Endings and Beginnings and Forevers

February 11 is a special day for me. Exactly 36 years ago today I persuaded the person I knew I would spend my life with to buy me a cup of tea. And so it began. We had five sons, ran an organic farm, traveled through Africa on foot, helped each other out when things got tough, lived in some wonderful places and some difficult places, fought with each other, loved each other through thick and thin, and we're still best friends.

We've started lots of projects together - the epic trips, the farm, the family. We've rebuilt a bunch of houses together - from the medieval tower, to the stone farmhouse, to our Montreal bungalow and the abandoned stone shepherd's house we hide away in.

I've started a bunch of projects myself, too. My doula practice, my doula school, the volunteer doula organization, my midwifery certification and practice. And recently my cafe, which is a family project, but the two main players are myself and my middle son. Although we couldn't have done it alone - my husband made most of the furniture and did the construction work we needed.

This year, I've been letting things go. So, this February 11 is about endings as well as celebrating beginnings and forevers.

I let my volunteer doula organization go a couple of years ago, but I finally let someone else eat the placenta that I had left in the fridge (metaphorically). I'm left with a lot of really beautiful memories of big-hearted, giving, conscious, energetic, fiery, intelligent people giving their time, love and energy to the marginalized families we worked with.

I am officially trying to let go of my lumberjack mouth. Those who know me well know that I am also rather fiery, and my upbringing in Calgary and drinking in the bars there taught me some excellent words to emote with. But I feel I should let them go.

I left behind my doula practice. I could no longer put myself into the dynamic of hospital birthing. I have so many amazing memories of the 500 or so families I worked with, and the true miracle of birth and of love with never cease to amaze me. I am honored to have attended every single one of these births.

I left behind my midwifery practice. Although I was certified to practice midwifery, my certification did not allow me to practice where I live, and when unregistered midwives in Canada and elsewhere started to be taken to court by the Colleges of registered midwives, I knew that was not an option. I am deeply grateful to all the families who asked me to attend their births, and those who had the courage to birth on their own when I let them know I could not attend.

I am leaving my doula school. This has been part of my life since 2003. I love teaching, learning, and participating in that process. But slowly and surely the numbers of people interested in my manner of teaching (radical, honest, not certificate-oriented, political) has dropped and I am not into marketing. So, again, I am left with many beautiful memories, and a deep sense of gratitude to all of my students.

But when things fall away, others take their place. I have an amazing cafe, a large family, and I so much to do! Novels to publish, marathons to run, retreats to host.

So, thank you for everything, February 11. May I have the good luck and good grace to be seeing you many more times in the future.

3 Lessons I've Learned Running

What Has Running Taught Me?

Running has taught me about healing. When I first started running after my father died in 2012, I didn't imagine I would be training to run my first marathon on Mother's Day, 2018. He died when I was away. I travelled frequently to visit him and care for him while he was in his last year of life, and when I left for Bali he knew and I knew that we would not see each other again.

It was tough coming back for the funeral. Our family didn't know how to do anything. It was very small, and he appeared to have made no friends during his retirement to a small provincial town. It was sad. Me and my sisters and mother had a tough time. There were arguments. Birthdays came right after his death and cremation. One of the days we were hanging around wondering what to do, my sister invited me for a run. I put on an old pair of her leggings and a pair of old sneakers, and we ran for about a half an hour. I was pooped by the end, especially as it ended with a hill and stairs. 

I was hooked!

Even though I didn't know it yet. By 2013, I was running on an old indoor track. Not outside, not during the winter (Yes, actually, there are some days that it's just plain stupid to run outside). That year was full of changes. My mother got sick. She travelled the world saying goodbye to friends and family.

She followed my father in March of 2014... my sister and I ran a couple of times while we were ushering her out of this life into the next. We did an awful job. Death isn't pretty in our family. She had the highest pain tolerance of anyone I've ever met, and I have seen a lot of people in pain (I figure I've assisted around 600 people give birth, and generally that's a pretty painful process). She broke her leg years ago playing pirates with the kids, in the vineyard. She jumped off a rock and "Ahoy!" a compound fracture. She breathed through it. Just like she breathed her way out of this life and into who-knows-where.

