Sometimes I fantasize about what it would be like to live in a walking society, whether that be a modern-day city or an olden-day rural community. I love walking so much, and I always wish I had more utilitarian reasons to travel on foot aside from the exercise and fresh air. Something I don’t love? [...]
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There are a handful of questions that I get over and over, in person or via email/other social media. “Why did you choose to live the way you do?” “How did you get to where you are now?” “How much did it cost to build your house?” “Do you ever wish you lived in town?” [...]
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My Twitter/Instagram feed is full of folks bragging about unseasonably warm weather and photos of blooming cherry trees on this second day of spring. It’s nice to know that spring has sprung in other parts of the country. We have snow. A LOT of snow. When people ask me if it snows in Western Oregon, [...]
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Henry cut a big bucket of western red cedar kindling this morning. When he brought it in the house, the air was immediately perfumed with the best kind of woodsy cabin scent. If it weren’t such a beautiful, sunny day, I might just sit inside and huff cedar air for the next couple hours. Cedar [...]
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We only eat toast if it’s cold outside. It’s kind of sad when it’s July, and I want a piece of toast for breakfast but can’t have one because we don’t have a toaster. Through the winter months, however, I can make perfectly browned bread in a matter of seconds. I simply place a slice [...]
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I’m a naturally frugal kind of person. I drive a 10-year-old car, I haven’t been on a “real” (not visiting family) vacation in over four years, and I stare at price tags, agonizing over “Do I NEED that?” “Do I REALLY want [...]
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This is my husband Henry refueling our tractor (a rubber-tracked ASV skid steer) with off-highway diesel. He’s using a hand-crank fuel transfer pump inherited from his grandpa that once served it’s purpose on the family’s island property in Minnesota (circa 1940). Henry [...]
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At 5:24 pm last night, I looked outside, and it was completely dark. For most Americans, the onset of winter and Daylight Savings Time means that it gets dark outside in the early evening. For us, it means it gets dark outside [...]
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We got a broom as a wedding present. Some people might think that’s kind of a strange gift, but I loved it, and I used the heck out of it for several years. Sweeping was a quiet, almost meditative activity, unlike vacuuming, but I would sweep and sweep and the floor would never be completely [...]
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