tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91324812024-03-14T07:19:03.598-07:00Enchanted Gypsy ~ Travel DiariesFollow along with our adventures as we set out to convert a school bus into a beautiful,energy efficient home that runs off recycled vegetable oil. We then embark on a life long adventure, roaming the country, selling our handcrafted art and music as we go, meeting strange and wonderful people along the way.
Crazy,naive,you ask ? Maybe,..maybe not..Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger277125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-12015908109725110082009-01-16T12:20:00.001-08:002009-01-18T21:04:56.922-08:00The Enchanted Gypsy Has LandedWhen I last left you we were parked on friends land in Oregon making preparations for our bus renovations. I had been feeling as though we were on the verge of some momentous change....and indeed I was correct..<br /><br /><br />We continued planning our bus renovations, dreaming and scheming throughout the month of November. Towards the end of the month the rains set in and it became obvious that it was not the proper time to replace and raise our roof. Around this time the bus was beginning to feel quite small as Sage continued to grow and explore her surroundings. The near constant rain and cold kept us indoors quite a bit more than usual.<br /><br /><br />It so happened that, in early December a friend was moving out of one of the small house 's on the very property we were parked on. Our friend asked us if we wanted to rent the place for the winter and without knowing exactly how we were going to make the rent, we thought about it for a few days and said ....yes.<br /><br /><br />So, here we are now, living in a house .....<br /><br /><br />For the first time in my adult life I am renting my "own" house, that is, I am not just living with others for a time. I have never, as an adult had a place with a bathroom or hot running water. It has always been outhouse's ( which I still prefer) hauling and boiling water for me. The place is small and lovely, with many large windows overlooking a meadow with peaceful grazing horses. There is no central heat, only a wood stove, which I like as it keeps me more in touch with the natural world. Having more than one room is a wonderful luxury as well. I now have room to set up a fiber studio in and can finally bring my large floor loom out of storage from down in California.<br /><br /><br />Most importantly however, Sage loves the additional space. She runs around and around, dances, rolls on the floor and seems to play more enthusiastically. We are taking the other bedroom and making a playroom for her. There is a a lot of work that needs to be done on the place, and we prefer it that way. The birds are even getting larger quarters with a big aviary we are building in the living room for them and an outdoor one as well.<br /><br /><br />On the down side, one of the immediate differences I noticed was the greatly reduced connection with the natural world. I am used to ti-pis, yurts and bus's , dwellings with thin walls, where you can really hear wind blowing , the rain, even the sound of snow falling. In the house the walls are much thicker and so all the many wonderful outdoor nature sounds are eliminated. It is SO quiet, too quiet and almost claustrophobic. Not being able to hear the rain on the roof or hear and feel the wind blowing my home about, is rather like watching a movie with the sound turned off. I will adjust though and will dwell instead on the many opportunities this change presents for us.<br /><br /><br />There are horses here and many acres to run and explore on. I even found a way to reconcile my feeling that there is not enough wild-land for me. Across the road here, a charming and winding country road, and down about 1/4 of a mile, is the land we used to live on all those years ago in the tipi..many thousands of acres. There is a back door to the property there and I can ride the resident horse here, Tom , over and explore all I want. We also try to go for regular walks there. I feel very strongly that Sage should know what undomesticated, wild land is like, and that is the best I can do for now. The land does have many wild inhabitants . The other day while hiking , we crossed a stream and noticed fresh black bear tracks. Upon looking up we caught a fleeting glimpse of the tracks owner as he bumbled behind a tree. Sage said he was a dog and I of course pointed out that he was a bear. I like the idea that she witness's animals in the wild first, instead of a zoo.<br /><br /><br />So, Is this the big change I was anticipating ? If so, what does all this mean for the enchanted gypsies and our travel blog ?