I decided I wanted to race. Racing doesn't have to mean that you're out there to actually race like a greyhound, unless you're an elite runner. For me, I'm racing against myself, and I want to get a decent time for my age and gender. I trained, kind of. I ran a few times a week, mostly on the flat suburban streets around my house. The longest I ran before the race was 13 k. That year, I also opened a cafe, where my mother's spirit might come and have tea or coffee and where she would have loved to hang out, if she'd been able.
I kept running.

Running has taught me about honesty.  I've been in labor for a ridiculous number of hours, all told, with five children and insanely long labors. I think I may have ischial spines that are shaped like Mobius strips, or something. Babies can't navigate through them. I've breastfed for years and years. I've hoed fields and picked tobacco, and raised boys. I've stayed with birthing women for hours and hours and days and days, while they navigated their own special journey through childbirth.

All that to say, I know about strength, endurance, and stamina.
But I also know, now, that our bodies are full of surprises. There are real flaws, like weirdly shaped bones or weak joints, or bodies with diseases or genetic conditions. There are the secret flaws that we don't know about until, suddenly, we do. I was sure for very many years that my difficult labors were caused by mistreatment. I built a whole career on that belief. Now I'm not so sure: running has provided me with information about my body that I didn't know before, and it has also taught me that it's ok. Our weaknesses, our flaws, our crooked limbs and joints: these are all part of ourselves that we have to cherish and love if we want to keep them running smoothly.

Running has taught me about persistence.

I started my Marathon project with a 26 week training plan. I picked such a long one because I wanted to give myself lots of time to train, and I wanted to have extra leeway if something came up, like the little glitch I had way back in December. Since then, I've been doing a long run every Sunday. On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday I run at least 5 k. I try to run fast for my short runs.

In the past month, everything has changed. December and early January were cold; record-breaking cold. I continued to run outside.

I was very fortunate - we went to Lisbon for a week and I ran there. People, this is runner's paradise! Hills, temperate climate, long running tracks next to the water, courteous pedestrians, other runners, and drivers. Heaven! The hills slowed me down a little, but the flat long runs were amazing.

Then back home. There's a common saying amongst runners "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear." There are so many bullshit macho sayings out there. There is absolutely such a thing as bad weather, and Montreal has it all. There's no way it is safe to run on two inches of ice covered by two inches of snow. I can and have run in very cold conditions, and snow, rain, ultra hot and dry. I trail run at 875 meters, with a dog who cannonballs into me or completely on my own in the hills. But I won't risk falling and breaking a bone due to hubris. So, I've done my fair share of treadmill running this winter.

Treadmill running is tough because it can get boring. Not only for your mind, but also for your feet. What can I say? If you have to run on a treadmill, try to challenge yourself with intervals, good music, checking your form, watching your breathing. There's fine tuning you can do on the treadmill that you can't do so well when you're running outdoors, so be content with those benefits and don't feel too bad you're not outside.

I do run outside whenever I can though. Last week for my long run, I was super grumpy because the weather was looking really bad. There was an indoor track but I didn't feel like going. I packed up and headed for the gym - and discovered the weather was great and the icy sidewalks had become slush. Yay! I ran a good 13.4 k!

Now? I'm back on track, but grumpy as hell and feeling very anxious. Can I run a marathon? I look like Mrs. Tiggywinkle, small and slightly pudgy around the waist (5 kids). My hair is grey and my face goes red like a beetroot when I run. I sweat.

Running has taught me not to care about these little things. It has taught me to look at the bigger picture. It has taught me to be positive, to stick to a schedule, to never complain, to laugh at myself, to love life. 

Coming up in 2018!

2018 has started and is moving along quite nicely. I can't believe it's been a year since I went to Greece to work with the families there who were fleeing war and destruction in Syria and elsewhere. That was a life-changing experience for me ... more on that in another post!

