Today I wanted to stop in and go over a few end of the year blog housekeeping notes, take stock of this small corner on the interweb, and daydream a little about where to go from here.
These days, I’m lucky to post here once a week, but I think that’s okay given how much content and information we all have to contend with these days. One post followed by many days of silence is probably good for all of us. When I do write here, I tend to share stories and random musings that don’t necessarily feel very blog-like, which works for me, but there are moments when I miss sharing typical blog topics such as recipes, tips, tutorials, etc., especially as they relate to my work. Lately I’ve been wanting to share more snapshots of that sort of thing, give a better sense of what my classes are like, and if online workshops aren’t for you, just a little something to sink your homemaking, earth inhabiting, teeth into.
I’d like to start sending out a monthly newsletter to anyone who is interested. It will feel sort of like my Instagram feed, but expanded upon. I’ll share monthly photos and highlights from the kitchen, garden, sewing room and beyond that won’t be found elsewhere, with more detail and text than is reasonable to share on Instagram. I promise to do my very best to create a publication that is not only beautiful to peruse, but also contains content worthy of your inbox. My hope is this monthly newsletter will be of value to you, and might even feel reminiscent of the blogging days of yesteryear. I think the monthly newsletter could be fun! I’m willing to give it a try and see. (Though I don’t really care for the term “newsletter,” I hope it feels much warmer than that.)
The first issue is nearly finished and will be going out next week. I’ll be sharing the story of our annual cookie delivery tradition, as well as some of our cookie recipes with you! I guarantee the recipes contain all the gluten, butter, and sugar a proper Christmas cookie requires. 'Tis the season! I’ll also share some more thoughts on a recent Instagram post about sending Adam off on a road trip with a cooler of prepared food. Believe me, I love my husband, but there is nothing miraculous about my wifely ways; my efforts regarding that cooler were mostly rooted in practicality and I promise did not take as much time and effort as it might appear. In the newsletter I break down the how and why of planning road food for our family. Hint: It's not about working longer hours in the kitchen, it's about entering the kitchen with a decent plan.
If you’re interested in this monthly mailing, go ahead and sign up via the link on this blog’s sidebar. It should go without saying, but please know I’m very protective of my list and never share your personal information. (If you already receive announcements regarding workshops, you are signed up.)
I’d also like to share a few workshop related updates: The winter session for Country Kitchen is in the works and registration will open later in December (or early January – not sure just yet). I love this one. It is the perfect fit for where I’m at right now, both in the kitchen and in life. Coming up soon you will be able to purchase past sessions of Country Kitchen; they are fast-coming at this point and some of you have asked for access to sessions you missed. Stay tuned, that option is currently in the works.
To my surprise, I will take a break from Hibernate this winter. Normally Hibernate is outlined and mostly produced by early October, but this year my notebook remained relatively empty. The ideas simply weren’t there. Instead of forcing it, I’ve taken the hint that perhaps (my) hibernation is destined to be a quieter experience this year, which sounds just right to me. For those who’ve missed previous sessions, I’m putting together a beautiful self-paced Hibernate program, a “best of” from the three original years I’ve produced so far. I’ll be releasing that next week so you’ll be able to dip into it during these intimate December days, and carry it into the winter months ahead.
One goal I have for this space in 2018 is to organize the heck out of it for you. I did a bit of that in 2017 but not nearly enough. I don't even know what happened to my archive index but I'd like to get that posted again. I'd also like to organize my workshops in one central location. Not exactly sure how that will look just yet, or if it's even necessary, but I've been feeling the nudge to do it for some time, so I'd like to tackle that.
For now, beauty that moves remains this blog's name, even though I wanted to retire it five years ago (in all that time I've had zero replacement ideas spend more than 24 hours in consideration).
As for writing here, I guess we can expect more of the same, for better or worse.
And finally, I've got a couple of projects in the works with Ben (and his wife, Penny!); we'll be sharing more about these two home education and garden related offerings in the new year. We're pretty excited!
That about does it. Thanks for allowing me this year-end work related post… next week, we'll be back to small talk and motorcycle riding priests.
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It’s hard to believe I’ve been writing here for over decade, a commitment in my life whose duration is surpassed only by my marriage and being a parent. I’m not sure what it is about this blog that’s such a good fit for me, but I keep showing up, and to my surprise, many of you do, too. This is something I’m incredibly grateful for.