About Us

Contact any of us at: heartkeepercommonroom[at]gmail{dot}com

Contributors (short version):

Headmaster- Married to the DHM since 1982. Spent 20 years in the Air Force as an enlisted man and aircraft mechanic. Now manages small chain of discount grocery stores. Super-Dad. Unemployed as of February, 2012, substitute teaching, looking for work  Hired on as a full-time aide in the special ed class; works summers at the local airport, going back to school to get a teaching certificate to become a full time special ed teacher.

Headmistress, zookeeper: Married to the HM since 1982. Sahm mom, homeschooling mom, writer, eclectic and disorganized.

TheHistoryGirl, born in 1983, graduated from University with degree in history in 2009, married Strider in October of 2009.  Striderling born 11/10, Princess Peach born 12/11.

Equuschick Born in 1984, worked at local animal shelter, married Shasta (whom she met when she was 8 years old) in November 2008, Dread Pirate Grasshopper born 9/09; Ladybug born on tax day 2011; the newest baby was born in Feb. of 2013

JennyAnyDots Born in 1989, our seamstress.  Works at the airport reupholstering small planes.  Never posts a thing anymore.

Pipsqueak Born in 1990, our photographer and quiet prankster; works at the library, goes to college.  Almost never posts a thing anymore.

Who we are: Retired Air Force, Homeschooling family who have finally settled down on property inherited from the DHM’s favorite uncle, whom we miss dreadfully.

Two parents, married forever and only to one another.

Seven Progeny.

Son-in-law, other son-in-law. Courtship worked for my two oldest girls, and their first kiss was on their wedding day.

The Dread Pirate Grasshopper, born at home 9/09 on National Pirate’s Day, a spirited and bright child who brings us all much joy, even while he keeps his parents on the run.  Sometimes especially when he keeps his parents on the run.

The Striderling, born 11/10 at home, whisked by ambulance to the NICU, and later by ambulance to a larger NICU.  All in all,his first 41 days of life he had two ambulance rides, two surgeries, too many tests to count, and so many blood draws he was limp and flacid. Home on oxygen and a feeding tube in his stomach, and adorable as all get out. His outcome, btw, would have been essentially the same if he’d been born at a hospital, sans the first ambulance trip.  He’d have been whisked of in a crash cart to NICU. He has a rare genetic condition limiting his lung capacity. 1 in 100,000 to 130,000 babies are born with it. Only 20 to 30 percent of those babies live as long as their second birthday. The Striderling is a miracle, and every day is a blessing. The hospital discovered, the week of his first birthday, that they had neglected to pay attention to the results of his blood tests when he was in the NICU, and he does not have that rare condition, he has a different, but equally rare condition, that is NOT life threatening (although their misdiagnosis could have killed him, especially if his mama hadn’t managed to keep him on breastmilk all that year), and can be treated by medication he needs for the rest of his life.  He has several delays thanks to their huge blunder, but we hope he will catch up with therapy.

Ladybug 3, born at home 4/15/11, the Grasshopper’s baby sister, the Ladybug, who sleeps through anything.

Grandbaby 4, Princess Peach,  born at home in very, very late December, Striderling’s young sibling.

Grandbaby 5- went home to the Lord when the  Equuschick miscarried miscarried.

Grandbaby 6- due January of 2013 to the Equuschick and Shasta

Critters:

The dogs. A horse. Outdoor cat.A goat. A couple of beef still on the hoof in the freezer. Various other critters and livestock come and go.

What: chatting about education, cooking, crafting, politics, literature, leadership (as HM has time), music, frugal living, adoption, formerly the problems of living in a 1200 square foot house with only one bathroom (now we luxuriate in a house three times larger with four bathrooms which ought to embarrass me but still delights me), animals, vegetables, minerals, cabbages, and kings, and whatever strikes our fancy.

Where: Here at the Common Room. Okay, in the country near the family homestead (for participation in the War of 1812), in one of the Great Lakes States.

