When my husband first suggested that I start a blog, I thought it was ridiculous. I don’t just think about gardening and cooking. And while sewing and knitting certainly do occupy much of my thoughts, so do gentle discipline and homeschooling. And always in the back or our minds there is the goal of finding ways to move us further away from the supposedly ideal lifestyle of voracious consumption and disposability. How was I supposed to choose just one of those topics to blog about? And then one day (a little late I know) I realized that all of those things, the gardening and cooking, the sewing and knitting, the parenting and homeschooling, were all part of that movement away from consumption and disposability and toward a strong and sustainable community. The reason that I hadn’t been able to separate them for the sake of a blog was because they weren’t separate in my mind. I began knitting, and eventually sewing, because I was tired of spending money on things that were poorly made, didn’t fit or work well for their intended purpose, and that exploited the people and land producing them. I have always cooked but I began to garden and joined a CSA because modern food production methods are destructive to the land, the community, and to our health. I practice the parenting and homeschooling methods that I do because I believe that in order for our children to fully understand and embrace a life that restores that land and rebuilds and maintains community ties, they must live it day in and day out. There is, for our family, no way to effectively accomplish this with them in school full time. And so we try. And we fail much of the time. But we also succeed in ways that make it so worth risking the failures. This blog will be my way of documenting our life as we try and root our family more deeply in a lifestyle that matches our values. (I can’t help myself sometimes)
So who are we?
I’m Heather. I have too many interests and not enough time to master them all. Passionate reader, lover of gardening, sewing, knitting, and creative cook when left alone. I’m a student midwife who fully expects to be an independently practicing midwife within the next 10-20yrs. My children drive me crazy and yet I can’t imagine anything I would rather do than to be at home with them. My goals for the rest of this year include canning enough tomatoes so as to not have to buy any over the next year, continuing to learn to sew well enough to make some of my own clothes, practicing piano a couple of times a week, and reading more Wendell Berry.
J, hereby known as the Master of All Things Wood, is a timber framer, carpenter, occasional woodworker, and obsessed fly fisherman. He is my reality check and the practical support for my visions for our family. He provides much of the design and hands on experience in our life. He and I muddle along together pretty well.
Rosie Girl, age 5, is ceaselessly curious, funny, has a wild imagination, and highly sensitive. She provides me with daily challenges in how to deal with our often “too similar for comfort” personality clashes. She is also my inspiration for being a better, more creative parent.
Tractor Boy, age 3, is everything motorized obsessed. He is mischievous and deeply affectionate. I am constantly trying to find ways to keep him busy so that he doesn’t dismantle the house.
Please join us on our journey. We are always looking for likeminded friends and input is welcome.
