I’m a compulsive plant buyer. Just today, I looked up and realized I’d bought two giant pink geraniums and a lemon verbena. Not quite sure how that happened. As you can imagine (just ask Adam), over the past five years, the garden beds around our house have filled in. But I haven’t planted anything on the north […]
How I Make Bread 
May 5, 2015 by
There’s something indescribably homey about good bread. There’s a kind of spiritual wealth in being able to carry out a few rituals of daily life that are both deeply meaningful and completely impractical. So, I make bread on an almost daily basis – because it tastes great, it makes me happy, and most importantly I have an EASY way to do […]
Tumble Dry Alb 
April 22, 2015 by
Alb (“No Tumble Dry”) drying on a hook on our shed on this windy day.
Tiny Homes, Hopes, and Dreams
February 10, 2015 by
My sister-in-law, Laurie, has introduced me to a show called Tiny House Hunting. We watch and gawk at the crazy people and the spaces for sale out there. There’s quite a variety: yurts, converted silos, dirt bag construction (ok, it’s really called “Earthbag”), houses on wheels, and a few that qualify as what my SIL calls “crap-holes.” There are […]
The Beauty of Empty Spaces
January 13, 2015 by
We took our Christmas decorations down on Sunday. I love the lights, I love hanging all our Christmas cards up in the kitchen bay window, I love the smell of the tree. But then I love putting it all away because we’re left with what, in contrast, feels like radically open space. Plain and simple. I can’t pretend my […]
The Suburban Life For Me 
August 1, 2014 by
I’m going on sabbatical in two weeks (two weeks?!?). We’ll be visiting places like Rome, Jerusalem, and Seattle. It’s hard to promise that we won’t just stay in one of those places, right? Like, isn’t there an Episcopal Church in Rome? Do they have any openings? (Asking for a friend.) And the reason I feel […]
Spring Garden Tour
June 2, 2014 by
Beautiful “golden” sugar snap peas with purple flowers! They’ll grow to be six feet tall – whew! Not sure the peas we’ll harvest this summer will finally cover the cost of my sturdy “pea fence”. But maybe next year. Sheesh. Lovely little radishes. Delicata Squash seedlings peeking through their black plastic blanket! (Absorbs heat, which squash needs and keeps […]
Mother Heidi
May 21, 2014 by
It’s a strange thing not to have children, as a young couple. It’s even stranger when you have a house in the suburbs, flexible work schedules, a dog, and you generally like people and children. But Adam and I have decided not to become parents. We discovered we weren’t able to conceive a few years […]
Elegant Little Things
May 6, 2014 by
Every home has a miscellany of elegant, useful objects that make life better. I don’t mean big stuff, like a hot water heater, refrigerator, or sectional sofa. I’m talking about little things – often inexpensive – that enhance our everyday lives because of their simple but elegant practicality or beauty. St. Benedict says, “regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as […]
House Diary: April Snow, Morning
April 15, 2014 by
From my friend and colleague, Matt Gunter (bishop-elect of Fond du Lac, WI): Like a lot of folk here, I was not excited when I woke up to snow on the ground on this mid-April morning. But, I want to suggest that snow on the ground is a great way to kick off Holy Week. […]
