tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52112239597284956162011-08-30T11:36:50.102-04:00looking excitedly forward, flat on my backTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.comBlogger601100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-23291143327050429632011-05-16T10:03:00.007-04:002011-05-16T10:53:09.433-04:00

Stephanie and I had a gathering a while ago with a varied group of our closest friends and after dinner, folks pitched in to help clean up. In the hustle of tidying, I overheard someone say to another, "Oh, the dishwashing liquid is eco-friendly."And in a quieter tone, "That means it doesn't work."Then I watched as she used half the bottle of concentrated detergent, a squirt at a time, on the rag

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-55354102098468820912011-04-06T22:49:00.002-04:002011-04-06T23:31:00.115-04:00

There is a quote from Wendell Berry in the forward to Bill Coperthwaite's book The Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity that strikes me. It goes to the core of what I think it means to live by one's values. To make public protests against an evil, and yet live dependent on and in support of that way of life that is the source of the evil, is an obvious contradiction and a dangerous one. If

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-39645160732738377342011-04-06T00:00:00.003-04:002011-04-06T00:04:15.501-04:00

I spent most of today in the greenhouse getting the herbs started. I have about 7 more flats to do for this round, but have already planted basil, oregano, parsley, sage, chives, garlic chives, thyme, cilantro, spearmint, mugwort, feverfew, lavender, sweet pea, echinacea, chamomile, rosemary and cumin. I might have forgotten a few...I'm going to start some peppers tomorrow and as well as

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-38936481310157411032011-04-02T15:25:00.005-04:002011-04-02T16:09:35.492-04:00

The churning ice machine drowns out the sound of her labor pains.The 24" x 24" floor tiles in the miles of empty hallways in this place must have cost thousands of dollars. The walls and floors are covered with expensive synthetic materials which I can immediately smell upon coming in from the outside, and the food in the cafeteria is the cheapest money can buy. Most of the nurses here are

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-29559671271799908282011-03-27T09:12:00.004-04:002011-03-27T09:41:58.030-04:00

The cherry has been purchased and my jointer and planer knives are back from the sharpening service. It's finally time to start making some shavings. Almost... I am planning on starting with the hardest piece first, the chairside cabinet. There will be many parallel processes that could be happening and would be made easier if I do them all at once, but I want to focus on one piece at a time. The

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-31319911354161474232011-03-21T21:50:00.002-04:002011-03-21T22:38:30.572-04:00

The other night I stayed up late to catch some photos of the supermoon. I still don't have the camera's "starry night" setting figured out. But that's was resulted in the picture to the right. I like the way the tree was hyper-defined in the shot to the left. The last time the moon was as close to the earth was in 1993 and it was my first year out of high school. My outlook then was one of

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-90655534323241810772011-03-19T11:40:00.003-04:002011-03-19T11:46:51.239-04:00

I need to get ready to butcher some roosters...This post is an announcement: We've come up with a name for our homesteading endeavors and we're going to be transitioning blogging, etc. to that domain in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled for the unveiling and the changing links.Meditate on this amazing honey locust sprout until then :)peace -Tim and Stephanie

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-88168908923888996522011-03-19T11:20:00.005-04:002011-03-19T11:37:19.651-04:00

One of the enterprises we're going to be working on this year is a woodworking endeavor. It's fallen to last on our priority list because the growing season is getting under way and that can't wait. Eventually, I'll have a plan for what I want to build and how to market it and then we can try integrating it with our other enterprises.Until then, I'm working on some living room furniture for my

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-61538368458999504742011-03-19T10:33:00.004-04:002011-03-19T11:19:51.707-04:00

I tried to take a picture of the black locust trees I sprouted last year; I found buds on them this morning! I failed to capture the new growth because our camera doesn't offer the greatest close-ups. I was fairly certain that the trees didn't survive the winter because I kept them in pots which likely froze. Stephanie and I found a black locust stand on Head Lake Road, so we've been collecting

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-64832996418380737042010-10-18T18:18:00.003-04:002010-10-18T18:40:55.177-04:00

Just because something is sustained does not mean it is sustainable.

