These days I mostly try not to write. My life is so full of work and family and weeding. But every now and then, my brain starts to itch and the only way to scratch that itch is writing. This is where you will find my most recent scratchings.
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Soft, Shiny, Clean
Funny timing on that last post. I’ve been needing to re-read it to myself every day since. Breathe. Cut myself slack. It won’t last forever. I’m okay. Yeah, been a rough couple of days. Maybe it’s the moon. Today it seemed like at least one of us was crying all day long. I took my turn late afternoon after the 3YO cut short the 1YO’s (hard-won) nap. Of course the crying came after quite a lot of shouting. I don’t even know how many fucks, in every possible conjugation. And direction. I am all for us mamas cussing like sailors,…
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A Love Letter to New Mamas
Dear you, I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately. I’ve been thinking about how crazy our broken up lives are, all separate and sequestered behind our closed doors. I’ve been thinking about my first year as a mama, how isolated and confused I felt. And I’ve been thinking about you out there, alone behind your door. The world you used to inhabit has fallen into pieces at your feet, like so many mismatched socks. The friends you used to spend days lazing in the sun with, plotting the overthrow of The Man or a hike in the mountains with equal…
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Book Review: Up Tunket Road
I just finished this one. Took me something like two months to read, which I consider a good thing! More bang for my buck. It was a great read, and I was sad to finish it. Up Tunket Road: The Education of a Modern Homesteader by Phillip Ackerman-Leist is a personal account of building ‘the good life’ in rural Vermont, mixed in with a more philosophical look at the history, current expression and future of homesteading. But that’s not what makes it good. It’s never about content is it? It’s the style of delivery for me, and I really enjoyed…
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Gardening for the Table
For those new readers out there, I tend a hard won bed at a community garden. Two actually, one which I built and payed to fill which is about 4×12, and the neighboring 5×12 foot bed which I took over after proving my worth building the first. Combined this is about the same space as the other plots. Although this space is just about right for me, I kind of think it’s too much for most people. I have seen many a bolted and flowering broccoli and lettuce since I’ve been gardening here, and every time it kills me. There’s…
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If You Can’t Beet ‘Em
My little girl budded into the world of solid food two years ago with a passion. She surprised us and everyone around with her adventurous palate. It’s not that she wasn’t picky, there were plenty of things she wouldn’t touch. Pureed baby food, for example. In fact, when we first started trying to feed her, we thought she didn’t like to eat. It took me months to come around to what my own parents had done, simply mashing up whatever we were eating for her. Suddenly an appetite was born. She was particularly interested in strong flavored foods during that…
calamity jane 