Author Archives: Erin

“A big part of the reason I married you was so that you could make my phone calls.” – Sydney, lamenting my growing dislike for calling businesses on his behalf.  Well, at least we finally know now where we stand. … Continue reading →

“I can be the painter.” (as she does watercolors) “Nathaniel can be the one who makes everybody smile.” “You and Dadda can both be the cooks.  He can be the gardener.  You can be . . . oh, you can … Continue reading →

We’re used to doing books in this house.  Whether it’s working in libraries or compiling libraries of our own or assigning piles of them to our students, I thought we knew books.  But the kids are putting their own spin … Continue reading →

Katherine, 2nd grade: Katherine abandoning the photo session to point out a hummingbird in the front yard: Nathaniel, kindergarten: Nathaniel forgetting all about the school bus (even though he got up at 6, excited to ride it) because of a … Continue reading →

Our neighbor said she hadn’t seen us outside much in the past couple of weeks.  I think she’s gotten used to us working out front at all hours.  I explained that we were off plowing up a three-acre plot of … Continue reading →

Two years after moving in, our house is starting to look and feel more like us.  Sydney ripped out the yews that covered the windows and put in garden beds early on.  I’ve painted the inside walls inside green, blue, … Continue reading →

Although I’d been sailing along pretty happily with our home life–some reading, some writing, much painting and playing and cleaning–the kids have been nudging me toward school this past week.  When we got Katherine’s teacher information and supply list in … Continue reading →

In case you’ve been getting radio silence from us over the past few weeks, we’ve been spending most of our time tackling house projects.  The day I got back from England, Sydney started planning out how to build porch columns … Continue reading →

I didn’t fancy trying to drive in Ireland, so we took a coach tour that got us out of the city limits.  It also gave us front-row seats to Ireland’s wonderfully changeable weather, which is why the sky gets as … Continue reading →

As is usual with me, what I most enjoyed of our trip overseas was the freedom to walk everywhere.  Only once did I get a bit too much walking in.  On our first night in Galway, we left our apartment … Continue reading →