Cozy Homemaker Journal–May 2026 Reflections

Little Steps, Lovely Progress

May has been one of those months where I don’t have one giant finished project to show off… but somehow I’ve still been busy every single day.

I think this is what retirement “puttering” looks like.

A little painting here. A little gardening there. A thrift store stop with Grampy. A random evening project that started with “I’ll just fix one thing quick” and somehow ended with me covered in dirt, caulk, or paint.

Honestly, kind of my favorite type of month.

Budgeting Wins

This month featured several victories in the ongoing competition between me and the price of literally everything.

I repaired three old garden trellises instead of replacing them, rescued a patio table from bulk trash pickup day, and continued my lifelong tradition of staring at random discarded objects and thinking:
“Hmm. I could probably make that charming.”

Sometimes Grampy sees junk.
Sometimes I see potential.
Sometimes he’s right.
But not always.

I’ve also been using leftover paint, thrifted finds, stash materials, and bits and pieces we already had around Birdsong Cottage. I truly enjoy making a home feel cozy without constantly buying new things. A little creativity can go a long way!

In the Kitchen

The kitchen has mostly been a mix of comfort food and “let’s see what happens” cooking experiments.

There has been carrot cake, salmon bowls, custard bar experiments, lighter lunch ideas, and various cozy meals that may or may not eventually become blog posts. We celebrated my daughter’s birthday and she requested my potato salad (made without boiled eggs) as part of her birthday meal.

Grampy continues to frost all layer cakes because I lose patience the second a crumb touches the frosting and then it just keeps getting worse and worse the more I try to fix it.

So, Grampy frosted our daughter’s birthday cake in his usual calm manner, unbothered by crumbs. He’s the best!

In the Garden

The yard is starting to hit that magical time of year where everything suddenly looks hopeful again.

The penstemon, catmint, and bachelor buttons are attracting so many bees! I love to wander through my little garden and watch them busy at work. I’ve spent a lot of time outside working on little projects, dreaming up new garden ideas, and trying to convince myself that I absolutely do not need seventeen more flower beds. I really just need to work on the ones I have.

Current garden dreams include:

• moon gates
• greenhouse plans
• drip irrigation
• raspberry patch ideas
• cozy seating areas
• charming pathways
• and apparently making every single outdoor object “a cottage thing.”

I also continued working on reclaiming the former daycare playground area. It’s slowly becoming less “tiny humans’ outdoor chaos area” and more “retired granny’s pretty yard.”

You can see my spring progress on my big summer project, Birdsong Meadow, here.

At Home

Shedna Mae (my she shed) continues to evolve one tiny project at a time. You can see my progress so far here and here.

There’s been painting, organizing, planning, more organizing, changing my mind, reorganizing again… you know. The creative process.

I’ve been working on storage projects, repainting little thrifted pieces, and trying to make the shed both practical and cozy — which is apparently my personal design philosophy for absolutely everything now. I’ve started painting the floor in sections. Waiting five to seven days for the paint to cure so I can put furniture back is hard!

I also mounted a fan in there, because apparently “middle-aged woman aggressively painting furniture in a shed during summer” requires ventilation. It has stayed pretty comfortable so far with the window open and the fan going. July and August will probably be too warm in the afternoons. July and August are too warm for pretty much anything, actually!

Retirement Reflections

I’m still adjusting to this new season of life, but I’m beginning to appreciate slower days more than I used to.

Not every day needs to be wildly productive to feel worthwhile.

Sometimes progress looks like:

• repairing something old
• clearing one small area
• finally finishing a project you’ve ignored for three years
• drinking tea after working outside
• or simply doing a few little forward things instead of giving up on the whole day

There have been a few harder moments mixed into the month too, but overall May has reminded me that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be good.

Sometimes it just needs flowers, fresh air, a tiny project, and a cat waiting for you at the end of the day.

Until next month, friends. 🌿