H.A. Larson's Blog, page 20

Living a Minimalist Lifestyle

Image courtesy of Apartment Therapy https://www.apartmenttherapy.com
Recently, I mentioned the fact that I've decided to go down the path of FIRE - financial independence retire early. Now, there's a lot I could say about FIRE but I'm going to save that for future posts. Instead, I'd like to focus on something that many people who choose FIRE (or just FI) do: minimalism.
I'm sure you've heard of minimalism or living a minimalist lifestyle, but what does that mean? Simply put, it means living with fewer possessions. When we live with fewer possessions we:
1. live a more intentional life, one less hampered by things2. have a cleaner, clearer space3. free ourselves from consumer culture
For most of my adult life, I've collected stuff and lots of it. I loved filling my homes with a wide variety of eclectic items, items that I bought from thrift stores, garage sales, or got free as gifts or from the side of the road. This was how I felt like a had a nice, cozy home when I was poor. I found myself never being able to turn down free stuff. 
Over the past few years, I began to notice a shift. I've noticed that I feel more and more encumbered by my possessions. I don't have enough room in my small home to move as freely as I'd like, leading me to stub my toes almost daily. I'm also sick and tired of all the dusting I have to do and I can never find anything it seems until much later when I'm cleaning out some corner somewhere. On top of all that, I don't even like most of these things anymore, either.
So, I started dealing with areas of the house, little by little, every day. I'm going to sell or give away most of the things I own and throw away anything that doesn't fit into either of those categories. There was a time when I never thought I could live with so few things, but that time is over now. I'm ready for a change.

Coffee Talk: Moves, Writing, and Financial Goals

It's Saturday and I have a fresh cup of coffee in my hands. I love Saturday mornings because my house is quiet and I can relax with a cup of coffee without thinking about getting ready for work. It's always been a great time for me to think about things like the stories I'm writing, things I need to get done, and what my plans are. So, I guess this is as good of a time as any to have a coffee talk.



Yesterday, I moved my son back to college for junior year. This time was different than the previous two years for a couple of reasons. One, he moved into an apartment this year (with roommates), and, two, he moved out permanently - although a bit begrudgingly. This second reason was something I forced upon him. Why? Well, it was time. While he's a bit nervous and sad, he's also pretty excited about it. It's not easy moving out on your own that first time, but it's a necessary part of life. One has to learn to live on their own at some point, and he's at that point. I'll always be here for him to be a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen to, and a voice of reason when he needs guidance. Of course, he'll be back to visit whenever he wants, it just won't be to live.



So, it turns out that I'm not done being a writer after all. I wrote a post a few months back about how I just didn't have it in me to write anymore. I mean, I had barely written more than a line in months and months, I hadn't published anything in a couple of years, and it just seemed my spark to write was gone. Well, all of a sudden, I recently began writing in earnest again. I came up with a great story idea, sketched out the main points of the book, made the cover, and began writing it regularly. Listen, I was just as shocked as you, but pleasantly surprised. I guess I'm still a writer after all. I've resurrected my monthly newsletter and will resume the short story series I had started there. If you'd like to sign up, you can do so at the link from the home page menu in the upper left-hand corner.



If you've been following my blog for awhile, then you know that I post regularly about Basic Financial Fitness. In this series, I've always aimed to give common-sense financial advice to people without much means. This comes from my own journey of living near poverty for most of my adult life. While I'm a bit higher than that on the pay scale now, I still don't make a lot. I'm also now a single mom, and while that seems like it would put me in a worse financial situation than before, the opposite is true. See, my ex and I were on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to finances and financial goals. I'm a frugal person and that has only ramped up over time. Because of this, I spend a lot of time doing research when it comes to money. Recently, I was reintroduced to the idea of FIRE (financial independence retire early). While I had always dismissed this as something for younger people or assuming I wouldn't have enough money to do something like this, I realized that this is actually something I CAN do at my age and current income level. I can use FIRE to help me reach my own financial goals. I'll be talking about that more in the coming years in my BFF series.


It's the weekend, so I hope you get out there and enjoy it. I know I will!

