<![CDATA[Rural Suburbia - Blog]]>Mon, 06 Apr 2026 07:02:46 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[When Life Ramps Up: 6 Ways to Handle Long To Do Lists]]>Sun, 05 Apr 2026 23:26:57 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/when-life-ramps-up-6-ways-to-handle-long-to-do-lists*****Cross-posted to https://theonenotebookprinciple.blog/ (another blog of mine)

I sat down this morning to make out my Spring To Do List (house, garden, etc.) and realized there’s more going on this year than there has in the last few.

For one thing, there are new categories. House and garden are still there but I’m adding crafting, grad classes, fertility treatments, and blogging more consistently. On top of that I’ve increased my obligations at work. These sound like crazy decisions to have made pretty much all at the same time, but I’m also kind of excited about them. My life has felt fairly stagnant for the last couple of years so it’s nice to feel like I’m moving.


So, how do I keep it feeling excited and not overwhelming to my prone-to-anxiety brain? I’m still working on that, in all honesty, but I’ll share what’s working so far.


1) Have a Plan


I don’t mean this in a plan or schedule your life away. Despite what lots of people suggest and say on the internet, schedules make me more stressed, not less. If you’re the same, take this as permission to put the calendar down. It’s ok if it doesn’t work for you, I promise.


Instead, I find that it’s more important to have an idea of when things are coming up and when they’re due or, for appointments, scheduled. Each week, revise the list and each day visit with it. Add to it or edit it as need be. I don’t schedule a block of time to check this list, I usually do it at breakfast or right after. Sometimes I look at it at lunch, or right before I leave work. Find a time that works for you without stressing yourself out. Then just sit with the list.


2) Prioritize, Chunk, Group


I know for some, lists are stressful. My mother, for example, finds that long lists can make her more overwhelmed because there’s just too much on them. If that’s you then this section might help.


First, if you have an overwhelming list, prioritize. This gets hammered into the ground in the self-help world but it’s true and it can work. Prioritizing is just what it sounds like but, and here’s the key in my opinion, write out your prioritized tasks on a separate list. Then file the old list (or throw it out) and focus only on the priorities list. When that list is done go back to the old list (or create a new one), have fun crossing everything off, feel massively accomplished, and prioritize again. I do this with a lot of the house and garden projects.


Another good tip is chunking. This term gets used a good amount in education, so I’m not sure how specialized it is. Basically chunking is the idea of breaking a large task down into smaller tasks. Now, if you do this for everything on your list it will get very very long. So don’t do it. Instead, take your priorities and figure out step 1 (and maybe 2) for all of those. Feel free to make a new list of just those steps, but you may not need to at this point. Prioritizing again could also be a good idea at this point.


When you finish this round of chunking, chunk again.


Grouping can also help. Sometimes I find that some of my tasks, or chunked steps, overlap. For example, there might be two or three tasks/steps that require me to go to the same store. I group those together and only worry about going to that store once. That group is then “on hold” until I make it to the store and making it to the store is the new task on the priorities list. Make sense?


3) Revision is a Way of Life


It may be obvious from previous paragraphs, but a big part of this process called life is revising. New to dos are always going to get added on, plans will always change, and something will almost always come up. How to deal with unexpected changes? Revise. Be flexible. Don’t be afraid to throw out the list for the day or week or month and make a brand new one.


Revision is why I don’t like schedules. Schedules suggest that a certain task or activity has to happen at a certain point or time and, if it doesn’t happen, the whole schedule is off somehow and you might feel like you failed. Alternatively, with revision, you’re more free to move things around. Didn’t wake up early enough to exercise? That’s ok, just look at your day’s list and see where it can fit in. Forgot an ingredient for Tuesday’s meal? No worries, see what else is on the list that you can make and add a trip to the grocery store on Wednesday’s list.


The point of revision is to acknowledge that life isn’t perfect and that’s ok. Don’t let it derail you, just adjust accordingly.


