Now, as of August 2026
Here’s what I’ve been up to / thinking about lately:
Thoroughly enjoying my shed office. I love having a dedicated space to work that’s relatively quiet and sort of outside. It’s been pushing my limits in terms of heat over the past few weeks, but I’m still doing okay with just the open windows and a fan. I finished building a wall (to separate the office from the stuff-storage part of the shed) and a ceiling (to quiet the sound of rain on the metal roof) a few days ago. It’s still all unfinished – just 2x4s and OSB for the new wall/ceiling – and I have no plans to add drywall or other finishing touches anytime soon. (See pictures without the wall/ceiling in my post about working outside.)
Wishing my kids would sleep more. They are inconsistent but have woken up too early for my liking more than usual in the past few weeks. (I’m actually not sleeping particularly well myself, either. Not sure why.) My limited personal time mostly happens when they’re in bed, so I’m always a bit resentful about having it cut short. This morning, I’m lucky – it’s almost 7 and I’m still the only one awake!
Dealing with the joys of home ownership. We found out a couple months ago that our septic drain field is failing, so we’ve decided to bite the bullet and switch to sewer. Now we’re waiting on the county to extend the existing sewer tap to actually reach our yard, and then we’ll pay a plumber a lot of money to hook up to it. Of course, as luck would have it, the tap is right where are garden beds are, so we have to move a few of those to let them dig. Also, it’s been a relatively wet summer with lots of lawn mowing. I don’t hate mowing, but when I’ve got other things to do, it can be a bothersome obligation.
Loving the flip phone that I got myself. It’s a cheap thing I bought to try it out because I’ve wondered for a long time how it would feel to ditch my smart phone. I was already pretty minimal in my phone use, and it’s been surprising to me how much better a dumb phone feels. I think what I like is that it significantly reduces the burden of self-control. I’ve been calling people more often – texting on a 10-key is a pain – and enjoying the simple pleasure of answering/hanging up by just opening/closing the phone. I’ll probably write a full post about it once I’ve spent a bit more time with it.
Trying to juggle all the things I’d like to do. I perpetually want to read more. I have a growing backlog of posts I’d like to write on here someday. I started a little software project earlier this summer and am eager to get it to a place where it’s usable. I think the family’s less than stellar sleep (see above) is making me feel more pressed for time than usual. But I am successfully squeezing in some exercise at least a few times a week and keeping my journaling habit alive, so I’m happy about that.