A Christmas Raft
We were inspired by Tricia at Little Eco Footprints to make our own version of her “calm and creative” natural advent calendar, so last week we gathered leaves from around our neighborhood, numbered...
View ArticleCelebrate the First Day of Winter
Photo by Moyan Brenn “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” ― John Steinbeck It’s hard to find words after the tragic shooting in Connecticut last Friday....
View ArticleHappy Holidays!
Merry Christmas, from my family to yours, if you’re celebrating tomorrow. (If you’re not celebrating, I hope you have a lovely week as well.) In honor of the holiday, I’ll leave you with one of my...
View ArticleThe Best of 2012
Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who read New Urban Habitat this year. Here are the 10 most popular posts of 2012: Resolving to Pay Attention The Riddle of Parenting The Empty Table Friendship:...
View Article12 Aha Moments in 2012
At the end of 2010, I shared 10 magic moments when someone said or wrote something that surprised or inspired me. Moments that made me say, “aha.” Now, as we say so long to 2012, I have 12 more for...
View ArticleAnthologizing
A Colorado columbine. Photo: Columbine Quillen For the past few months, in addition to my usual writing and blogging, I’ve been working on a big project. I’m editing an anthology of my late father Ed...
View ArticleRev Up Your Creativity
Photo: John Mallon “I’m going to make something every day in 2013,” I announced in December. When I saw my friends’ responses, I thought perhaps this might be too ambitious an undertaking. However,...
View ArticleFinding Beauty
My photo archives are like a journal of my life. I can spot the periods of busyness, stress, or deadlines by the gaps there. I can also spot the winter months that way. Around November my...
View ArticleStriking a Balance With Technology
Photo: Anita Ritenour When my sister spent a year studying abroad in Iceland in 1993, we had little contact with her. We spent a lot of money to call each other occasionally on a land line that hummed...
View ArticleThe Healing Power of Trees
If you would know strength and patience, welcome the company of trees. ~Hal Borland Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough. That’s how our household sounds this week. So it was with interest that I...
View ArticleThe Wisdom of Winter
Winter is the time of promise because there is so little to do — or because you can now and then permit yourself the luxury of thinking so. – Stanley Crawford Photo: Matt McGee Oh February. I always...
View ArticlePruning Season: Practical Tips for Simplifying Your Life
It’s the time of year when we prune the rosebushes in our backyard down to a few stalks. For several weeks afterward, they look stark, straggly, and half-dead. Then an amazing thing happens. By May,...
View ArticleThe Most Powerful Thing in the World
It’s March, and as I write this, it couldn’t be lovelier here. (March does have a way of surprising us, doesn’t it?) In these parts it came in with sunshine, daffodils, and birdsong. Last week I...
View ArticleHow Transforming Your Meals Can Transform Your Life
Recently, I had an aha moment while I was eating a salad for lunch and skimming the newspaper. I don’t have much time for newspaper reading in this season of life. Of course, we all know it’s not that...
View ArticleWelcome Spring
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” ― Margaret Atwood, Bluebeard’s Egg The spring equinox is this Wednesday. What a perfect time to celebrate longer days, warmer...
View ArticleCelebrating Spring
We’re bringing in the season this week with lots of gardening, hiking, and spring cleaning. Here are a few scenes from our hike this weekend. We also plan to do some biking, now that we’ve inducted...
View ArticleLessons From the Garden
“Can we plant the pumpkins this day?” “Let’s go see if the peas are growing!” “Mom, the chickens are in the garden again.” Oh yes, those are the sounds of spring around here. It’s our fifth year...
View ArticleWhy the Most Powerful Thing in the World is a Seed
As promised, here’s my review of The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food by Janisse Ray. Why the Most Powerful Thing in the World is a Seed “The Seed Underground” is a love letter to...
View ArticleHow To Learn Anything
A few months ago, I said “shoes” in a conversation with my husband, and one-year-old Ira appeared in the doorway carrying his Stride Rites. That’s when we realized he can understand everything we say....
View ArticleHappy Earth Day!
In honor of the holiday, I’m posting a column my dad wrote for the April 21, 2011 Denver Post. I have a cameo appearance, and I love my dad’s hilarious and true take on how we should celebrate the...
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