Sweet Juniper! is a blog. We are just two more yuppies raising their kids in the most dangerous city in America.

Jim does most of the writing. He's the dad. He used to go by the pseudonym "Dutch" because he was embarrassed about being a blogger. Now he's so far gone he doesn't care anymore. Wood is the mom. She still cares about her real career, and now only contributes to share her craft projects. They initially chose the names "Dutch" and "WoodÓ because they sounded like Victorian street urchin names. Why Dutch and Wood? Why not Skinny, Whitey, Slobbery Jack, Yaller, O'Hanlon the Great, Round Hearts, the Wandering Jew, Fat Jack, Dodge-me John, Red, Tickle-my-Foot, Ringworm Louie, the One-Eyed Goat, Cranky Jim, Know-nothing Mike, Mickey Mud, Paddy Stink, Garibaldi, Pulaski, Snoddy, little Pee Wee, The Snitch, Bumlets, Rusty Potatoes, the King of Crapshooters, the King of Bums, Snipe Shooter, Hoppy, Smokey, Pie-eater, Skittery, Bag of Bones, Jake the Oyster or One Lung Pete? They don't have a good answer to that excellent question.

Juniper was born in January 2005 in San Francisco. Gram was born in February 2008, in Detroit.

Wood is a redheaded lawyer.

Jim used to be a lawyer, too, but now he's a Gentleman of Elegant Leisure. Seriously, that's what his business card says:

Onward to sweet juniper

Inspiration:

charles chaplin; walt whitman; james agee; gene kelly; george luks; wallace stevens; charles & ray eames; steve mcqueen; georg cantor; gene wilder; studs turkel; robert capa; hal roach; john brown; willie nelson; robert ingersoll; filippo tommaso marinetti; lon cheney; marco melanson; oliver cromwell; jane adams; harry partch; buddy rich; alexander pope; dwight fiske; lewis hine; mies van der rohe; st. simeon stylites; winsor mccay; john webster; clarence darrow; dennis "denny" mcclain; victor french; livia drusilla; vik muniz; geoff dyer; jeff mangum; john singer sargent; buster keaton; edward weston; maude gonne; steve earle; antonio sant'elia; horatio alger; bruce springsteen; pierre bourdieu; helen levitt; william godwin; jesse owens; helen levitt; richard posner; gabriele veneziano; clara bow; ezra pound; charlie hough; loudon wainwright; diane arbus; john cage; george nelson; john huston; francesco bertolini; doc watson; dylan thomas; jack tocco; wendell berry; conway twitty; michael landon; emily dickinson; george romero; grigory rasputin; james cagney; eugene atget; richard feynman; henry ford; ellery channing; george "the animal" steele; paul wegener; paul j. hall; alfred caldwell; henry ford II; paul strand; saul steinberg; snoop dogg; diogenes the cynic; william eggleston; garret keizer; the RZA; david mitchell; johnny cash; egon schiele; catharine mckinnon; the coen brothers; william 'smokey' robinson; derek walcott; marie angelique memmie leblanc; lauren bacall; walker evans; francois rabelais; kevin barnes; busby berkeley; robert frank; j.b. white; william blake; woody guthrie; brendan kennelly; frank chiu; roger waters; gene krupa; caius gracchus; norman mailer; emanuel nodel; auguste comte; dutch schultz; louise brooks; joe hill; john e. martell jr.; brendan behan; peter sellers; stan kenton; theodore dreiser; john cary merrick; daniel webster; semiramis of assyria; swoon; eliel saarinen; w.c. fields; umberto boccioni; leonhard euler; augustus woodward; richard sandrak; james joyce; anna mae wong; ted kaczynski; garry winogrand; nathan leopold; herb caen; socrates; calvin johnson; david simon; dewey 'pigmeat' markham; albert kahn; georges melies; frederick law olmsted; michael ondaatje; terence malick; john ford; james howard kuntsler; dean martin; michael ormedrod; arnold rothstein; thomas chatterton; michael ondaatje; hester thrale; muses; drunks; introverts; geniuses; the unclassifiable; the impassioned; the passionless; the daring; theoretical physicists; christlike figures; people who talk to angels; hobos; wits; foppish dandies; street urchins; midgets; ninjas; saints; silver-tongued devils; rakes; mountain men; atheists; innovators; the remarkably efficient; the truly wholesome; the bloodthirsty; the dying; the local constabulary; beardlings; nurselings; womblings; lowlifes; street rats; sodomites; creative anachronists; rollerderby queens; wandering jews; vagabonds; walkers; goldbrickers; rubberneckers; rascals; knaves; the wealthy and well-mannered; guys who used to paint barn advertising; haberdashers; the fellahin; gravediggers; slack-jawed yokels; wretches; linguists; rarebit fiends; eccentrics; magnates; taxidermists; flimflam artists; sea captains; women who work in soap stores; small-town career politicians; lighthouse keepers; the companionless; homebrewers; key grips; the graphic artists behind 1990 donruss; headhunters; chico hippies; bumpkins; self-taught scholars; synchronists; museum guards; backwoods astronomers; changelings; zombie film extras; tenderloin trannies; chautauqua revivalists; sydney ducks; suspenders wearers; rogues; pesky journalists; peddlers; poultry-dealers; rag-pickers; lil' imps of darkness; trappers; butchers; drovers; dwarves; the tragically disfigured; the beautiful people; lot lizards; octaroons; the stuttering shy; nancy-boys; fancy-lads; the heartless; pearl divers; missing links; rhyming bedroom poets; lepors; steel guitar players; hardworking rednecks; nuns; chinese acrobats; starved dogs; ranchhands; the well-dressed; humbugs; bugbears;  feral children; courthouse janitors; loafers; ruffians; outcasts; cinnamon peelers; foundlings; land sharks; sailors; fortune tellers; dock rats; gutter snipes; prison-guards; calligraphers; marine archaeologists; german audiophiles; lumberjacks; sharecroppers; macedonians; fakers; exaggerators; committed lovers; actors; anyone who worked on those alaskan salmon boats; yale-educated egg donors with 1500+ SATs; the self-loathing; noncomforming noncomformists; nutbuckets; irish gypsies; carpetbaggers; the austere; the relevant; the severely inbred; urban spelunkers; ghost town enthusiasts; retired call girls; plus-sized models; the irreverent; whalewatchers; dilettantes; freegans; aficionados; inner richmond hipsters; men with heavily waxed nineteenth century mustaches; muckrakers; trained chimps; boot blacks; feegeeans; tontgatabooarrs; erromangoans; pannangians; brighggians; hottentots; gelato makers; career dishwashers; hutterites; cheaters; mistreaters; wife beaters; swingers; flingers; ring-a-ding-dingers; pussy cats; aristocrats; diplomats; libertines; in betweens; village queens.