Life Changes Whether We Want it to or Not

I recently took this photo while on a hike to my favorite spot, Neale Woods. It's a beautiful picture of lovely green foliage in the foreground, my beloved Iowa Mountains peeking up in the background, and a ray of sunshine cutting through the whole shot. But, while it looks lovely, this picture fills me with a feeling of sadness.
See, that "gate" in the lower middle of the shot at the end of the footpath stops one from continuing on any further. That's because there used to be a large, octagonal deck that stood here, allowing people to see across to the Loess Hills during the day and glance up at night to see the stars. The now-derelict Millard Observatory sits off the main trail behind me, a relic of what it once was. Once upon a time, you could go out to Neale Woods at night on celestial event evenings and see constellations through the observatory telescopes or with the naked eye upon the deck. 
I always told myself, back when I first started hiking up here, that I would go to one of these celestial event nights one night. I mean, I absolutely love astronomy and the woods so it seemed like a no-brainer. Unfortunately, I never did and so my chance to do so died with the observatory. I did take a guided night hike up here once a few years back during the Perseid Meteor Shower and we did end up here at the deck at the very end to see if we could spy any meteors darting across the sky. I wasn't surprised to see that the deck was gone as it was rotting away but I was dejected to see it gone anyway. This isn't the first change in my favorite hiking spot. Over the years, I've watched the nature center cease functioning, the back garden going to seed, and trails change or disappear altogether, making me wish I had taken a few of them to their end or just hiked them, period. 
The differences in the landscape that I've witnessed here in my oasis away from the city reminds me that change is inevitable and that we are powerless to stop it. Change is necessary, even if it is hard to accept or difficult to deal with. We get comfortable with things the way things are and with it come feelings of satisfaction, happiness, and belonging. Changes to those things require us to step out of our comfort zone and readjust - no matter how big or small those changes may be.
While the changes in Neale Woods will go unnoticed by a multitude of people who visit, I will always remember the way it was when I first discovered it. Do I miss it? Absolutely. Will I adapt to the changes? I already have. Life is a constant pulsating entity that inundates us with change regularly. The recent pandemic has fundamentally shifted how the entire world goes about its daily life. While a pandemic is much more difficult and stressful in numerous ways than a few trail shifts in a nature park, we can learn a few things from the latter in dealing with the former. How we deal with the little changes can help us deal with the bigger ones. 
Accept the things we cannot understand and embrace the changes that they bring. You'll be better off in the long run, trust me.

A Sense of Time

The older I've gotten, the faster time has gone by. It's a fact of life, this fleeting time, and while it's frightening at times, it's something that I've gotten used to. Because of this sense of time, there never seemed to be enough of it, so everything I did was gauged against this measurement. "I just worked all day and made supper, do I really want to do the dishes right now?" "I've had a long, busy week, I think I'll just watch something mindless and go to bed early." So many things that I should do or want to do, would be carefully measured against how much extra time I felt I had to spare.
Things have changed, as we all know, and suddenly, I found myself with a lot more excess time. At first, I didn't know what to do with it, and, mentally, I struggled to do so. Recently, however, I've begun to realize what a gift this actually is. For once in my life, time has slowed down. 
I have more time than ever to indulge in things I'm passionate about. I have more time to spend with my kids that are nearly grown and out of the house. And, I can combine my time to get more necessary things done. What I mean by this is that during the week, I can do laundry, bake bread, do dishes, vacuum, and a host of other tasks while I'm working. I can take long, mindful walks before my workday begins or I can watch a show or take a nap - if I so choose - on my lunch break. 
I can be ready to get out and hike before my workday ends so that I'm in my car and on my way to my destination the minute I'm done with work. I can stay up later reading that book, and sleep in until right before my day starts if I so choose. I don't have to even put a bra on if I don't want to. 
While I hated all this extra time at first, for a few reasons, I'm enjoying it to the fullest now. I know it won't last forever, so I'm going to embrace it as long as I can. Until my twilight years, I'll probably never know another period in my life where time has slowed to a crawl. I'm more relaxed than I probably have ever been. 
I'm good with that.

Going the Distance

With all this extra time on my hands lately, and with social distancing firmly in place, I've fallen back on walking and hiking more than ever. 



Since two of my goals are to walk a marathon and hike up a 14er, I ramped up my mileage.



I don't like to walk or hike anything under five miles anymore, even though I will, but my preference is the equivalent of a 10k (roughly 6.24 miles).



