Subaru Dreams, Aldi Budget


An Ode to My Old Self

This year has been a financial bust. For reasons too lengthy to explain, my annual pay was reduced by $25,000. When you’re single and living in my neck of the woods, that’s a hard landing. So, in 2025, I find myself shopping at Aldi again, dipping into my savings (yes, I know, it’s what they’re for—but I still hate it), and working triple time. The work doesn’t slow, even if the money does. Hurricane Helene destroyed the landscapes, and now we’re rebuilding them.

How am I weathering this financial setback, you ask?

Sadly, by trading in the new car.

Yep. Crawling back to the dealership, head down, keys held out in my age-spotted hand, saying, “I wore the new off, and now I need a cheaper one.” Listen—I splurged. I bought a brand-new Subaru Crosstrek with leather seats.

Before

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Release and Recover Cinthia Milner

Release and Recover


Have you ever watched yourself–after years of therapy (I’m talking decades) and way past old enough to know better–act out every insecurity you have in the most embarrassing way in front of a person you’re desperate to impress? Yep. Just did that. Release and recover. Let’s talk about it.

What are my insecurities you ask?

Probably the same as yours.

Take a deep breath, my Calm app said, turning it on, hoping to regain some dignity after that emotional debacle. Jay Shetty to the rescue. My meditation for the day: How do you recover when emotions throw you off kilter? Instead of self-critiquing, you want to self-correct. Release and Recover. “Offer yourself kindness whenever you are off-kilter,” Jay Shetty instructs. The sooner you realize your imbalance, the quicker to reset. I guess. Jay sounds a lot more confident about it than I feel.

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Resurrecting the blog

Resurrecting the Blog: Heartbreak and Pruning During Helene


It’s been a couple of months if you know what I mean. And I don’t mean time has eclipsed; IT’s BEEN A COUPLE OF MONTHS. So, I’m late in resurrecting the blog. 

I was going to resurrect the blog in late summer. I had a post ready about my “picket fence garden” (yes, it’s cheesy, but the picket fence was here before me, and I love it), but then I got my heart broken, a storm pummeled Western North Carolina on September 27th leaving us without power, internet, cable, water, access to roads, and in too many cases, homes. COVID, pneumonia, and strep throat derailed me, my washing machine busted, then my vacuum cleaner died. And work stress went from moderate to insane. I am a landscape designer, and fall is all about installing pretty landscapes. Now I’m sorting out demolished ones. 

And so, I am only
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