Life at a "Swell's" pace

Growing and Avocado Plant

We've taken up the trend of growing avocado trees from seed. We have been saving our avocado seeds throughout the year and trying our best to get them to root. We've has a bit of success and therefore we've planted them in small pots and then combined them into a large pot all together. They've struggled a bit, but they are growing. We haven't read about how long it takes for them to grow larger, but for now we are happy with what we've created. The plants currently share a pot with some ginger found in the back of our refrigerator a few months ago. Waiting to see what happens with that, as well.

There's different way to get them to root, but I've always found that the toothpick balanced on the top of a glass has worked best for us.

I like to wait until there's a good group of roots showing and a small sprout coming from the seed before transferring them to soil.

These are the plants that the seeds above created. This is about a year's worth of growing. There is ginger in the pot with these, but overall there's definite success with the seeds. It's kind of satisfying to know that you can eat the avocados and with a little patience allow it to continue on with life. Everything in this world has a purpose, and I feel that sometimes giving other living things a chance to continue on living, is a great way to appreciate life on a different scale.

Easy Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are one of the first things I learned to bake once I was out on my own. But having to ice them and decorate them, is mostly something for holidays and special occasions, unless you have the time and patience. Just having a simple sugar cookie on any day of the year, or even just a quick cookie to take somewhere, or to eat on throughout the week, is something a lot of us enjoy. Sugar cookies, just baked and left by themselves, is such a simple cookie to mix together. The key to these easy sugar cookies is to roll them in sugar before baking, without the hassle of cookie cutters, or icing. Here is my version of "Easy Sugar Cookies" that you can make any time of the year. And the best part, they're soft.

Here's how to make these easy, soft sugar cookies:

2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking power
3/4 tsp. sea salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Using a stand mixer, mix wet ingredients together starting with the butter. Combine butter and sugar, and add the eggs. Combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well. Form into balls, about two tablespoons for each ball. Roll in granulated sugar, or colored sprinkles, flatten just slightly and lay on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for about 30-45 minutes, or freeze at this point to bake later.

Bake for 12-16 minutes at 350 degrees.

I would add to allow them to cool before eating, but nothing is better than a warm sugar cookie straight from the oven, so enjoy!

Five Simple Things (September 13)

Hello.

Here are five things this week.

1. This heart.

I have been seeing heart shapes around lately. I am not sure why, but I like to think it's a good thing. The universe reminding me that I am loved.

2. This box.

Kiwi Eco Box is always a good subscription to receive. My favorite thing from this month's box, the linen bag.

3. These Crayons.

Nothing is better than a fresh box of Crayons. As a child I loved to open a new box and smell the scent of the Crayons. Now as an adult, I still embrace that smell. It's been awhile since I've been able to find a box of 64 with a built-in sharpener, so finding this made my day.

4. These candles.

Always a good time to burn a nice candle.

5. These flowers.

Getting out in nature is so important for your mental health. One thing that has caused a lot of mental health decline is overuse of social media, and news. Most news now days is bad news. There isn't a lot of good to cling to with that, or with social media. Some of it is avoidable, but some of it isn't. The best way to find that balance within yourself is to take time away from it and get out into nature. Every day of being in nature is best, but even a small amount of time can do a great deal for your wellbeing.

One last thing:

I found these two products this week and at first I didn't think I would use them right away, but of course that didn't happen. I used both all this week and I have to say, no regrets. Jennifer Aniston's Lolavie hair products make my hair feel and smell incredible. Being over the age of 40, this brand is perfect for me. And, we have always been Auromère users in our house, but these soaps smell amazing!

Positive affirmations this week:

Have a nice weekend.

Tour of Pittock Mansion in Portland

We have been to Pittock mansion before, but this was the first time we toured the inside. The last time we were at this property Skylar was young and we ate lunch on the lawn. There were so many people sitting on the lawn and enjoying the day that summer. I had recently moved to Oregon and was dealing with post partum from having Skylar, and depression from moving away from friends and family. The first few years of being in Oregon were really hard for me, so Jeff did little things to try and help me through. Eating lunch on the lawn was one of those things. Now that Skylar is older, we decided to revisit the mansion with him. It has been almost 20 years since we have been back and I thought we would have lunch on the lawn again, but Jeff surprised us both with a tour of the house. It was a great day and as we walked through and looked out the windows of each room we talked about that day so many years ago. These are memories that mean so much to me.

The mansion is on the West Hills in Portland, Oregon, and sits on 46 acres. It is maintained by the Pittock Mansion Society to this day. What's interesting to know, the mansion was severely damaged in a storm in 1962, and Portland citizens rallied together to help the city purchase the property and restore it. Henry Pittock became the owner of the The Oregonian newspaper in 1861 and built the mansion in 1914. After Henry Pittock and his wife, Georgia died, the remaining family moved out of the 16,000 square foot mansion in 1958.

Jeff and Skylar standing with straight faces as they would in photographs from the 1800s, and then standing similar to present day. We wanted to do a contrast of the past verses the present. What's missing is clothing from that time period, but overall, they nailed it.

The room to the right made me extremely sad. The son-in-law, Kate Pittock's first husband, John Hertzman, died of tuberculosis in 1907 in this very room. He was 39 years old. He was placed in this room when he became ill with tuberculosis. The room was called a sun porch, or sleeping porch where the sick were placed during this time to allow them the fresh air. Unfortunately, what the son-in-law needed was a drier climate. He suffered on this porch until his death. What makes the story even sadder is the fact that the Pittock family was only following the orders of the doctor.

To the right, at least he had a nice view during his sickness. It still doesn't take away the sadness I felt when in that room and reading about his death. The damp and wet air did nothing but make him worse. He suffered a great deal before his death.

The staircase was my favorite part of this house, that and the elevator to accommodate Georgia Pittock. Henry Pittock had it installed for Georgia to be able to move from floor to floor with her wheelchair.

Georgia Pittock was a pioneer of women's rights in Oregon. Portland was lucky to have her during her life. She did so much for the community.

A peek inside of the caretaker's house that sits on the property just below the mansion.

I did not go down the stairs because I am still recovering from a runner's knee injury. Jeff and Skylar explored the downstairs and said it was a nice area and definitely a great house for the groundskeeper to stay in.