Guess who’s teaching another class? Me! Except this time, instead of teaching scone baking, I’m teaching plant care. Since I started selling plants, it seemed like a fun next step.
The class is with the Braintree Community Continuing Adult Education at Braintree High School.
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*Updated 5/22/2025*Â Unfortunately not enough people signed up, so the class was cancelled.
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Image: Course Registration
“It’s all art. The way you laugh.
Your smile. Your wardrobe. & the
way you decorate your home.
The way you dance. Your energy.
Your collection of books. & the
way you write. Your playlists.
Your grocery lists.
Your friendships. It’s all art.
Your whole life is art.”
Not much in the world has felt cozy lately. Tuning out all the news and noise for a bit is necessary. But cozy can be achieved. Even if only for a few hours.
Yesterday, I went to the library and took out a few books. I already had some, but another that I had on hold arrived. Then I noticed a few that were on display. Now I have quite a library haul with this big stack of books. It makes me so happy and reminds me of when I was a little kid taking out piles of books from the library.
The older I get, the more that I realize what makes me happy now are the same things that did when I was a child. We do grow up and change as adults. But I think that essentially we are that same soul that we were from the beginning. My soul loves books. Although having parents that were teachers helped too!
The library was packed with people yesterday. The parking lot was completely full and I was stuck in a traffic jam before I could leave it to look for additional parking. There were two events going on and some people were turned away from one because they were beyond capacity. Standing room only! I love to see it.
Even with the library crowds, everyone was in a good mood. It had a really nice community feeling. It was also where I met up with someone to sell them a bunch of plants. She was so happy to get her plants, which of course made me happy too. I love to spread the plant joy!
After leaving the library, I went to see fellow blogger and author of several children’s books, Candelaria Silva-Collins. She invited me to see her reading one of her books, Jump! Jump! Jump! Stacey, at a new Quincy bookstore, The Next Chapter Books and More. Since she was in the area and I hadn’t seen her for such a long time, it was a nice chance to catch up.
We chatted for a while and by the time I left, there were a lot of people in the store. It was such a good feeling seeing the people of Quincy enjoying all things books. It gave me a very warm feeling of community. Something that I don’t feel everyday, but that I’d like to feel more of. Even if only for a few hours.
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Now leaving the cozy feeling for a bit. Another book that I’m adding to my TBR list is On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder. It’s about how to resist fascism in America. He was interviewed by Rachel Maddow last month and spoke about what is happening with our current Administration. He said that they want to make us feel afraid and alone. I definitely think that a way to combat that feeling is through community. Libraries and bookstores are great places to start.
This morning when I looked into this pot, I noticed a new jasmine seedling. When did that happen?! The last time I checked, there was nothing. Then all of a sudden, new growth! I couldn’t figure it out and decided that it didn’t matter. Maybe I don’t need to understand. Instead, I can just be in awe.
Sometimes we cannot understand the how or why about certain situations. Maybe we will never understand. As someone who often performs mental gymnastics trying to figure things out, it’s exhausting.
It feels freeing to let it go. Giving myself permission to only observe and maybe enjoy the mystery without the understanding.
Revel in the miracle of it. Remove the analysis. As a Virgo lawyer, that’s extremely counterintuitive. But better for my mental health. Especially as we head into Round Two of the Trump Era. I cannot understand it. And as part of this country literally burns to the ground, the weight of it all is very heavy.
We are all born into a particular era. So apparently this is the timeline that I’m supposed to be in. Maybe I have something specific to contribute. Maybe I’m supposed to observe and learn. Probably a little bit of both.
January is coming to and end, but the year is still as fresh and new as this jasmine seedling. So I have to be open to what 2025 has in store. Future me knows and hopefully she’ll give me some guidance.
Happy September! The summer is flying by and almost gone. But not yet! I’ve enjoyed these precious few warm months and discovered something new. I can sell my plants!
Zoe Pritchard is one of my favorite personal finance vloggers on YouTube. She also talks about her life in Montreal, Canada. She mentioned earning money by selling plant cuttings on Facebook Marketplace. It seemed like a really interesting idea and I wondered if it would work for me.
Like lots of things that I try in life, I don’t necessarily think that it will work, but I’m curious. And my curiosity always gets the best of me. Then I usually decide to experiment. Because I have so many plants, I’m always doing cuttings and propagating them. It’s gotten to a point where I’ve given them away to everyone I know, and new ways were needed to thin the herd.
A few times, I gave some away to strangers by meeting up in a group. But that’s not enough and sometimes people wouldn’t show up as scheduled. I needed a new way to find homes for my plant babies before they took over my home!
Because life is busy, I didn’t get a chance right away to take pictures and do the listings. But then the project that I’ve been working on for almost two years came to a screeching halt. My income suddenly ended and I had more time. So I took some pictures of my precious plants, and listed them on Facebook Marketplace.
Recently, I had also started a very detailed budget. Federal student loan forgiveness gave me a new lease on my financial life. I use a digital budget tracker that I learned about from Zoe’s vlog. It takes a bit of work and discipline, but the detailed nature of it naturally fits my Virgo personality. The tracker aligns with professional work that I’ve done in my career, so I love it and actually find it fun!
I projected that maybe I could make about $30.00 in a month. But in just a little over a month, I’ve made more than $200.00. Not bad! I’ve become a bit more intentional about my plants and what I’m growing. Who knows where this could lead?!
Anyway, I’m loving finding homes for my beloved plant babies and making money in the process. The sweetest of combinations.
If you live in the Quincy area and are interested in buying some plants, take a look at my current offerings and let me know!
