The Porch Postscript

  wan·der·lust ˈwändərˌləst/ noun a strong desire to travel. Lake Marie - Snowy Range, Wyoming This article  from  She Explores  made me homesick for Wyoming, the state where I spent the first 29 years of my life. I miss the varied landscape, from the mountains to the prairie to the plains to the desert. I miss the clear lakes, streams, and rivers.  I miss the openness of it all.  As I was explaining what I missed about Wyoming, Hubby just smiled. Not because I was mildly homesick, but because he knew exactly what was really causing these feelings. He took the opportunity to point out that I have wanderlust, something I didn't know I had until I met him and we began moving around the country. Well played Hubby...Well played. Aspen Alley - Battle Mountain, Wyoming He is of course spot on the money. I do have wanderlust, and during our time in Alaska, it's only gotten more intense. For the first time in our married lives, we're financially able to enjoy traveling and yet, we

I’ve been spending my time in the Alaska sunshine.  The winter here was long and snowy.  I won’t lie, when the first snow falls in mid-September and it keeps snowing all winter long it gets pretty damn depressing.  Break up began in late March, but as I write this post there are still a few traces of the large pile of snow we pushed up with a loader over the course of the winter.   Our plans of camping and enjoying the great outdoors this summer have been slashed by the great gas price hike that is happening across the nation.  We’re currently paying $5.21 per gallon as I write this.  Not exactly conducive to towing a camper around the state.  So in lieu of grand camping adventures, we planted a large garden. I know there is a lot of fear-mongering, stereotyping, and normalcy bias right now.  In a time of predicted food shortages, soaring gas prices, and inflated cost of living what better way to spend the summer than tending to a beautiful garden planted in hope rather than fear.  We

When I say my first pair of socks, I'm not talking about fancy knitting on double-pointed needles.  There is no toe or heel to construct with this pattern.  It's an easy pattern that creates a basic tube sock.  The pattern comes from  Teach Yourself to Knit the Easy Columbia-Minerva Way publication from 1967.   My mom has made this style of sock for us over the years, we generally wear them as a house slipper of sorts.  She shared the pattern with me ages ago and I am finally getting around to making them. I had some Lion Brand Baby Wool, worsted weight, in my yarn stash and decided it was the perfect yarn to try out this pattern.  I used two skeins to make one pair of socks.  I also followed my mom's suggested adaptation of using the magic loop method for knitting the sock, which eliminates the seam in the finished sock.   Since the yarn I chose was a variegated one, I got some funky striping or maybe we should call it color blocking.  Which created a fun pair of socks as

At the beginning of January, I picked up my knitting needles after a crazy long hiatus.  I finished the project that had been on the needles for literally years and fell back in love with knitting.  Knitting is a very relaxing creative outlet for me and I enjoy easy patterns that finish in small amounts of time, excluding the times when I put them down for ages.   The Stripy Spring Shawl is a fantastic pattern, with little knitting knowledge needed.  If you know the basic knit stitch and how to increase using the knit in front and back of a single stitch, you'll be able to complete this project without fail.  I enjoyed the project so much that I've made two of them.   The first version was created using yarn I purchased in Hawaii in 2016, which is when I cast it onto the needles.  I'd picked it up here and there as we crossed those for years, but pandemic times brought me into the grove of finishing a few projects.  This first version turned out beautifully and I had sever

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 where you go in life.   I'd encourage you to watch

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 other bloggers value this step and feel