<br /><br /><br />Yes, I do think this is the change we were sensing, or the beginning of it anyway. It may not seem very momentous by most standards, but for us it is significant. It is possibly the beginning a new chapter in our lives. Being still for this time, weather it is ends up being just through the winter, or possibly longer term, will enable us to embark on many other projects that have been difficult or impossible to accomplish on the road. We can focus more time on developing our puppet show and I my fiber arts . Moss can finally work on and record his music, something almost impossible to do on the road and something he has neglected for far to long. We can grow a garden and if we stay on long term, are planning to get a few sheep, chickens ( for eggs) and raise some bees. In addition to that I can even get back into wildlife rehabilitation, which I had done for many years last time I went through a prolonged stationary phase.<br /><br /><br />As for the blog and it's future..well the content may change a bit as I grow and explore various topics, but it will remain, and I will continue to update it as well, when the mood strikes me ( or when enough angry people write demanding an update..LOL). You can expect detailed posts on everything from sheep rearing, mothering, felting projects, birdwatching, animal tracking and naturalist studies to case histories of various wildlife patients that may come through my doors ( if I end up back into rehab work).<br /><br /><br />After all, the Enchanted Gypsies are us, and our journey through life and how we view things, not just about our life in a bus or on the road.<br /><br /><br />As for the bus, it is now parked near our place and will be used, for the time being, as a recording studio for Moss's music. I do not see us ever parting with it and we will most definitely be living and travelling in it again, maybe in a year, maybe in two.....<br /><br /><br />Who knows ?<br /><br /><br />We could, and very likely will, leave here at any time, just as quickly as we arrived, in any manner or mode of transportation. Such is the nature of our lives, and we like it that way.<br /><br /><br />So how are we paying our 400 dollar rent in this new place ? We are still selling our fiber art online, which brings in a decent amount from time to time. We have also begun doing production type felting work. We are making large flat sheets of felt for a local leather shoe maker who wanted to add a line of felt shoes to his business. We make the felt and he cuts and sews them into shoes. The shoes are very different from ours which are done using a resist and are seamless. It does not pay a lot of money at this point but holds lots of promise.<br /><br /><br />In this manner, we hope to be able to make ends meet. We prefer to have less money and more time with Sage and each other. Getting a 9-5 job, if it is even possible for me having virtually no work history in the past 18 years to speak of, would sure make it difficult to spend time together as a family and pursue our creative endeavors, as those are our priorities.<br /><br /><br />I leave you with various pictures of life on the farm, our new home and pics of us on solstice morn...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292856293828293762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAwajTdII/AAAAAAAAArE/izGhsTj4zAg/s320/Fall+Winter+08+015.jpg" border="2" /><br />Our view of the meadow from living room window.<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAwRILqlI/AAAAAAAAArM/GMnRXDjtKgw/s1600-h/Fall+Winter+08+042.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292856291298617938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAwRILqlI/AAAAAAAAArM/GMnRXDjtKgw/s320/Fall+Winter+08+042.jpg" border="2" /></a> Sage rolls on the floor, enjoying the extra space to play.<br /><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAwk68GVI/AAAAAAAAArU/Yiy1wHTzD7k/s1600-h/Fall+Winter+08+047.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292856296611780946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAwk68GVI/AAAAAAAAArU/Yiy1wHTzD7k/s320/Fall+Winter+08+047.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /></p><br /><br /><p><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAw8lmDBI/AAAAAAAAArc/-yntfGrl-_c/s1600-h/Fall+Winter+08+125.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292856302964706322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAw8lmDBI/AAAAAAAAArc/-yntfGrl-_c/s320/Fall+Winter+08+125.jpg" border="2" /></a> Feeding Tom.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAw3PBCfI/AAAAAAAAArk/tVx1-Z5hKWk/s1600-h/Fall+Winter+08+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292856301527828978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SXQAw3PBCfI/AAAAAAAAArk/tVx1-Z5hKWk/s320/Fall+Winter+08+009.jpg" border="2" /></a> A funny picture of Sage, laughing and bouncing on the trampoline.<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-71968101166998020562008-10-30T20:47:00.000-07:002008-11-12T22:34:12.261-08:00Breathing In ....and Breathing Out...Its been a while since my last post and as usual when my posts lag, we receive many nice emails from concerned folks wondering if we are o.k . Once agin I would like to remind people that, although I do intend to continue to write this blog for an indefinite period of time, it <strong><em>is</em></strong> reflective of my somewhat unpredictable and constantly changing life. Because of this, there will be times when, due to the natural ebb and flow of lifes circumstances and to a lesser extent my mood, I will not be able to write regularly.