Summertime and the Living Ain't Easy

Sometimes urban living isn't all it's cracked up to be. For us, the past six weeks have been nothing but trouble. June started with Columbia Gas digging in our treeyard (site of Lil's garden) to run a new gas line. We were the lucky house on the block to receive the connection joint that required a hole six feet wide and four feet deep. Workers tried to be kind to our garden but split a four-year-old peach tree in two and trampled flowers and herbs. Because it's their right of way, we knew we were taking a risk when planting there but watching our beautiful garden destroyed was gut wrenching indeed.

Next came the storm that knocked out our power and my sense of direction. In such a dense area, having windows open meant we couldn't help but overhear conversations, children crying, and generators all night long. Prized shade trees shed branches over power lines that had to make restoring electricity all the more difficult for crews.

During the power outage mess, city bus drivers, providing central Ohio's only public transit, went on strike. While I don't use the bus frequently, I often use it for riding to the Doo Dah Parade, an option not available this year.

Meanwhile, the weather was unrelentingly hot: eleven days near or above 100 degrees, made worse by proximity to houses, cars and roads. The garden withered, chickens gular fluttered, and dogs didn't want to go outside. I worry about farmers, crops, and creatures, like the honey bees pictured above drinking sugar water from my hummingbird feeder.

Finally this morning I was awoken by a loud knock at 8 am. Columbia Gas was back to install supply lines to the house. Another full day of loud machines moving dirt trampled more of my garden, including mature raspberry plants.

I am usually an advocate for urban homesteading but today I am tired of city living. I want to run to the country where, in my grass-is-always-greener estimation, I could find a cool peace.

Seeking the Authentic

A while ago, Lil and I went to a new Columbus city space with friends, one touted as a great community center. I left unbelievably uncomfortable. Weed-like annoyances including the lack of shade, long lines, crowds, and poor food options covered up what I wished was growing instead but I couldn't quite put my finger on it right away.

A few days of introspection made me realize what was missing: authenticity. I and so many others headed to the area seeking community and engagement but left hot and bothered.

So What is Authentic?

Everyone's version of authenticity may be different. For me, a genuine experience is:

• Comfortable - everyone has space, there are areas of shade in summer and warmth in winter
• Engaging - all ages can enjoy aspects of the experience
• Open to Emotions - The Disney "Happiness Factor" isn't real. Guests must have the emotional space to feel moved, shocked, thrilled, saddened, and hopeful.
• Close to Nature - Real enterprises recognize that humans are part of nature, not a force above it, and provide avenues to interact and witness nature if only through windows and natural light.
• Open Ended - An authentic experience is made by the people who attend, have conversations, and create community.

When Faced With Fake

What do you do when you find yourself in a less-than-bona-fide situation?

If you can, transform the experience into something with more meaning and feeling. Play an inclusive game on an open lawn. Make a mental word search in a 'don't touch' museum. Position yourself in the most comfortable place you can find.

It's also OK to say "no thanks" to an un-authentic experience.  Advertising cleverly leads many of us to think that the new amusement park or traveling circus or characters on ice show is something everyone will love. If you know that your family doesn't like being packed in crowds for manufactured happiness, skip the temptation. We often stay far away from such events.

Plan for the Real Deal

We're about to leave for a lengthy vacation with fourteen relatives. We could fill our days with tours and tourist traps but we will seek authenticity instead. Whether at home or away, we search out genuine experiences like:

• Nature Parks and Wildlife Refuges
• Farmers' Markets
• Local Restaurants, Brew pubs, and Groceries
• Non-Profit Museums (some are much more 'real' than others)
• Ethnic Eats
• Libraries
• Community Festivals and Fairs
• Pick-Your-Own Operations and Farm Tours

Do you seek the authentic? How do you find it?

Unfamiliar Fishes, Still Life {Book Hounds}

Today I want to recommend two strange, wonderful books: Unfamiliar Fishes and Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy. Next week I'll share two food related texts but with our upcoming vacation and many of you perhaps looking for a quirky summer read, I offer these. Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell is the strange story of the multicultural settling of the Hawaiian islands. In her characteristic humorous sarcastic tone, Sarah Vowel somehow makes the story of a culture co-opted by religious zealots fascinating. I learned so much in this book including why the Hawaiian language has so many vowel sounds (there are only a few allowed consonants), how Protestant sexual monogamy managed to win over native promiscuity, and how natives spent thousands of hours creating handmade textiles from native bird feathers.

Sarah Vowell immerses herself in a culture while writing about it and intersperses historical text with personal stories of visiting modern Hawaiian islands. These moments are sometimes tender, sometimes funny, and always illustrative.

When we travel to the Big Island on Saturday, I will be more sensitive to the native issues and history because of Unfamiliar Fishes.

In Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy, author Melissa Milgrom finds herself searching after the meaning of modern and historical stuffed animals. She explores the beginnings of taxidermy when scientists attempted to recreate live animals to show them to the public and the heyday of the 'art' form when museums around the world employed teams of animal sculptors.