4) Plan to Drop the Ball


If this is starting to seem like a juggling act, that’s because it is a bit. The analogy of juggling plastic and glass balls has been used over and over because it’s a good comparison. Life throws you a lot and juggling is how it can feel. It’s also true, though, that some balls are made of plastic and some are made of glass. Some tasks you can afford to let go, and some you just can’t.


When you look at your list, plan for which balls could be dropped. My sister calls these her “nice to dos.” These are tasks like calling a friend, making a home cooked dinner every night, or finally tackling your closet. These are items which, if not done, won’t really cause your life to collapse. The occasional dinner out, a text instead of a phone call, may help to keep the balls somewhat afloat. Other balls, like closet organization, you may just need to drop for now.


Notice, I say “for now” and “occasional.” The trick of dropping a ball is to plan to pick it back up again or, as previously stated, chunk it into smaller balls that are easier to juggle. Not all the balls are the same size, not all of them need to be the same size, and smaller balls are easier to juggle.


5) Delegation Is Not Giving Up


I had to learn this one in my 20s and 30s. Admitting you can’t do it all and aren’t a one-man-band is not the same thing as failing and being weak. We aren’t meant to do it all and the phrase “it takes a village” really is accurate. Sometimes I look at my husband and say that I just can’t do dinner, or the dishes, or whatever. Maybe I can’t because of a bad day at work, or maybe I’m feeling sick, or maybe I have an unexpected work meeting. For whatever reason, I go to my husband, let him know, and we change plans (revise) accordingly. Some days this means he does the task, other days neither of us do the task and we just put that ball down until tomorrow.


Trust your supports and don’t be afraid to reach out when life is overwhelming. Sometimes delegation is just “can you listen and face the overwhelm with me” and sometimes it’s “can you help me complete such and such task.” Both kinds of delegation are good.


6) Finally, “No”


This is another concept I still have some trouble with. Saying “no” always felt like letting someone down, not showing up for others, and just being rude. Over the years I have learned that there are, of course, less rude ways of saying no then just saying no. “I think I have too much else going on” is not a bad alternative. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to give enough attention to it at the moment” can be a good one for work.


However you say it, it can save your list and your sanity. Boundaries really are healthy and besides, you want to only juggle the balls you want to, or have to, juggle right?


Conclusion


When life ramps up, and your to do list seems impossibly long, take a moment and evaluate. Follow the suggestions in this post, or find whatever methods work for you, and breathe. Things are always changing and, however it feels right now, you won’t always be this busy. Promise.
]]><![CDATA[The Scariness of Weaving]]>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:04:51 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/the-scariness-of-weavingThey say you should do one thing every day that scares you.  Today is not quite that day, but I plan to finally weave something tomorrow.  In preparation for that event I am finally posting something I wrote about weaving from back in October.  Please note that the real fear here is not actually weaving, despite the title, but of doing something new and messing it up.
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From October 29, 2024:

Let me explain a little bit of context here.  When I was young, probably around 13 or 14 years old, I was fascinated by–well, by a lot of things, but one of those things was weaving.  I had read a description in a book that described weaving as “shuttles will fly” and I couldn’t get that imagery out of my head.  I could see the women at their looms, hands moving smoothly and quickly to make intricately-patterned cloth.  The image was tantalizing and magical and I wanted to do that.

About 6 years ago, I opened a small rigid heddle loom on Christmas morning.  A friend of mine, with a large floor loom, and I spent a couple of hours putting the loom together and, after she left, I stared at the loom on my kitchen table with some trepidation.  What the heck did I do next?  After a browse through the first chapter of the How-to book, gifted alongside the loom, I decided to try to measure the warp.  

I didn’t have a warping board or, rather, I did but I didn’t realize the loom itself came with warping pegs and could double as a warping board.  I decided the next best thing was an alternative method described either in the book or found by Googling; I can’t remember which.  I attempted to tie the yarn I was using to a kitchen chair, thread through the heddle, and tie it onto the rod at the edge of the loom.  I don’t remember why I decided that I had measured incorrectly (or maybe I had just tied it on incorrectly and needed to redo it?), but either way I realized that this method was not working for me and I undid it all.  To be fair, having to eat dinner at the table was probably also a reason to pack it all up.  