<br /><br /><br /><br />Rest assured though I will always, in good time, resume my somwhat regular postings.....<br /><br /><br /><br />Before going any further let me just take a mommnet to rejoice, along with the entire world, over our new president Barck Obabma ! We returned to Eugene just in time to vote for Obama then head to the county fairgrounds and watch the returns along with hundreds of others. Although supposed to be a non partisan election hall, I think everyone in that room was rooting for Obama. When CNN announced that he was the next president the entire room began to cheer . Out in the street of this very liberal town people ran from their houses cheering and crying, hugging neighbors. I kid you not. It was quite an amazing experience. I feel the time is comming where I can once again be pround of our country. It is definitely a new day here in the USA, and it makes me so happy that Sage will live the first four and likely eight years of her life with Obama as her president....<br /><br /><br />We are all doing well and currently still parked for an unknown period of time at a friends farm in Oregon. We had previously spent the last two months in southern Oregon, working at farms in the area and doing various odd jobs.We have been saving up money to to do some work on the bus. We would like to finish our water system and add a sleeping loft on top. This would free up space in the back of the bus that we could use to create a playroom for Sage.<br /><br /><br />There are many ways to create a sleeping loft on a bus. One could raise the roof in metal, build it up with wood or use the body of another car welded to the top. After thinking about it for some time, talking it over with various people and reseraching the options we are leaning heavily towards the, "welding another vehicle on top", option. In our case we will likely be using the body of an older VW van, with a pop top included. This is by far the easiest and most economical option. We have already located the vehicle and will likely begin the project within the next few weeks. I will be certain to document it all and include lots of pictures.<br /><br /><br />In addition to the loft we will also be finally finishing our water system. We have located a nice deep tub and the tanks and the on demand water heater we have had for quite some time now, we just need to put it all together. The idea of hot running water, or any running water in the bus is very exciting !<br /><br /><br />Sage is now 17 months old, as of Nov 9th, and is suddeny a real little kid. She is talking up a storm, it seems every day she says new words. Seeing her personality take shape and emerge is fascinating. She really loves animals, especially horses and birds. There is a horse on the farm here, three in fact. She particularly likes one by the name of Tom, who we spend a good deal of time petting and talking with every day. When not hanging with horses at the barn we go for long walks in the nearby woods, eating apples, watching and listening for birds, deer and other animals. Sage really likes owls and can identify and imitate the call of a great horned owl from a picture.<br /><br /><br /><br />We also go to the park in town now and again as well as the library and a little place called Bounce, where kids can just run around, jump and play on trampolines. We try to let her have as much unstructured time as possible and prefer to just let her play freely at whatever she choses around the farm or woods.<br /><br /><br />On a very sad note, our dear dog Gaia has passed on. She had become very ill in the last two years and for the last year had been with Moss's mom, as she was to sick to live on the bus with us. Our plans were to find a place to stay for a time, then bring her there to live out her remaining days . We went down to california to get her a few weeks ago and brought her up to the farm with us. Sadly though, after only a week, she passed on. She was 15 years old and had been with us since she was a puppy and the first year Moss and I were together. She spent many lovely years with us in this valley, right down the road a bit where we lived all those years in the tipi. Perhaps she was just holding out for us to come get her and bring her back to this valley. We burried her on the farm under a several hundred year old oak tree. Her death marks the end and beginning of a new phase in our lives. Farewell Gaia we miss you terribly and will love you always. ....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Moss and I are beginning to feel the stirrings of some big changes on the horizon for us, though we are not quite sure what or when. It seems to be a cyclical thing, occuring every few years, where we feel the need to reasess the direction we are going and to recreate our lives aknew.<br /><br /><br />It usually manifests itself at first in conversations about dreams and visions we have had, then a gradual, yet dramatic increase of energy and ideas that build up over months or sometimes years, followed by an inexplicable series of syncronistic events and ultimately an explosion of frentic activity then finally......massive change. In the tarot deck, for those familar with those sorts of things, this might be represented by the fool card, followed by the tower, followed by the world.