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-1785018229055729102010-10-12T21:13:00.002-04:002010-10-12T21:34:33.888-04:00

Tonight we found out our new address. "New" in that kind of way that actually says "a few months off in the future". It's still hard-to-stand-myself really exciting.A little less than three months from now, we'll be moving into a Civil War-era home in Cloverdale, Michigan. The house will actually be all ours - not planning on living with anyone else again for a good long time. It is plenty

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-86848949043774790812010-10-10T21:35:00.006-04:002010-10-11T18:07:39.045-04:00

There is a parable in the bible comparing the kingdom of heaven to a landowner who hires a bunch of people who normally couldn't find someone to hire them, to work for him in his vineyard. He goes out several times throughout the day and hires more people each time. At the end of the day, he pays all of the workers the same amount. The first batch of hirees start to gripe because they put in

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-71228981121206395072010-08-23T09:18:00.002-04:002010-08-24T09:36:48.447-04:00

Maybe not.I have learned in the last eight months how to back up all forms of trailers, how to cook hanger steak, how to handle and move cows, sheep, pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys and geese, how to keep them enclosed in electric fences and feed them until it's their time to go to "the better place" (i.e. all of ours and our customers' bellies). I have discovered a knack for marketing food and a

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-90678071791742105642010-07-06T21:25:00.006-04:002010-07-06T21:50:35.844-04:00

If someone had an impression of me, and that impression was one of indecision and of a person searching for purpose, should I be offended?It is a bit shocking to know that another person looks at me and sees a person who hasn't found what he's been looking for and that she sees this as a negative attribute. It's also stunning to be told that I may be "too detail-oriented" for my own good.How can

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-60531955567848332372010-07-02T19:04:00.003-04:002010-07-02T20:12:37.079-04:00

I sampled my first beer brewing adventure tonight - supposed to be done by the 4th, but I couldn't wait. It's a witbeer and it's pretty refreshing. I can taste the bitter orange and coriander I added during the initial boil.It's satisfying. Eventually this hobby should save me money...

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-19233481264339275962010-07-01T13:41:00.002-04:002010-07-01T13:49:19.572-04:00

I've recently declared myself a non-profit on account of not making any money despite working 75 hours each week intended to earn me a living. I'm not sure I'm qualified for all those helpful grants yet. That is unless they're offering one in advancing cynicism. Demons out.I think I'm learning about avodah, which is the Hebrew word for work and worship as one. Sometimes the results of the

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-44457128087629006652010-01-21T21:46:00.003-05:002010-01-21T22:25:20.091-05:00

Every day is completely different from its predecessor and I have the freedom to choose what I will do with them from the moment I wake until I lay my head down at night. Some days we wake early and do yoga with Rodney Yee, while others we lay in bed until 9, just talking. The other morning we walked a frigid but sunny 8 miles to get coffee.We've been doing the work of reviewing all of our

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-9084562326036109182009-12-04T17:17:00.002-05:002009-12-04T17:28:54.712-05:00

Last night I tore my left index finger while turning a bowl on the lathe and had to get 10 stitches at Central Vermont Hospital. S. was kind enough to drive me out and sit with me even though she has a bad cold.I'm thinking to myself that this has to be the worst timing an injury could have. I was working yesterday to put a trailer hitch on the van so that we can tow back all of the stuff we've

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-2298986767417141312009-11-08T09:41:00.004-05:002009-11-08T10:23:29.998-05:00

When we received the chickens in June, Maud was obviously the largest and most mature. She is the first bird we named and she was likely the hen that laid our first egg here at Yestermorrow. She kept our first rooster, Mr. Chips, in line when he was being a little over-dominant. She is dark brown, large and lovely.When we let the chickens out this morning, we discovered Maud, our largest hen

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-20956078303198803692009-11-07T18:35:00.002-05:002009-11-07T18:46:59.749-05:00

A little over a month from now, S. and I will be packing up our things and driving west once again, but this time it's back home to Michigan and to the beginnings of a partnership with Crane Dance Farm. We've just completed a two-week farm design course, the first one that has run at Yestermorrow Design/Build school and my mind is full of ideas and possibilities of what the next few years will

