Back in the Saddle Again

I gave up my own website for MONTHS to manage another one, which has now been rebranded and others can deal with it. (It's beautiful, but I really loved my old homespun version.) I'm getting back up on the horse and will try to renew this website in a timely manner. It's actually hard to believe that it was still waiting out there in the ethernet for me.

I had actually seen an Instagram post recently with the tagline mundanetoinsane, which made me scream "NO!!!" inside my head. It was a different account using MY words! I knew I had to do something, and soon.

Of course, those words are not mine alone. And I'm still able to use them for my revived domain, just with hyphens (mundane-to-insane), although viewers likely won't register a change. The words first came from my son some 20 years ago, who thought I should I should write a cookbook about the insanely good meals I made from mundane leftovers. This website actually started with recipes.

I've been doing other things in the kitchen for the past couple of years that I'll share. I still cobble together meals from various unrelated leftovers from the fridge, and they still sometimes turn out to be just as good or better than the original meals.

I also continue to draw and paint, but not as often as I'd like -- my fault alone. I blame it on not having a studio separate from other parts of the house, where I can leave things out on three or more easels for as long as I please. We have spent time and money on lots of necessary upgrades to our property. I'm thinking that it's time I spent something on myself. Truly, it would make my husband happier anyway, because I wouldn't whine about not having my own space (which he does already, and always has).

Being outside remains a priority in my life, even if I just sit on the deck to write a blog, as I'm doing now. Not a single Day goes by that doesn't share with me something sensorily special: a flower or a shiny rock; a bird flitting its feathers about or calling; a gentle breeze or a rowdy wind; colors that change daily on the landscape or the memory that before long everything will be brown-then-white; the earthy smell of rain that I've learned is called "petrichor" or an unexpected aroma of barbecue; the ache in my knees when I stand up after a long, satisfying argument with weeds or the total-body pain after a long hike -- infinitely many outdoor things to experience.

I'll be overhauling this website during the coming days and weeks. It has long needed a renewal.