Friends, are you out there? The world has changed so much since I last posted and nothing feels normal. As everything was beginning to shift, writing a blog post was the furthest thing from my mind and whenever I did think of it, it felt unimaginable. Posts I had planned to write felt pointless. Why talk about things like recipes or artistic endeavors during a global pandemic? It felt tone deaf and I wasn’t interested anyway. Now, weeks into living in the time of social distancing and learning how to cope with this new normal, the blog is starting to appeal to me once more as the creative outlet I have always found it to be. In truth, my creative hobbies are some of the few things helping me maintain a sense of comfort, self care, and any sense of normalcy right now. They provide escape, allow me to focus on something less overwhelming than the state of our world. I have sensed this from you all as well through our communications on social media. I have been heartened to see so many people cooking and baking all sorts of recipes from my archives. Thank you, and please keep sharing and tagging me! I have found much solace in my kitchen as well.
I have decided to resume posting here occasionally for two main reasons. First, I currently feel called to this space as a creative outlet as I mentioned above. Second, all of my blog revenue is going to two local organizations I care deeply about. One is The Patachou Foundation and the other is Coburn Place. In times of trouble, finding a way to help others is always reassuring and I have been so pleased to be able to provide some assistance to these fantastic causes through the workings of this site. If you feel inclined to provide donations to these organizations, they (and I!) would be so grateful! However if you are unable, please know that every click around this site will generate revenue that I give to them.
I have no exact schedule in mind and I will simply post when I have something that feels worth sharing. I do have a very large backlog of travel posts but those will have to wait for a time when we are able to move about more freely again. I have currently paused my Cookbook of the Month reviews, mainly because I never know quite which ingredients I’ll be able to locate and I don’t need that added level of stress when I’m just trying to feed my family.
Normally this is the day each year when I share a post honoring Earth Day, but I never force myself to write when it doesn’t feel natural and I’m not planning to start now. Instead, I’ve included below some snaps of the happy and sweet moments and touchstones that are helping me stay grounded right now. Please share with me in the comments how you are feeling and what things are helping you cope. Know that I’m thinking of each of you, hoping you are safe and well, and doing what you can to make it through The Great Pause*.
*A name that I love for this strange time we are in, borrowed from my friend Katherine.
