Where to start?

This is an idea that I've had for a long time, and have been thinking about it even more with the advent of blogs. There are so many things that I've learned about the world, about myself anf about my relationship with everything around me through my many readings of these books. There are, of course, many other influences, but the Little House books have been such a large part of my life, and now I'm finally reading them with my children too. The time just seems right. (Hopefully I can find enough time to actually keep up the writing.)

I think that I may start out this blog as musings on some big picture items that I've learned, but I do see there are a few ways that I could organize what I write; chapter by chapter, or topic by topic, probably a bit of both...

From the first time I read these books, when I was about ten, it astounded me to think how relatively little time has passed since this continent was a vast wilderness dotted with determined, self-reliant people. It is astounding to me that in her lifetime, Laura Ingalls Wilder travelled by covered wagon, steam train, car, and by airplane. She had a gift for describing the beauty of what she saw, as well as simply and clearly describing the techniques that her family used to live, (I feel sure that I could make cheese if I had milk and rennet...), all within the framework of a children's story.