Over the course of our marriage Renee and I have become incredibly talented with packing the (semi) necessities into small places. This is because we usually live out of car for the summer months – traveling to the hinterlands of this continent. 2004 was the high point, packing all our gear into a tiny Mazda [...]

In the large list of things to freak out about for next week, I find myself going over what the first conversation will be/should be/ etc.  Which is funny, considering it will probably be such an emotional event that I won’t remember what I’m saying in the first place. Leading contenders: Hola mis ninas, soy [...]

In my experience, white, Dutch Americans typically lumber into a dance with rusty, jerky, mechanical movements that resemble tin men without the grease (anyone ever see Dutch Dancing?). It’s a natural condition, no doubt fostered by a Calvinist/puritan roots skeptical of displaying too much emotion and a climate of cold mid-western winters that discourage displays [...]

Growing up I lived in an earth-bermed house built into a hill. Beyond the hill lay a creek that, on good winter days with the right combination of snow and ice, could be cleared by a well placed sled and an intuitive sense of physics. Along the creek were cottonwood trees, beech trees, and pine. [...]