The Porch Postscript

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 ...

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...

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...

The world isn’t going to become a better place by blaming others. Change won't happen by screaming at others and making them apologize for being. Nor will it happen by tearing down neighborhoods, destroying businesses, and placing blame.  Nothing in life is free. Nothing in life is owed to any of us. We must go out and earn it, honestly. Not by beating down others to our level.  Not by destroying what isn’t ours. Not by hating an entire sect of people.  Hard work and honesty will take you much farther than hate and blame.  At some point, the blame game has to stop.  At some point, the accountability needs to start.  Only then will the change begin.   There is always going to be hate.  We will never all sit in a circle and sing kumbaya.  The human race just doesn't work that way.  There will always be someone with more than you and someone with less than you.  What you do with that knowledge and how you use it will determine whe...

The world we currently live in is filled with a lot of highlight reels.  We see the perfect food, the perfect outfit, and the house that looks perfect.  The reality is that life isn't perfect and I feel like we need more real than highlight in our lives. I've thought a lot about the photos I take and use here on the blog, as well as on Instagram.  I've also thought a lot about the styled photos so many other bloggers use.  I feel like there is no right or wrong way to take and share photos.  So, why do I choose real-life rather than stunning styled photos? My number one reason is time, and maybe a bit of laziness.  I take most of the photos in the moment.  Right before eating the meal, or in the spur of the moment as things in my life happen.   I have zero interest in styling my food with props and the perfect garnish. Not to mention my daily life has no room for perfecting a food shot before we eat a meal.  I know millions of oth...

Sitting here this morning, sipping coffee, with my feet up,  watching the geese and swans fly by my studio window.  I may not be making art right now, but this is still my studio.  My happy place, the place where I write, make art, create cards, sew, knit, and daydream about my next creative endeavor.  This is the same desk I surf social media from and where I seem to be counting my blessings these days.  Because I'm counting my blessings quite a bit right now. What are we all thankful for right now?  No really, what are you thankful for?  Let's take a minute and focus on the positive things.  Walk away from the news briefings and the number counting and the terrible game of telephone the press plays with everything.  Are you with family during all of this?  Are you in a small town where there are far fewer cases of COVID-19?  Are you able to work from home? Are you able to put meals on the table? This is a house of introvert...

Let's start this article with honestly.  I've never been one to research where the things I buy come from.  I do buy locally in terms of supporting local businesses, but I've never really paid attention to things like country of origin when it comes to food.  I've blindly trusted the system.  Fast forward to today, where farmers and ranchers are plowing crops under, washing dairy down the drain, and euthanizing animals ready for slaughter.  Yet, grocery stores are rationing items to customers as "1 per person" because there isn't enough to keep the shelves stocked.  WTF?  Our system is broken and now is the time to change it.  We've become very used to cheap food, with no care as to where it's grown, processed, or packaged. I've been trying to educate myself on the current food situation and what is happening.  Before anyone gets on their soapbox and starts with the hoarding rant.  I'd like to point out a few things I've learned in th...

It all seems like it started with daylights savings time, a full moon and Friday the 13th.  Then came COVID-19 (aka Carona Virus) and now it's been snowing on and off for three days in Interior Alaska. Meme from Facebook Our world is shutting down one piece at a time.  First the public schools.  Then went the bars,  restaurants, gyms and even churches.  There are snarky comments about hoarding.   Toilet paper is selling out as fast as it hits shelves. I don't even have the words to explain how I feel about all of the things going on.  I'm saddened by the number of people who won't take it seriously.  I'm angry at how the news chooses to cover things like this.  I'm worried about my family that is thousands of miles from me at this crazy time.  I'm amazed at the kindness people are sharing in this time of panic.  I'm awestruck by the diversity of some business as they change and morph to help with the changing needs of o...

Be...  Finish that statement.  How will you "Be"?  Go ahead.  I'll wait (insert Jeopardy music here).  In all seriousness when was the last time, you thought about that?  How do you want to be? How we act, react and treat our family, friends and those around us is always changing and growing.  Especially as we ourselves change and grow through our experiences.  The ever disconnecting way we interact with the world is lessening the human contact, well before and beyond the realm of social media.  We've been pressing "1 for English" most of my adult life and I remember when "self-check" became a thing.  As of late, I'm been really thinking about how I've been reacting to things and how others are reacting to me.  I'm working to change my own disconnected attitude.  In breaking my thoughts down, I hope to provide you with some food for thought and with something to consider the next time you act or react. Here are the FIVE t...

