My next door neighbor is my best friend in town.  We meet up several times a week for popsicles, hot chocolate, or chit chat about what’s been going on in our lives.  His name is Elias and he’s 11.

Did I mention I don’t get out much?

It doesn’t matter, he’s as entertaining as any adult, and full of jokes and wild ideas.  You should hear his plans for the shed in his back yard… it involves a two-story swimming pool, a fire pit, and tiles made out of natural sandstone.  He’s a whiz at doing math in his head (but not questions about time).  He loves electronics, making up stories, and mapping out routes in his head.  Elias has Asperger’s Syndrome.

I won’t even pretend to know what this means from Elias’ point of view, or what it’s like to be his mother.  He and I have a different sort of relationship… but I do know this: he struggles in school and gets picked on a lot.  So much so that he now hates school.  I don’t have to pretend that this makes me sad. (more…)

About a week ago I came down with a terrible case of bronchitis.  Every pregnant lady I know tells me that you get sicker when you’re pregnant.  I concur.  I haven’t been that miserable in a decade, at least.  What’s worse is all the cold medicines you’ve been saving since your last bout with a cold are useless.  Robitussin?  According to the FDA:  pregnant women should only take it if the benefits outweigh the risks… and by the way we have no idea what the risks are.  Tylenol?  Sure.  In small doses and do not under any circumstances exceed the maximum dose.  Which means if your fever starts coming back around hour 3.5, you are just going to have to suffer until hour six to eight before you can get some relief again.  Nyquil?  No.  Sorry.

Sigh.

As I lay in misery on the couch, wrapped in ten blankets and wheezing, I researched home remedies (and called my mother)–natural ways to combat the cold symptoms that were leaving me in agony.  Here’s what I came up with… what’s your favorite natural remedy? (more…)

My husband works for the forest service as a fire fighter, and spends a good portion of the hotter months of the year away or on call.  So when we got married in February, we decided to delay our honeymoon until after the fire season was over.  We finally bought our tickets to Peru over labor day weekend.  On September 9, I found out I was pregnant.  Lindsey is an old pro at the whole pregnancy thing.  Every time she’s told me she was pregnant it was like.  So, yeah, I’m having a baby in nine months.  What are you going to be doing?

Me?  I went into shock.  How much yummy soft cheese had I digested in the last month?  Was that last glass of wine three nights ago the end of my baby’s future?  My body was going to change forever… in the wrong ways.  How was I going to get a job after finishing the PhD if I also had a baby?  And how in the world was I going to get back the money we’d spent on our Peru plane tickets? (more…)

Back in September Lindsey took me on a hike for my birthday.  The hike was wonderful for so many reasons:

1)  I got to spend six uninterrupted hours with Lindsey.  We never worried about getting eaten by a mountain lion–we blathered and laughed loud enough to scare away every bit of wildlife within 45 miles.

2)  We got to hike down in the dark, by full moon, and it was exhilirating.

3)  She brought us ‘dinner’ for the top.  While snuggled into a rock shelter to stay out of the frigid wind, she pulled out a birthday brownie, complete with a candle and birthday song.  And she pulled out Chicken Puffs.  I have concluded that these Chicken Puffs are the tastiest possible hiking treat.  Comfort food in a ziploc baggie?  Yes, I think so.

I’ve since made them for my husband on his hunting trips and he concurs.

Rather than keep this yumminess all to ourselves, today we are sharing Lindsey’s Amazing Chicken Puff Recipe, complete with two variations on the theme.  Enjoy.

*** quick note:  Lindsey and I used butter croissant dough from the can… like Pillsbury or Great Value brand…  you could also use real puff pastry dough and cut it to the size you want***

LINDSEY’S AMAZING CHICKEN PUFFS (more…)

Here’s a question from Sarah, a reader with great Christmas ideas:

I’m actually working on my Christmas stuff and had a quick question on your Olivia bag post. I’m making two of these for my sister and brother in law who live in Peru. They have four girls, all under 10. My brother in law routinely travels into the jungle, visiting villages along the way. I thought the Olivia bag would be a great Christmas gift since its practical and easy to take back. But I’m wondering how you would modify this for international travel/outdoors. Maybe there are some things that would be great additions to the bag for them that I can’t think of? And maybe some things can be eliminated or they might have problems in customs? 

What I love about this question is that the timing is SO PERFECT!  I’m travelling to Peru the beginning of November and (in my insane excitement) have already started packing!  It got me to thinking—could one put together an International list of multi-purpose items useful for travelling outside the country?

Here’s the thing:  international travel includes a huge range of activities, climates, cultures, and (ew) diseases.  Coming up with a universal set of items useful in all environs can be tricky…  but I’ve traveled to a few countries over the last 15 years, ranging from the relatively laid back New Zealand, to hot and humid China.  And believe it or not there are things that are useful in all hemispheres.

The key is that these items are related to the travel lifestyle:  moving, limited packing space, and being comfortable outside your comfort zone… they have less to do with the cuisine of the Maori or the species of mosquito in the Amazon, and more to do with you, and the fact that you are the same person, with the same needs, wherever you find yourself.  Also, I like items that serve multiple purposes, that aren’t especially expensive, so that you can give them away or ditch them if you decide you don’t need them after all.

Just like your Olivia Bag, any international bag needs to be modified to fit your needs.  But here’s what I intend to put in mine. (more…)

There are two kinds of people in this world:  the toe-loopers and the non-toe-loopers.  Those who enjoy (and apparently even become addicted too) the security of a piece of webbing between their big toe and, and those who can’t stand to be violated in such a manner.  Lindsey is a toe-looper.  I am not.  Somehow we are still friends.

