Lessons learned through selling veggies and developing software.
Me: How long does it take to build a website? Software Engineer: A couple of weeks. Me: How long does it take to add a new feature? Software Engineer: A couple of weeks. Me: How about refactoring legacy code for our decade-old application? Software Engineer: A couple of weeks. Me: Just out of curiosity, how … Read moreA Couple of Weeks
My office is in my closet. Not just a closet in my house. My personal closet. I am surrounded by clothes and shoes and stuff. But a green screen behind me keeps that from view during Zoom calls. In front of me is just a wall, so I spruced it up with some of the … Read moreView From my Closet Office
A good friend of mine had an MBA and a high-profile job at a major US airline. I frequently went to her for advice as I was starting my business. I remember talking with her about pricing one day and what she said has stuck with me all these years. I was nervous about charging … Read moreBegin as You Mean to Go On
When I started running, I did not consider myself a “runner”. I was just someone who was trying to run a lap around the track without hyperventilating. When I started a business, I did not consider that I’d become a “boss”. I was just someone who was trying to provide a service that people would … Read moreBecoming the Boss
People are touchy about their produce. People are touchy about lots of things and it’s not surprising that they get upset when things go wrong. But it is surprising when someone apologizes for losing their temper about it. It’s easy for things to go wrong with selling produce online. Well, “wrong” may not be quite … Read moreThe Lady Who Apologized
It’s been too long since we’ve done a group painting session. The boys wanted to do a dragon so we found this silhouette of a dragon perched atop a mountain in front of a brilliant night sky. Tutorial video Results
This giant, maple-flavored, cinnamon roll-type pastry is a Christmas morning tradition at my house. Dough:1 Cup warm water¼ Cup sugar1 TBSP yeast¼ Cup Oil1 tsp salt1 egg3 ½ Cups bread flour Filling:1 Cup sugar1 tsp cinnamon1 tsp maple flavoring½ Cup butter Frosting:¼ Cup butter1 Tbsp milk2 Cups powdered sugar Directions Mix water, yeast, sugar, oil, … Read moreMaple Twist
On Mondays, Ellen Crimini-Trent publishes a tutorial to make a miniature watercolor painting on a 3×3 square. She calls it Mini Monday Madness. You can find her on YouTube here. I’ve made bunches of these and I’ve even roped in my family and friends to make some too. They are fun because they take less … Read moreMini Mondays with Ellen Crimini-Trent
For date night, Tom and I painted together. We looked at this reference image and painted our own versions.
I came across Paul Clark’s YouTube channel for watercolor painting and decided to try his tutorials for grasses and trees. I have some laughable attempts at painting grass and trees on my own even after watching tutorials from other YouTubers, so I was eager to learn. I like his style of teaching. It’s quick enough … Read morePainting Trees and Grasses with Paul Clark