<br /><br /><br />Actually, I think most people feel these feelings quite regularly, but tend to ignore them. Then again, maybe other people just posess some measure of self control that we do not seem to have....<br /><br /><br />The kind of change varries from time to time and we never quite know how it will end up. There is often the feeling that we are along for the ride, that the ideas are comming through us but not neccesarily from us . Actually, it is more like a collaboration between myself, Moss and the universe. We just notice and observe as the various realities emerge and begin to take shape then merge back into the sea of possibilities . Eventually one possibilty will begin to stand out as events happen to move us in a certain direction, until it becomes obvious that, this is the change we have been waiting for ( yes I have been listening to Obama speeches quite a bit this month. )<br /><br /><br />I realize this sounds insane, but the big difference is that we do have veto power over the universe, while an insane person does not, they are simply at the mercy of the universe and the various entities it contains....<br /><br /><br /><br />In the past this has resulted in several spontaneous, creative and somewhat dangerous ( on retrosepct) adventures. Hitchiking solo around the country, getting lost at sea on a small sail boat for nearly a month, living in a tipi for eight years and building this crazy bus, among other things. ..<br /><br /><br />Whatever the result may be it is always exciting to see what the next change will bring when we feel it comming on. I wonder if now that we are getting older and more domesticated if these cyclical life changes will reflect this. I would not be opposed to that in any way, to every thing there is a season, right ?<br /><br /><br /><br />However, I do know that, Moss in particular, has been seriously kicking around this idea of a horse and wagon journey in this continet and in Europe. Maybe we could combine that with the puppet show we have been working on. There is also our long time dream of living and sailing aboard a house boat. The again, settling down and building an off the grid homestead sounds nice too..<br /><br /><br /><br />For right now though we are enjoying the slow pace of life here on this lovely farm ,where we will soon begin work on the bus. We will take the winter to hibernate and dream, to nurture our visions, there are so many and so many to chose from. In the spring we will have a much better idea of what our next move will be, if there is a move to be made at all.....<br /><br /><br /><br />A good friend once told me ,<br />"Life is all about expansion and contraction. In breath, and out breath..."<br /><br /><br /><br />I like that. It is true on so many levels.<br /><br /><br /><br />I leave you with a few lines from one of my favorite Cat Stevens songs from the movie Harold and Maude...<br /><br /><br /><strong></strong><em><strong><blockquote><em><strong>If You Want to Sing Out</strong><br /><br /><br /></em><blockquote><p><em>Well, if you want to sing out, sing out<br />And if you want to be free,<br />be free </em></p><p><em><br />cause theres a million things to be<br />You know that there are<br /><br />You can do what you want<br />The opportunitys on<br />And if you can find<br />a new way </p><p><br />You can do it today<br />You can make it all true<br />And you can<br />make it undo<br />You see ah ah ah<br />Its easy ah ah ah<br />You only need to<br />know </em></p><p><br /><em>Well if you want to say yes, say yes<br />And if you want to say<br />no, say<br />no cause theres a million ways to go<br />You know that there are<br />........</em></p></blockquote><br /></blockquote></strong></em><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM5Qtq5sI/AAAAAAAAApk/8p1MHRZzU_w/s1600-h/October2008+067.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266551729623328450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM5Qtq5sI/AAAAAAAAApk/8p1MHRZzU_w/s320/October2008+067.jpg" border="2" /></a> Our bus in the meadow.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM5SajOZI/AAAAAAAAApc/7ftE4nmAnlQ/s1600-h/October2008+045.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266551730080004498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM5SajOZI/AAAAAAAAApc/7ftE4nmAnlQ/s320/October2008+045.jpg" border="2" /></a> Sage offers Tom same hay.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM5C6cVGI/AAAAAAAAApM/hcD8ONJHuIo/s1600-h/October2008+021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266551725918803042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM5C6cVGI/AAAAAAAAApM/hcD8ONJHuIo/s320/October2008+021.jpg" border="2" /></a>Sages first real Hallows Eve. She is an eggplant.