“June is the time for being in the world in new ways, for throwing off the cold and dark spots of life.”

June has arrived as it does in the Pacific Northwest with days of sunshine and lot’s of wind. My guess is that because the waters off this coast stay cold year round, this is why even on a sunny day, the wind feels quite chilly. And it’s been very windy for the past 3 days, incessant at times; the wind chimes on my patio playing their haunting tunes into the night. How are you doing? Happy June.

As we approach the Summer Solstice, life has picked up it’s pace as it does when the clouds finally lift. We attended a friends wedding this past weekend. It was nice to meet some of my husbands high school friends who I’d only heard of. Then on Sunday we had a BBQ with family for my sister-in-law’s birthday. It took me a full day to recover from the socializing. 2 days of seeing people, some of you may think “big deal”, but for us, the quiet ones, the introverts, the socially anxious, it takes a toll on our energy. So I’ve been back to slow living.

Part of slow living is slowing down our consumption and a few times a year I do what I like to call a no-buy or low-buy. This means I only purchase the necessary which basically means food and I make it a point to use and appreciate everything I have for at least 30 days. How many times do we buy something (as simple as a shampoo) because we wanted it while still having enough to last weeks at home?. I know I’m guilty of that. So June will be a no-buy for me. A time to slow down and smell the Carnations 🙂 I love the spicy scent of carnations.

Do you believe that the Universe provides what we need or focus on? I’ll tell you a “funny” story that happened to me a few weeks ago. At work there’s a hallway that connects all the businesses to the recycling room and parkade. Someone put a shelf up last year so that people in the building (which is both commercial and residential), can put free things including books for anyone to take. Recently, I was looking up how to make butter because I’m thinking about sharing a blog on making fresh bread (with my sourdough starter) and homemade butter. So I’m taking the recycling out at work and look over at the shelves and they’re empty. I love candles so in my mind I said to myself “common’ someone put out a candle!” . On my way back I noticed a beautiful candle on the shelf in a purple glass holder and get this: a brand new in-the-box ButterBell Crock . I love when things like this happen don’t you?

As if that wasn’t synchronicity enough, we’ve been searching for a sideboard for over a year that would fit my husbands entire sports cards collection. Last weekend my husband went onto FB Marketplace to see if there was anything up and this one came out. It was not only very affordable but it fit all of his cards. We had it at home less than an hour after seeing the Ad. Once it was set up I mentioned to him how a small lamp would go well on it to give the corner a little glow in the evenings. Fast forward to Monday at work and someone put this practically new lamp out for free so I brought it home. My June no-buy is going great.

Tonight we had a BBQ with marinated chicken thighs, a Caprese Sald (with avocado) and this warm German Potato Salad.

Warm German Potato Salad

You Will Need:

• 1 1/2 pounds of yellow potatoes, quartered (unpeeled)
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1/2 a small onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon old fashioned grainy mustard
• 1 teaspoon of sugar (white)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh dill

To Make:

1. Cover the potatoes in salted water in a large pot, bring to a boil and cook until just tender before draining.
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large pan and set aside, reserving the bacon grease in the pan.
3. Add the onion to the pan and cook in the bacon grease until tender
4. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Lower the heat to Low and add the vinegar, mustards, and sugar mix to the pan followed by the chopped parsley.
6. Turn the heat off and add the potatoes, bacon, dill, salt & pepper to taste. Toss to coat and enjoy while warm!

“Be a curator of your life. Slowly cut things out until you’re left only with what you love, with what’s necessary, with what makes you happy.”

Thank you for reading.

Until next time.

Love,

Jennifer