Before I begin today’s post, I want to thank you for the kind and thoughtful comments on the post about my mom. I wrote that piece mostly as a private memory, and the response from readers was far greater than I expected. Your words were a real comfort to me. I wish I could reply to each comment personally, but time has slipped away. My heart is with anyone who is walking through the challenge of dementia with a loved one. Blessings to you all.
It’s Saturday. I set out this morning with a simple plan: stay home, clean, tackle the laundry, rearrange a few things, organize, and make everything feel fresh and pretty again.
But my mind keeps drifting back to the camp kitchen. I have so many ideas percolating — things I want to do at home, projects for the kitchen, and plans for this blog. As I buzzed around the house swatting fruit flies and sweeping away cobwebs, I joked that I wished I could be a whirling dervish and get everything done in a blur of motion.
Curious, I looked up what a “whirling dervish” actually is:
whirling dervish – a dervish whose actions include ecstatic dancing and whirling
That made me laugh — maybe that’s not exactly the image I want to emulate! Still, the essence of it — boundless energy, focus, and a joyful, purposeful motion — is what I wish I had when tackling my long list of tasks.
Of course, life has a way of reminding us of our limits. I can feel a scratchy soreness at the back of my throat, so I suspect I’ve picked up whatever after-summer cold my husband brought home. {Thanks, Darlin!}
So the truth is I can’t do it all, at least not today. I wanted to power through everything, but sometimes the most productive thing is to slow down and take care of yourself when your body asks for it.
Still, I’m excited about the ideas floating in my head. This blog has always been a place where I share the things that matter to me — a mix of home projects, organization tips, decor, and crafts. Lately I’ve also been enjoying a new little chapter: cooking at the camp kitchen. I’m looking forward to sharing more of that journey here as I experiment with recipes, equipment, and simple ways to bring comfort and flavor to small spaces.
For now, though, Irwin just brewed a pot of Montana Coffee Traders Crème Brulee coffee, and the aroma drifting through the house is irresistible. It’s time for a coffee break and a few quiet minutes to plan my next steps.
***
*About that odd photo of a fly perched on a jar: it’s part of my experiment with a homemade fruit fly trap, and it actually works. The basic idea is simple and inexpensive — fill a jar halfway with apple cider vinegar (it needs to be that kind), add a drop of Dawn dish soap, and then top the jar with water. The fruit flies are attracted to the vinegar, but the soap breaks the surface tension so they become trapped in the liquid. It’s an easy solution that caught my attention online, and it worked in my kitchen too.
**And the doorknob — while not a glamorous detail — felt almost luxurious to me after a month without one on our main bathroom door. Small comforts matter, and having that simple hardware back in place felt surprisingly indulgent.
Thank you for reading and for sharing this space with me. I’ll be back soon with more on the camp cook journey, organizational projects, and whatever else comes from the heart.