Recently, Chaco sent Lindsey a pair of snazzy new Updraft sandals, rigged with vibrant red webbing.  They were a sight to behold.  They also were missing the ever-loved toe loop. Lindsey’s feet couldn’t adjust. She’s more of an Updraft 2 kind of girl. Lucky me.

I’ve been wearing them for two months now–hiking in the Sierras, tubing the Rio Grande, shopping for souvenirs at the Spanish market.  I even danced in them at a Hank III concert, where my husband had to spend most of the evening protecting me and my poor feet from a horrific and spontaneous occurrence that apparently happens at rowdy concerts:  a mosh pit.

I love these sandals.  I love that they felt good on my feet the moment I slipped them on.  I love how adjustable they are.  I love that I can slip them on and be stylishly ready to go at a moment’s notice (yes, I am one of those people who thinks their Chacos go with every outfit).  I love that I don’t have to tighten the straps for them to stay on my feet.  I love that they have such solid arch support and the cushion-y feel.  I have already hiked several miles in a day in these things without ever regretting my choice of foot wear.  And I love that they aren’t shoes. (more…)

The Perseids always fall around my mom’s birthday, and growing up I remember many a birthday party that involved clambering into the car and getting away from city lights.  The challenge was to see more than Dad.

We’d make dutch oven Gingerbread with Peaches and serve it with ice cream, kept cool under a brick of dry ice.  This weekend, my husband and I will be throwing a mattress out on the back lawn and sleeping under the stars (if the monsoons stay away, that is–cross your fingers!).  Join in the fun!

The stars are aligning for a perfect weekend star party:  The moon will be tiny and coming up late in the evening, the weather is warm, and it’s a weekend!  Time to throw out some blankets and stare at the night sky.

And the best part?  It’s free.

The universe is conspiring to create some fireworks (a.k.a. The Perseid Meteor Shower), and the best time to see them will be Saturday night (the peak is apparently Sunday at noon, but, that won’t work for obvious reasons).  There should be 50-100 meteors per hour (don’t be disappointed if you don’t quite see that many).  The meteors are tiny fragments of thousand-year-old debris associated with the Swift-Tuttle Comet.

Check here for more info on the meteors and other things astronomical.

Watching meteors is a great family event that develops focus in little ones.  Want to share the night sky with your kids?  Here are a few pointers on getting set up: (more…)

Haystacks are my most favorite of camping meals.  Not too long ago I was camping with some friends and lo, they had never heard of the Haystack!  This most easily manipulated, picky-eater-friendly, camping-masterpiece of a dinner is my go-to meal several times a month.  Perfect for the lazy chef.

Here is the idea behind a haystack: you need a starchy base, covered by a protein, topped with something fatty, and piled with any toppings of your choosing.  The  ‘toppings’ of your choosing part is what makes this meal easy when camping (many of the toppings travel well), and fun for little mouths that seldom get a say in what appears on their plate each evening.  Building your own haystack is an art form and a matter of personal preferences reflecting the unique taste buds of each eater… and over time the gourmand will learn how small to make the base in order that the haystack still fits on the plate after the last topping is added.  The down-side to a haystack?  You’ll need several small serving dishes…

Just in case there are others who fall into the unfortunate category of Those Who Have Never Had a Haystack, we are today sharing Four Variations on the Theme of Haystack. (more…)

The Olympics are here! I love the Olympics—I like seeing people be the very best at something. It makes me feel good—happy to be a human. Each time they come around I decide that these are my favorite—last winter I decided winter Olympics were the best of all… now I’m thinking it’s summer.

When I was little my mom and a neighbor threw an Olympics for us. We had gymnastics, choreographed swimming, and running events. We were told about the Olympics a week in advance so we had time to ‘train’ and prepare our astonishing feats of physical prowess. The neighbor’s daughter and I prepared a perfectly choreographed swim routine, competing against the other ‘team’ of my sister and her sister. Our two moms watched our final performances and rated us on a scale of one to ten. Then they handed out medals, made from canning lids wrapped in tinfoil, and with a hole punched through for the ribbon. I still have them.

I also remember not winning. The disappointment and sense of something being wrong with the world when my little sister beat me at gymnastics (note my silver medal). I remember crying and pouting… and I remember my fellow eight-year old Olympians doing the same thing when they lost. Losing is hard when you’re small—heck it’s still hard for me. But it is an important skill to learn. (more…)

When I was maybe fourteen or fifteen, I fell in love with my hiking shoes.  It likely wasn’t the first pair I’d ever owned, but it’s the first pair I remember.  We bonded, those boots and I.  I thought of them as a buddy.  An integral part of my naturalist being.  They made me hike faster, climb better, and gave me greater stealth.  And when I finally retired them after years of scrambling, running, sneaking, and exploring, I saved them.  Placing them reverently in the shoe box in which my new hiking boots arrived.  Just in case.  They’re still in my mom’s basement somewhere.

They were Hi-Tecs.  Blue and grey, mid-ankle high, with easy-to-tie laces.

So when onlineshoes.com asked Lindsey if she or I wanted to review a pair of Hi-Tecs, I was only too eager to remake the bond I’d had with that first pair.  I went with the mid-ankle Hi-Tec Harmony (WP) boots.

They arrived in the mail three weeks ago, and I have been aggressively putting them through their paces.  Obviously, there was no way I could take pictures of my feet, so, alas, I had to travel to Reno and see Lindsey.  So that she could take pictures of the shoes, of course.  No other reason.

On the plus side: (more…)