But for now, I am motivated and excited to present some very interesting activities coming up over the next few months. At the Peace Cafe, 1002 Van Horne, Montreal, we host all sorts of events, and listed below are most of our doula-related activities, led by leaders in their fields from our Montreal birth community:

On the third Sunday of every month, doulas and anyone who's interested can meet at the Caffe della Pace, 1002 Van Horne, from 6pm until 7:30pm, to catch up, share birth stories and support. The next one will be on January 21, at six pm. 

Sunday, January 21, 9:30am-5:30pm, Yoga for Doulas One (Prenatal)

Wednesday, February 7, 6-9 pm, Postpartum Herbs

Saturday, Sunday, February 24, 25 9 am-5 pm, Supporting the Breastfeeding Newborn

Sunday, March 18, 2018, 9:30am-5:30pm, Yoga for Doulas Two (Labour and Postpartum). 

I am also hosting two very exciting events!

On February 6, 2018, my Radical Doula Study group will commence. This will be an eight week course for those wishing an introduction to doula care. It will also be a chance for more experienced and knowledgeable students (and myself) to come together and learn more about the craft, and also in the process to teach the incoming students. This is a different way of looking at knowledge, learning, and how we process: February 6, 2018 - March 27, 2018. 5:30-9pm, Radical Doula Study Group. Cost $400 for new students; $100 per month for advanced participants (ongoing).

AND for the first time, we are hosting a Summer Doula Retreat up in our mountain hideaway!!

Mountain Hideaway

It is so important to recognize when you need to take a break! If you are working with people and their bodies, you may find yourself tired, fatigued, "burnt-out", distressed, or even physically ill. If you're working with people on the edges of our affluent society, you may feel that you do not deserve a break, but you do! I propose a week in the fresh air, away from everything (limited internet access, be warned!). We will take walks and learn about the herbs that live around us; meditate; think and talk; be silent. We'll eat good vegetarian food, and strengthen our bodies and our spirits for the year ahead. We'll laugh and probably shed a tear or two.

Come away with me!

https://www.mbcdoulaschool.ca/summerbirthretreat.html

Homophobia in the Eternal City?

The shortest little shorts and the tightest shirts are regularly worn by those endowed with the least fashion sense here in the Eternal City. I always loved the way Italians dressed, but I spent most of my time in Florence, where people used to look like they popped straight out of a renaissance painting. Their faces were beautiful, their teeth absolutely awful, their figures sublime and their fashion sense spot on.

"Froscio!" yelled at someone wearing longer shorts and a regular T-shirt. Is their gaydar so fine tuned they can pick out a gay person out of a crowd of thousands, just from their clothes? Or is it the way they carry themselves?

There are articles all over the internet about how bad homophobia really is in the Bel Paese. Have a look:
https://www.thelocal.it/20170517/italy-one-of-the-worst-countries-in-western-europe-for-gay-rights-report
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italy-guest-house-no-gays-animals-lgbt-calabria-homophobia-massimo-arcangeli-a7859746.html
https://rgnn.org/2016/02/10/italy-religion-pasta-and-homophobia/

What are the roots of this intolerance? It probably has something to do with the way sexuality is expressed in general. Young women are expected to remain virgins forever, but to dress as sexy as they possibly can. On the beach, smaller than small g-strings can be seen everywhere, but sex education in Italian schools is limited and controversial. My feeling is that Italian men are terribly insecure about their own sexuality: women there seem to have a strange brand of bullying that relies on sexual allure. Italian culture itself is one of facade and appearance, so whoever looks the sexiest must be the sexiest, right? What if the sexiest is taboo; what if the sexiest is a no-no according to the religion of the day?

Speaking of the religion, it appears that some of the bad boys in the Vatican itself have been having fun with gays from elsewhere in Rome: https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/vatican-gay-sex-orgy-12-facts-you-need-to-know. This seems like a fake news fantasy, except that I heard this exact story from a gay man living in Rome.