It stayed packed up until about two years ago when my husband and I bought a house with enough space to give me a craft room.  It now sits, all set up on its stand, in the corner of my craft room, waiting to be used.  It has waited for two years.  At first it was because I had realized that the loom would double as a warping board and was waiting for the pegs I ordered to arrive.  Then, after I found the pegs that had come with the loom in the first place, it was because I needed to detach the loom from the stand to use the pegs.  Then it was that I hadn’t quite put my craft room together yet (still an ongoing project) and so I didn’t have the space or the time to focus on it.  Finally, I decided to worry about measuring the warp later and just throw a small amount of yarn on the loom and weave something small, maybe 3 inches or so, just to say I had woven something.

Now, about 6 years after receiving the loom, I have woven nothing, not even something only 3 inches in length.  While procrastination is in my nature, it ramps up more when I’m nervous about something.  In this case, I’m scared to mess up at something new, more than I am being bad at it.  I know those two things seem identical, but being bad means that I am weaving correctly but it doesn’t look pretty or polished at all.  Messing it up means I am weaving incorrectly, that I’m doing it wrong.  

I’m not sure when I’ll take the plunge, throw some yarn on the loom, gather up my courage, and weave something small.  I’ll let you know when I do though.

]]><![CDATA[Tea Series Challenge: Reflection]]>Tue, 21 Jan 2025 20:54:58 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-reflectionHi Everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on the challenge.  Originally I was going to drink a new blend every day for 30 days, but clearly I only lasted for 17 days.  A few things caused me to end the challenge early. 

First, my family and I got COVID after Christmas.  This meant that I was drinking Throat Coat Tea with honey everyday for a solid week.  Obviously this interrupted my plans to drink new blends.

Second, I realized that it was becoming a chore.  I started the challenge in order to work my way through the sample teas, but also as an incentive to write blog posts.  This challenge resulted in me posting more often in a month than I have in the past two years so it feels like a success.  I think I can keep up the blog posts, not daily but more regularly and consistently, without forcing myself to drink a new blend every day.

I want to be able to have tea I feel like in the morning again, rather than forcing myself to pick a new one.  I also want to enjoy my tea without having to focus on mouthfeel and appearance and all the other ratings.  I just want to be able to drink the tea I want, when I want it, without worrying about whether it's bright or not.

Anyway, I just wanted to update and reflect on the challenge instead of just stopping at Day 17 without an explanation.

​Hope you all enjoyed hearing about new tea blends!  I'll be posting again later this evening (not about tea).]]><![CDATA[Tea Series Challenge: Day 17]]>Sat, 18 Jan 2025 17:30:00 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-day-17
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Hello and Welcome to Day 17 of the Tea Series Challenge!

This morning I have a bit of a headache.  I do this thing, sometimes, where I sleep with one hand fisted under my head.  Most of the time there’s a pillow in between, but sometimes there isn’t and I say that I spent the night slow-punching myself.  

So my tea is something somewhat simple, with flavors I know already I really like.  Hopefully my head will relax and it’ll be just the thing I need this morning.  

I was about to say we should get on the ratings and then realized I should say what the tea is.  This is my headache interfering with my usual protocol.  Today’s tea is Lemon Vervain, “A full-bodied steep, complete with the taste of lemon and mint.”  

There, now the ratings:  
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Appearance/Color

It is a yellowy brown, or a brownish yellow?  There’s maybe a slight greenish tint as well.

Aroma

The lemon is prominent but the mint is there as well, just slightly under the lemon.

Flavor

It’s subtle.  There is lemon and mint and a general flavor of tea, but none of it really jumps out at me.  That’s really nice today because simple is what I wanted.

Body or Mouthfeel

I think I can tell what they mean by “full-bodied” but I’m not sure I could describe it more than that.  It’s sort of, deep maybe?  There’s depth to it.

Astringency/Structure

Or maybe deep and depth go in this category?  

