So, perhaps because of my history of trauma, I have intrusive thoughts. It’s painful, they are never good and focus on some old family events that are so far away. I watched something on YouTube that popped into my newsfeed. It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten everything but the technique. When you are having an…

I totally understand. Coming out of a serious depression, it took me a couple years to get things where I wanted them. Bags of stuff, clutter and hidden  that were such a task to sort out.  You know what was really helpful to me? Marie Kondo. Yup. Growing up poor, and having serious amounts of trauma, it was…

Oh enjoy!  There’s nothing like the pleasure of clean space. No matter how large, small, fancy or plain, clean is the best.  Have a great day and enjoy being good tired from your hard work. 

The impact is so real, even generations later. My grandmother and uncle were taken and sent to boarding school. My grandmother was beautiful, so beautiful. She was a lifelong alcoholic, my uncle a street person. He was a man of tremendous talent and dignity, known as “The Duke.” He just couldn’t stand to be inside.…

Good morning.such beautiful plants. There’s a million ways to use rhubarb. I’m here to say, process and freeze it. I chop it into small pieces and freeze in 2-4 cup amounts so it’s available all winter. Nothing like rhubarb sauce over vanilla ice cream on movie night.

It’s a really recent thing in history that we only value brains that work one way.   Pattern recognition was probably an amazing and useful skill for earlier cultures.  Things have become so one dimensional with all the value on the written word and doing one or two tasks for long periods   Knowing what you like will…

Ha, that’s 301 level mom instruction. That what I tell my daughters, with the added thought that a man who has elaborate facial hair is a man who enjoys gazing at his own reflection too much.  

My husband uses it to make yogurt, and it’s amazing.  

We coook dried garbanzo beans which become delicious hummus, or are left while and stir fried with spices to top salads. Barley for mushroom barley soup. Cook chicken carcass and veggies for bone broth.  So many uses!

I’m late to this party, but have a few thoughts. For me, what keeps me from cleaning is clutter. I get decisional exhaustion making choices and having to handle items before getting down to cleaning. I’m doing another purge right now, tackling small things.

I love your last paragraph.  The whole post is spot on, but I’m going to steal that for my kids.  

I’m so sorry. Your description of their love both broke my heart and filled it with light. May peace be with all of you during these hard times. 

I had a dear friend get early onset Alzheimer’s.  She took a medication that was really helpful.  Hopefully there is something for your dad as well.

So, a time for great thoughtfulness and principle guided actions. Keep in touch with yourself to help act with clarity. Meditate or walk, so you process and think things through. I had a difficult sister in law come for a long visit. I took my 2 twentyish kids aside and said that we were “going to four agreement…

It snowy, cold and dark here in the frozen north. I love to walk, and recommend it as a way to process complex emotion.  But it’s not always practical.  We purchased a SUNNY rowing machine from amazon.  It’s a good workout, I get cardio and resistance.  Doesn’t take up too much room. 

That’s what I told myself, still it was a terrible experience.  I have bed bug trauma (long, sad story) and it took me a while to reframe it. 

Does a sensation count?  I’ll never forget the time I sat on a warm, wet spot on a crowded bus. It was a very long ride, and a cold day.  I figured damage was done, kept the spot, slid a newspaper under me and miserably rode home. Took an endless shower and cried later.  

If it’s a federal job, it may be that she doesn’t know the guidelines for recommendations. There are some ethical guidelines to writing recommendations that many people find tricky to navigate without support from either an ethics official or HR.  

Hey look, downward facing dog!

It’s because he was born to such wealth and privilege. Sheltering people from the world doesn’t make them better, it makes them worse. To see grace and kindness in action, spend time with people who have suffered. To see see great selfishness and true malevolence, spend time with people who are sheltered from all…