I remember when I lived in Italy (for 13 years, learned the language, my kids went to school there), people from Canada and elsewhere would always say "Oooh, aren't you always getting hassled by the sex-crazed Italian men?" and honestly, I never once was hassled by anyone. I was slimmer back then, and of course younger looking. I dressed well. I usually had anywhere from one to four small boys either in my arms or hanging on to my clothes, and pretty much everyone I ever met was super respectful and pleasant to me, honoring the mother I represented. Once, an old peasant from down the road asked me if I wanted to "make some minestrone" with him. When I declined he was super embarrassed and probably worrying about what my husband would do to him. Is it true, then, the mother/prostitute dialectic? There are only two women: the mother and the prostitute and everything s/he represents?

Perhaps the homophobic violence is more connected to a generalized xenophobia. Read an interesting article here about how that played out in Elizabethan England. I remember when we lived in our rural paradise in Umbria, we never ever saw a black person, and we knew two brown people; an Indian woman who picked tobacco with us, and an Algerian man (whose name had been modified to "Jesus") who was the right-hand man for the owner of the fattoria down the road. It wasn't like there was a lot of racism; there didn't have to be because there weren't any other races to hate. There were the refugees living in free apartments in town, but they were European, so could be pitied and looked down upon but weren't hated.

Now, there's the generalized unease because of the economic situation in Italy. There's the constant fear of terror attacks. There are more and more immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers entering Italy to get a toe-hold in Europe, and these people are considered to be dangerous and destructive to the fabric of society. Speaking of which, I remember years ago when we opted out of religious education for our six year-old, the priest came to visit us and spoke of the fabric of life in the village and how we were creating a small fistula in that tissue. We persisted and that fistula grew, I suppose. The village is almost dead anyway, because all the young people moved away.

None of this rationalizing, however, makes it any better for the Nigerian who was killed last year for defending his wife, or the constant victimization and harassment of gays and trans people on the streets in Italy. I know, and of course most women know, how it is to be forever on your guard. I am a runner, and I know that many women are harassed almost every time they run. I'm lucky to be less endowed but women with big breasts are a target for stupid remarks and catcalls, and worse, every time they run. The answer? Don't run! If you're gay, don't go to Italy!

NOOOO! Women, go running! Everyone, visit Italy and yell back at those immature xenophobes on their shitty scooters!

https://www.romapride.it/

Marathon Training Update, Day 14 of 102!

I've got through over 15% of my marathon training, and how do I feel? Honestly, I wish I felt how she looks ... but I don't and here's why:

I am following a program that is for "Beginners" - that means I don't (yet) run 30-40 k a week, but I can easily run 5-7 k. I've run three half-marathons so far (that's 21 k) so I'm definitely good to go. The program asks for four sessions a week, mostly running with an occasional bout of cross training. Check it out here. I like it so far. I like the way it is building up slowly and it also gives me three rest days a week, which makes things easier to handle in terms of bigger-picture time management.

Time management is a huge deal if you're thinking of running a marathon. Right now, in the early days, I only take a half an hour to complete my runs, but as the training gets more intense it will ask more from me. I have to be disciplined and still keep on top of everything else in my life: my cafe, my family, taking care of myself, writing, teaching doula classes. The list goes on.

On Day 7, I did my second "long run". It was a three mile run (I did 5 k) and I was really happy with my speed! It was cold and icy out so I thought I was going slowly. I wasn't checking my pace during the run, and I was pleasantly surprised when I got home. I figured the training plan was really working! The gradual increase in distance and time spent on the runs; my faster pace even with extra caution because of the icy patches ... my only problem was a very cold butt (by the way, ladies, did you know that this is a common problem for us, because of our nicely shaped bums?) See here for some tips.

Women's merino boxers

What to do? Warm merino underwear, then your winter running pants? These ones here are 85% merino.
Running pants with warmer shorts on top? Warm leggings with a winter running skirt or shorts? When I wear leggings under my pants my knees get cold, so I cut a pair of leggings at the knee. But then everything felt too tight around my waist. Ideally? I would love to find a legging/skirt combo made for women runners. Anyone?

Cold bum aside, by Day 9 I was feeling a little grumpy. My fartlek on Day 10 I did with my faithful four-legged running buddy but even she didn't cheer me up. My pace was mediocre.

Best running buddy ever!