Aftertaste/Finish

The aftertaste for this blend is basically a fainter taste of the initial flavor.  

Conclusion

It’s a pleasant tea, and exactly what I wanted for today.  I’m looking forward to drinking the rest of it, which puts it ahead of some of the other blends I’ve drunk during this series.
]]><![CDATA[Tea Series Challenge: Day 16]]>Fri, 17 Jan 2025 18:30:00 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-day-16
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Hello and Welcome to Day 16 of the Tea Series Challenge!

Today is the first day of 2025, for me anyway, and I thought I would keep with the cherry theme.  
My tea this morning is appropriately named Cherry Amour, “A fruity blend of apples, berries, hibiscus and licorice.” 

I haven’t even had any of it yet but I can tell already, just from sitting next to it while it steeps and cools a bit, that it should be really good.

This is a short one today apparently, so . . . ratings!:  
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Appearance/Color

Similarly to yesterday, it is a pinkish cherry color, though perhaps a little darker than yesterday’s.

Aroma

I’m sitting next to the tea and can already smell the cherry.  A closer whiff makes the hibiscus and general fruitiness more apparent.

Flavor

It hasn’t steeped as long as yesterday’s tea, but it is still a bit sweet.  The cherry is there but it’s blended well with the other flavors which, as promised, include fruity tones and hibiscus.  The licorice might be there but it’s difficult for me to separate it out.

Body or Mouthfeel

It’s smooth but a bit watery, not very thick, as well.  It’s also still quite warm so I’m taking small sips which makes it hard for me to really tell.

Astringency/Structure

It’s bright, a bit sweet.  At this point I’m keeping this section only out of habit and consistency/continuity.

Aftertaste/Finish

The main aftertaste is a bit of a general fruitiness.

Conclusion

It’s a good tea blend.  I like the smell and the taste.  I’m glad it’s not very early due to the sweetness, and that it’s not steeped as long.  I can tell that I burnt my mouth just a bit, but that’s my fault, not the tea’s.  I would definitely drink this again, perhaps with some of the sugar cookies still left in my kitchen from the holidays.
]]><![CDATA[Tea Series Challenge: Day 15]]>Thu, 16 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-day-15
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Hello and Welcome to Day 15 of the Tea Series Challenge!

I’ve been writing these so far in December, with the idea that I would write one a day until I had thirty total posts.  The Preview post would then go out on January 1, tomorrow as I’m writing this, and then the rest of the posts would last until the 31st of January.  

This post will be scheduled to go out on the 16th of January, which falls short of my initial goal.  I’ll keep writing these posts through January, but at this point I wanted to ask anyone who’s been reading these: Are you interested in more tea reviews?  Or is this becoming boring content to read 15 days in?  Let me know in the comments if you have an opinion about it.

For today’s tea I thought I would go somewhat festive; it is the day of New Year’s Eve.  So my blend today is called Cherry Cosmo, which promises to be “Bright pink and fun-loving with the taste of cherry and berries.”  Sounds perfect for New Year’s Eve morning.

So, moving right along, ratings:  
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Appearance/Color

I don’t know about bright pink, but it is definitely a cherry color with pinkish tones.

Aroma

I can smell the cherry, and a bit of the berry, and I’m now just realizing I’ve put it in a mug with the word “merry” on it and I really shouldn’t be able to accidentally rhyme like this.  

Flavor

Sip one is very fruity.  It’s been steeping for probably about 10 or 15 minutes at this point (oops?) so that’s probably part of it.  It’s pretty good, but perhaps a bit sweeter than I was expecting.

Body or Mouthfeel

It’s fairly smooth, but the sweetness is somehow making it hard to tell.

Astringency/Structure

Sweet, and a bit bright, definitely fruity

Aftertaste/Finish

The sweetness fades a little after swallowing so the aftertaste is more fruity.

