Coriander in the Spice Rack

As soon as Christmas is over, my brain goes right to Valentine’s Day. So I’ve been looking forward to seeing this one on my computer every day of the month.

Do you have big Valentine’s Day plans? Anti-Valentine’s Day plans? My mom’s birthday is the day before, so I usually spend the week trying to share love with her. We have dark chocolate, fancy kombucha, and bison to enjoy so far.

Check out my Patreon post to download this art, and/or request a wallpaper resize for a different device.

1. Becoming Old: Poems of Aging by Richard Greene
2. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
3. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
4. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
5. Good Catholic Kids by Jymi Cliche
6. The Firebrand and the First Lady by Patricia Bell-Scott
7. The Intuitive Eating Workbook by Evelyn Tribole MS, RDN & Elyse Resch, MS, RDN (gave up 4/20/22)
8. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
9. Eleanor and Hick by Susan Quinn
10. Come as you are by Emily Nagoski
11. Unexpected Stories by Octavia Butler
12. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
13. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
14. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
15. I will always write back by Caitlin Alifrenka
16. In the Lateness of the World by Carolyn Forche
17. Conflict is not abuse by Sarah Schulman
18. Let’s talk about hard things by Anna Sale
19. The Sacred Enneagram by Christopher L. Heuertz
20. The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna
21. Making a Living without a job by Barbara J. Winter
22. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
23. Divine Rebels by Caroline Myss and Andrew Harvey
24. All Saints Hotel and Cocktail Lounge by Nathan Monk
25. Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger by Justin Murphy
26. Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown
27. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
28. The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll
29. Hope by Marc Levy
30. The Code Breaker by Isaac Isaacson
31. Evicted by Matthew Desmond
32. Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
33. No Walls and the Recurring Dream by Ani DiFranco
34. Building a Story Brand by Donald Miller
35. Money Making Mom by Crystal Paine
36. Bone Music by Christopher Rice
37. The Flux by Ferrett Steinmetz
38. Rain Girl by Gabi Kreslehner
39. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
40. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
41. The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
42. How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge by Clay Scroggins
43. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van der Kolk
44. Becoming by Michelle Obama
45. Nonbinary. Memoirs of Gender and Identity
46. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
47. A Demon in my view by Ruth Rendell
48. Ordinary People by Judith Guest
49. 1776 by David McCullough
50. The Virgin of Prince Street by Sonja Livingston
51. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
52. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
53. A Season in Hell by Rimbaud
54. The Undesired by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
55. Killer Reunion by G.A. McKevett
56. The Day is Dark by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
57. Sami Blood
58. The Heart Keeper by Alex Dahl
59. Alfons Mucha 1860-1939 : master of art nouveau by Renate Ulmer
60. The little old lady who broke all the rules by Catherina Ingelman-Sundberg
61. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
62. More Myself by Alicia Keys
63. Beloved by Toni Morrison
64. American Dirt
65. The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
66. The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
67. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
68. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
69. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
70. How to argue with a racist by Adam Rutherford

Happy New Year’s Eve, my friends!

I just got the news about Betty White. The upside – the Golden Girls are finally together again. The downside – Betty didn’t make it to 100. She was a treasure though. I’ll be in denial for a while. 

This year has had MANY great moments. On the other hand, it’s been filled with so many hardships. As Glennon Doyle has said, “We can do hard things.” The past two years have shown us this, if nothing else. We are capable of so much more than we know. We also need to prioritize ourselves in order to help others. This has never been so clear. 

Do you have any new intentions for 2022?

I am going to make art every day in 2022, and share it here. That’s my intention. That’s my action. I am also going back to school. I have to have a balance between creating and learning. I’m planning to launch on Twitch, and make some haiku videos this year, too. 

Check out my Patreon post to download this art, and/or request a wallpaper resize for a different device.

I’m both surprised it’s almost December, and excited for this particular holiday season. It’s nearly time for Sanka Lucia, the bringer of light, to bring strong coffee, saffron buns, and other Scandinavian treats. The night gets dark sooner, but before we know it, Spring will be around the corner. I try to extend this season as long as possible. 

What is your favorite part of this time of year?

Check out my Patreon post to download this art, and/or request a wallpaper resize for a different device.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/57886660

I have a daily gratitude practice, so November is extra thankfulness. I have collected journal books for years and years. I have only ever fully completed ONE journal though, and I just finished it! It’s one from Dollar Tree, which I collaged a lot of different magazine cutouts into, and it has a bunch of 2020 New Yorker Covid-19 pictures. Which is interesting to look back on now. I have my first “bullet” type journal, which I’ve been using as a weekly brain dump, and to collate various bits of things I need to remember.

What are you thankful for?

Do you have journals? How do you use them?

Check out my Patreon post to download this art, and/or request a wallpaper resize for a different device.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/56872604

September went by much too fast. Here in Western Upstate NY, we’ve been lucky. Summer weather has continued! Apple 🍎 & pumpkin 🎃 season is here finally! Honeycrisp are my jam. And I’ve been experimenting with grape pies.

Check out my Patreon post to download, and/or request a wallpaper resize for a different device.

Fresh from my garden. Soon to be frozen grape goop. 😁🍇🤷🏻‍♂️

I didn’t have whole tomatoes so I used cans of diced tomatoes with basil and diced chilis added, and drained them well. It was delicious and mildly spicy. Perfect.

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomato_pie/

https://www.patreon.com/posts/savory-september-55619151

Here’s September’s Wallpaper. As much as I hate to see Summer end, I am so excited for the changing of leaves, apple season, and oodles of sunflowers and chrysanthemums. Check out my Patreon post to download, and/or request a wallpaper resize for a different device.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/54309298

Check out this pretty August wallpaper which you can download for free. Then join my Patreon and follow me for more fun!