Day 11 was hard. I was supposed to do an easy 5 k and my day went sideways before I knew it and I, well, long story short, I didn’t run. I ended up on the couch, late, reading and drinking tea while my family slept. I told myself I would run Saturday night. Saturday is my rest day, and I take full advantage of it. I sleep late, eat well, drink lots of water, and do whatever I want – which is usually to catch up on my reading. (Friend me on Goodreads!)

 

I went out Saturday night and did my 5 k. I’m not a huge fan of running after dark. Safety issues bug me. Visibility is super important after dark. I’ve been wearing a jacket with some reflective stripes, and carrying a little flashing bicycle lamp, but I’m buying a reflective vest. If it’s icy, the slippery patches are less visible when it’s dark, so make sure you wear proper gear or know where the ice is. I always imagine the crazy stalkers come out after dark, so I get scared and run like I’m being followed, which isn’t great for my form. And super paranoid, since it’s only six pm. If you’re paranoid like me, stay on busier streets and make sure you only wear one earphone if you’re listening to music.

 

Sunday is my Long Run day. There’s a little bit of controversy over the long run, some say it’s only beneficial mentally and not physically. I believe it is the most important run of my week, and Strength Running concurs. In any race training plan, you will do usually one long run per week up to a few weeks before the race, then you will start to taper down the distance in order to be at optimum fitness for your race. Since I just started my plan, it calls for a starter long run of three miles at the end of the second week, and increase up to a maximum of 20 miles at week 22. Day 12 was supposed to be my 4 miler (6.4 k).

 

Sunday, my plan was to arrive at my café at 8am, cook and serve brunch, and get home by 4:30 so I could get out the door and do my 7k by the time it got dark. Ha! By 2pm I felt SICK. Burning pains up and down my spine, a crazy itching spot on my shoulder, crying spells that luckily didn’t show up while I was serving customers, and an extreme fatigue. I felt like I was gonna die. I tweeted @JasonFitz1 – he is super available for any running questions (even though he is running a business, is a runner himself, and has a newborn!) about running when you are feeling sick and he basically told me what I already knew. If it’s above the neck, you’re usually good to go: headache, mild sore throat without a fever, head cold, hangover, broken heart. If it’s below your neck – gastro, bladder, chest and cough – then you should probably stay home.

 

Well I felt like I should run, and probably could run but I was so tired I wanted to cry! My husband came to get me and took me to my favourite spot: the library!

 

Bibliotheque Nationale du Quebec

I love this place! I spent some time here and got some books out, and then I went home and collapsed onto the couch. My family prepared steaks and I ate, then I crashed back onto the couch with a book…

 

Man did I feel guilty! You can’t miss your long run, just because you’re feeling sick! How are you going to run a marathon if you can’t even do a simple 7 k? You’re a loser! Insults aside, exercise guilt is a thing. Read about it here. Guilt is not good for you, in any way. It provides your body with enough stress hormones to cancel out all the good stuff you have achieved with your running. Guilt can affect your cardiovascular, endocrinological, digestive and inflammatory processes in your lovely bod. So don’t go there! Healthy Chicks agree.

 

What you can do, however, if you’re skipping a run, instead of feeling guilty and sorry for yourself, is visualize that you are actually on a nice easy long run. This technique affects your muscles and can stimulate them – not as much as a real run would do, of course, but to a small extent, and anyway daydreaming about running is way more pleasurable than beating yourself up about not running.

 

Did I do that? No, I felt guilty, I went to work, and I cried when I got home, because I was so tired and such a loser. So? What happened? Why did I crash so bad only there weeks in to my 26 week training plan?

 

1. I put way too much on my plate. If you’re training for a marathon, something’s gotta give. Don’t take on extra projects, or you will find yourself like the Cat in the Hat with too many spinning balls.

 

2. I took myself way too seriously. Hey! It’s okay to miss a run. You’re not an Olympic star, or an elite (if you are thank you for reading this, very kind of you).

