Category Archives: home

Life in the word.

Posted on January 4, 2017 by cheapskateintellectual

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, conservation, home, resilience, spirit, the South | 2 Comments

Moving the house.

Posted on November 12, 2016 by cheapskateintellectual

On the morning of November 9, 2016, I walked out of my front door into a world I wasn’t sure I’d recognize.  It was the warmest November ever, but with just enough nip to the air to remind us it … Continue reading →

Posted in community, conservation, culture, frac-sand mining, home, politics, resilience, technology | 2 Comments

First clothesline day of 2016!

Posted on February 28, 2016 by cheapskateintellectual

Clotheslining is a big deal here in Cheapskate-Intellectual-land, so the first warm and windy day is a big deal too.  As soon as I saw the sun and smelled the breeze, I knew it was time.  So familiar and delightful … Continue reading →

Posted in attention, home, seasons | 2 Comments

Creamed pearl onions.

Posted on November 26, 2015 by cheapskateintellectual

Since y’all seemed to like the talked-through bacon and brussels sprouts recipe, here’s one more: creamed pearl onions, a Thanksgiving and Christmas classic from holidays at home that has won new converts up here, where it’s going to a friend’s … Continue reading →

Posted in food, gratitude, home, seasons | Leave a comment

The museum of the too-good-to-use.

Posted on November 21, 2014 by cheapskateintellectual

“My mother had a collection of old lace, which was famous among her friends, and a few fragments of it still remain to me, piously pinned up in the indigo-blue paper supposed (I have never known why) to be necessary … Continue reading →

Posted in home, spirit, stuff, the past | 1 Comment

The twentysomething brain (and beyond.)

Posted on January 20, 2014 by cheapskateintellectual

(from my manuscript-in-progress) Significantly, Buddhists call looking at an object or emotion steadily for some time and processing the emotions that arise “sustaining the gaze.”  The ability to “sustain the gaze” without distraction from within or without is the ability … Continue reading →

Posted in attention, home, money, resilience, stuff, technology | 6 Comments

The Lenten closet.

Posted on February 26, 2012 by cheapskateintellectual

Yesterday I went to Minneapolis to buy some sorely needed new clothes. Just a few good pieces that I was lucky enough to find on sale.  This afternoon — energized by what Marilynne Robinson in Housekeeping called the “swift, watery … Continue reading →

Posted in body, conservation, gratitude, home, money, self-reliance, stuff, women | 4 Comments

A vermicular update — and some home composting lessons.

Posted on February 12, 2012 by cheapskateintellectual

A couple of posts ago, you read about my new experiment in home vermicomposting. But since then I’ve learned there’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to go about it.  Basically, I now wish I’d started with one … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, compost, conservation, gardening, home | 6 Comments

Gettin’ worms.

Posted on January 19, 2012 by cheapskateintellectual

The kitchen of your mama’s house in Alabama is not the best place to announce to your family – all human and animal doctors whose lives are full of horses, cattle, and dogs — that you are about to embark … Continue reading →

Posted in animals, compost, gardening, home | 1 Comment

Mary, Martha, and cheapskate intellectualism: the New Year’s organizing dilemma.

Posted on January 3, 2012 by cheapskateintellectual

Every year, fresh from days away at my family home where there are friendly differences about — shall we say — organizing styles, I return to my own little house and see the place with fresh eyes.  Somehow, as good … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, gratitude, home, seasons, self-reliance, stuff | 12 Comments