Housekeeping is such a relative perspective, isn't it?  No really.  Think about that one person's hot mess is a lived in house.  One person's clean house is another person's worst nightmare.  I'm the lived in house that finds overly clean houses to be a nightmare.  There is nothing that makes me more self-conscious than visiting someone who has one of those "everything in its place homes." We have two cats and a dog, can you say hair?  I'm a creative, so I'd rather be creating than cleaning any day of the week.  If you came to see how clean my house is then you came for the wrong reasons.  Our house is lived in.  It's not dirty.  It's not disgusting.  It's lived in. You don't have to take your shoes off when you come here and you'll go home with dirty socks if you do.  My animals live here, so don't sit if you don't want to go home with some sort of hair somewhere on you.  You'll often find dirty dishes in the ...

I go through these phases once or twice a year.  I wander through my thoughts and wonder what I'm doing, how could I be doing it better, if I should be doing something different.  I run off with wild abandon on a creative journey, sure that this will be the right one, the one that will set me free.  Only to find burned out at the end of each venture because I don't know how to pace myself or take the right steps to make it work and grow. I've found myself exploring many things.  Some of the paths I've ventured down include: Cookbook writing (wrote and self-published two books) Food Blogger (wrote for 7 years and then removed it from the internet) Handmade Gift Shop on Etsy (three years of thinking sewing would set me free) Photography Blog (goes in fits and starts, still posting, but not consistent) Card Blogger (I've learned I'm not a DIY, step by step blogger) Handmade Card Artist (still doing this but in a bit of a creative slump) Life Blog (you...

Where has my summer gone?  Summer in Alaska always goes so fast.  Three months of 24 hours of light seems to fly by at the speed of light. I always lose the month of June to long hours at work while we put on a Heavy Equipment Academy, in which I spend many days wearing this ensemble. We did a little extended getaway over the 4th of July weekend and made our first trip to Anchorage.  Forrest fires in the area made it a really smokey trip, but we were there the day the state broke a temp record and it hit 90 degrees. Had some good food, did some shopping and looked for a fifth wheel.  Ate at the "famous" Moose's Tooth Pizza. And on our way home we held out to eat at our favorite place in Denali, aka Glitter Gultch, Moose-AKas. Seriously, they have the best crepes we've ever eaten. I got a bit of rhubarb from our friends and processed it all into freezer bags for us to enjoy over the winter.  By some rhubarb, I mean 45 cups of rhubarb...

I've been down with a nasty Spring cold for somewhere in the ballpark of eight days.  I actually think this is worse than the bronchitis I had while we were on vacation over the Christmas Holidays.  I took nearly an entire week off work and I still feel exhausted and rung out.  I still have the stuffy nose and congestion.  It's getting better, but this one is a hanger-on.  Hubby had it first, he was kind enough to bring it home from work.  He's a week father into this crud than I am, but he's still has a bit of a cough and is rundown.  We're both on the mend, but this one really took it out of us.  We're noticing the older we get the harder it is to get over these things. We're both pretty good about staying home when we're sick, but not everyone uses their sick time as they should.  Seriously, that's what it's for and the rest of us would totally appreciate it if you'd use it rather than bringing your cud to the office to sha...

What did February look like... We had a little mini getaway to Fairbanks.  It's how we battle cabin fever.  This is our favorite french dip and cheese fries from Friar Tucks. I've been trying to use a planner for my creative work, including blog posts. Nails for Valentine's Day. The sun is back!  I started wearing my shades to work again because it's finally light enough again. It was in the upper 20's and low 30's most of February. I made an old favorite - Toasted Ravioli aka Fried Ravioli. I painted our kitchen.  Before... After... I have a bit of a notebook fetish. My little alter of creativity in my studio. Artwork at a Starbucks. We also had a trip home to Wyoming.

Cabin Fever, the ailment from which I am currently suffering.  Winter has lasted way too long this year.  We didn't take our annual trip to Hawaii to break up the cold and darkness of the long Alaskan winters, for which I am truly in a state of regret.  We are still under about two feet of snow, probably more in select spots of our yard.  Yes.  The sun has returned, but that doesn't make the cold leave. I'm tired of going from the car to a building and back to the car and back to a building.  This routine is getting OLD!!!  I want to be outside, which yes if I bundle up I can be, but I HATE THE COLD.  I don't have any desire to be out in it, trudging through the snow, pretending I love winter.  Nope.  No Way.  Not at all.  I'm over it and ready for some summer!!! I've had a number of people say getting a "happy" light helps.  Maybe it does, but it's no substitute for sitting on the porch sipping iced tea and listenin...