When: all day, every day.

Why: Because we like to.

Well, that was the initial reason, and it is still a strong reason. I (the DHM) wouldn’t do this if I didn’t enjoy it so much. But now it also helps pay for groceries and to put gas in our van, as well as provide the occasional family treat through ads, through sales here, here, and through affiliate links to Amazon, swagbucks prizes, and so forth.

Favorite links migrate about the page- depends on when we last edited the template, and how badly we botched the edit.

Want more? See the 2/11/05 archives.

Supporting Characters (Cast)

The Cherub: our 3rd daughter, born in 1987, joined our family in 1992, she has multiple disabilities and functions at about the level of a two year old.

The FYG: our 6th daughter, born at home in 1996

The BOY, FYB: our 7th child and only boy because God wanted me to swallow my pride and have to explain to everybody, forever, that NO, we weren’t ‘trying for a boy,’ it just happened that way, born at home in 1998

Shasta: The Equuschick’s hubby, born in 1982. I used to babysit him and he has long been one of my favorite people. He sings, he plays guitar, he makes us laugh. He grew up, joined the Army, went to Iraq, lost his hearing, lost his bearings, moved to Texas, came to visit us a few times over the years, one day started coming to visit the EC instead of us, found his bearings and came out here to marry his best friend in November of ’08. Their first kiss was at their wedding. He’s going to college and working to support his family.

The Pirate and The Ladybug are Shasta’s and the Equuschick’s

Strider: The HG’s hubby, born in 1983- He helped us move in to this house in 2008 when he hardly knew us because he’s just that kind of guy. Plays the piano, composes his own music, sings, fixes things, and makes us laugh. He and she were friends for five years and then one day in May he said, “Hello!?” and a few days later she said, “Ohhhh.  Hi!” and the next October they were wed- the approximately 200 wedding guests witnessed their first kiss.

Tea Chemist (TC): College grad girlfriend of the HG’s and then all of us, who lived with us for one summer and whom we love dearly.

Granny Tea: The DHM’s Mom, ageless and timeless, who has always allowed the grand-daughters to dress her up in ridiculous outfits for outlandish Tea Parties, and whose maiden name begins with T.

G-pa: The DHM’s Dad, born shortly after the ark landed, who, sadly, has dementia, but we don’t let that depress us.  Passed away in spring of 2012.

Blynken (’04) and Nod (’06)- our unofficial godsons and part-time foster sons. We met their mother, a single parent, on a Sunday night in 2006 when she was living in a women’s shelter, and on Monday night my family kept Blynken here while I stayed at the hospital with her while Nod was born. I got to hold him first.It’s complicated.  They are here most weekends, and sometimes we have periods where they live with us for a couple weeks, go home for two days, and then come back for two weeks.

Collectively we like music, books, Jane Austen, C. S. Lewis, Wendell Berry, P.G. Wodehouse, Lenka, Doc Watson, Mozart, movies, flowers, photography, legos, Star Wars, sewing, baking, feasting, word games, each other, singing, hospitality, living frugally and joyfully, but not necessarily in that order. We live in a large house in the country with cork floors, a corn boiler for radiant heat flooring,a wood stove with wood cut from our own land for burning, in a sheltered niche behind a hill and surrounded by trees for additional protection from the elements.

We buy most of our stuff from thrift shops or yard sales. We dislike mindless commercialism. We are mostly green and crunchy and we are mostly conservative, but we aren’t crunchy cons.

We are pro-life. Some of us are registered libertarians, some of us Republican, and I think we have a couple Independents. One of us is a commy pinko, but we won’t tell which.=) We do believe in charity, but we don’t like socialism or taking other people’s money, in spite of the fact that my father was a Communist when I was a child.  Seriously, he was.  My parents also moved us all to Canada during the Viet Nam war, make of that what you will.

We are human, which means we are also messy, a mass of internal contradictions, far from perfect, sometimes grouchy, often curmudgeonly, but we always strive to be better. At least on our good days.