My mom has a sticker up on her office corkboard. It says: “If I’m So Organized, How Come I Can’t Get Organized?” Now, if you knew my mother you’d understand how ironic this is. She is the Most Organized Woman In The World. You know those “after” layouts in Real Simple magazine that show pale, [Continue Reading...]
Father’s Day Dreams
June 17, 2011 by · 8 Comments
As boys, we are taught to dream big. To throw the game-winning touchdown, to fly the Space Shuttle, to slay the dragon. The world is our oyster, we can be anything. Over time, the probabilistic realities of life and our own limitations get in the way. We grow up and take the jobs that our [Continue Reading...]
Let’s Call It A Vacation: The Mother Earth News Fair Getaway
June 6, 2011 by · 3 Comments
Homebrew Husband and I made a very last minute decision to attend the Mother Earth News Fair this past weekend. We weren’t going to brave the ride to the fair with our son, Young Mr. Screams-In-Car, but a combination of things came together late Friday that convinced us it would be worth attempting the hour-long drive. Chief among these was [Continue Reading...]
Life At Walking Speed
May 19, 2011 by · 13 Comments
The stars aligned yesterday. Everyone was up and dressed early, it was a beautiful sunny morning, breakfast and a packed school lunch came together without a fuss. My daughter was done eating her breakfast and we had an easy half-hour until we had to be at the bus stop, so we walked. It’s a long half-mile to [Continue Reading...]
What Moms Want, What They Really, Really Want
May 6, 2011 by · 17 Comments
Chances are good that if you are reading this you are a mother (much of my readership being female and of a certain domestic bent). Chances are excellent that even if you are not personally a mom, there is a mother in your life: perhaps your spouse or the woman who brought you into this [Continue Reading...]
Even Urban Homesteaders Get The Blues
May 2, 2011 by · 11 Comments
My little boy had surgery last Wednesday. He’s fine, it was an expected and “routine” procedure. I put routine in quotes, because turning my not-yet-eight month old over to surgeons is, blessedly, pretty out-of-the-ordinary for me. Because he was going under general anesthesia at 7:30 am, he could not eat or drink, including nursing, after [Continue Reading...]
She Said: Pushing Tin – 10 Years Of Projects
April 21, 2011 by · 9 Comments
Ten years ago, Nick was not the Homebrew Husband and my life was more drive-thru than Northwest Edible. Ten years ago I was thinking I really wanted to go to culinary school. Ten years ago Nick had just been laid off. Ten years ago I liked to take on projects for which I was supremely unqualified, [Continue Reading...]
He Said: Pushing Tin – 10 Years Of Projects
April 21, 2011 by · 5 Comments
Today Erica and I celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary (and yes, that is the tin anniversary…romantic, isn’t it?). So while this is theoretically a gardening blog, I want to share a bit about how our 1/3 acre homestead contributes to this relationship. We excel when we do things together. Erica often says “honey, I love [Continue Reading...]
Heat Lovers in A Cool Clime: Tomato Dreams and Tomato Delusions
February 22, 2011 by · 15 Comments
All images in this post are the work of photographer and LA Weekly author Felicia Friesema. They are used here with her kind permission. Forget sugarplums – at this time of year it’s visions of big, juicy, vine-ripe tomatoes that dance in the gardener’s head. Tomatoes are the quintessential garden edible. The tomato is so culturally ubiquitous – [Continue Reading...]
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