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-38913075704731669902009-11-04T21:22:00.002-05:002009-11-04T21:31:55.773-05:00

Our lives turn corners, but the road still goes on after we've veered off. Sometimes it's strange to think on how life is different having changed courses. Lives end and lives begin.An Anniversary by Wendell BerryWhat we have been becomesThe country where we are.Spring goes, summer comes,And in the heat, as one yearOr a thousand years before,The fields and woods prepareThe burden of their

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-3080075908274953222009-06-19T19:07:00.003-04:002009-06-19T19:15:26.259-04:00

Beer-thirty started at about 4pm today for me. I'm whipped.June started on a upspin as I worked with my fellow interns to complete the chicken coop for 13 birds that arrived on June 3rd. I rode that wave for a good week before I started to crash wondering what my next project would be.Six months of my internship are almost completed, so on Tuesday I sat with the executive and facilities

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-5468367591652023152009-04-21T10:08:00.004-04:002009-04-21T10:30:47.099-04:00

It's a cold and dreary morning in the Mad River Valley, Vermont. I'm the only intern on duty since the others are in class or taking a mental health day. On Sunday it was sunny and warm and my energy level was the highest it's been since the Autumn. Not today - I may just be crashing since I've been drinking a lot of maté lately.S. is in class this week, so I've been in charge of watering and

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-36114109830430198382009-03-07T17:15:00.002-05:002009-03-07T17:31:29.999-05:00

I have this weekend off of work and classes. It'll be the end of March before I get another weekend off and then it'll be May before the next one. There is a tension here that all of us interns feel on the weekends: sit in on classes or get the heck out of here. We all want to take advantage of the benefits of the school and community while we're here, but most of us just want a break when the

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-57492240660885279122009-02-09T16:11:00.004-05:002009-02-09T16:16:41.768-05:00

The January thaw happened February 7th.Old snow holds fast ankles like potholes in the crusty roadand bouncing deerand burbling springs thank the winter like a past trial,like we do once tough times have gone.

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-17485036525918581692009-02-08T14:28:00.002-05:002009-02-08T14:40:34.669-05:00

Something's missing from my life lately. It might be family and old friends, since we're hours from home. It might be the regularity of a steady schedule. It might be movement from one place to the next which I've come to be so familiar with this past year. Honestly, I think what' missing is spiritual nurturing and growth.I know I can find inspiration in daily things, but it feels like I've

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-40115019630608023472009-02-01T19:11:00.002-05:002009-02-01T19:21:10.084-05:00

I finished my first class yesterday - timberframing. We raised the building in the afternoon and collapsed in the evening. If you haven't examined a timberframe building, do it when you have a chance; It's pretty intense. Timberframing is like making fine furniture joints in logs in effort to lock the logs so the house doesn't collapse on its owner, smashing him/her to a mess of jelly.Laying

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-69116536176737174802009-01-11T11:35:00.002-05:002009-01-11T11:47:03.196-05:00

Our first days at Yestermorrow have been robust. Robusting at the seams with activities and new faces. This was our orientation week and it's been filled with listening and learning about the school, facilities and mission of the organization. It's hard to absorb the depth of what has gone on here the past 30 years in just a week, but we gave it a shot.We've sledded down a mountain side, built

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-64785612108393777512009-01-03T22:58:00.003-05:002009-01-03T23:04:35.986-05:00

We made it to Vermont from the UP of Michigan yesterday, safely through lovely northern Ontario. If you have the chance and love rolling hills and evergreens dusted in snow, I highly recommend it.Tomorrow we head out to Yestermorrow to move in. We'll meet the other interns and get the lay of the land. Then Monday will be our first day of orientation which will continue throughout the week. It

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-38036593277403874992008-12-31T16:27:00.002-05:002008-12-31T19:33:10.519-05:00

There are people in my life who think I'm supposed to be one way, and there are others who have an entirely different picture of me. Then there's me, with a self-view that should be somewhere blobbing around the middle of the grid. Tonight, I had the distinct feeling that the person I am has gone off of the grid. What I mean is that I stood staring alternately between the blazing bonfire and

