Wasn’t this supposed to be an annual blog?

Well, 2021 is a blur. So much happened I don’t know where to start!

Enjoying the discovery of a new career

Now we take the kiddo to the creek where I played as a child

Just now realizing it’s 2022!

Over the moon about writing – took a writing retreat and made it to the finalist round in a short story competition

Yowling is part of our lives now as two kittens joined the family and they are furry mayhem on four paws!

Well… that’s a start. Maybe you’ll hear more from me in the future… but who knows! Happy 2022 everyone!

2020 – it’s almost over…

The year is slowly grinding towards its inevitable end and in recognition of that, I’m finally making my annual post…

So, without further ado, here is a post for 2020.

I don’t think this year has gone how anyone planned. Coronavirus. Social unrest. (Let’s just get this out there – Black Lives Matter. If you don’t agree, please feel free to leave now.) Wildfires (we were evacuated for just under two weeks. I cannot say thank you enough to the many people who helped us through that time. Still, once again, thank you so much!!) Protests. People being pulled into unmarked vans. People marching on the capital with guns because they were asked to have the decency to protect other people from a deadly virus. Our oldest dog, Clee, passed away this year. We pulled our son out of daycare. There is fear and sadness everywhere.

And yet…

We had the most magical trip to Disneyland in February.

We adopted Maple.

I’ve been writing short stories and I love it.

I dyed my hair red and purple and I love that too!

We cleaned up the garage enough to park BOTH cars INSIDE.

And since our family of three didn’t need to be eating whole cakes all the time… I started putting cake in jars. They freeze beautifully and are easy to share! Plus, I had so much fun making the label!

There were more things that happened, both good and bad. But when I’m feeling overwhelmed by how often the word “unprecedented” has been used to describe something horrific in 2020, I try to remember all the good things that happened as well.

Who knows, maybe it will be a year of more than one blog post. But… probably not. It’s unprecedented.

Until we find out, stay safe, stay healthy, be kind to each other, stand up for each other, find the beauty that is tucked within the chaos… and the joy in the things you choose to do. Let’s hope 2021 is something different. Something better. And then let’s work to make it so.

Scratch that, now it’s 2019

It seems that I have an annual blog. Post once a year and eventually there will be multiple years of musing to peruse.

2018 was a pretty amazing year. The big news, that overshadows all other news… is that we brought our son, Jafar, home. So… it was also a year of adjustment and falling behind on, well, everything.

But after a year, and as he moves through his, ahem, fill-in-the-blank-because-it-changes-every-day twos, life is finally settling down and I’m trying to get back in the swing of things. Writing more, applying for more voiceover spots, maybe even squeezing in a painting or two (I’m looking at you Shanan… I’ll finish your paintings one of these days, I promise).

Oh, and actually writing posts for my blog (right, that is why I’m here…).

So, here’s hoping 2019 turns out great… maybe I’ll get more than one post done this year!

It’s 2018

Why hello there new year… where did you come from?

I was just spending some time with 2017…. I thought I just looked away for a moment…

Is 2017 really gone?

*sighs*

Well… I had some grand intentions of blogging in 2017, but somehow other stuff kept coming up (fill that in with: writing, painting, voice acting, working (the day job), sheep, cats, dogs, horse, baking, archery)… you get the idea.

Here are a few highlights:

Early 2017 snow!

Hermes had to wear his dashing coat (with neck warmer… otherwise he gets icicles in his mane!)

Nobody loves the snow as much as Kate… see those lines radiating out from her? Those are nose smears… where she’s been dragging her nose through the snow…

That’s not to say the other dogs don’t enjoy the snow too… especially if it involves wrestling over a “stick” (yes. it’s a small log. or a huge branch. take your pick.)

We’ve already discussed lambing time being one of the most magical times of the year, but just in case you need further proof…

Cherry pie for Ian… it’s his favorite

We had to have our waterline re-done. We tried to do it ourselves and then realized that our giant hill was more than we could compete with. We called in help. (we live in a canyon… there is almost no flat ground on our property). Look at this amazing trench!

If there’s a birthday, I make cake. Below is a cardamom cake and a coconut cake with chocolate ganache. They were well received.

More sheep! Just because… they rule our lives and they’re pretty fantastic.

Strawberry season in Oregon. We eat as many strawberries as we can – my fingers are perpetually stained pink.

My first trip to Vegas (for a conference). But as a woodworker’s daughter… I think this dress was the highlight – each of those scales is a thin piece of beautiful maple wood!!! I wants it. (plus the back is low and would show of my dragon tattoo perfectly.)

Plus… did I mention that is is made of wood scales?!?!?!

Yeah. Ian is an amazing cook. This was just one of many, many delicious meals he cooked through the year. mmmmm. Now I’m hungry.

Cake balls for a friend’s baby gender reveal party. They looked pretty cute and tasted even better (if I do say so myself).

Yeah. I have a My Little Pony sweatshirt.

So…. Lizzie likes to attack the water as it runs down the truck bed when we’re filling water jugs to haul up to the sheep at the top of the property… but she was trying a new kind of sneaky here… tucking her paws underneath. You know… in case the water sensed her presence too early by encountering her paws before her nose…

And of course we need a picture of Clee… looking adorable and worried.

 

It’s just a small selection but… it ends up I was living up to the business name (Joy of Doing) and taking so much joy in doing stuff that I didn’t get around to writing about doing it. We’ll see how it goes this year!

So… welcome 2018! Let’s see what you have in store for us… I’m sure it will be an adventure!

Lambing time!

When I was growing up, my parents talked about the different “hats” we wear. For instance, I have a baker hat, and a painter hat, a writer hat, and a farm girl hat.  They had “dress up and go out on the town” hats. Me? Not so much. That hat seldom sees the light of day (or the twinkle of night lights). I am much more fond of my “stay in and watch movies” hat or my “kill zombies with my husband on the playstation” hat.

This time of year I spend a lot of time in my “shepherdess” hat. It is one of my favorites. After all, my name does mean ewe and I take that as a sign that I am meant to have a lot of sheep in my life. I received two sheep for my birthday when I turned 10 and I’ve been raising them ever since.  That makes spring my favorite time of year. Without sheep, it would be a toss-up between spring and autumn. Spring sparkles, but autumn glows… they both have a mix of rain and sun and their presence can be marked by the appearance of rainbows, sun bursts, and black clouds on the horizon.  But spring has lambs.

Sorry autumn. You lose.

Anyhow, the season brings a lot of work with it too, but one day of bouncing lambs out in the field and it’s all worth it. Here’s a peek. Happy Spring everyone!

 

New year, new website

Welcome 2017!

Here at Joy of Doing, I’m kicking off the New Year with a new website! It’s been updated to represent what I’m up to these days and I’m excited to have so many great things going on!

The top additions are the voice-over section and this blog–where you can find things about writing, painting, designing, voice-overing (that’s probably not a word), baking, cooking, farming, and whatever we’re up to at Joy of Doing Studio and Silver Cliff Farm!

So let’s get started and see what 2017 brings!