Life, Photography, What I Kept

What I Kept – August 2026

Kari

I began writing this series in May of 2022, not intending to make it a tradition. But it stayed, and so did you. Thank you for showing up each month.

the month of august was brought to you by the letter h- humidity.
we won’t be doing any of that
source
anna’s flight from newark to san diego started out fine, but took a little detour…past my dad’s hometown
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lunch with melanie
mike took this while mowing the lawn – a little bunny peering in
ella wrote this for mike while he was recovering from open heart surgery- we never took it down
anna and i did an overnight alone. we watched real housewives, tiktok’ed, and ate cookies in bed. we are planning another one in six months.
source
babies
the day after a migraine
my mom’s skylight

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42 thoughts on “What I Kept – August 2026”

  2. First, sorry about the migraines. Just seeing that trash . . . sigh . . .

    But so cool about the flight taking a slight detour over your Dad’s hometown! I love that you and Anna had such a fun sleepover. My oldest has mentioned wanting to go on a trip with just the two of us, but I don’t know how that would happen. Maybe when my husband retires, he can watch the grandkids while our SIL is at work.

    That rabbit looking in your door (at the goose?) is hilarious! Also, why is he so skinny? Our resident rabbit is enormous. And now that I see your front door, can I ask in the NO Soliciting sign works? Because ours does not! And now I’m getting all sorts of Ring camera TikToks on the subject.

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    1. Yeah, that one was a doozy.

      I hope you get that sleepover someday. We hadn’t done something just the two of us like this since she was in college, so it was a lot of fun!

      Someone else mentioned how skinny he was, too! I did some research, and I guess he’s fine as he is. Apparently, wild rabbits can have a pretty lean diet in late summer, so they’re not necessarily supposed to be as plump as we might expect. Who knew?

      Our No Soliciting sign doesn’t always work. When a salesperson knocks or rings the doorbell, I’ll point to the sign or even say, Do you know what this sign means? I am ruthless with people who cross boundaries, as you can probably tell by the Go Away doormat. 🤣

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      1. I got so irritated last time someone knocked AND rang the doorbell that I went on my camera’s speaker and said, “I don’t know if you can read or not, but that sign you are looking at say’s No Soliciting.”

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  3. Hello there Kari, I’m sorry it’s been a while since I visited. I enjoyed the images and little readings you kept this month. And yeah, the trashcan picture; oh my, that looks like the suffering my sweety used to endure before Aimovig. 🤗 The excerpt from ‘Grace Without God’ reminds me of a day we spent last week with one of our grandkids, knowing the opportunity won’t come again since he’s starting elementary school next week. We took him for his fave lunch (McDonald’s) and then to a nature preservation area he loves. Partway through the afternoon he asked what time it was and when we told him, he said, “Good. That means we still have a lot of time together.” 🥰 Ella’s note is a visible symbol of the family trauma from Mike’s surgery and health scare… may that feeling pass soon and the note become a reminder of something you’re all grateful for. Blessings to you, friend.

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    1. It’s so good to hear from you! And I’m glad you enjoyed the little glimpses from my month. I’m so sorry Sweetie suffers from migraines, but I’m so glad Aimovig has helped her. I take Ajovy, which is similar, and it has helped me, too.

      That story about your grandson absolutely melted my heart. What a beautiful thing for a child to say, and what a gift to have that moment together before this next chapter begins.

      And thank you for what you said about Ella’s note. You’re right that it’s a visible little reminder of what our family went through with Mike’s surgery and health scare. That’s a lovely way of looking at it.

      It is so good to see you in the comments again! 💜

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      1. It’s nice to be back in the comments, and I’ll try not to be a stranger. I plan to be posting again next week, too.

        The med has been life-changing, virtually eliminating her attacks. Quite remarkable.

        Yeah, it wasn’t until talking about the youngster’s question and comments later that I really took in the depth and wisdom in it. He’s quite a brilliant and joyful boy.

