Remember three years ago when I said I was going to restart this blog, made a post about Restaurant Week, and disappeared again?

It turns out, I may have been optimistic about my ability to return to blogging.

A few factors were at play. One is that the job I was working at the time was really soul-sucking. I thought that because I was writing less there, I would have energy to write when the day was done, but that was not true. I also thought that switching to part-time in 2020 would help me. It did not.

And then, of course, 2020 happened. I started the year off with two back-to-back trips, after which I exclaimed “I’m never going anywhere again!” I didn’t realize how accurate that would be. Weeks later, COVID-19 hit Washington, and life hasn’t been the same since.

To be clear, we were really fortunate. Our household has dodged the virus this whole time. We did not lose any immediate family or close friends, though there were some scary moments. However, our world really shrank down, especially because we’ve chosen to remain really cautious throughout, so we haven’t been eating indoors very often or attending a lot of events.

I was honestly ready to retire the Displaced Cactus moniker. I was going to let the domain lapse and close that Instagram account. And then some new friends were like “Wow you always post such nice food pics in this Discord, you should have a food blog!” and I was like “Funny you should say that…”

So here we are. I’m trying this again.

Rapid-Fire Updates

Just like last time I said I was restarting the blog, here’s a quick update on what’s happened in my life.

• We moved again! Our landlords opted not to renew our lease during the pandemic and sold the house for a profit. We ended up landing in Edmonds. We like it here.
• Our corgi Daisy passed away after several illnesses. We spent a year without any pets, because we thought we might want to travel. But then the pandemic continued and we were too sad without a furry friend.
• We adopted Emma! She is another corgi. She was only 7 months old when we adopted her and she’s now 11 months. After adopting young adults previously, having an adolescent dog has been a fun new experience. I love her more than anything in the world.
• I left my soul-sucking SEO job and now work part-time as a business assistant for a management consulting firm. It’s a much better environment and leaves more of my creative energy for things like blogging.
• I picked up cocktail making as my pandemic hobby, and joined the Seattle Cocktail Club and now I mix a mean daiquiri, or whatever else strikes my fancy.
• I got back into fiction writing. It was my National Novel Writing Month friends who encouraged me to restart this blog! My current project is a contemporary romance novel set in Woodinville, between a gin distiller and a cider maker.

What to Expect Going Forward

This will continue to be a “lifestyle blog” with a focus on food, beverages, and fun things to do in the PNW. As long as COVID-19 continues to be an issue, I will be highlighting good outdoor options, business that still require masks and vaccinations, and takeout that actually still tastes good when you get it home.

There will also be a little more dog-related content than before. Emma is a really social dog so we take her with us almost everywhere, and she also loves toys and treats, so I’ll be doing the occasional post highlighting dog-friendly businesses or products that we either love or have found to not live up to the hype.

Whether you’re an old reader who was surprised that I restarted this, or a new reader, I’m glad you’re here and I hope you enjoy your visit. Let’s explore the PNW together!