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-57147407994935718762008-12-26T13:34:00.003-05:002008-12-26T13:56:34.167-05:00

I have been developing a hatred for automobiles. I'm also beginning to seriously dislike anything that contains a computer or circuitry of any sort. I think I would sink into a deep depression if someone were able to present to me a record of the number of hours of my life I've spent working on or attempting to fix a complex machine that I bought to simplify my life. It's so frustrating to not

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-69322132970236101702008-12-23T14:58:00.003-05:002008-12-23T15:42:15.976-05:00

My annual visit with my parents, grandma and little brother has already come and gone and we're up at S.'s folks' place to celebrate with her family. Christmas time is chuck full of emotions that range from quiet introspective sentimentality to raw unbridled anger and frustration. Probably anything that is so closely tied to our hearts is the same in this regard. Each year I go home opens up

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-41953192463302538202008-12-20T21:11:00.003-05:002008-12-20T21:20:38.522-05:00

S. and I left Grand Rapids yesterday during a blizzard. I'm sure I looked like a real idiot driving the only vehicle with two bikes strapped to the back of it plowing through 8 inches of snow. We had debated the night before the storm whether we should leave to beat it and had decided against it because it was late and S. had had two beers earlier. Bad decision - not to leave, that is. Drinking

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-25762259190536805182008-12-11T22:23:00.003-05:002008-12-11T22:39:48.487-05:00

My left hand has been slightly swollen for about a week now and it's making me a little nervous. Funny thing is, I'm fairly sure that I injured it while peeling an apple. Working on the pig shelter in the snow and cold for that past week nearly every day has probably aggravated it substantially as well. My hope is that this weekend of not working at all will help it greatly.Since the work at

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-71713076290540960272008-12-09T21:43:00.007-05:002008-12-09T22:20:32.082-05:00

All told, it took about 20 days to build the shelter if you include all of the great help I was given. We sipped NA sparkling grape juice from inside the warm and dry confines of the future home of Crane Dance's feeder pigs and toasted our success and the house's completion today.Here are some shots of its triumphant conclusion.

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-28398940058221386632008-12-02T21:38:00.002-05:002008-12-02T21:58:11.856-05:00

Today is the 2nd and we'll be heading out of GR on the 19th. That leaves two weeks and three days to prepare for Christmas and our departure from the state of Michigan until about a year from now.Yipes.

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-6520808800488853892008-11-27T20:53:00.002-05:002008-11-27T21:46:30.999-05:00

Christmas trees and decorations are starting to pop up in front windows and yards around my folks' neighborhood and there is a little bit of our first lasting snow on the ground. Tomorrow is the fated day that will show if Americans are really feeling as strapped as the economy seems to indicate. S. and I are making all of our gifts this year, but we debating whether to venture out in the name

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-64391829823422221182008-11-24T16:26:00.002-05:002008-11-24T17:23:29.044-05:00

S. and I were in the Secretary of State in my hometown waiting to renew my vehicle registration. A feller sat down behind us who was wearing a pint of some kind of stink and no matter how far I scootched away in my chair, I could still smell his powerful aroma. I thought I was going to vomit. We changed seats to the other side of the room, but I could still smell the dude. Long story short,

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-57850996785044349952008-11-23T20:09:00.002-05:002008-11-23T20:23:03.022-05:00

I witnessed the preparing of the holiday birds this week. I can think of two prior occasions in which I've witnessed something dying because of a human's action and both of those times it has shaken me deeply. This week's experience with the turkeys, geese and ducks seemed very different to me because it is the first time I've seen the death of something that would eventually be taken into my

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-1427664773782057192008-11-23T19:39:00.008-05:002008-11-23T20:09:35.568-05:00

I finally put my shoulder to the task of building the Hog Mahal on Tuesday. J. from Crane Dance got the first round of supplies I asked for and I tore into bringing my design into physicality. The weather has cooperated as best as I could hope and going into the end of the first week of construction I feel really good about where it stands.It was a sunny and frigidly cold morning when I brought

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-654230601333919142008-11-16T17:39:00.002-05:002008-11-16T17:57:43.424-05:00