 

3. Guilt, stress, and shame took a great big bite out of my discipline and self-confidence. Let me explain. Back on Day 9, I wasn’t feeling great and I went for a run in the cold. I was chilled, and I didn’t listen to my body. I kept going – went for a twenty-minute fartlek the day after with Stella, my trusty dog. Cold again. That set off an inflammatory process, which I added to by being stressed about my progress, and I ended up with a serious Sacral Herpes outbreak. Chafing from my thrown-together winter gear; cold all around the lower sacrum; stress; ignoring initial symptoms meant that I had a full-fledged outbreak, with flu-ish symptoms, emotional backlash, terrible pain all over my lower back and shoulders.

 

But did I stop going to work? Did I tell everyone I was sick? No, I told them I was fighting “the cold that’s going around”. Why? Because herpes is bad, man. It’s got a stigma. HIV, Hepatitis, and Herpes all have a history, and they all have a stigma that makes people ashamed and guilty. The rate of infection for HSV-2 in Canada and the US is around 15%, according to the CDC in the US. If 15 per cent of all us runners are dealing with this incurable disease that can be triggered by stress, sunshine and inflammatory process, then we runners had better start talking about it!

 

Running buddies

 

Here are some tips for dealing with a herpes outbreak if you are a runner:

 

1. First of all, how can you prevent outbreaks? Your doctor can prescribe valacyclovir (or acyclovir). This is a drug that suppresses symptoms, it does not kill the virus. Around 1% of the population feel side effects to this drug, or choose not to take it for other reasons. Some people choose to take it only when they feel the “pre-symptoms” or “prodromal” symptoms such as tingling or sensitivity. Another common remedy (and the jury is out as to which is more effective) is taking L-lysine daily. This is also a powerful treatment that works to suppress symptoms and reduces outbreaks. You have to take 1000 mg per day, and it can also cause side effects.

 

2. Stress is a huge component in Herpes outbreaks, and you have to learn how to reduce the effects of stress in your life, or you will be plagued with repeat outbreaks which will further stress you out! Don’t try to reduce stress in your life – life is stressful and you can’t live in bubble wrap. But learn how to control and manage your body’s reaction to stress. Meditate, breathe, rationalize, get exercise; do whatever it takes to keep stress from creeping into your body. Stress and worry also affects your body’s ability to bounce back, whether from illness, injury, or emotional hard times. Have a look at theis helpful article from Runner’s World.

 

3. There are other triggers that can make your body ripe for an outbreak, and these are different for everyone. The main ones are: sunshine, inflammation, some foods. Obviously as runners we are outside a lot. Wear your sunscreen! Get a brand that actually works to keep your face protected through sweating.

As far as inflammatory events, that’s a tough one to avoid as a runner. If you have any chafing anywhere, or you are nursing an injury, take extra good care of yourself as that injury may precipitate an outbreak. If you are taking L-Lysine, perhaps increase your intake a little during the days you are nursing your injury. The virus actually lives at the base of the spine, so any chafing at the tops of the thighs or around your underwear line will go directly to the little bastards and start them planning their revenge.

As a runner, you are already super conscious of your nutrition. More to think about: The herpes virus seems to be affected by the balance of L-Lysine and Arginine in your body. What does this mean? These are both amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. L-Lysine is an essential amino acid, which means that your body cannot create it, but your body can produce arginine. Both these amino acids are necessary for optimum functioning, but it is suggested that L-Lysine actually inhibits the reproductive capacity of the herpes virus, whereas arginine stimulates it. However, it is not a great idea to either reduce or increase either of these amino acids drastically; they are both necessary for a healthy metabolism. Personally, I avoid foods (or supplements – check your protein powder!)  with high arginine content, and I take 1000 g of L-Lysine every day.

 

4. Know what your pre-outbreak symptoms are and act on them immediately. Some common prodromal symptoms are: extreme fatigue – the kind where you feel like crying because you have to make dinner; a tingling or achy feeling where you usually have your outbreaks (oral, genital, or on your buttocks, lower back or, more rarely, elsewhere); a flu-ish feeling – generalized achiness, feverish, maybe a sore throat or a headache. What to do if you feel like you have an outbreak coming on? Skip your run! You can do some gentle yoga, or just lie down and watch The Barkley, or read a running book (my Goodreads list). Take your meds (whether its Valtrex or L-Lysine)! Try to rest, and eat well!

