Tuesday, September 22, 2026


Liz at Field and Fen wondered what a snapshot of my life would look like.  This is what it looks like.  I spend a huge amount of time in my kitchen.  There is a bowl of ripe tomatoes that is waiting to be made into sauce.  I have a box and another bowl of tomatoes in the pantry ripening, and another bag of tomatoes downstairs ripening.  I'll have enough sauce to do us until next summer.

There is always a pile of paper on the island as well.  Right now it's under the tomatoes.  No matter how much I work at it, the pile remains.  The composition changes but the pile remains.

The flowers are from my birthday on the weekend, Jack picked out both bouquets for me, one with his poppa and one with his other family (which shocked me).  

My husband always leaves stuff on the island which I try to ignore but which I often just move into his office.  You can see cords and the blue thing is a handle that he 3D printed for his walking stick.

The drying tray always seems to have stuff drying in it.  There are lots of things I won't put in a dishwasher, water bottles, sippy cup, good cutlery, etc.  It only gets emptied when I have more dishes to do.

The container on the bottom right I made in pottery class to hold Jack's puffers and other crap.  There are meds on the counters that are used most days and there is a collection of meds by the paper towels that are new (for blood pressure, cholesterol, iron, and one for Jack).  If I don't leave them out, I won't see them and I will forget about them.  Out of sight, out of mind definitely applies to me.

You can also see the calendar which has everything written on it because otherwise I wouldn't remember:)

I don't mind being in the kitchen, but by the end of the day, I'm tired of it.  Sometimes it can take an hour or more to make supper, which is fine it it tastes good, but it seems like such a waste of time if the food is only meh.  I do try to make it taste good but I don't always succeed.  Tonight will be chicken fried rice, made with leftovers.

As I sit here at my desk typing I can hear pears dropping to the deck as the wind blows the tree around.  It's an ornamental pear tree. The pears aren't big enough to eat, but for some reason (I'm guessing all the rain), this year they're huge, big enough and hard enough to hurt if they hit you on the head.

I started pottery class again yesterday and we have a new instructor.  She has forty plus years of experience and she's already taught us so much we didn't know, in just one class.  I'm looking forward to learning more.

In an effort to avoid doing housework right away, I wasted half an hour looking at memes for y'all.  You're welcome:)









35 comments:

  1. OOOOOOH, a kitchen counter pic! Love it.
    Your kitchen is nice and bright.
    Happy Birthday, belatedly.
    -Kate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have two large windows in my kitchen which face east and south east, so lots of sunlight which I love. I love seeing how other people live too. And thanks for the birthday wishes. My next birthday will be 65. Yikes!

      Delete
  2. The counter is definitely a slice of your (and everyone's) life. The pile! I have two smallish ones on my bar counter. That was the repository for my family's sh*t. I would clear it off/organize it and they would breeze in and dump keys, mail, papers, etc. there--very haphazardly. If looks could kill...
    Happy Belated Birthday to you!! I'm glad the pottery class is going well and is interesting and informative.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a huge pile when my kids were growing up and my ex was a pilot and he had so much paper it was ridiculous.
      Thanks for the birthday wishes:)

      Delete
  3. What an EXCELLENT response to Boud's bio-photograph challenge! I must take a look around my place and see if I have any shots that would serve for me.

    And of course, you KNOW I had to steal that Correctile Dysfunction meme, hahahaha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome for the meme. If I could remember it, I would use it:)

      Delete
  4. So much to ponder in this still-life. First thoughts? That kitchen says nurturing...and yes to that warm butter-yellow paint.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks DB. I love yellow, and green, and purple. I could go on and on.

      Delete
  5. I love this response. Yes, great picture of your life and times! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a great post! Thank you. I'm glad you are going to that pottery class. 😊❤️

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have a wonderful new teacher who has been teaching and doing pottery for 40 years. A fountain of knowledge.

      Delete
  7. That is a beautiful sunny photos - and I am sure that your food is up to scratch! I am impressed with your pottery offering.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My food can be hit or miss, sometimes good, sometimes barely ok.

      Delete
  8. Your kitchen is a lot tidier than mine. Our island collects everything and I need to go through it all more regularly and clear it off. It's ridiculous and it's stressful to look at.
    I'm so glad your new teacher is so great! I do love our teacher but she's pretty much hands off unless we ask her things. Which I've just about stopped doing.
    Oh well. I finished my fish today. I'll take it to get fired tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mess takes up a lot of room inside my brain so I like to clear the island off on a regular basis. It's where I cook so I like it to be tidy before I start, otherwise it's hard for me to start, if that makes any sense.

      Delete
  9. The flowers are lovely, and a belated happy birthday. I put my medications in a weekly dosette box and away, and have a phone alarm set for every day at 8.30, 1.30 and 6.30. The 1.30 one isn't critical and if I am out, I either take it with me, or as more often the case, take in once home, or just forget about it entirely. And I use the snooze function until I am actually picking up the medication.
    A good teacher can make all the difference and I am sure a lot of pottery experience is invaluable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. An alarm might be a good idea but I don't want to do that yet; I imagine I will at some point though.
      She is a very good teacher. I've heard mixed reviews about her but I quite like her.

      Delete
  10. Love the kitchen. It looks like home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is home for me, where I spend so much of my day.

      Delete
  11. Those last 2 " joke' pictures are ringing many bells with me !! Love them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That was a really nice post to share! Kitchens are the center of the world.
    My mother in law had a fancy dining room with all the trimmings and a small kitchen table (formica, wobbly legs) with four chairs. Most times, guests would arrive, sit down in the kitchen, pull up any old chair from wherever for the fifth and the next one and so on and never leave the kitchen until it was time to go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The one thing my kitchen doesn't really have a proper table and chairs. I have a table and two chairs, but the table is for the cat's food and my plants. We keep saying we should use it more, get Jack used to sitting at a proper table, but it doesn't happen.

      Delete
  13. Those memes certainly ring true for me! The pile on the counter, it must a universal thing. Your island looks tidy to me, mine looks like a disaster as I didn't unload the dishwasher yesterday, I was busy cleaning another mess, so there are a LOT of dishes on there. Your kitchen is bright and clean.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love sunshine and the windows give me lots of light. I can only stand so much untidiness and then it takes up too much space inside my brain and it's easier to just tidy it up than to live with it inside my brain.

      Delete
  14. Happy belated birthday. I love the idea of taking a photo of your kitchen countertop and writing a post about it. My kitchen is pretty cluttered with lots of "stuff". And I am a pile maker myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let us see your kitchen counter. I love seeing other people's homes.

      Delete
  15. I might just do that one day! And I won't clean it up for the photo.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Happy belated birthday to you! Flowers are always welcome!
    My kitchen is a little galley kitchen ... not much room for anything other than what's in there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Galley kitchens are nice though, everything is close. My kitchen is not big at all, just the island is. Before that island was installed I had about 4 square feet to work on and put everything.

      Delete
  17. Happy belated birthday!
    Your pottery teacher sounds awesome. I would love to have a teacher who has a ton of experience and is able to impart it.
    The cross stitch is hilarious. Just replace “fxxx” with another personalized word and most of us could have it applied to us.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I like correctile dysfunction the best.
    I too hope your next 12 months are some of your best yet.

    ReplyDelete