Milgrom continues her journey with a visit to a contemporary artist, Emily Mayer, who makes waves in the modern art world by collaborating with Damien Hirst on installations involving everything from cows to sharks preserved in various mediums.

Readers are also treated to carefully-described tours through Smithsonian labs, personal studios of those competing in the World Taxidermy Championship (yes, there is such a thing), and museums of curiousities. From descriptions of the most kitschy versions of mounted fish to conversations with those who truly believe in the art of recreating life with a dead animal's body, Milgrom pulls together a book that is full of wonder and respect for a rarely-examined field of work.

I highly recommend Unfamiliar Fishes or Still Life for readers wanting delve into something that will leave you feeling normal in comparison while entertaining and educating you along the way. Or for anyone wanting to understand a little about how my own quirky preferences work as I was thrilled by these very strange books.

Now I need your recommendations for books to read on our upcoming vacation. I tend towards oddball non-fiction, memoirs, and biographies. Ideas?

Disclosure: Book titles and covers are Amazon affiliate links.

Home Update

Many of you have asked for an update on house selling and moving. Here's what's up: We are having house showings every other day. I am sweeping and mowing and cleaning messes the second after they are made. All this displaced grasping for control over an uncontrollable situation has yet to result in an offer.

Perhaps our house is too odd for someone else to love. Maybe when so many people say they want vegetable gardens and the urban homesteading ideal, they don't actually want the resulting look. I feel like maybe we're weirder than we thought. The fact that I giggle at the idea of a Realtor Llama confirms that I'm weird, right?

Meanwhile, we found a house we want to love just a few miles from our current house. It has room to grow, cook, host, and teach. There are outbuildings to house creatures including a cat for Lil. We're dreaming a little, but we can't make a successful offer until we sell our current house.

I'm detached from our house now but not allowing myself to emotionally invest in the new house. I feel home-less.

The Value Of Home

Feeling as though I don't have one makes me value the idea of home more than ever.

A home is a place where we can create, where we relax, where we grow our own food. Home has edible projects hanging in the basement and fermenting on counters.

A house on the market means our creative toys and tools are packed away and we don't want to make messes anyways. The four pounds of pancetta hanging must be carefully tucked away every time we have a showing.

Our poor hounds can't find a place to rest and just when I think I can put my feet up, I get a showing request that requires a cleaning routine. Meals have become much less exciting and are often cooked and eaten at other people's houses.

In other words, for a true home maker like myself, house-selling is wearing thin.

Silver Linings

Given that we have a very nice house now and are looking to own an even better one puts us ahead of most of the world population. I don't take that for granted for a second. We are privileged folks.

So I try to recognize that some of our house-selling routines have come with unexpected benefits. We combined all the dirty laundry locations to a single basket which is now washed, dried, and folded as soon as it is full. Our new system saves so many piles of clothing laying around. Similarly, we do dishes as soon as we finish a meal. The kitchen has never been cleaner and it is truly lovely to wake up to an empty sink.

I am an impatient person who is uncomfortable with uncertainty, so it is no surprise that I am ready for all of this to be over. I just need someone to buy my house. Know anyone?

Homeschool Report Card Winter/Spring 2012

Lil and I grew as unschoolers this winter and spring. We released ourselves from many routines and activities to allow more time for self-motivated studies. Along the way, we discovered unexpected benefits and challenges to homeschooling.

Even without the structure, Lil continues to develop skills. Following in the format I developed for the Fall 2011 Report Card, here's the Winter/Spring 2012 report:

Dates: January 2012 - April 2012

Activities: Reading 16-30 page books fluently Writing sentences with punctuation and capitalization Addition and subtraction fluency to 12s Counting, adding, and subtracting coins Understanding value of basic fractions Making and cooking pancakes from scratch Designing and mapping a garden plan Identifying Ohio wildflowers, Caribbean fish, and eastern US birds Mastery of snorkeling Pet care Insect life cycle observed in a terrarium Caring for garden plants including weeding, mulching and harvesting Coconut opening and palm weaving Map reading and making Digital photography, email, and typing Literature - Easter egg books, Valentine's Day books, Garfield comics, fairy tale comparisons (snow white, cinderella, three bears), Judy Moody and Stink chapter books

Weekly Classes: Homeschool Gym Gram & Tompa School Movement

Field Trips: Cleveland Natural History Museum Great Lakes Science Center Cincinnati Science Museum Cincinnati Art Museum Inniswood Metro Park Highbanks Metro Park Indianapolis Art Institute Stratford Ecological Center Columbus Zoo Columbus Children's Theater Aladdin Franklin Park Conservatory COSI (including Race exhibit) Broadway Series Mary Poppins Broadway Series Shrek Ohio History Center San Salavador Island, Bahamas

So Tired, So Simple - A New Pour-Over Coffee Ritual

This whole house-selling business is exhausting. I get up early to work on house projects and stay up late wondering how we will manage showings and what house we will buy. Like the addict I am, I'm making coffee a lot more regularly now. As recently as six months ago, I was grinding beans by hand and futzing with a French Press. To be honest, I couldn't tell that the finished product was much better than what my parents make with a drip machine but I liked the routine.