 

You are a runner for your own reasons. Many of us just love the feeling of moving our bodies through space, whether we are in a crowded urban area, a leafy suburb, a desert or a leafy trail, or a snowridden landscape.

 

#winterrunning #marathontraining Day 17

 

We runners love the isolation of running alone, and we love the camaraderie of running with a group. We are competitive, if not against others, then at the very least against ourselves. We are grateful for our health and do our very best to maintain it. But some of us (maybe one in seven) must be extra careful, and we have to work just that little bit harder to stay healthy, by knowing when to stop and when to play hard.

 

Half Marathon 2:3, so hot!

 

 

Happy running! Stay healthy!

 

ps. I am now on Day 17 and totally back on track. Except it suddenly got to be winter here and I need those merino boxers!!

 

Who Am I?

It's so hard to get a sense of who someone is, especially if all you have is their web presence to rely on. Here are some interesting facts about me: fill in the blanks.

I've lived in many places and traveled even more.

I have five sons and one husband.

Cleaning house calms me.

My PR for a half marathon is 2:33:02.

My son and I own a cafe.

My father was a scientist who played the piano.

I was always a cat person, now I'm a dog person.

My favourite poem is Ithaka, by Cavafy.

We had a mixed organic farm in Umbria for a few years.

I've assisted at hundreds of births, and greeted many babies.

I have a pen name.

I went to Greece in 2017 to work with people in the refugee camps.

Hot weather is my favourite, anything over 30 celsius.

I founded a volunteer doula organization in 2003.

I have two sisters, younger.

I love to throw parties, but then I don't talk much.

My mother was an artist who taught mathematics.

I co-founded WWOOF Italy in 1991.

Great at cooking, awful at presentation.

Books and reading keep me sane, more or less.

My favorite movie is Down by Law.

I can play the clarinet.

My book is available here.

How to Build a Wood Oven from Scratch: Part One of Three

I love pizza! And lasagna! And freshly baked foccaccia, any other kind of bread ... did I mention paper-wrapped fish? I guess you might call me a foodie. I own a cafe, and I can cook a mean meal in no time at all (right now my cooking muse is Kenny Loggins, but that's another story ... ).

But the best? The best is cooking either over a fire ... or in a wood burning pizza oven.

So, seeing how we always just get sh** done, my husband and I decided to build one a couple of summers ago. It took two summers altogether because we poured the cement platform at the end of one summer then built the oven last year. It was fun, challenging at times, and we certainly had some "duh" moments.

Here's a visual guide to building your own wood oven. I will describe exactly what we did, how we did it, what we used, and lessons learned!

Part One explains how to build the cement platform, and lets you know what you will need for this building adventure.
Part Two describes how to build the brick stand for the oven, and
Part Three guides you through the complex task of making your oven dome.

Part One of How to Build a Wood-Burning Pizza Oven from Scratch

What do I need to build my own wood oven? 

First, you will need a flat area outside where you will have enough space to store wood, move around while you're cooking, and where you will not be smoked out when the fire is lit.

Materials:

Tools

Measuring Tape
Square
Straightedge
Hammer and Nails
Building lumber
Spirit Level
Builder's String
Hoe
Rebar Mesh (two times the size of the cement platform)
Building lumber
Sand
Cement
Building Bricks - at least 200 regular size and 40 flat slabs

Bricks for Wood Oven

Fire Bricks

Fire Bricks - regular bricks (at least 100) and flat bricks (around 40)
Hollow clay slabs -  enough to cover the stand: the first layer of the support for the oven.

We built our oven in Italy, you you will have to look at the measurements of the bricks in your  country and calculate accordingly.

What to do?

First, who is building this thing? Whoever is building it or will use it should sit together, then wander about a bit, maybe with a beer or other cold drink in hand, and figure out where you want it. This is very important! You will be cooking food here, so it should be close to a kitchen or so.
Also, it's going to be smoking sometimes, so you want to position it somewhere the smoke won't be floating straight into someone's bedroom or whatever.