And that's exactly what I've been doing. 



Whether I walk our long city trail, my beloved Iowa Mountains, or the local mountain bike park (early before almost anyone else is there), I've been putting in the miles.



On these three sojourns shown, I walked a combined total of 21.52 miles. Just like anything else in life, the more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more normalized it seems. Besides, I can't walk a marathon if I don't train right? And I can't hike up a 14er if I'm not ready for it.
I'll be ready for both of them.

Coffee Talk: Adjusting, Goals, and Life

Good morning! It's been a minute since we had coffee and a chat, so I thought today was as good of a day as any. I have my coffee beside me, the morning light is starting to stream in through the window, and it's quiet. Let's talk.
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I'm just going to come out and say it: this past week for me sucked. Admittedly, it wasn't all bad, but it was, by and large, a big ball of shit. There wasn't anything that happened to make it so, it's just a testament to my mood. The pandemic has created the need for social distancing and that makes things especially hard. My house is small, all of us are home, and we can't go anywhere other than out for a solitary walk or a hike. Not that I mind doing those things as I love doing both and they help keep my sanity, but, I admit, that I miss being able to work from my office, I miss being able to go to the store, and I miss seeing my family and friends. This is why I am partly a city girl - I love the hustle and bustle of the city. It's this that I miss and it's putting a damper on my mood. I woke up feeling a bit better this morning and I'm determined to find ways to combat these feelings. We'll see how it all plays out.
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In the goals department, I'm knocking it out of the park. I have a whole post that I'm dedicating to this, this coming week, so I won't delve into it too much. Let's just say that I'm closer to my marathon walk than ever before. I do have more time on my hands and with the aforementioned social distancing in place, I can move closer towards making my goals a reality. 
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Besides my goals, I've firmly rooted myself in some new hobbies. I've been doing some research into some things I've had more than a passing interest in doing, and have made up my mind to dive in headfirst. 
You all know how much I like what I call "easy to make booze". Well, I had some recent success with a newer kind I've made a couple of times (without success I might add), so I purchased an actual fermentation rig to start making more of it. I'm going to try making some wine as well, so wish me luck! I grew up learning about the outdoors from a dad who was an outdoorsman. There are some things connected with that, that I have been interested in for a while, but I am now doing research and gathering up equipment to make that happen. I'll definitely be making a new blog series dedicated to this in the future, so stay tuned.

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Last, but not least, my short story book is really taking shape. It's been quite fascinating to put together a book of short stories as opposed to a book. I'm excited about how the final product will turn out. One of the stories that are in the book is the latest short story series I'm doing via my author newsletter, so if you are curious about it, please sign up for that! 
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I hope you have a great weekend. I've got some plans for the weekend, along with some homework to do, so I will be busy. Let me know what you're up to in the comments.

Finding Solitude

My daughter shows off some flowering seeds she found on the ground on a recent hike.
Hiking has always been my thing. For me, it's not just a way to stay in shape and be one with nature, it's a way of life and my passion. More than that, it's also my refuge and how I find solitude and escape amidst life in a busy, urban world. 
Recently, this has become a challenge. There are a handful of places close-by that I hit up regularly that fulfill my nature needs, but lately, things have changed. Because of the global pandemic and the need for social distancing, more people than ever are getting outside - and going to all of my usual places. This is a challenge as it not only hampers my ability to find solitude, but it makes social distancing quite difficult. Not that I can blame any of these people. When you're stuck inside and can't go to your usual places, you have to get out somewhere, right?



Because of all this, I've started falling back on places farther out of the city - both new and old to me. 



These places allow me the break from the city I look forward to, the nature I crave, and the solitude I so desperately need. 



It's so nice to be able to get outside somewhere where it feels like you're all alone.



We've been having a good time exploring places we haven't been in a while, and places that have become new favorites.



We found some animal bones on one of these trips and my daughter brought them home to do some research. She's my nature girl for sure.



She passes up NO opportunity to walk on fallen trees - something her brother taught her from a young age.



