One little family’s endeavor to live in the trees, surrounded by the birds and the bees
I am expecting my first biological child this spring. We had been trying for many years. Just when I had decided it was not in the cards and turned my attention to enjoying all the advantages that came with my step children getting older, we find ourselves on the verge of the decent back into dippers... Continue Reading →
My husband and the boys had me brainwashed into thinking it was going to be a boy. All the conversations we had about the new baby used the pronoun "he." My husband kept insisting that he "only makes boys" (he was kidding, kind of) and with two boys in the family already the concept of another boy seemed... Continue Reading →
It might be a bit of a shock that over the last four years of this blog I have left out one of the major aspects of our life together. One of the main reasons behind leaving my job for a simpler life after my dad passed has gone wholly unmentioned. The time has come to... Continue Reading →
More then a decade ago, this picture was taken. I was a line cook on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf in a high-end Mexican restaurant. I would come in first thing in the morning, prep for the day, work the line at lunch and stay through the dinner rush. Anyday I was not in school, I... Continue Reading →
I met a young man this morning, staring out of my stepson's eyes. When had they started looking so wise?! What happened I can not say, only that I know for sure it was different yesterday. Or... Had that been last week? Maybe the one before? Hard to tell which way is up or down anymore. A glance had been... Continue Reading →
When you are a student, the word summer is synonyms with freedom. At least it was for me. My last day of Kindergarten I thought, "Ok, cool. That was fun. Thank god it's over! Back to real life." Then came the next fall's rude awakening; this whole 'school thing' was no glitch. Apparently, it was going to be a serious... Continue Reading →
This week is my birthday and yesterday I got the most amazing gift I have ever received. We have a tradition of handmade gifts here on the homestead. Money is always tight and gifts are usually better when thought and effort create them, rather than a factory somewhere out there. I had to work but when I came home all... Continue Reading →
This April will mark five (six, oh my god!) years since we packed up the truck and headed the wrong way across the country. After half a decade of winters I can promise you that people headed west for more than the chance to strike it rich. More like the chance to feel their extremities during the year. We... Continue Reading →
Honey is somewhere around 15 years old. (Now 16!) This is a ball park estimate since her age at the time my husband adopted her was uncertain. She has been such a blessing in our lives and rather than singing her praises after she is gone (an inevitability I don't like to think about) I wanted... Continue Reading →
On our third wedding anniversary I was looking over some older writing and found a poem that still says it perfectly. Happy anniversary to us 🙂 To all those who have never fallen in love. Never tripped over your own soul to be swallowed by another's. For all the people that have contrived meetings, set forth guidelines to... Continue Reading →
I wrote this almost 10 years ago now. Sitting on my mountain top back home, looking over Big Basin to the Pacific. Alone. Watching hummingbirds fight like jets, smelling manzanita, reveling in the blooming Indian Paint Brush. It was a good day. Life is wonderful. Whether you take the time to realize it or not. To... Continue Reading →
On our drive home, the boys and I started talking about a character the Little One invented during the week we were snowed in, the Underwear Wizard. Things got out of hand (as all good stories do) and the next thing I knew; we were typing and illustrating a tale called The Amazing Adventure Of The... Continue Reading →
This April will mark five (oh my god!) years since we packed up the truck and headed the wrong way across the country. After half a decade of winters I can promise you that people headed west for more than the chance to strike it rich. More like the chance to feel their extremities during the year.... Continue Reading →
For Valentine's Day we got- another blizzard. Shocking, I know but great for snow forts! I have already posted my feelings about today's holiday and they have not changed one bit. In fact, I am ever more convinced with each passing year that romance is overrated. It seems most often a private expectation of the type love people think they should receive... Continue Reading →
My sister and I were raised by a pack of rabid surfers and hippies. When we were very young our Godfather, Todd discovered the world of Ishi-The Last Yahi. Todd was already one of the most accomplished outdoorsman you will every meet. For instance; look what he can get with a snorkel and sling spear-... Continue Reading →
Fresh snow is a wonderful opportunity to see what is going on in the woods that surround us. We all love to go walking around the woods; following animal trails and trying to figure out where they were going and what they were doing. I have always loved tracking but I get a real kick... Continue Reading →
I don't claim any kind of special parenting proficiency but every once in a while I make a point that sticks. Hey, even a blind squirl occasionally finds a nut. "Sorry" is a concept that we all try to teach our kids from a very early age. Some of the first words we insist... Continue Reading →
Last week's pre-Thansgiving snow storm left us with over a foot of frozen clouds in our yard. I thought to myself- "self, I bet we could make a snow pyramid. WAIT!!! I bet I could get the boys to help me make the whole Giza Plateau." Since I have been blessed with the two coolest... Continue Reading →
I wrote this two years ago after our trip back home for our West Coast wedding blessing ceremony. It was the first time we got to show the boys where they were born and the last time they saw my dad, their "Grandpa Wise-man" (a title he gave himself for his step-grandkids) Looking back I... Continue Reading →
When we tell people that we live on a homestead we get a verity of reactions. They range from "oh, you live on a farm" to "so, you are like one of those doomsday preppers." While both reactions are not wrong they do miss the mark- for a couple of very important reasons. One of the best definitions... Continue Reading →
When I was young, my dad used to tuck me in at night and tell me a "Chickie Story." He would make these stories up on the spot with me as "Chickie." Most of the time these stories consisted of him rehashing what I had done that day- only in chicken land. A while ago I... Continue Reading →
While looking through iPhoto found some of the pancake shapes the boys have requested for breakfast over the past year. Can you tell what they are? ......The answers:.. Sonic the Hedge Hog, Sponge Bob with bacon seaweed and a random fish and Godzilla Vs Mothra.Did anyone get it right?
8/20/09 Boys, It is just so very hard- hard to see you both smiling in pictures knowing that it's not for me, that you don't even remember me anymore. It is hard to know that I am not wanted in your lives, hard to know that people think that is what's best for you. Hard to... Continue Reading →
I feel now that so much of what I am looking for, the patience, the peace, the calm can only be found though my ability to let go. I have realized that when I try to change things I have no influence over, I find my greatest unhappiness. The concept of letting go of your expectations of control is easy enough. What... Continue Reading →
