Abstract and Landscape
I expected some savings during the quarantine from not driving, going out to restaurants or ordering takeout. I expected an equally big bump in our grocery bill when Thing1 returned to the nest, but, even with two giants to feed (13-year-old Thing2 hit the six foot mark this week), thrift, apparently, is part of our… Continue reading The Song Can’t Remain the Same
We live well away from the madding crowd - such as it exists in rural Vermont (no, it's not redundant). While we try to be as energy and resource independent as possible, the plot where our slice of life plays out is definitely a homestead - not a farm. During summer months, we grow a… Continue reading Isn’t It Romantic
Living off-grid means every scrap of laundry gets hung on a line, but if you think because the clothes dry more slowly I would be able to stay ahead of the folding, you'd be wrong. I can wash and hang three hampers full of biohazard-quality laundry in a single day, but the to-be-folded pile… Continue reading Blessed Burdens
At this time of year, the big challenge of living off-grid in an earth-sheltered (read: 3 feet of insulation on 3 sides) is to remind yourself 69 on the thermostat would be T-shirt weather if it were describing the temperature outdoors, but when the only thing reflecting light back at you as you let the… Continue reading it is NOT Cold
It's 5:00 AM, and I'm just sitting down to work. It's going to snow today, so I opened the vents on our big black wood cookstove to get the embers from last night's fire heating again. The running of the stove has become a rhythm that's as comforting as the heat itself, but it getting… Continue reading Homework
No one stays off the grid for very long without embracing mindfulness in a big way. Motherhood comes with its own mindfulness. Are lunches made? Is homework done? Are there enough pop tarts for the morning? Was that scream serious or silly? But the questions and the questioning don't end when the kids go to… Continue reading Mindful
The falling leaves are bathing Vermont in antique gold, and lately I feel as though I've entered a malfunctioning time machine that teases me with glimpses of the past. Leaves and, soon, snow are coming to cover the painted yellow lines on the asphalt, camouflaging the trappings of the twentieth century. But this only… Continue reading Retro
One of the disadvantages of living in an earth sheltered house is that a lack of planning can cause unusual conundrums. Today was the the perfect example. I was pulling things out of the fridge for dinner and noticed that we were out of propane. It is fall, and in our old colonial farmhouse… Continue reading Ma Barlow
It's the Big Guy's birthday, and I'm making apple pie. He and Thing1 eschewed birthday cake in favor of pie a few years ago, so after a day of excavating our mudroom (perfect birthday activity), I pulled out the Joy of Cooking and started making the crust. I go back and forth between the Joy… Continue reading Mom and the Apple Pie
Order 8 x 10 Print[nicepaypal type="cart" name="Serenity 8 x10 Print" amount="20.00"] Order 4 x 5 Card [nicepaypal type="cart" name="Serenity 4 x 5 Cards" amount="3.00"] You might think that because I write a blog dedicated to my failures as a housekeeper, I would have no angst about the unexpected guest. I thought so myself until… Continue reading No Shame
A quick tour of our house - even at its cleanest - will reveal our deep affection for the 'Early American Garage Sale' style of decorating. We each adopted this approach to interior design out of economic desperation years ago, and our hoarding natures served only to affirm our love affair with 'Post-Modern Pack-Rat.' And,… Continue reading Our Cool Cave
We found each other because we're both a bit goofy, and that goofiness has led us all over the world. Sometimes it has led us off the deep end, or so some of our friends and family thought when we decided to build an off-grid, earth-sheltered house. In reality, it was one of the best… Continue reading A Slacker’s Guide to Going Green
Rachel Barlow Art 