The rocks of Joshua Tree, as interpreted by a 35-year-old and a 4-year-old. On our family trip this year we ventured out into the desert for a week of hiking amidst giant boulders and jackrabbits. My husband and I backpacked in Joshua Tree National Park almost a dozen years ago, hauling our ... View Post
Recent Posts
In Praise of Taking Things Apart
When my husband was a boy, he took apart his mother’s camera. He assumed he could get it back together before anyone noticed what he was doing. Of course, it was hard to remember how all the parts went together. He got in trouble and was forbidden from wielding tiny screw drivers or opening up ... View Post
All Together in the Kitchen
Right before the beginning of the school year, a friend and I got together to cook up eight gallons of chili. The pot was big enough to fit one, maybe both, of my kids — a holdover from Linda’s years in catering. Just that morning I was trying to get a few kitchen tasks out of the way, while my ... View Post
Slow Down Snacks
In the midst of summer days, whether yours are full or free, there comes a time when it’s too hot and muggy to move. My kids forget that stopping is an option, and they just get cranky instead. I try to help them shift the pace and quiet down by serving ‘slow snacks,’ or snacks that require a little ... View Post
Relax, and let the kids into the garden
My children start “helping” in the garden in February. Before I order seeds, I go through my box of seeds from previous years. As soon as they hear the rattle of the seed packs, my kids want to do some planting. So we go to the basement and as I sort, I hand off the seed packs that I deem too ... View Post