In this post, I've shared pictures of three places we've gone to lately. I had intended to make a post about each one separately, but, because of the need for people to understandably get outside, I'm no longer sharing the names of places I'm going...at least for a while. I want to keep them all to myself and to the much fewer of us willing and able to go to them. 
As I write this post, I'm sipping coffee and packing up a big picnic lunch to take on a big hike today. It's another new place and somewhere I was going to meet up with my dad to tackle. We can't meet up though, which makes me really sad, but I'm going to hike it today and tell him all about it later.



I hope you're all doing well and that you are spending more time outside. If anything, I hope one of the positives to come out of all of this is that people shed their more sedentary lifestyles and be more active. Have a good rest of your weekend.

All the Bread

No-Knead Crusty Bread beckons me from its warm oven cradle.
While I'm not obsessive about baking, by any means, I do like to make homemade bread. I have two bread machines that I put through the paces a few times a month. Now, though, with excess time on my hands, baking bread has become a thing I do while I'm working at home.



This is a loaf of Oatmeal Maple bread. The recipe was in the ancient booklet that came with the ancient machine I picked up at a thrift store years ago. I typically only use the "Basic White Bread" recipe and maybe do some add-ins here and there. This time, I decided to try a different recipe. Unfortunately, I accidentally turned off the machine after the first rise because I was wiping it down. Why? Well, cleaning is another thing that seems to be happening around here at a more accelerated rate. More time = more cleaning projects. I digress, however, and since I turned off the machine, I pulled the dough out of it, put it in an actual bread pan, let it rise a second time, and then baked it in the oven. It came out perfect! It was so delicious as well. Oats tend to give things a nice flavor, and there was just a hint of maple. 



I had been meaning to make banana ice cream for a while, so I made a batch. It was not a hit with any of us, but since it's just blended, ripe bananas, I thought that I could just make a large batch of banana bread so I wouldn't waste it. I have to say, it was the BEST banana bread I have ever made. Wonderful for breakfast or dessert.



One bread I had wanted to make for MONTHS but hadn't was No-Knead Crusty Bread. It's a lengthy process, yet easy, so I finally got around to making it. It...was...awesome! I served one loaf with a hearty pot of homemade lentil soup and it was a delicious meal.

I also made a loaf of the Basic White Bread but it wasn't very pretty - it rose over the bowl insert in the machine for some reason - so I'm not bothering to post it. 



I made these delectable Lemony Cornmeal Waffles for breakfast this past weekend and they were a big hit. Are they bread? Well, yes, they are a kind of quick bread. Besides, they were so amazing that I couldn't leave them out of this post.



Last, but certainly not least, I made a bunch of herbed flatbreads to serve with a curry I made. I started posting a list of supper ideas on one of the kitchen cabinets and every day, someone gets to pick what they want us to eat that night. My daughter decided that the curry and flatbreads sounded really good, so she helped me make all of it. After we ate, she happily declared that flatbread is her favorite bread. I don't blame her one bit.


Have you been making any bread? Let me know what you made and how it came out!

Things You Can Do When You're Stuck at Home

Being stuck at home can be quite boring. Not being able to see friends, family, or go to your favorite places can, let's face it, suck. Fortunately, there are things you can do to cut down on the boredom. Have you ever wanted to learn how to play guitar? See the Mona Lisa? Start working out? Well, you can! I've been compiling a list of such things so I can share them with you - and keep them for my own reference. So, here are some things you can do during social isolation:
1. Tour the Paris Catacombs.
2. Take three free months of guitar lessons from Fender.
3. Check out a play, a concert, or other culture. 
4. Have Neil Gaiman read one of his stories to you.
5. Take classes from Harvard or another Ivy League school.
6. Start working out with instructors.
7. Start reading again! Read books from here or here. You can also download the Kindle app on your phone for free and access lots of free books from Amazon's catalog. Magazines more your thing? You can read those, too!
8. Watch free movies.
9. Learn how to cook, organize your kitchen, and even use a chef knife.
10. Take a virtual tour of the infamous Winchester Mansion.
11. Download the SkySafari app to your phone and explore the night sky from your yard or living room.
12. This one is a no-brainer as I've seen more people doing it now than ever before but GET OUTSIDE. Take a walk around your neighborhood or the local park, making sure to stay a good distance from other people when you come across them.
13. Have a virtual party! I have the Zoom app on my phone for work meetings, as do many of my friends, so we've been hanging out together that way. We drink, we laugh, we talk, and, man, does it really help lift your spirits.
14. Tackle those projects you've been meaning to do!


