For the last five years or so, I’ve used the space next to my driveway for raised beds. I’ve got a 3,100 gallon rain cistern in my backyard and I hand dug a trench to the front yard for my drip irrigation system. It’s worked pretty

We had some wind last night and it knocked out our electricity at around 1 a.m. My son was already sleeping in our bed, but my daughter woke up screaming bloody murder and wouldn’t go back to sleep, so I had to bring her into our bed as

This morning, I accidentally bumped my HomePod while cleaning off the desk and some music started. Land Locked Blues by Bright Eyes came on, from his 2005 album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. It’s making me nostalgic. That is about the time I stopped listening to Bright

Before the holidays, I had my first phone conversation with a distant cousin I connected with on one of those genetic testing sites. I don’t make it a habit of reaching out to complete strangers with loose genetic ties, but I had been looking for Italian family on my

I had my last cigarette 7 years ago yesterday. Since that time, I’ve saved something like $25,000 in direct costs and have hopefully added years to my life. I don’t write about this anniversary for praise or pats on the back, but instead to honor myself and

I’m just not feeling the holiday spirit this year. Both my kids are young and I am trying to show up for them. I even saved up quite a bit of cash to pay for toys and gifts and take some of that stress off us, but I just

Lately, both of my kids have been learning so much and it’s intense seeing them grow before my eyes. No. 1 is 4 and has known his ABCs and how to count for a while now, but he’s become so articulate, annunciating every letter perfectly (no elemenopee anymore)

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. But I guess life is just sort of busy now anyways. In no particular order: * The weather has officially turned over to Fall and we’ve been getting a lot more rain lately. I don’t mind it yet and the cooler

Real estate prices have been going down a little, but affordability is still a major issue. For example, a 984 sq. ft. house with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in my area just sold for $400k. To put this price into perspective at current interest rates, a buyer would need

* The kids are watching a movie (Spy Kids: Armageddon) and my wife is off with her girlfriends paddle boarding. We’re winding down after a somewhat stressful week while DW gets some much needed time for herself. * I finished a big report I was writing for work early in the

I had a flashback this morning as I was getting the kids ready for school that reminded me of a time in my life when everything was so unsettled and chaotic. This seems to happen to me a lot more whenever summer starts to give way to fall, when I

Normally I try to keep things fairly light and impersonal here. I may tend toward the dark or sarcastic from time to time, but over all, I’m usually a pretty happy person. However, lately I’ve been feeling a little more easily bruised, overly sensitive, and just generally melancholy.

Long couple of days, but feeling more alive today after some rest and lots of coffee. Got in about 2 a.m. (5 a.m. Eastern) the night before last. Had a couple hour delay with our connecting flight out of Seattle. All told, a 13-hour travel day with my

On the drive to school this morning, the kids were being unusually quiet, so I asked my 4-year-old son if he’d thought anymore about what he wanted to be when he grows up. He’s been really interested in Spider-Man lately, so I was expecting to hear the usual

Over the years, and for as far back as I can remember, I was intensely interested in genealogy and the stories of my family’s heritage. Growing up, my biological father didn’t have a relationship with me. But even after he died, I kept in contact with his mother

On their very popular podcast, the Minimalists recently posted an episode on debt. Generally I think the ideas they espouse are really good, and I’ve learned a lot of helpful tips from them. In a country where far too many people live in excess, the Minimalists provide a road