        Chapters beginning… yeah there’s a fair amount of that coming up at this time of year! 🤗

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      3. I was kind of riffing on your comment, as it seems apropos of the slide into autumn and the changes that brings with kids returning to or starting school. I’m feeling that a lot with our youngest grandson about to go to kindergarten after looking after him on Thursdays for the last three years and the next oldest starting elementary! 🙂

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      5. It’s funny how they compare to the feelings around my own children in those stages… there’s a poignancy that I suppose relates to being later in life and perhaps more aware of its fragility. 🤗

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  4. This is all delightful, but I especially love the decorating advice. And with the small glimpses you offer into your life and home, I see that you adhere: little pockets of joy and beauty about. And the little love note to dad? What a treasure. 💕

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    1. Thank you so much for this. What a lovely thing to say. I really do try to surround myself with little pockets of joy and beauty, so it means a lot that you’ve noticed that in the glimpses I share here. And yes, that little love note from Ella to her dad is such a treasure. 💕

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  7. That is stellar decorating advice. I currently describe my ambience as “eclectic.”

    I was also severely underfunded in my twenties.

    I love wild bunnies. Chasing them is Suki’s happy place. No catching, however, to my great relief.

    A bi-annual – semiannual? – sleepover with cookies is such a good plan.

    I’m sorry about the migraine. A friend has started getting Botox to help with her flares.

    That Dolly Parton quote sounds quite Buddhist. She was a wonderful human, such an example of the best of us.

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    1. Isn’t it? Eclectic is my favorite style, too. 💜

      I love that she chases but doesn’t catch them. My parents’ old dog caught and killed a bunny in our yard many years ago, and it was horrifying for all of us.

      Such a good plan!

      I get Botox every three months, too. It’s definitely helped manage the frequency, but every once in a while, I still get some whoppers. This summer’s weather has been especially difficult.

      She was, wasn’t she? It’s hard to believe she isn’t with us anymore. Thank goodness for the example she left behind.

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  9. A lovely collection as always 😊I think I have that same night-time skyline photo! Love the bunny although he does look a bit under nourished, bless him, my favourite is the decorating advice. A home is somewhere that allows you to be you. And by the way I can’t grow spider plants to save my life 😂

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    1. Thank you so much! Poor bunny – there must not be too many gardens in our neighborhood. 😔

      I love that- a home is somewhere that allows you to be you. Yes. 💜

      I can grow spider plants, BUT I cannot grow the babies! Every time I try to get them to grow, they die. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong. 😂

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  10. I am getting SUCH a kick out of “silently endure” being crossed out. Hilarious!

    That decorating advice is perfection.

    Gorgeous sunset — I love a little slice of brilliant orange peeking over the horizon. And, thanks to you, I STILL think of your dad every time I see a sunset. I hope he would be tickled to know that a random Internet stranger thinks of him regularly because his wonderful daughter took a moment to share one of the many ways she still encounters him in the universe. <3 <3 <3

    You are so lovely.

    I hadn’t heard that Dolly song in forever. Thank you for reminding me how good it is.

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    1. I couldn’t believe it when I read it! We aren’t silently enduring anything anymore. 🤣

      Isn’t it? I loved reading that.

      Oh my goodness. This just made me tear up. I don’t even know what to say. The thought that you see a sunset and think of my dad, even though you never knew him, is such a beautiful gift to me. I hope he would be tickled by that too. Thank you for remembering him and for carrying a little piece of him with you. ❤️

      You are so lovely too, my friend. I am so grateful for this connection we have through blogging and for the way it has brought us together.

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  11. “Silently endure” immediately made me think of an article I read in the NYT this week. I’m adding the link here for anyone to read for free:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/opinion/women-men-gender-quit.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9VA.9Q1S.-p0RjW3wsVD6&smid=url-share

    I found it incredibly powerful, but I really enjoyed the comments by men who took it quite personally. Sigh.

    That map of Jersey really took me back. I spent a lot of time in that area years and years ago. My sister lived in Basking Ridge, near Morristown, and Rick lived in Parsippany for a time before we married. I took a LOT of flights from Cleveland to Newark.

    I’m so very, very sorry about your hideous migraines. Luckily, Qulipta has been a huge success for me since I had to stop Topamax. I wish so much that you didn’t have to suffer like you do.