Jason from Thunderkiss Coffee introduced me to a better way: the pour-over method. The pour-over eliminates grounds in the mug, bulky appliances on the counter, and about 60 seconds from pour to sip.

The Way I Pour

I fill and start the electric hot water kettle. As that's warming, I pull out my mug, paper filter and $3 plastic filter cone. Someday I'll spring for a vintage ceramic cone and reusable gold filter but for now I'm hanging tight with the cheap ones.

I scoop a heaping tablespoon of ground coffee (that's right, I buy pre-ground coffee now because our hand-grinder was a mess and I realized I needed to upgrade to an expensive burr grinder or give in) into the filter. Typically by this time the water comes to a boil. I allow it to cool for just a second (Coffee Geek says coffee brews best at 192-204F) and fill the filter.

As the water drips down, I add more until my cup is filled. I usually unload or load the dishwasher in the 1-2 minutes I'm waiting for the coffee to finish.

Toss the grounds into the compost collector, rinse the cone, and I'm ready to face the day.

How do you brew?

  PS. I'm sorry that I didn't take a picture of the final product. I was, you know, tired.

Urban Homestead For Sale!

Our urban homestead in Clintonville is officially listed for sale!

You can read all about the 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 2 car garage, new windows and kitchen on the MLS listing.

If you're a visual person, check out the slideshow.

But if you want to know what it's really like to live in our house, here are the top five things I will miss once we move:

1) Walking everywhere - Picking up milk, organic produce, and other groceries at the Clintonville Co-op is a short five minute walk. We are eight minutes from a ravine in either direction. If Lil were going to school at Indianola Alternative, she would need to leave the house approximately three minutes before the first bell. Post office, bars, coffee shops, restaurants, funky shops, the Olentangy trail, and more are all mere minutes away on foot or bike.

2) Active community - A week or so ago I was spray painting something in the backyard. My neighbor two doors down stuck her head out of the second story window to check in and make sure it was me and not some mischievous teens tagging a garage. People on this street shovel sidewalks, pick up recycle bins, remind you if the garage door is up, fill you in on local building projects, etc. It's a friendly place.

3) Sweet-ass kitchen - (those were Alex's words) From comfy cork floors to hand crafted countertops to the stove that vents outside to keep the house cool to the pass through into the dining room, this kitchen is perfect for us. It is perfect for anyone who cooks a lot.

4) Micro-climate - Because our backyard garden is surrounded by houses and backs up to a big brick church, the soil stays a little warmer than outlying areas. We rarely have frost when the suburbs do. Hawks and other predators can't get to our chicken yard because of the church and orientation of the yard too.

5) Perennial edibles - Seven fruit trees, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, rhubarb, leeks, herbs and more will feed the next person or family who tends the homestead. Many of these are just coming into maturity and so we have not enjoyed the literal fruits of our labor. We will leave care instructions and offer a garden orientation to the buyers if they want it!

If all of this sounds like something you or someone you know would want in a home, we would be very grateful if you would pass along the details about our homes for sale. Thanks!

Update on the buying side: We have a house we would like to make an offer on and are working on the details. We can't wait to reveal our next homestead!

Stuff, Stuff, Stuff

The past few weeks have been consumed by painting, decluttering, and pre-moving to ready our house for sale. We're exhausted and we have too much stuff.

I feel like I do a decent job or donating items when they are no longer in use and we don't overbuy. We have a few small collections but mostly they are of useful things like cookbooks and canning jars. It still seems like too much when we're packing things away so the house can look open and inviting.

Much of our 'stuff' is tools and supplies for the many DIY activities we take on. We have one set of shelves for canned goods and jars. Another is stacked with carboys and beer brewing equipment. The garage contains everything needed to tear down a kitchen, create countertops, fix a bicycle, build raised beds, tend a garden, and fly a kite. Our craft room contains material and a machine for sewing, supplies for making candles, cleaning sprays, knitted things, watercolors, paintings, and letters.

Not to mention the books. For every activity mentioned above, we have dozens of books for inspiration and instruction.

I envy the RV travel lifestyle right now where the stuff is pared down to what you can fit in a few bags. I could do with leaving this house and all the work it represents behind right now.

But we will stick with managing the stuff because I can't really give up our DIY lifestyle. The hard work of packing will end soon, I hope, with a new place with more space to garden, brew, cook, make and create.

We still haven't found a place to move to, for all who are asking. We hope to stay in Clintonville but find a bigger lot for more growing space and privacy. Amongst all the packing of stuff we are looking at houses and enjoying the blooms of our current house, like the hellebore above.