The Radical Homemaker

Warning: Blending authenticity with joy may arouse contempt.

Music Snobs: Stay home!

Last fall, I didn’t tell you about the concert until AFTER it happened.  Then, once I blogged about it, I heard from a number of you — Why hadn’t I announced the concert so folks could come? I worried it may not be up to your expectations. But that was wrong of me.  Because if you […]

Driving Lessons

I kept teasing that she should study more for the eye test than for the written test.   When Ula was six or seven years old, I had a doctor tell me that, owing to her cerebral visual impairment,  she most likely wouldn’t be able to read, ride a bike, or drive a car. I […]

Flaco & Me

New York City has some high profile celebrities in residence this week…. None more prominent, in my estimation, than Flaco.  I’m Shannon Hayes, and you’re listening to Season 4, Episode 1 of The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow.   Welcome to The Hearth of Sap Bush Hollow, chronicles & lessons from a life tied to […]

Sap Bush Cafe Re-Opens THIS Saturday, April 1st!

Yes!  It’s spring!  Yes! There’s still snow on the ground!  Come join us this Saturday! We are now open for the season, every Saturday through Nov 18.* Please note:  We are no longer taking reservations for parties less than 8. Let’s have a great season!!!   *We will be closed for vacation this year Oct […]

On Retreat

As some of you are aware, I’ve been working on a novel for like…..oh….. a decade now. I’ve done a couple drafts of it. The current version, however, is over 600 pages, and my agent won’t look at it until I manage to delete 200 pages and find a way to make the story hold […]

What’s in a Birthday?

What hurts you blesses you.  Darkness is your candle.  — Rumi I’m slamming things around the kitchen.  The girls are sitting at the counter in front of me, wide-eyed.  I’m on the verge of tears, telling them that I feel like they don’t do their share of cooking and cleaning, that they aren’t children any […]

Home-Schooled College

I took Saoirse to see the Dartmouth Campus.  She was more interested in watching the squirrels racing and playing in the quad.  I took her to my alma maters, SUNY Binghamton and Cornell.  There, she was more interested in finding good coffee and the best Korean food.  I suggested a paddling trip up near Paul […]