The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Happy Things Friday: 4 September

This week—*waves hands around at the literal mess of laundry, bobby pins, safety pins, and nail polish bottles scattered all over the dining room table, along with the grass clippings tracked hither and yon…

Life
Sep, 04, 2026
28 Comments

On My Shelf: Books Read August 2026

After a fiction heavy July, I unintentionally turned the tables and read predominantly non-fiction in August. That said, I feel like reading an epic tome like Gone With the Wind is a bit like…

Reading
Sep, 03, 2026
28 Comments

Happy Things… Wednesday?

I had this post ready to go live on Friday morning and then life happened and I posted an update from… the ER instead of a Happy Things Friday post.

But all the things I…

Cardiff Catchall: Cardiff Castle, Castle Arcade + Welsh Food

This is the last set of pictures from our time in Cardiff. More dramatically, this is my very last summary of adventures FROM THE ENTIRE TRIP. (I’m sure I’ll do a few more…

Update: Home + Tired + Grateful

I spent all day Friday supporting my parents at the hospital. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, I got up at 2:30 am to help meet a need. Sunday morning (this time it…

Friday Update: The ER Edition

Hey friends. I had a long, typical Happy Things Friday post all ready to go live this morning and then life threw me a bit of a curveball.

One of my parents recently had a…

Hard Things
Aug, 28, 2026
24 Comments

One Day in Bristol: A Day Trip From Cardiff by Train

For months, I’ve had a seemingly endless backlog of stories to share from our trip to Europe. There was always another city! Another museum! Another train ride! Another set of pictures waiting to be…

Happy Things Friday: 4 September

On My Shelf: Books Read August 2026

Happy Things… Wednesday?

Cardiff Catchall: Cardiff Castle, Castle Arcade + Welsh Food

Update: Home + Tired + Grateful

Friday Update: The ER Edition

One Day in Bristol: A Day Trip From Cardiff by Train

Hi! I'm Elisabeth...

Search

Travel

GUESTS

BOOKS

Recent posts

The Cool Bloggers Walking Club STARTS TOMORROW!!

I Need Your Suggestions for Keeping Warm!

Recent Frugal Wins: Pumpkin Soup, RESPs, and Toilet Paper