Baby Basil

 It's been about a week since I planted the seeds but I already can see all 6 little sprouts!!!!!!

Backstory

For Christmas, I got a subscription to the FabFitFun seasonal box. So far it's been pretty cool. I just got the spring box and one of the items I chose is the Short Stories LED Indoor Planter with basil seeds. I had already been considering getting something like this so that I could grow fresh herbs to use in my cooking.

I planted my six seeds—three on each side—on Friday, March 5th. After five days I could see one sprout had started growing. As already mentioned I now have all six growing. 

Excited to watch them grow and excited to start cooking with fresh home-grown herbs!

Happy Pi Day!

Pi day is a much-celebrated holiday for my family. It's an excuse to eat pie and enjoy some math fun. Yes, I said math and fun in the same sentence. This does exist.

Just wanted to quickly share one of my favorite things to do on pi day besides eating pie. Someone took the numbers 0-9 and put them with keys on the piano and then played pi. They also added some harmonies in the left hand to make it a full song. Not only is it great with its beautifully eerie sound, but it is a great way to memorize the digits of pi. I started learning this song years ago. I  don't remember how far I got then but I picked it back up today and I can play around 40 digits from memory. 

Also here is a picture of the beautiful pi apple pie I made this morning before it was devoured.

Favorite Things: Vanity Chair

This will likely be an ongoing series. Every now and then I come across an item that is just so useful or cool and I can't help but share it with others. 

Today's item: a vanity chair

If you have a makeup space in your bathroom with a hardwood floor, a rolling stool is the way to go. I have a backless rolling stool. The advantage of this is the ability to quickly get around. My vanity is kind of in the middle of the bathroom. If I roll to the left I can reach the sink and if I go to the right I can grab my washcloth. It makes it really easy to do my skincare routine.

Not a groundbreaking discovery but still something I felt was worth sharing. It helps with the flow of my routine and just adds a little bit of fun by getting to roll around. 

The Face Behind the Mask

 This past year has been weird.

There's no other way to put it. We've been in the midst of a pandemic. Things we do know are things that we wouldn't have believed a year ago. These types of cloth face masks most people use weren't available a year ago and now you can buy them from just about anywhere. Even your favorite designer brand is selling them. 

The way we interact with people has changed a bit. We don't see smiles. We can only see the eyes. It's required us to become much more expressive with our eyes in order to communicate how we feel. 

One of my realizations is that beyond making larger expressions for others when I wear a mask, I've started making them to myself. I've noticed it as I walk around the grocery store. While my inner dialog is going I make facial expressions in response to what I'm thinking about. And these aren't usually small expressions. But most of this is all hidden under the mask. 

This has put me in a bit of a 'chicken or egg' scenario. Did I already make faces when thinking to myself in public? Did this start after wearing a mask? Did I do this before and the mask just allows the expression to be larger and still hidden?

And my most important question: is this going to keep happening once I no longer wear a mask!?!? 

A Life-Long Love of Socks

 I love socks!

A lot...... 

As far back as I can remember I have loved bright, colorful, patterned socks. As a kid, it was in part due to fabric feel. White cotton socks were often thick and uncomfortable. I also didn't like how short socks felt. I needed at least a crew cut. But my all-time favorite award belonged to knee-high socks.

I would wear these ridiculously tall socks any time of year. Even in 90° weather, you would find me in shorts with knee-high socks in the brightest colors imaginable.

I detested the times when I was forced to wear those uncomfortable white socks. One such time was on camping trips. Our clothes had to be sprayed with bug spray and my bright socks wouldn't have handled it well or give the protection I would need during the long hiking trip. Suffice to say I was not a happy camper without my expressive colorful socks. 

The other occasion when I was forced to wear white socks was when something was going on with my feet and the doctor said I had to wear white cotton socks. This was torture for little me.

As I remember, even up through middle school I avoided white socks and ankle socks. It wasn't until high school that I finally caved and got ankle socks. The grueling summer heat of marching band was just too unbearable in long socks. That, and the turf got everywhere and it helped keep my daily socks in better condition. Still, despite making that big step, they needed to be colored and patterned. It was likely not till mid-high-school that I finally got white ankle socks. My childhood self would have been horrified.

Now as an adult woman who graduated from college, I still own no white crew socks. I wear my ankle socks in the summer or for working out but all my other socks are fun, colored, patterned, and full of personality.

My current favorite socks are all found from the brand Sock It To Me (found on Amazon). They have crazy fun patterns from coffee cups to Van Gough's starry night to dragons to cute pandas. They make crew-length socks but every pair I own are long, knee-high socks and I love them. This brand ranks so highly not only because of the fun patterns but also due to the quality. Many colored socks from my past were fun but not durable and would quickly receive holes. These socks are thick enough to last without being overly thick for those sensitive to the feeling of their clothes. 

Now, this is the part of the story where tragedy strikes. Most of these socks I've had for a couple years. Because multiple socks were given to me at once they have all begun falling around the same time. My favorite patterns and prints getting holes in the heel or near the ball of the foot. To lessen the sting of the mass casualties I got more for my birthday this past summer. Some have quickly become favorites and are worn with more frequency.

Tragically, this past week not only did I lose an old favorite of red Chinese dragons snacked around my calves, but a new comrade has fallen. My beloved green socks were decorated with bowls of ramen. They were a glorious pair. A favorite of many. My socks will always be well-loved. Never forgotten.

It might be a little silly but it is one thing in my life that can bring a smile to my face at any time of day. It's also so much fun picking the socks that best go with my outfit of the day. Despite how crazy some of the socks can be, after many years of practice, I'd like to think this is a skill I have mastered.

I write this post in memory of the socks long gone. Knowing that the socks of the future will shine just as bright!