Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Going pioneer in 2012!

I know you are just now hearing about my new book, The Non-Toxic Avenger, and will be hearing a heck of a lot more over the next few months when my blog book tour begins, but I did want to share with you my next book project which I'm actively beavering away on right now.

My next book (tentatively titled, Little House in the Big City: Pioneer Living without the Prairie due out early Fall 2012 from New Society Publishers) is a combination of pioneer living and fun and merriment gleaned from the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books.

My 8-year-old daughter, Emma, and I are going through the books and reenacting as much as reasonably possible. In other words, we aren't smoking a deer in a stump in the backyard. But we are doing whatever we can. For example, we spent the day yesterday making our own butter with carrots from the backyard to give it a bright yellow color. It turned out better than I thought. This Christmas Eve, we are making an Ingalls-style dinner with various things like dried apple pie, "Injun" bread and beans. So, if it's in the book and doesn't involve something not legal in my area, we're doing it. And, Emma is penciling the illustrations.

This book project doesn't exactly bode well for my bathing habits, but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, I'm running around trying to find salt pork, pig bladders and tails and making straw hats, rag dolls and other really random, fun, pioneery projects! So, stay tuned!

Are you a fan of the book series, TV series, or just pioneer living?

26 comments:

Su said...

I love this idea! I tried so many times to talk my mum into letting me reenact stuff I read in Little House-- she was not on board with the idea. Can't wait to read it!

Erin said...

I'm going to buy your book and can't wait for the book in the fall. I love the lifestyle and really enjoy reading about it.

Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate said...

This sounds great! I love the "Little House" books and look forward to reading your pioneer adventures!

Katy

Miriam said...

This is the most charming thing I have heard in a long time - what a fun project, and how lovely that you're doing it with your daughter! I've written in my own blog about how addicted I was to the Little House books when I was young, and how those obsessive re-readings probably contributed to my current lifestyle, so I'm tickled pink to read about your next book!

dixiebelle said...

My kids and I read the series (as many as we could get from the library) as chapter books recently (a chapter a night) and we still refer to what 'Laura & Mary' did, and talk about how they lived and the things they did to survive. There was a three part mini-series which we so enjoyed too: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406032/

We are making corn cob dolls this Summer (Australia) holidays, because Miss M (6) remembers it from the book, when Mary had a real rag doll but Laura had to make-do! (Maybe you are going to include recipes, craft tutorials etc. in the book?)

Mama Kautz said...

Last summer we drove through SD via the Laura Ingalls highway while listening to Longest Winter. Best vacation ever!!!

Glenda said...

What an interesting and fun project, and that's pretty wonderful that your daughter's penciling the illustrations. I've actually never read the Little House books! I'm heading right now to add them to my LibraryThing "to read" list.

I'm curious, how did the butter taste???

Prairiemom said...

Sounds like a really fun idea. I hope you are able to do a lot of the things! I imagine it would be really hard to obtain materials needed.I have always wanted to try the maple candy that they made by pouring syrup onto a dish of snow.
Being from SD LHOTP is close to my heart. You should come out here to visit DeSmet where the surveyors house is. It is really interesting to see the places she talked about in person. The cotton wood trees Pa planted for the girls are still standing.

Michelle said...

I'm totally a book gal! Never could stand that syrupy TV series - bleah. When I was moving cross-country in '96, I stopped in DeSmet and went to the surveyor's house. It was amazing, how exactly like I imagined it the house was! Now my children and I listen to the CDs when we are on long car trips, and I've read the entire series to them at least twice. Have fun!

Brad K. said...

Crunchy,

There might be another tie-in, beyond the noted recipes in the book. I just noticed this video, recommending 3 c. daily of each of greens, sulfur-rich veggies, and 'colors' from carrots to berries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc

It occurs to me that "pioneer" days would also have included a different balance of foods -- greens, veggies, fruits (in season). According to Dr. Wahls (above), diet also affects skin condition and probably hygiene.

Also, a sponge bath with clear water and clean cloth will do more than most folk think, in these days of highly marketed scents and toiletries.

Enjoy!

susan heggestad said...

DItto to most of what's been said. I'm from SoDak, too, but never been to DeSmet. Whatever.
I can tell you one thing - Emma is a lucky girl!

Anonymous said...

There is a little house on the prairie cookbook I read once, lots of mush. http://www.amazon.com/Little-House-Cookbook-Frontier-Ingalls/dp/0064460908

Dea-chan said...

The book and the living. If you're on the twitters, you should follow @halfpintingalls because it's hysterical.

But I look forward to hearing more about this project!

Bham Meg said...

Oooh! Please make a fake apple pie out of a green pumpkin! (The Long Winter) I have always wondered how that would turn out. LOL! :)

Olivia said...

Prairiemom - we have done the "pouring maple syrup onto snow" thing - I live in Canada so it's not uncommon. Just make sure the snow is WHITE!

This week I am going to slow roast some moose that was hunted by my SIL's uncle.

A friend of my daughter served venison jerky at her wedding.

Oh yeah - we Canadians are a hardy, pioneer lot :)

Brenna @ Almost All The Truth said...

What an interesting project! I am not sure I could stomach most of the food as a vegetarian, but it would be fun to try out some of the things they would have done at that time.

equa yona(Big Bear) said...

Crunchy dahlink, "injun" is an offensive term to First Nation People and Laura Ingalls Wilder was a real racist. She was a creature of her time, but read the way she depicts Native Americans while she and her family are illegally squatting on Osage land.
http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2006/09/little-house-on-prairie-yesterdays.html

Crunchy Chicken said...

@Roger - Yeah, Ma comes across as quite the racist. I'm planning on covering that in the book.

Joy said...

We read the series with our BOYS and loved hearing all the things they did... milk fed pumpkin? Oh yeah, Farmer Boy! I loved the TV series, love Pioneer living if I can keep my laptop and netflix and love reading!

Robj98168 said...

Is Nasty Nellie going to be featured??? Good luck with your new writing venture...

Sarah P said...

Hey! I love it. That's going to be a great book.

Hi, I'm Peach! said...

I would L-O-V-E to read that book!

Growing up, my Mom always told me that I was related to Laura and I totally believed her for the majority of my childhood. My family's name can be traced back to Ingalls and beyond... but they're all southern Ingalls, so I doubt there is any relation. I own all the books and have read them countless times. My favorite is Little House in the Big Woods followed by On the Banks of Plum Creek and The Long Winter. I've also read the Laura inspired cookbook and I've always been son intrigued by their simple recipes. I'm in love with the notion of Ma's vanity cakes, but from what I've read online the recipe doesn't quite match Laura's description.

I've also read "Little House Country", a photo guide to Laura's homes, which I found interesting but relatively meh.

Good luck with your endeavor, and if you come up with any Pioneer inspired challenges, count me in!

Bee Girl said...

Oh, I love love love that you're doing this! I am a fan of the books, the series and the pioneer life in general! I will be very excited to read about your adventures when this book comes out! Enjoy the experience!

Betsy Escandon said...

I need to reread those books. What a fun project to do with your daughter.

Kara said...

I LOVED the Little House books, and read them all obsessively when I was really little. Well, except "Farmer Boy." I couldn't really get behind it when the main character was a boy.

Your book sounds super fun, and this post has inspired me to go try to track down the Little House books!

emfox13 said...

I <3 the series. Everything about it. I consider myself a LIW expert, actually. There is not telling how many papers I have published for school over her and her family. I don't even have to do research anymore, it's just a go to subject!