My weekend began on Friday afternoon with a trip to the farmer’s market. The lady who sells dates from the Imperial Valley knows Toddler Harbat now. Each week TH walks up and asks in her tiny polite voice, “Can I…
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Characters Live
I think about the characters in my Winter War story, their lives and emotions, their place in the world. I’ve made them and have a responsibility to tell their story well. So guilt is a good motivation to keep trying…
Winter War draft part 2
CHAPTER 3 November, 1938 Häkkinen Farm, Ensola, Finland “Why, Magnus? Why would we need another load of wood?” Hannu gestured to the towering stack of split logs under the barn eaves. Magnus lifted a log over his…
The Siamangs Have Invaded!
I’ve been trying to convince Toddler Harbat that siamang gibbons would be the perfect playmates in the house. Without firsthand evidence, she agrees with me. “They could wear your party dresses! And play with your stuffed animals! And eat all…
Close But Never There
Still I’m working on the sourdough crust. Still. Now I’m thinking that my baking stone is impeding heat flow to the center of the loaf, which is why I get an ear on either end and less oven spring in…
Rock & Roll Easter
This Sunday we hosted our best party ever: great food, fun company, relaxing by the pool, and significant seismic activity. But let me start at the beginning. Hot cross buns Hot cross buns! They were time-intensive but very delicious. …
Winter War draft
CHAPTER 1 October, 1938 Near Pullinlahti, Finland With a snap of his pole, Magnus knocked a pillow of snow off a branch. Hitting the ground with a whump it revealed the river ahead, a line of India ink…
The Experiment Begins
Today I began an experiment on my blog. I am releasing the first chapters of my unpublished book. I will post one or two chapters at a time each Friday so I can gather feedback on the story. It’s a…
Playing
When I was young I remember there were only two things to do: playing and not playing. Not playing involved things like sitting at the table and wiping your mouth, struggling with unwieldy backpacks of textbooks, and using your foot…
Sourdough and Whole Wheat: Strange Bedfellows?
Last night I put together a batch of 40% whole wheat sourdough rolls and one batard. Because I’m a nincompoop I forget to get parchment paper so I had to lay down a carpet of flour to proof the bread. …
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