Conclusion

I like this tea, and it is definitely a “fun-loving” tea good for celebrating the end of 2024.  I think next time I would try harder to remember to not let it steep for as long.  It really is almost too sweet.
]]><![CDATA[Tea series challenge: day 14]]>Wed, 15 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-day-14
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Hello and Welcome to Day 14 of the Tea Series Challenge!

So lately my sister, who has been trying new teas with my nephew, has been raving about “the apricot one.”  The teas they’re trying are from the same company that produced my sampler boxes, but I’ve really only been using the yellow box because the orange box is just herbal teas.

I’m at the point now, though, where the yellow box pretty much has black and green teas.  This is fine except for a morning like I’m having today.  Today I am craving herbal tea, so I opened the orange box for the first time and found the tea she’s been so enamored of.

So today’s tea is Apricot Amaretto which claims that “The taste of juicy apricot and almond pair for a refreshing infusion.”  It is cold, rainy, and windy outside so I’m hoping for something that reminds me of better weather.  I’m also hoping it lives up to the hype from my sister.

So, ratings time, and let’s see how it does:  ​
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Appearance/Color

It’s a deep reddish brown color.  I don’t have much else to say about it.

Aroma

It is fruity and almondy scented.  Remmeber when I wanted the flavor of my mother’s almond cookies to be in the cherry marzipan tea?  I think, I hope, that this will come closer.  It certainly smells like it might.

Flavor

So I’ve just taken my first sip and it’s the fruitiness of the apricot that hits first.  That stays around but the almond comes up after to join it.  I’m not blown away really, but it was a really good first sip.

Body or Mouthfeel

It’s very smooth in texture.  That actually probably hit me even before the flavor did.

Astringency/Structure

It is kind of bright, but grounded as well if that makes sense.  Most of the time, when I write this section, I am very aware of how much I don’t know about this section and probably tea in general.

Aftertaste/Finish

The apricot is definitely the first flavor, and it does stick around, but ultimately the almond is the flavor that finishes the sip.  In terms of aftertaste, both stick around.

Conclusion

So the tea is half gone in the time it took for me to write the previous three sections, which was approximately five minutes.  My sister was right, it is really good tea.  I find that I am very glad that each box has duplicates of the teas so I can drink this one again.
]]><![CDATA[Tea Series Challenge: Day 13]]>Tue, 14 Jan 2025 16:30:00 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-day-13
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Hello and Welcome to Day 13 of the Tea Series Challenge!

So, full disclosure, I have been writing these posts, so far, in December.  Yesterday was Christmas and I got some lovely tea and mugs, so today you get some pictures of the mugs I received.  

The picture above is a mug from my mother.  It comes with a loose leaf strainer and I think it’s super pretty with lovely colors!!  Today’s tea is pictured next to it even though I didn’t use this mug today.  It just felt odd to not have today’s tea in one of the pictures.  

The picture below is the mug my nephew got me.  I love the shape of it and the size.  I really should have used it for today’s tea, just to match the name of today’s blend, but it hasn’t been washed yet.

Getting to today’s tea, I wanted something simple and robust for the morning after Christmas and so I chose English Breakfast tea.  

There’s not much else for me to say about it other than the ratings, so let’s get to it:  
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Appearance/Color

In a white mug today, the tea is a deep reddish brown.  I only steeped it for about 4 minutes (I know, 1 minute less than the recommended 5), but it’s still really dark.

Aroma

Tea!!  There’s really no other aroma I can smell, and the tea aroma is just so reminiscent of what I think of as the base tea smell that I don’t really have another word for it.

Flavor

Similarly, the flavor here is black tea.  Since I didn’t over-steep it there’s no bitterness.

Body or Mouthfeel

Several sips in, the only way I can think to describe the mouthfeel is that it’s a little watery but also smooth.

Astringency/Structure

I think it’s fairly light actually, despite being a black tea.  There’s no backing away from the flavor, which is what I think I meant earlier when I used the word “robust,” but it’s not earthy really either which would make it taste heavy to me.

Aftertaste/Finish

Again, it’s pretty much just tea.  

