From language to law to community

There are steps to creating a sustainable life. In our society the realities of sustainability run up against the national character. Rigid self-sufficiency and individualism are the holy grail; in the words of Maxwell Anderson, how you can tell an American is that you cannot tell him what to do, even when it’s in his [...]

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Hi there…

Why hello! I am Emily’s husband, Jeremy.  You might’ve seen pictures of me doing various farmy type stuff.  I like to be very supportive towards any and all of Emily’s flora and fauna vices.  I love animals and I like to eat vegetables, but I’m really whiny when it comes to physical labor. I’m really [...]

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Autumn is Upon Us

The days are officially getting shorter, the weather cooler, and the trees are getting their signals to start changing their colors. It seems like Autumn goes by quickly. That no sooner does the foliage change than the leaves start piling in our yards. Cool and sunny afternoons turn into rainy, cold days, and before we [...]

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The Flavor Bible rocking my Kitchen!

I have many cookbooks in my kitchen.  There are only two that I keep out because I use them ALL the time. One is my Healthy Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day book.  The other is my ‘the Flavor Bible’ Which is really not a cookbook at all. It is a book that I [...]

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Real Food Give-away Week Three Winner!

I was supposed to post the winner yesterday, but Kim’s Righteous Rant stirred such a lively conversation that I didn’t want to interrupt it. So, without further ado, the winner is Stacy from the Little Blue Hen. Email me your address (my email is on the contact us page) and I’ll get the book in the [...]

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Take Time to Read

Chiot’s Run is located in NE Ohio, so gardening outdoors is pretty much not an option during Dec/Jan/Feb. The earth it covered in an insulating blanket of snow and we’re snug as bugs in our warm little house. Since I can’t garden, I take the winter months to recharge, getting some much needed rest from [...]

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Learning to Make Your Own: Ketchup

As we strive to live as locally as possible, we’ve been learning to make things for ourselves. It’s easy to make your own homemade bread, soup, hamburgers, but it gets more difficult when it comes to those things that you’ve acquired a taste for a specific brand, like ketchup. Mr Chiots is a specific Heinz [...]

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Not Dabbling Opportunities & Giveaway

We here at Not Dabbling in Normal are always working on ideas for advancing the Not Dabbling community and hopefully treating our readers to informative and fun posts and treats.  We thought we’d take a moment to fill you in on a few of those things, just in case you didn’t already know: Reader’s Question [...]

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Summer Reading

It’s getting closer to the first day of summer…it’s time for weeding, chores, long days, those projects that couldn’t be done in other months…and yes, everyone’s busy! Despite the pace, somehow our house is still draped with a rotating detritus of books some would call surface clutter, but what we find enjoyable about anytime we can [...]

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Reference Library Creation

I think one of the most important things a person can do in life no matter what path they choose is to build a resource/reference library.  No matter what we choose to do, no matter what our passions, a good library is invaluable.  A good library should be full of books, clippings, notes, and more.  [...]

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