Yesterday one of the headlines in Google was “Economy Contracts as Consumers Retreat“. There is a nice rhythm to that phrase, don’t you think? And, also like a good line of poetry, it says a lot in the most subtle of ways. The bellicosity of this phrase reveals what we all really know about consumption […]
Monthly Archives: October 2008
Riddles for the Novel (Potboiler)
Anyone want a peek at what’s on my desk these days? The novel is nearly finished: just a few sections to be completed and then a good final read. Some of the passages that need work are the riddles, like the one in the picture. They are the most fun!
Sewing for Beginners
Amie has taken up sewing. So far we’ve kept it simple: I fold a piece of thick paper several times across and along the folds I cut some holes. Then I put some colorful yarn in a huge plastic needle, tie a knot at both ends and off she goes. She’s not always sure where […]
Pumpkin Carving
Over the weekend Amie watched with fascination as a friend carved this big pumpkin. Isn’t it spooky! She couldn’t wait to carve one herself. We compromised: she could “design” the face (draw it on the pumpkin) but Mama would do the actual carving, under her direction of course. Compared to the skullish one, hers looks […]
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers Together
– I’m growing! That’s what Amie would say if she realized that some months ago she couldn’t tell the difference between a Downy Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker – and that therefore she couldn’t tell which was visiting our bird feeder either – and that now those appellations simply roll off her tongue: – O […]
Riot updates on Water and Heating Oil
Update on WATER I found the water meter reading from when we bought the place at the beginning of May. We only moved in at the end of June, but we’ve had house guests – sometimes 1, mostly 2, and sometimes 3 – for most of the time since then, so I will let those […]
General Malaise Barely Evaded
Why do I even look at the news – my “consumption” of which is out of spiritual necessity minimized to reading the headlines in Google News? 8-year-old boy shoots himself in the head at a firearms expo, 7-year-old boy kidnapped then shot to death, Neo-Nazi plot to assassinate Obama. The places where my jawbone fits […]
We Riot 4 Austerity
We have decided, DH and I, to try the Riot 4 Austerity. It was that whole business with Sharon’s run-in with the New York Times that finally did it: we got really upset about it and this seems the best way to address that kind of inanity. We’re now trying to establish our baseline (starting […]
New Drawings: Tigger, Pooh and Christopher Robin
Here’s what Amie drew today. She is obviously feeling much better, as testified by this springy Tigger. He’s jumping, see, and holding a black balloon, and there’s a tree behind him. She drew this at her little table while no one was watching. Winnie-the-Pooh has become Amie’s favorite. We read a story from the original […]
In Sharon’s Defense: Reaction to the New York Times article
I have been a daily reader of Sharon Astyk’s blog Casaubon’s Book for years now and I am rereading her book, Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front, with pencil in hand. Sharon was the one who made me conscious of the opportunity for a different, more sound kind of lifestyle, like I’ve […]