Okay, you've decided where you want it, now you have to build a flat cement platform that your beautiful wood burning pizza oven will rest on.

How big should the platform be?

We decided that we wanted an oven with an inside diameter of one meter. So, calculating from that, our stand needed to be about 1.5 by 2 meters. and the cement platform obviously bigger than that.

The nitty-gritty of making a cement platform:

Block out your area. You will need builder's string, your metal square, and some wooden stakes. You need a flat area!! If you're working on a slope, your construction will need to be levelled. It's possible - we built ours on a piece of land that is terraced and on a very steep hill. But it takes a lot more work, and you have to get to work with a shovel and hoe and make sure the whole area is flat (use a board with a spirit level on it if you don't have a long enough spirit level).

Measuring for the platform

Using the Square

String Guides for Frame

Good Job!

Flattening area

Build your Frame. When you've found or created your flat area, decide how big you want it (see above). You need to make a perfect rectangle. Hammer two stakes into the ground, the distance of the width of the rectangle. Tie your builder's string from one stake to the other. Place the square along the edge of the string, to make a 90 degree angle, and stretch string from that stake the length of the rectangle. Hammer your third post in, then use the same method with the fourth post. Check that all the angles are 90 degrees, and adjust accordingly.

Building Supervisor

Now you have your area, and you need to sit back and have a drink (water ... or a nice cold beer). Are you really, really sure this is where you want to build your oven? Yes? Ok, let's move on.

You're going to be pouring a four-inch foundation on to this rectangle. You want to make a frame that you'll be pouring the cement into. Find your boards (1 by 4 planks), two width length and two the length of the rectangle. Hammer the planks to the INSIDE of the stakes, and check again if everything is at right angles. Just for the sake of caution, you can hammer a stake in the middle of each longer board to prevent bulging. If the boards are 4 inches wide, the height of the frame will be a tiny bit smaller. Doesn't matter. You will be pouring to the top of the boards.

First side of rectangle

First corner

Completed frame

Put down your rebar mesh. Now you need to put down your rebar mesh. You want 4 mm rebar, and it will come in an area bigger than what you'll need. So you'll need to cut it to size. Measure very carefully - obviously its better a tiny bit smaller than too big for your frame. You can cut the rebar with a grinder or with rebar shears (rent them!). When it's ready (take another drink - water this time!), you want to place it in the frame, but you don't want it to be right on the ground, so you'll want to raise it a little (a couple of inches or about 4 cm). Place four broken bricks or flat stones around the rectangle inside the frame, and then lower your rebar mesh onto the stones, inside the frame.

Rebar mesh laid inside frame

Pour the cement! Now you're ready to pour! If you're a seasoned cement user, and you have a cement mixer, mix your cement to a foundation-ready consistency.

Wheelbarrow full of cement

Otherwise, buy your concrete mix (a mixture of sand and cement that you just have to add water and mix - you can mix it in a wheelbarrow) - and start pouring! As you pour, you need to flatten the cement with your straightedge and make sure it is nice and flat with no little holes, bubbles or random twigs. As you can see from this picture, the amount of ready-mix you need goes by area:

and remember it's always better to have a little too much cement than too little! You can always find a small hole that needs a little cementing or just throw it in the neighbour's trash (kidding) but if you have too little, you need to make a cement run which is a hassle.

Cement Ready

Pouring Cement

Building Mama

Like I said, we built our wood oven on land that is terraced, so we had to mix the cement in our mixer up top and then pour it down our home-built cement sluice to the lower terrace.You don't have to do this!!!

When your cement is poured, you need to make sure it's nice and flat. 

First pour

Flatten cement

Finished Platform!!

Sit back and look proudly at your work. Let it dry for a few hours until it's hard, then water it twice a day for the next couple of days. Yes, water it. Pretend it's a lawn and sprinkle it well with water. This will prevent cracking. You can't go to the next step for at least 12 hours! Leave your boards on overnight so the cement will dry straight.

In the meantime, sit back and relax, and get ready for tomorrow, when you're going to build your brick stand.

Stay tuned for Step Two: How to build a sturdy brick stand for your wood-burning pizza oven.