purple stick saves the day

Posted on April 30, 2008 - Filed Under kiddo life | Leave a Comment

One of the advantages, to little people, of living in a large, round, room, is that you can run in the house forever and never come to the end of the line. I was re-shelving some books yesterday, sitting in the middle of the yurt by the big book shelves, and the kids were [...]

answers waiting for the question to be asked & the end of the dogwoods

Posted on April 29, 2008 - Filed Under writing | Leave a Comment

When we’re watching or reading a story that isn’t working, before we give up in disgust, questions start going through our heads. Why is he (the character) doing that? What does this mean? How did she do that? What about XYZ that you said in chapter 2? WTF?
As I’m doing the revision [...]

recycling other people’s junk

Posted on April 28, 2008 - Filed Under alternative building | 3 Comments

Our kitchen counter looks like maple butcher block, a giant slab of maple pieces, several inches thick. Very pretty. And a custom fit: rounded on the back edge to meet the yurt wall. Guess what it was in its former life?

A bowling alley! No kidding!
Here is our bathhouse floor, [...]

7 All-Time Best Parenting Tips in the World (today)

Posted on April 25, 2008 - Filed Under kiddo life | 3 Comments

I’ve been thinking about things I have heard, or read, or discovered, over the last four years that have radically changed my parenting for the better. I thought I’d make a list.
1- HALT.
If things aren’t going well, I try this little self-quiz. Are the kiddos Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired? In other words, [...]

bootstrap building

Posted on April 24, 2008 - Filed Under alternative building, honeymilk farm | 1 Comment

We use recycled building materials every chance we get. For example, here is our chicken house.

It’s quite nice, with outdoor and indoor roosts, an enclosed yard, a sliding door on the house to close them all the way inside when the winter is cold, and a hinged flap that lets you check for eggs [...]

the emotional insanity of writing

Posted on April 23, 2008 - Filed Under writing | 4 Comments

Sometimes, often in the first 100 pages of a first draft, the story soars along, and each night firing up the laptop is like tuning into a brand new episode of a favorite show. What will happen next? The characters phone in and dish. I sit, watch, and eat snacks. It’s [...]

oh my god…

Posted on April 22, 2008 - Filed Under mayalife | Leave a Comment

I just deleted my entire blog. I mean, there isn’t much here yet, but jeezus, I just breezed through the little window that said “are you sure you want to do this?” and poof, it was gone.
Backup!
I hadn’t. The blessed, blessed cache in my browser had all the pages in it and I [...]

in which 10,000 bees find a temporary home

Posted on April 22, 2008 - Filed Under honeymilk farm | Leave a Comment

The hive body is lost in the mail. Gary, who fabulously offered to make it for me, is sending another. So there I was, with 10,000 bees under my bathhouse and NO HIVE to put them in. Here are the bees in their package:

Okay! Time for improvisation!
I hived them for now, until [...]

the boob facination starts really, really young

Posted on April 21, 2008 - Filed Under kiddo life | 2 Comments

mim
-verb
1. to nurse
mims
-noun
1. the part of the mommy’s body where the mims comes out. breast.
2. the milk itself
3. a favorite doll, the one with the orange hat, who’s best friend is Bunny. Mims and Bunny are going on a picnic.
Recent usage by my two year old son:
1. (pouring imaginary water on my chest) “Mommy, [...]

how much is that bee swarm in the window?

Posted on April 21, 2008 - Filed Under honeymilk farm | Leave a Comment

I have 10,000 bees under my bathhouse, waiting for a home. The hive body is lost in the mail. Can you believe this? That’s 60,000 little legs crossed in hopes that the hive arrives today. I’ll post some pics, when it comes, of hiving bees in a top-bar hive.