Life updates
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New Family Goals: Homesteading, Hobby Farming, & More
Up until a couple years ago, Brian, the kids, and I lived in this cute little blue house on a quiet cul-de-sac: We lived on almost an acre of land, which we felt was a lot of land back then, and did as much on that acre of land as we could. Brian tilled a 40 X 40 foot garden and planted fruit trees. I maintained our landscaping and our wildflower garden. We also obtained five chickens, all Rhode Island Reds, from a friend a few years after we moved into the house, when the City Council finally passed the ordinance allowing homes in our neighborhood to keep chickens (no…
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Sweet Potato Curry Soup, For Wintery Spring Days
Earlier this week, the temperatures here in the Midwest reached into the high 50s, the sun shone with real warmth, and the robins sang their cheery, rollicking spring songs. Now, as I type this recipe, the wind is whipping snow around the house outside and the temperatures, taking into account the wind chill, have fallen into the low 20s. It is the perfect evening for soup. Here’s my recipe for Sweet Potato Curry soup, one of my original creations: Ingredients 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced 1 stalk celery, diced 1 tsp. minced onion 1 tbsp. butter 3 cups frozen sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 tsp. curry powder Cilantro…
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The Year Behind and the Year Ahead
As the New Year rolled in over the weekend, cold temperatures also descended on us here in the Midwest. The parking lots are full of salt stains and ice, snow is jumbled up in hard, frozen piles, and when I walk outside, I can feel the inside of my nose begin to freeze. I even imagine the pine trees shivering, their cold needles swaying in the winter winds. I know many people who dislike our cold Midwestern winters, but I think they’re beautiful. The snow reflects the light from the sun and sends it scattering in a brilliant diamond dance, just like the water does in the summer. We build…
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Website Updates, Music, and More
As you may have noticed the last couple weeks, I’ve been working on updating my website! I hope the changes make my website easier to use and any specific content you’re looking for easier to find. It’s always fun to have some new pictures, too. Here’s a quick look at what’s new here at Teacher by Nature. Tags & Categories. I once read that Categories on a website are like the Table of Contents of a book, while Tags are like the index. I try to adhere to this distinction as much as I can, although it can be challenging sometimes. They’re easy to get mixed-up, especially when so many…
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School-Year Endings and My Summer Plans
The school year ended last week, and now I'm thinking about summer. I have so many ideas about what I'd like to accomplish, Lord willing. What are you planning to do this summer?