Becoming Peculiar — Adventures in a Backwards Kingdom

Our Switch to Cloth Wipes (a.k.a. Cloth Toilet Paper)

April 3, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 27 Comments

Oops. Someone doesn't think she's getting the appropriate amount of attention.

The other day I noticed we were on our last roll of toilet paper, so of course I added it to the grocery list on the fridge. (What an exciting lead for a blog post, amiright? Last roll of toilet paper? I’m on the edge of my seat! Tell me more!) Once at the [...]

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Filed Under: Creation Care

What I’m Into – March 2013

April 1, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 13 Comments

This month I had the chance to spend a week with my husband’s family in the Smoky Mountains. It was a lovely week of familial bonding, scenic views, and a teeny bit of touristy nonsense. One of my favourite parts, though, was the chance to do some more reading. With all those extra adults around, [...]

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Filed Under: Life Updates

My (Other) Word for 2013: RESPECT (Or, Why We’re Ditching the Disposables)

March 27, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 10 Comments

Before the new year rolled in, I spent some time reflecting and asking God what word should guide the year before me. While I eventually settled on Holy, the runner-up – which I almost chose – was Respect. I felt – and continue to feel – an increasing pull to honour every living soul as [...]

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Filed Under: Creation Care

A Christian Celebrates the Spring Equinox

March 20, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 8 Comments

Today is the Spring Equinox. (Sorry — I wanted to write/post this a lot earlier, but the munchkin is not feeling well — i.e. incredibly whiny and clingy — and I didn’t get the chance.) If the equinox is completely new to you, here’s a quick explanation: astronomically speaking, the equinox is the day on [...]

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Filed Under: Holy Days

Short Pause.

March 8, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring Leave a Comment

This is just a note to let you know I’ll be away from the Internets for the next week or so while I spend some vacation time time with my extended family. You can look forward to upcoming posts that delve into such topics as cloth toilet paper, elimination communication with an eighteen-month-old (a happy [...]

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Filed Under: Life Updates

Why I Need the Church

March 7, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 14 Comments

My husband and I were both virgins when we got married. That alone makes us statistical anomalies, since over 90% of American adults have had sex before their wedding day, and the number of evangelicals who have is not much lower (around 80%). But the fact that we didn’t sleep together until we were married [...]

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Filed Under: Peculiar Living

Alternatives to “Parenting is Hard, But Rewarding”

March 5, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 10 Comments

You’ve probably heard some variation of the cliché a hundred times: “Parenting is hard, but it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve done.” I’ve never liked it. Not because it’s not true (necessarily). It just doesn’t really tell you anything useful about the experience of parenting. My first issue is with the claim that parenting [...]

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Filed Under: Peculiar Parenting

What I’m Into: February 2013

February 27, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 15 Comments

I haven’t been consuming that much media lately — it wasn’t intentional, that’s just how it worked out — so this month’s What I’m Into post is going to be a little different. We try to take at least one nature walk every month. This past month was the first time Lydia did the whole [...]

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Filed Under: Life Updates

Bread-Baking and the Art of Sucking

February 25, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 4 Comments

Note: This post was originally published on my embarrassing old blog, Project M, nearly three years ago. It was one of my more popular posts, and I’m re-posting it here because I still need to be reminded of this truth. And also because I’ve been too busy reading YA novels to write a new post. [...]

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Filed Under: Peculiar Living

Stovetop Popcorn: A Video Tutorial and Three Fun Recipes

February 19, 2013 by Kathleen Quiring 12 Comments

Did you know you can easily make popcorn on your stove top, without any kind of special equipment whatsoever? You totally can! [Quick interjection: I've been meaning and desiring to write some more contemplative posts -- on such subjects as Christian anarchism, fertility awareness and gentle parenting -- but my congested 18-month old has been [...]

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Filed Under: Peculiar Eats