Shake it Off!

Here's what's FRESH this week: We're shaking off the chill!

Happy Sunday! Well that’s it for May. I can’t believe it’s June tomorrow. We have a fire going in the wood stove as I sit reading this. But I’m not complaining. I’ll take a bit of a chill in the air over heat and humidity any day. So let’s shake it off and get into what’s been going on around here.

Josephine took advantage of a nice sunny day to take a dust bath. I dump dirt and ashes from our wood stove into the girls’ dust bath area which is under the covered part of their run. Dust baths are so important to help the chickens stay clean and parasite-free. They’re also a social activity for the chickens. They seem to like to take baths together!

Okay, I haven’t started this book yet, but it’s gotten rave reviews. I am really excited to dive in. I just finished Yesteryear, which also got rave reviews and I found it to be very, very draggy in the middle, tough to wade through in spots. I’m not sure if I liked it or not. You can be the judge, but it is very much an in-the-moment commentary on the influencer culture. Specifically the homesteading niche. Kill for Me, Kill for You was another book recommended on a podcast I listen to. The plot seems like a twist on the Hitchcock thriller Strangers on a Train, so that’s intriguing.

This week I shared one of my favorite salads from In Season on my blog. Go check out my Avocado, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Arugula Salad with Cherry Dressing. It will convert even salad haters! It’s such a good salad!

I also shared a delicious recipe for “shake and bake” English Roasted Potatoes. Easily the most delicious potato recipe I’ve made in a very long time that will be going into our dinner rotation.

This past weekend I did two cookbook signings. One at the Books-a-Million in Bangor and the second at the Barnes & Noble in Augusta. It was a cold, wet Memorial Day weekend, so the perfect opportunity to browse bookstores! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello - and if anyone is interested in a signed copy, I left some at each store. Coming in June, I have more signings scheduled in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, southern Maine, and Chicago. Full tour schedule HERE.

I was home all week after a few busy weeks of travel. The timing was perfect because our lilacs started blooming and it’s my favorite part of spring! We have a few different shades and they’re all so pretty and smell amazing! Some we inherited when we bought our house, some are shoots I dug up from my mom’s bushes, and a few I bought when we moved in.

It was really nice to relax at home this week, but I have more adventures planned this year…. so stay tuned!