April 2026

April has been a busy month. On warm days I've been outside working on transforming our backyard into a space for fun and relaxation — and it's been more of a challenge than I expected.

Over the past couple of years we replaced the detached garage, rebuilt a two-story deck, and had to take down a very old maple tree that used to shade the whole yard. Safe structures are a great trade, but losing that tree has been harder than I expected. It brought me peace and a sense of the natural world when I sat out back — and of course, so much shade. We were left with a bare yard, a literal dirt pile where the tree once stood, surrounded by chain link fence.

I'm excited for what it's becoming, but filling the space with fun elements for toddlers and room for adults to relax has been a slow process. I've put in some flower beds, finished the edging, and planted tall grasses along one fence line — with plans to add more once they're back in stock. I picked out some native flower seeds and tucked in some gifted hostas. I'm starting to see the vision now. The rest is just waiting to see what grows.

On the making side, I haven't had much on the needles lately. I pick up my sock project in the car, but most of my maker time has been going toward publishing the rest of my prepped photographs and working on some coding projects. AI is moving the tech world fast, and I'm glad I have this one space to create slowly and with intention. I still need to finish the chair caning project too — I know it's not ideal to stop mid-project, but sometimes life has other plans.

I've found a new location I'm really excited to go photograph soon, and I have some crochet projects coming up for kids' birthday gifts. Thanks for following along!