I'm trying desperately to relax.I can't get the pig shelter off of my mind. I want so badly to do a good job at it and to please the folks at Crane Dance. I spent about 7 hours yesterday designing the shelter and think I have it completed with a materials list which I will send to them tomorrow (or tonight). There are a lot of questions that I still have to answer as I build it. It's haunting

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-5510327829461292772008-11-13T13:20:00.002-05:002008-11-13T13:52:25.491-05:00

I heard a piece on the radio this morning in which a Chicago law school fellow talked about General Motors and the possibility of them declaring bankruptcy and what it might mean. According to him, when a corporation files for bankruptcy protection, it buys them a few months so that they can get their affairs in order. He said that there were some basic things wrong with how General Motors has

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-92210162365659417032008-11-12T20:23:00.002-05:002008-11-12T20:38:18.882-05:00

I "worked" with S. at Crane Dance today. How much work we did was questionable. Our friends there were a little disjointed because of the AWOL heifers that are still at large. They were able to capture three of the 600 lb Angus calves and returned them to the farmer from whom they bought the cows. The guy was very nice about taking the wild cows back. Those bovine were just not ready to be

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-30237663737821763252008-11-10T13:30:00.013-05:002008-11-10T14:49:49.651-05:00

Here's what I've been doing to pay my way.I love doing chores.I built a simple little plywood box (above) for my waterstone. My chisels and plane blades are in dire need of sharpening. I really still need a grinder, but Crane Dance Farm has one that I can use until I find one of my own.Years ago, just before I "left" Van Dam Woodcraft, I started building a lightweight toolbox for my hand tools.

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-60020900446576516462008-11-08T13:56:00.002-05:002008-11-08T14:37:35.269-05:00

My chin mane is in full winter mode which means I loathe clipping it until the weather is warm again. I'm especially hesitant because we'll be living a majority of the upcoming cold season in a Vermont valley. Two nights ago, S., C., and a new friend, R. were sitting around discussing my facial hair. You'd think I would feel special, but it is as odd as one might imagine to debate one's beard.

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-78595228943323210782008-11-08T13:40:00.003-05:002008-11-08T13:55:09.558-05:00

Drizzly, the sky shades whipping leaves with silverWhile her smile is unfaded, licks slippery.Summer's last few buds smack our eyes with flagrant reds, violets and softy fleshly parts,such sharp contrast to the grey of this sodden Saturday.They must know how today is special.It's our secret from everyone.

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-24937250881379668442008-11-05T22:09:00.004-05:002008-11-05T22:31:47.163-05:00

I watched history being made last night. And I am not talking about "Wife Swap's" special election night episode. S. and I clung to each other, staring at the TV, as we watched Barak Obama's electoral count rocket past the required 270 votes. We watched with admiration as John McCain graciously and gracefully conceded the election to Obama. Through teary eyes, we saw the tired but determined

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-24563401068371242062008-11-04T21:55:00.002-05:002008-11-04T22:02:53.814-05:00

I'm finding it more and more difficult to get my butt in front of the computer to post these days. I had a rant of a post the other day, but I decided against putting it up because it needed more thought.Since I posted last, S. and I have received news that we've been accepted to the Yestermorrow internship programs and we're excited out of our minds! It'll mean us living in Vermont for the

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-61012080750603979132008-10-26T14:11:00.004-04:002008-10-26T14:30:45.448-04:00

Mentally, the past two weeks have been very difficult and I haven't posted because I've been having a hard time understanding the problem. The last time I wrote, I think we'd just gotten back from our travels, probably for the last time for a few months, and realized that gainful employment was likely the next step to pursue. Its consideration and my ensuing difficulty could be put off not one

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-43593128499419318462008-10-13T11:15:00.020-04:002008-10-16T19:35:47.271-04:00

I'm back on my own computer, so I thought I'd send some moments of zen out by posting pictures from this past summer. Who couldn't use a little zen once in a while?(Trying to get pictures and text to line up with this editor is frickin' ridiculous. This is the best I was willing to do.)Here's a brief summary of the western end of our nation-wide summer trip:Here's S. and me in Denver preparing

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-57795840450943723572008-10-10T11:23:00.004-04:002008-10-10T12:00:59.308-04:00

