent most of my 20s drunk on my birthday.  Usually in a bar surrounded by friends, pretending to have a good time.  In my late  20s when I met my now husband birthdays changed.  For my 28th birthday, he took me away for a week to Saint Augustine, FL.  That's when birthdays really became special.  That entire week was just about me and what I wanted to do for my birthday. Now in my 40s I love my life a...

I've been selecting a word since at least 2019, with the exception of last year.  The month leading up to 2023 made for a lost year, but more on that another day.  The word I've chosen for 2024 is release .  I don't have clarity yet on why I chose this word, or perhaps it has chosen me; the year will tell.   In the days leading up to the new year, I reread past journals, searching words, and while I found several that I liked release seemed to keep calling me back.  Then, while I was reading articles about resolutions I found one writer who talked about the origin of the word resolution.  It comes from the Latin  resolvēre - meaning to loosen or release .  That sealed the deal for me, release would be my 2024 word. I find it interesting, that the cultural norm is to vow to be a "new you in the new year" and each year we we put all these expectations in place.  Then reality comes colliding in around February and many of the chosen resolu...

It's been a while since I busted out the colored pencils and created a bird.  In 2017, I had a little venture into drawing birds.  I drew a cardinal, a blue jay, and a mountain bluebird. After drawing three birds, I ventured on to the next thing. Then a few weeks ago I dusted off my bird art and created stickers to sell at the local gift shop.  Kind of unexpectedly, this inspired me to pick up my colored pencils and create a new bird piece. Settle in and let me tell you a little story about the decision to draw a mostly black bird, the red-winged blackbird.   Before my Dad passed away, passed away 19 years ago, he had a conversation with my oldest brother about red-winged blackbirds. After all these years I don't remember the details and the memory can play tricks.  In the cloudy memory, there is something about my brother seeing a flock of them take flight the day Dad passed.  The details have been lost to time, but the meaning and symbolism of the re...

Title:    Food - A Love Story Author:   Jim Gaffigan Type:   Memoir For starters, I cheated and listened to the audiobook, but a book is a book, right?  My only mistake with this decision was that I made it while traveling on an airplane so I couldn't laugh out loud as much as I would have had I listened to it at home. Jim Gaffigan narrates the book himself, which I'm sure adds to the funniness of the audiobook.  He is a stand-up comedian after all. I chose this book because I love books about food, especially memoirs.  I also needed a book to distract me while we flew several hours on a trip home.  I figured it would get me through a few flights and if I never finished it, no big deal, as that is usually the fate of audiobooks on trips with me.  That was not the fate of this book.  I listened to the entire book and was sad when it was over.  I will actually be listening to it again, it was that good.  When Gaffigan tells you h...

Eat The City by Robin Shulman Title:    Eat the City Author:   Robin Shulman Type:   Regional Food From the back of the book:   Food, of course, is about hunger - but it's also about community.  With humor and insight,  Eat the City  shows how, in places like New York, people have found ways to use their collective hunger to build their own kind of city. Why I picked this book up:   I'm always drawn to books about food.   This book  caught my eye at the library and I knew I had to read it. My thoughts on the book:   I really enjoyed reading this book.  Lots of great history was mixed in with the present-day food seen. This is a book about the people who are passionate about the food they help create.  When Shulman describes the people she talks to, she does a fantastic job of giving you enough detail to create a vivid mental picture, without getting too wrapped up in all the little bitty details of it a...

I have faint childhood memories of my grandfather’s garden.  Climbing the steps to the upper yard adjacent to the sprawling garden, the pride, and joy of my grandfather’s summers.   1519 B Street taken in 1998 when my grandmother sold the house Their home that once stood at 1519 B Street in Omaha, Nebraska, was built in kind of a hillside with an exterior staircase leading to the upstairs apartment where my great grandmother lived.  The big garden my grandfather was so proud of was of those stairs.  I wish I had photos of his garden, it's its glory days.  Unfortunately, it's all gone, the house was torn down and the gardens are no more.  The lot is vacant, the google earth view shows me a grassy green lot where the house once stood.   My grandfather was a solemn man who rolled his own cigarettes and sat with his cats watching the world go by from the back porch of this house.  He started seeds in old cotton socks he cut into small square...

I'm going to venture into an area we're all told not to discuss. Many of us were raised not to discuss money, faith, or politics, especially in mixed company. What the hell does that even mean - mixed company? Anywho... Faith, this is a slippery slope in any conversation. I'm guaranteed to upset someone in this post. I was raised in the Lutheran Church. We went nearly every Sunday and by we I mean my mom and I. My dad was what many refer to as a "sprinkler". He attended major church holidays, baptisms, weddings, and funerals. I attended the same church my entire childhood. I took my first communion and was confirmed. I was an acolyte and did things with the youth group. As an adult, I got married in the same church, a church I hadn't attended in years. Here's the catch, I left church. Not just the church I grew up in, but the complete concept of it. I didn't leave my faith, just the established idea of church. As an adult I've become...