A new life for Chasing the Shade!

In the spirit of re-using old things and turning them into something new, Chasing the Shade is under a major renovation! We have decided NOT to remove the blog during this re-structuring process, but will simply allow it to morph into its new entity right here in front of you.

All of the important stuff will remain right here, though in a more organized and searchable fashion. New areas will also be added, bringing a vast amount of material here into one house, including cooking and recipe ideas, discussions on frugal living, crafting projects, gardening and food preservation and a monthly guest post by other noted writers and specialists in various fields.

Our focus recently has evolved to embrace the essence of life here in the suburbs, but with the added elements of a quiet and independent lifestyle whenever possible. Many years ago in my old neighborhood, several of my neighbors joked with me about my "little suburban farm". It was true: we grew an enormous garden, raised rabbits and ducks, and enjoyed the benefits of preserving many of our own foods. Every autumn we brought home a pickup truck full of fresh corn from a local farm. Processing two hundred dozen ears of corn (Yes, I said two hundred DOZEN...or over two thousand ears!) is a fair amount of work, so we always turned it into a community event by inviting our neighbors and friends to help. At the end of it all, everyone took home some freshly packed corn for their freezer, we had enough corn to last our own family for the entire year to come, as well as the perfect garden mulch cover of corn husks!

Now, not everyone will enjoy these kinds of activities, or will prefer to do them on a smaller scale. The point is that most of us will never live on a rural farm with tons of acres of land, but we can still enjoy many of the benefits of a simpler lifestyle and independent living. To that end, we are expanding Chasing the Shade to include material with that focus.

Thanks to all of you who have visited over the years, and we look forward to your comments on our new look. As always, we appreciate your suggestions and feedback. Meanwhile, keep looking forward to the coming springtime, remember to be kind to one another, and stay tuned for all the great things to come here in the Shade!

Here's to our independence...
Lorrie