S. and I fasted on Tuesday when we returned from the beach. We did a breakfast-to-breakfast fast so after our morning meal, we had nothing but water until the following morning. It was necessary for our physical and spiritual health. While on "vacation" we had eaten in ways and quantities which, I'm sure many Americans do while not at home, and we were paying for it. We are also at a point

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-76632269212920940842008-10-01T21:57:00.002-04:002008-10-01T22:17:09.158-04:00

The sheer number of shells sitting on the beach in front of the house we're renting is incredible. I'll bet when we get back to Grand Rapids, we'll have collected around 40 pounds of new decorations and inspiration for projects.This morning, I spent time by myself on the beach because a bunch of sea vegetation had accumulated the night before. I was looking for sea horses, but found a shark's

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-87821491943059207682008-09-26T18:28:00.004-04:002008-09-26T18:51:07.275-04:00

The "real world" and a need for making some cash is gradually coming closer to S. and me as our traveling is coming to a close for a while.We spent last week on Lummi Island, Washington with a very good friend, C. and we agreed that it was rejuvenating for all of us. S. and I certainly needed the vacation. That seems strange to say, because to many, it probably appears that S. and I have been on

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-69787887000638433572008-09-13T11:36:00.003-04:002008-09-13T12:43:40.130-04:00

S. and I have had a recurring fight (recurring fights? who has those?) in which she has a preference for something and when she expresses it, I don't take it well. There are subtle nuances in how this happens, but the result is often the same in each: Eventually we talk about how we can change the way we communicate and express our desires with each other to avoid the accusation/retaliation/

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-87176123887627701122008-09-12T10:59:00.002-04:002008-09-12T12:08:13.968-04:00

I did this online personality test that I thought was pretty cool. You go through a variety of scale questions and if you're honest, it shows you a description of yourself that might actually sound familiar. It also creates this nice picture that you can mouse-over to show how you scored in specific characteristics.I scored as a "considerate inventor". If you click the link, you can see what

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-48277297961561991452008-09-11T19:32:00.004-04:002008-09-11T20:08:28.820-04:00

S. and I seriously hate debt. I mean we really, really loathfully despise it. It turns our stomachs and makes us feel like slaves. It inhibits our decision-making process and keeps us from thinking creatively when creativity is essential. If grocery stores started to only take credit cards as payment we would stop eating. Of course, we could find other ways of eating, but you get the

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-1586134139021154542008-09-11T18:54:00.006-04:002008-09-11T19:23:13.761-04:00

Yep, that's right. I did virtually nothing today. It was a great day.S. and I awoke, we ate biscuits and gravy (completely from scratch, of course), made sweet husband and wife love and then I pulled the air conditioner out of the window because I could hear multiple birds nesting in it. That's about it. Oh yeah, this afternoon we walked to the park, read some more chapters of The Shack

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-16604841947902946762008-09-10T09:24:00.005-04:002008-09-10T15:43:50.495-04:00

Last night our friend, B. came over for dinner since S. was making her locally famous pot pie. We talked about his day at work. B. works really hard at a job that has never fallen into the categories "easy" or "fulfilling" for him. He's been there three years, I think, and his situation has improved in many ways, but he is still vying his desire to do good work against his belief that it may

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-57525415290790270242008-09-07T08:13:00.004-04:002008-09-07T16:09:10.592-04:00

I named this blog "working differently", and one of the big parts of doing things in a different way means that I want my personal life intimately bound to my work. So I'm going to be putting a lot of inner thoughts on these pages that might drift back and forth across all sorts of lines.Today is my Sabbath. In the Genesis story it talks about how God created everything in 6 days, found it was

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211223959728495616.post-58018782221382207002008-09-05T18:05:00.002-04:002008-09-05T18:32:25.804-04:00

I read a couple of books this past year that were written by James Krenov and they put words to and more importantly, eased some of the conflicting feelings I was having. I'd been trying to get my head around what it would look like to be a woodworker for a living and was having a heck of a time because the only models I had, I loathed. Most of what I had been reading prior to this talked about

Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01774442594484582952noreply@blogger.com5