Welcome. This is a place for thoughtful living, faith woven into ordinary life, and the quiet work of becoming, one ordinary day at a time.
I began writing here after loss changed the shape of my life. Widowhood arrived on April 8, 2020, and with it came a long season of learning how to stand again, how to trust again, and how to notice beauty when the world felt unsteady. Writing became a way to survive, pray, and remember.
Over time, the story continues to unfold.
Much of life now unfolds at Winterpast, my home and garden, named for Song of Solomon 2:11 — “For behold the winter is past; the rain is over and gone”. Winterpast is more than a setting here; it’s a character in the story. The gardens are a tribute to renewal, persistence, and the belief that new life continues to rise, even after the hardest seasons.
This blog holds both grief and joy, lost love and love found, faith practiced in everyday moments, gardens tended in stubborn desert soil, travels that invite wonder, and reflections on what it means to live well in this season of life.
Here, you’ll find stories about navigating loss with honesty and grace, choosing love and companionship again, curiosity and lifelong learning, the daily tending of home and relationships, and bearing witness to a life shaped by memory, meaning, and hope.
I believe faith doesn’t need to be loud to be strong. I believe beauty is still present, even after heartbreak. I believe our homes and gardens can become sacred spaces of renewal. And I believe that showing up again and again matters.
This blog is written for those who are rebuilding, wondering, wandering, working, worshiping, and witnessing the goodness of God in unexpected places. Pull up a chair. Start Anywhere. You are welcome here.
A Life Well Lived
The Old Me
In a time and land so distant to me now, I grew up a farmer’s daughter in the Central Valley of California. After earning my BA, I also earned the coveted title of MRS., had two children, divorced, single-mommed, and then married again. After 32 years, cancer ended that chapter of my life. Widowed, I became a new version of myself, eventually finding love and marriage to HHH in this the last, and most beautiful chapter of my life. J
The Working Me
I was a teacher for 22 years, and a farmer for 17, simultaneously. Through the years, I taught K-12, spending 12 years in 3rd grade, where I left a piece of my heart. I taught continuation high school for two years, becoming Secondary Teacher of the Year for my district in 2010. My real calling came as the sole teacher at a children’s hospital in Central California. There, I earned 35 angel students over 5 years. They’re playing at recess in heaven now. There, they’ll wait for the ring of the school bell when I arrive. Our lessons will then begin again. J
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The Now Me
Life has taken some twists and turns. Winterpast has been through it all, watching me garden with a side of grief. I live in the high desert with my new husband, Billy, who loves to toil in the soil as much as me. Oliver now has a buddy named Tanner, occasional creeping into blog posts, as dogs sometimes do. Billy and I were both grieving gardeners. Today, we are gardeners who have known grief, but also extreme happiness. Writing is life. I hope you enjoy reading about ours. J