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    1. It won’t let me see the article; it’s asking me to log in, unfortunately. 😔

      My dad had family and friends in Morristown. He grew up in Dover, born and raised there until he joined the Navy at 17 after he graduated. After his four years of service, he moved from New Jersey to Ohio to be near my mom, and they were soon married. So seeing your New Jersey-to-Ohio connection makes me smile.

      I’ve heard of Qulipta! I’m so glad it’s working for you. I went down on my dose of Topiramate a few years ago. I’d love to go off some of my medications, but I still get breakthrough migraines, and I can’t imagine that taking less of any of them would make them better. Fear is such a motivator to keep taking medications when you have chronic migraines. But I don’t have the ones that were as bad as they were in 2020. My life isn’t controlled by pain as much as it used to be, and that is worth all of the medications.

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  12. That bunny peeking in your door is soo cute! Did your dogs see the bunny?!

    Ella’s note is precious and something to keep forever.

    That poem about “you can be human here”…I love this. I want my friends to feel this way when with me or in my home.

    I love that you and Anna had a girl’s overnight! So fun. And I hope, relaxing. And how cool is it that Anna’s flight detoured past your dad’s hometown?!

    I envy your beautiful spider plant and its babies! That’s another plant I have a hard time with. And none of mine ever grew babies.

    I recently finished that book, The Smallest of Joys. I follow the author, Diane on IG. She’s a delight.

    xoxo

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    1. They didn’t see him because they were cuddled up on the couch taking a nap with Mom! 🤣

      It really is. I have no intention of moving it. 💜

      When I was watching her flight take off, I was kind of worried about how much it was moving around because planes don’t usually do that. Then I saw where it was moving around and got a little emotional.

      They grow babies like crazy, but once I cut them off and try to grow plants from those babies, I can’t keep them alive! So I have trouble with them too. I’m a spider plant baby killer! 😂

      I just finished her book and loved it so much. I feel like it’s such a good book to gift because it’s so kind and loving. I think just about anyone would enjoy it. And she is just adorable. 💜

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  13. Oh I love that decorating advice! I seem to have been following that advice for my whole life – and I feel like you have as well. What is better than filling our spaces with things we love!

    How fun to have an overnight! Where did you go?

    Dolly, RIP. I love that song so much. Her voice – she’s an angel! Well, now literally, but when she was on this earth she was also an angel.

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    1. Me too! I think our homes really should be filled with the things we love and the things that tell our stories. It makes a space feel so much more personal and meaningful.

      We went to a little resort town about 40 minutes north of us in Wisconsin. We used to take the kids there when they were little. 💜

      She really was an angel on Earth, wasn’t she?

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  14. The interior designer..she is so right! In my opinion, you need a strong base line of walls, floors, and main pieces of furniture that flow. Then you add your “stuff”. I have lots of prints and things that mean the most to me. In our new home I have less space for things, but that’s ok. It’s the stuff that matters. You had lunch with Melanie! Just wonderful!

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    1. I completely agree! I think having that strong foundation makes it so much easier to add the things that have meaning and make a home feel like yours.

      And yes, lunch with Melanie was such a treat! It is always so good to catch up with her. 💜

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  15. The meme about our earliest versions…so many seasons. This is so darn true! We seem to continually evolve, learn, grow, and reinvent ourselves through the seasons.

    A sleepover with your daughter is always Just What The Doctor ordered.

    I now have that Dolly song in my head, and I don’t hate it!

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    1. Isn’t it though? I saw that and had to laugh. It made me think about all the earlier seasons of my life and give myself a little more grace.

      It was! I’m planning to do it with both of my daughters going forward.

      I’ve had it in my head for a week. That and Jolene. I don’t hate it either!

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  16. So many thoughts here – brought to you by humidity – yes. That sure colors a lot of a month, doesn’t it. The Dolly quote … 😊, but maybe the best one is about meeting the Season 1 Me – man, that was a whole `nother person, for sure, and SO underfunded. LOL. And “You can be human here” – lovely. I believe Mr. Bunny wants to meet Ms. Goose. Thanks for the ride, my sweet. 💜

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