You show up at someones house to visit and you notice shoes piled outside the door. This may seem curious, until children come running up to greet you and let you know in the same sentence as their greeting, to please remove your shoes. It may seem radical, but this is a shoe-free house. I discovered this foot loose and fancy free lifestyle when I was going to baby playgroups, and noticed that ...
Home is Where the Hearth is
Tools of the Trade: The Homemaker’s Broom
I will begin by laying out the confession that I am not into cleaning. This, coming from a homemaker, may sound strange. I keep my house tidy, and do what needs to be done, but the mopping, scrubbing, dusting and scouring are not favorite pastimes nor can I claim them as skills. However, I love sweeping. There is something meditative in the rhythmic, methodical work of clearing the dirt and ...
A Mountain Hearth
I have always been an outdoor girl. I grew up camping, backpacking, and playing outside in the foothills of the Olympic Mountains. Back in college, I aspired to become a backcountry ranger, wilderness plant researcher, or something equally rugged, solitary and wild. Then I had twins and decided I needed to be at home raising them. Ever since, I have aspired to be a backcountry forest mother. With ...