One day this week we unanimously decided that Claire was looking much too pale to go to school. Clearly, she had to stay home, sip hot chocolate, listen to Vince Guaraldi, and decorate the Christmas tree with me (I don’t homeschool, but I do try to keep my priorities straight–if …
Warm face, warm ‘ands, warm feet Aow, wouldn’t it be loverly? –Eliza Doolittle Cloth bags of heated grain are great for warming the bed or soothing sore muscles–much cozier than hot water bottles, and a nicer quality of heat. I kept seeing them in boutique shops with shocking price tags, …
My dad always said, “Leaper, if your toes are cold, put your hat on.” And all of us have heard that we lose 50% of our body heat through our heads. This last was recently debunked, sort of, by the scientific community. Evidently the heat loss “myth” is based on …
When we moved into this house, I was overjoyed to finally have a dining room (I’d never had one), big enough for a long table. I dreamed of an old craftsman hanging lamp to replace the new ceiling fixture that had been installed, which looks a bit like a leftover …
Folks have been asking about the labels on our jam jars. We made them from Speedy Carve–an eraser-like art medium for creating your own rubber stamps. Our friend Audrey showed us how, and this was one of our first efforts. We think they’re pretty darn cute. If you don’t have …
Tom was raised in a little tiny town called Sackville, in the eastern maritime province of New Brunswick, Canada, where his father taught English at a small liberal arts college. His mother frequented a shop there called “The Craft Gallery,” that featured local, handmade goods. She’s given me several gifts …
St. Placid Priory is a women’s Benedictine monastery in Lacey, about an hour south of Seattle. The hallmark of Benedictine communities is a radical hospitality that extends to all people, and even beyond–to the more-than-human world of nature, and wildness. St. Placid’s has a lovely, quiet guest house, where I …