Author Archives: susanmsink@gmail.com

Chicken News

There’s been some activity in the flock the past few months. Thought I’d give you an update, since the chickens and their antics are quite popular on the blog! First, this chicken, who I’ve been calling Beauty for obvious reasons, … Continue reading

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Eating Year Round from the Garden

I am always conscious of my real gardening goal– to eat from the garden year round. That is no small thing when one lives in Minnesota. I was talking to a woman I work with who lives in Florida and … Continue reading

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Hey! A Garden Post!

Today was supposed to be the day to plant potatoes and asparagus crowns. Potatoes got planted, but also took care of the delivering of the new chicken coop. We’re now a two-coop household, or more like a giant coop with … Continue reading

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The Story Beneath the Story

I’m writing a novel. I’m in a yearlong novel writing class, in fact. And it is not a happy story. In fact, the story is quite depressing. And so I’ve been going around the past two weeks especially asking myself … Continue reading

Posted in Benedictine monastery, religion, writing | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Oncology at the Gym

It has been a long, cold winter. We would have liked significantly more snow than we received, and significantly fewer days below zero. But now I’ve set up my first tray of seeds: leeks, red onions and garlic, on the … Continue reading

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The One-Pan Phenomenon

A couple Sundays ago, Steve and I went to Barnes & Noble. We do this every once in a while to check out the progress, or demise, of the book industry. It’s kind of like checking in on American trends. … Continue reading

Posted in food, Greenhouse, recipe | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Greenhouse Effect

This year I feel like a different gardener than in years past. It isn’t about cancer– all that did was lose me a year of gardening. But I’m more confident about all the crops, more in tune with what is … Continue reading

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Women and Cancer

OK, enough with the pause (haha), I have something on my mind and some time to say it. This morning I was reading a blog by a friend who just had her last (16th) chemotherapy treatment for cancer. She lives … Continue reading

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Pause

Dear Reader, I started writing this blog back in 2008. I started it for a specific reason. I’d written an essay that I submitted to America magazine. It was a risky essay, and it was a nuanced one– about living in an … Continue reading

Posted in cancer, The Saint John's Bible, writing | 5 Comments

First Eggs

I’ve been really having a time of it with my chickens. I am really starting to resent them. They are just not laying eggs. I put in two nice brooder boxes for them, and every time I filled them with … Continue reading

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