So, there you have it: a list of things you can do when you're largely stuck at home. This list is NOT comprehensive so therefore it's fluid. If you have any suggestions or ideas, I will add them to this list. Just send me an email or COMMENT below and I will edit this post on an on-going basis.

Thirty Days

It is no secret that I have struggled with my health and my weight for most of my life. I've talked about it often and have made great strides since I began, in earnest, a transformation back in January of 2014. But, truth be told, I have fallen off the wagon a few times, gaining back weight and languishing in bad choices. This has been the case again for me for a while now. 
In April of 2018, I stepped on the scale and noticed how far I had fallen off the wagon yet again, gaining back some weight, being lazy, and eating like crap/overeating. I got motivated to take charge and started walking 100 miles a month. Over the next few months, I went back to eating better and introducing intermittent fasting. This all resulted in me losing the weight I had regained plus more, putting me at a total of 125 lbs lost. I was excited and thrilled and in the best shape of my life.
But, all wasn't well. Something was bugging me in 2018, and it hit me like a ton of bricks around the same time that I started walking again. A dark cloud hung over me and I couldn't figure out what was going on. By the time 2019 loomed, I was in the throes of a months-long, dark and deep depression...but I didn't know it. I started self-medicating and hiding from the world. 
This led to me craving animal products and eating those for a while. It wasn't long before I noticed I was eating the same way I had before I started my initial journey in 2014. If that wasn't bad enough, my self-medicating meant drinking a lot and often, exacerbating my eating issues. I thought, "Well, I'll do keto." That was a failure. I went back to eating plant-based because I genuinely missed it but I was depressed so I overate constantly as a way to pacify myself. Somewhere in the Spring of 2019, I finally figured out that I was, indeed, in the midst of horrible depression and was able to come out of that as the months wore on, but I was already enmeshed in bad habits.
Fast forward to February of this year when I once again faced the scale, knowing how my eating and lifestyle habits were becoming an issue. I was sad to see that I had gained back a good 15 lbs. On top of this, I had quit walking during my lunch break altogether. After looking at my weight, I told myself that that was it - I needed to make a lifestyle change for the better and stick with it.
I thought back to when I first saw the documentary, "Forks over Knives", and how informative it was. I had purchased the companion cookbook after I watched it, so I decided it was high time that I dust it off and start using it in earnest. On February 18th, I made it my goal to spend the next 30 days doing four things:
1. Eat mainly a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet.2. Practice intermittent fasting (IF).3. Walk my 100 miles a month, no exceptions.4. Give up drinking altogether.
I was determined to give myself 30 days to prove to myself that it would be enough time - as long as I was disciplined - to make a significant change in my health. Those 30 days were up on the 18th...so how did I do? Well, I'm happy to report that I did great! Here's how it breaks down:
1. I did well for the most part on the WFPB diet. I, unfortunately, had a very long period so I craved a bunch of carbs. I still managed to keep it roughly 80% WFPB, so that makes me happy.
2. I did so well on IF this time around. There were only a couple of days that I didn't stay within my 8-hour feeding window. I use an app called Zero to help me stay on track with IF and I love it. There are a couple of other apps for IF that I'm aware of but the one I use is great.
3. I not only got my 100 miles in for February, and am well on the way for March, but I also started stair-training. Instead of walking on my lunch break, I opted to start climbing stairs. It's more of a workout, great for mountain hiking practice, and takes up less time.
4. I drank socially about three times, but other than that I stayed sober. This was as helpful as I had hoped it would be. It kept me on track with IF and with WFPB eating. I'm also much more productive and feel so much better.
5. Last, but not least, I lost 10 lbs of the 15 lbs I had gained back! This means I'm only five pounds over from my smallest on my healthy life journey. 
Overall, not only was I successful, but I think I'm well on the way to finally making those permanent health changes that will ensure success and wellness for many decades. This was always my end goal as, while I would like to be a healthy weight, my overall health is my biggest concern. I'd like to be able to be well and active until the day I die and I think having healthy habits will ensure this for me more than anything else.
Is it a rocky road to get there? Absolutely, but as long as I don't give up or let some backsliding moments completely derail me, I'll get where I need to be.