• Pantry - Recipes

    Last Bit of Snow Traditions

    Just as the first fall of snow brings magic and excitement, the last bit of snow has its own share of excitement and games. At least at our house. The last bit of snow brings a mix of emotions, especially on a year, like this one, where snowfall has been so minimal. Even as the weather grows warm again, our prayers continue for the needed moisture to keep our western region safe from fire and drought. Yet even this year, there is still that mix of emotions we feel every year. There is an undeniable excitement for spring, for more…

  • Garden - Life&Land

    Dreaming a little of Spring

    Like everywhere else in the Rocky Mountain region of the northwest, the winter of 2026 has been extremely mild in our neighborhood. To a point of concern. There have been many prayers for moisture, particularly in the higher elevations. Prayers that we will have enough moisture to offer green grass on dryland areas, and enough water to fill reservoirs for irrigation later on in the year. As a born and raised farm girl, I understand the significance of water, especially in the western United States. “Water is King in the West,” my dad always says. And boy, is that certainly…

  • Recipes

    Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

    This Sourdough Cinnamon Roll recipe will become a cherished favorite with a dough that is lightly sweet, fluffy, and easy to work with, wrapped around just the right amount of spice and sugar. It says “yum” in every mouthful. A Search for THE Recipe I love making cinnamon rolls. There is just something cozy about spices mixed together with butter and rolled around sweet bread. I mean… yum! Several years, as our growing family went from three to four, I determined that we needed to create traditions. Among my list of yearly to-dos that I hope will someday become cherished…

  • Life&Land

    Feeling Settled, one step at a time

    About a year ago, our family made a big move to a different state. Since binding our lives together, my husband and I have moved plenty of times, but moving our family of five seemed like a much bigger ordeal than our previous move with our little family of three. It was a quick move just before Christmas and –  phew – life seemed a little jumbled for a bit. About three to six months after the move, I had a lot of friends, family members, and neighbors ask if I felt settled in my new home. I honestly didn’t…

  • Life&Land

    Extending the Holiday Season

    Those few days following Christmas can often seem almost empty. Sure, there is some excitement about the new year and the New Year holiday. And I even think there is something a little relieving about getting one’s living room back to its usual way once the tree is gone and the decorations boxed and stored away. But there is an edge to the refresh. Christmas is over. The cheerful season full of holiday tunes and merriment – gone until next year. The month of December flew by, and now it is time to haul out the Christmas tree, wind up…

  • Life&Land

    Life Changes with the Weather

    We woke up to our first blanket of snow this morning. The wonderful world of white bringing an insulation not only to the ground, but also to the air. The sound of everything somehow seems softer when there’s snow on the ground. I love the first snow. There is something utterly peaceful about the wet white stuff that I cling to all winter long. That first snowfall there is peace, but there is also excitement crested with an adequate layer of chaos. That early morning squeal from my littles when they first look out the window, followed by an hour…

  • Wood Shop

    Un-Finished Project Push

    As the weather grows colder by the day, I find myself fully engulfed in the end-of-season push to get projects finished before the holidays. As if cold temperatures slowing down paint, finish, and epoxy dry times weren’t challenge enough, limited daylight hours and precipitation (both snow and rain) is making sanding my projects near impossible. With finish drying in the garage, I am left to enjoy an outdoor workspace for all cutting and sanding. And while an outdoor workspace has served me fine in the past, it’s much easier appreciating the great outdoors with a sander in your hand on…

  • Life&Land

    To Write a Blog

    As I sit down to write each week – sometimes at my kitchen table, other times on the couch or at our home office desk – I often find myself almost frozen with doubts. I feel a dramatic scene from a B rated film where past voices from friends and family drawl in slow motion commenting over the fact I blog. If written words could better give tone to the words said … I’ll simply say the reactions I have received have been less than encouraging. Those comments, those doubtful tones and sneer remarks lock in my brain as I…

  • Recipes

    Peppernut Cookies

    Fall is in full swing. The leaves have changed color and the air is getting crisp. It’s firewood cutting season. It’s hunting season where I come from. And that means that it’s peppernut season at our home. Though Peppernuts might be a Scandinavian favorite around Christmas time, fond memories of firewood getting and hunting trips have me craving these spiced bites of goodness as soon as the weather turns cold. No hunting trip would be the same without a pile of peppernuts tucked away in your coat pocket as you trudge through the snowy mountains. Nor would a long, cold…

  • Garden - Life&Land

    Growing Food and Babies

    We had our first frost last Monday. Though this is our first autumn season in our current area — and everything is new — the first frost still came as a bit of a surprise. I had fully expected to have another two weeks before that first layer of frost coated my garden, and the weather report indicated five degrees above freezing. I suppose the weather had other plans because frost it did. The frost was light, and within a few hours of daylight, my favorite crew of littles had helped me dig up all the potatoes, pick all the…