Conclusion

I got what I wanted this morning, which was a really decent English Breakfast tea.  There weren’t really any surprises and it was just really pleasant and simple to drink.
]]><![CDATA[Tea Series Challenge: Day 12]]>Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:30:00 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-day-12
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Hello and Welcome to Day 12 of the Tea Series Challenge!

Today I went with a more simple and classic green tea.  So classic, in fact, that I made sure to time the steep and stick to the timer.  My tea this morning is a “Jasmine Green,” a “Rare, exceptional Chung Hao tea, scented with jasmine flowers.”

The words “rare” and “exceptional” made me a little nervous, and are part of why I haven’t chosen this tea sooner.  I was really nervous about ruining it somehow, which is why I decided to stick to the timer so well.  

Sometimes, even when I use the timer, I have a habit of walking away to do something else and I’m not always there exactly when the timer goes off.  Today I stayed close and watched it like a hawk.  That tea bag left the water as soon as the timer told me it should.

Spoiler: the tea isn’t bitter at all!  I am perhaps more excited by that than I should be as an adult who has been drinking tea for decades.  

Anyway, moving on, ratings time:  
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Appearance/Color

So I made green tea in a green mug.  What really stands out is how yellow-brown it is.

Aroma

The jasmine is a prominent scent, although I would never call jasmine a strong or intense aroma.

Flavor

The flavor and taste is really about how the aroma is; the jasmine is in every sip.  At the same time, it is also very definitely a green tea.

Body or Mouthfeel

As is usual for green teas, or at least my opinion of them, this is watery and not overly smooth or soft in texture.

Astringency/Structure

What really shines through here are the floral tones of the jasmine.

Aftertaste/Finish

Some of the jasmine remains, but so too does the general sense of green tea-ness.

Conclusion

When I chose my tea this morning, I wanted something more subtle and not overly intensive.  This met my expectations, without being bland, which was a pleasant experience this morning.
]]><![CDATA[Tea Series Challenge: Day 11]]>Sun, 12 Jan 2025 15:30:00 GMThttps://www.ruralsuburbia.com/blog/tea-series-challenge-day-11
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Hello and Welcome to Day 11 of the Tea Series Challenge!

I am continuing with the vanilla theme, and chose Vanilla Peach for today.  A black tea, it is “Warm, indulgent and richly fragrant with tropical coconut.”

I actually am feeling pretty awake, but I felt like the sturdiness of black tea.  I also have a good amount to do today so a little extra oomph couldn’t hurt.  

I loosely timed the steep, which is to say that I forgot to time it and then panicked before figuring it had probably been 3-5 minutes.  My husband, who tends to have a better grasp on time, agreed.  So it’s probably fine.

Alright, ratings time:  
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Appearance/Color

As befits a black tea it is a dark brown.  There might be hints of red but it’s hard to tell in a dim west-facing room in the morning.

Aroma

Vanilla mostly, maybe with a bit of peach and coconut.  It smells good and I’m not smelling anything that isn’t in the name or description.  So far so good in terms of my expectations.

Flavor

The flavor mostly lives up to the promise of the aroma.  It’s a bit bitter, but that’s my inexact steep time probably.  It is also very coconutty, which I’m not overly sure about.  The vanilla and peach are there (it’s definitely tropical-ish) but it gets a bit buried by the sheer force of the coconut.

Body or Mouthfeel

It’s fine.  A bit thin, not as smooth as some of the herbal or even green teas.

Astringency/Structure

A bit bitter, but again that’s likely my fault.  A bit bright as well, which might be the vanilla and peach.

Aftertaste/Finish

Coconut.  Just coconut.

Conclusion

Whether I have liked or felt kind of blah about the teas thus far, they have always been well-balanced.  I don’t feel that way about this one because the coconut is so heavy-handed.  Maybe it would have been different if I had only steeped it for exactly 3 minutes, but I doubt it.  I think, rather than affecting the balance, that would have just made the whole flavor less.  It also would have taken away the bitterness, one hopes, so that could help as well.  I’ll finish it but, for the first time in this series, I’m not really looking forward to it.
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