We’re moving ourselves and the rest of our stuff this weekend. Then we need to unpack, figure out which boiler and water heater to buy and who should install it. Then insulation. Then select the wood stove (any suggestions? the choice on the market is overwhelming, but we don’t want to go pellets). And that’s …
Monthly Archives: June 2008
Any Good Books about Foxes?
(Choo-Chee the Fox by Galina Kolev, used with kind permission) At the new house we’ll be seeing lots of foxes. I’m looking for a good book about them. It could be a fairytale or a picture story or a more scientific book (not too advanced). As long as it doesn’t reinforce the old stereotype of …
Snails
Amie and I had just read a book about snails when lo and behold! One showed up on our doorstep, literally. That’s our doorstep. Amie was enthralled. We talked about how it carries its house on its back, leaves a trail of mucus, can crawl up vertical surfaces and upside down (try explaining “suction” to …
Moved (for the Most Part)
Almost. 70% of our stuff, perhaps. We’re moving the rest and ourselves on Saturday. Then comes the tedious job of unpacking… But Amie loved “driving” the truck! Not as much as her Mama did, though.
Little Home-Made Animation: Happiness
I made this little animation a long time ago. I found it while clearing out my hard drive. It’s not perfect, but still cute. Click on the image to see the movie.
Gotta Get, no MAKE Us One of Those!
Have you seen the small CNN documentary video about the Dervaes Urban Homesteaders (of Path to Freedom fame)? If you’ve followed the Urban Homesteaders, it won’t show you much that is new, except for that toilet/sin (approx. 2/3 into the video)! The lid of the toilet water tank has been converted into a small sink. …
More Birds
The 4 robins have pretty much outgrown their nest, but I haven’t seen them fly out yet. There are two little woodpeckers like these. Neither has a red spot on the head, so I think they’re both adult females. They’re so small they are probably Downy (not Hairy) Woodpeckers. But the Hairy Woodpecker is probably …
Made Cookies and had Lesson in Grammar
… and as we were eating them, still warm, I said: – You and me made these! Upon which Amie said: – You and I made these!
First Stab at Watercolors
I purchased a cheap set of watercolors at the pharmacy a couple of days back and introduced them to Amie. The medium is of course very different to what she’s used to: those thick, goopy acrylics as well as crayons and color pencils, all of which stays more or less where you put it down. …
The Leaf and the Cloud by Mary Oliver
Driftwood Every year, once a year, I need to return to that long poem by Mary Oliver, The Leaf and the Cloud (published in 2000). It is a poem like life, with everything in it, only magnified and condensed. I can’t say much about it, only that it reverberates deeply with me, and comforts me, …