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM45W2cvI/AAAAAAAAApE/7VVHaCnKqe8/s1600-h/October2008+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266551723353600754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRaM45W2cvI/AAAAAAAAApE/7VVHaCnKqe8/s320/October2008+005.jpg" border="2" /></a><br />Hallows Eve in Ashland, the freaks come out.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRu-8klcoVI/AAAAAAAAAp8/WvyCOAZcbZI/s1600-h/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268014136962097490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRu-8klcoVI/AAAAAAAAAp8/WvyCOAZcbZI/s320/untitled.bmp" border="2" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRu-8SfkuJI/AAAAAAAAAp0/DL4-6Df0iaU/s1600-h/pic.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268014132105623698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRu-8SfkuJI/AAAAAAAAAp0/DL4-6Df0iaU/s320/pic.bmp" border="2" /></a> Election Central in Eugene, people react to the news of our new president. Photo from Register Guard. </div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRu-8CA-zMI/AAAAAAAAAps/sLrWrhDrXz8/s1600-h/gaia5web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268014127682342082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SRu-8CA-zMI/AAAAAAAAAps/sLrWrhDrXz8/s320/gaia5web.jpg" border="2" /></a>Gaia ~ 1993-2008<br /><br /><div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-33977774888535194762008-09-29T13:55:00.000-07:002008-09-29T14:07:10.404-07:00Just a Little Update...Well, it turns out that our computer which was supposedly fixed was actually not.<br /><br /><br />We drove the 150 miles to pick it up at the computer store in Medford, but when we got it back to Eugene discovered that some of the keys did not work , they gave us the wrong cord and then the computer suddenly froze. All this within a few days of having it back. Alas... I am now back on the library computer and hence my infrequent postings. In a few days we will travel south to southern Oregon for some work related activities and at that time we will drop off the computer to be fixed again. The computer store seems to think it is due to an error on their part and we, of course, agree.<br /><br /><br />It will be at least another week or two before I can get back to my more regular infrequent postings. Gotta go my computer time is ticking away.........Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-1515119839646820842008-09-01T23:01:00.000-07:002008-09-07T13:10:12.475-07:00Laying Roots.....<div>I am happy to report we now have our computer back ! We can now manage our etsy site and begin selling things once again. This also means I can resume my somewhat regular postings..</div><div><br /></div><div>When I last left off we were just beginning our journey north. We went first first in the car, with Moss driving south at a later date to fetch the bus and bring it back up. Our initial plans had been to stay in a hotel while we worked a local initiative and saved money to bring the bus up. However, at the last minute we caught wind of a fellow who needed someone to caretake his land for part of the summer . The land was in the Applegate valley in southern Oregon, beautiful, wild, remote and right on the river. </div><div><br /></div><div>We stayed there in the bus and used our little car to drive the 40 minutes to Ashland once a week for groceries and supplies. Our chores were simple, in exchange for a place to park, we were to feed the animals, water and tend the garden. The rest of the time was spent immersed in felt making, creating boots , dolls and puppets for the festival and dyeing many pounds of wool . We saw very few people for those two months, just the thee of us and the birds in a beautiful timeless world of forest, river and sky.</div><div><br /></div><div>On June 9th, Sages first birthday, we decided to take a trip into Ashland for a visit to Lithia park. This park is stunningly gorgeous and was designed by the same person who made golden gate park in San Francisco. Sage had a great time playing in the river and climbing on the playground equipment with the other kids. We were not able to get a birthday ring this year but we did have a yummy carrot cake and I gave her the doll I made for her which she seems to really like.</div><div><br /></div><div>In early August our careaking position came to and end and we packed up our camp and headed north to Eugene and the Faerieworlds festival. We were excited to be moving again but our time in the woods really drove home our desire to be rooted some place.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Faerieworlds festival was nothing short of spectacular, as always. We met a few regular blog readers and some fellow etsy artisans as well. Two of them wrote up a nice little feature on us, which you can read <a href="http://etsydam.blogspot.com/2008/08/enchanted-gypsy.html">here</a> and another one<a href="http://thingsinstuff.blogspot.com/2008/08/enchantedgypsy-at-faerieworlds.html"> here .</a></div><div><br /></div><div> While financially it was not a huge success, we did meet a man, a professional shoe maker who wants to collaborate with us on making felted clogs. He makes great ergonomic soles for his leather boots and has been interested in making felt clogs for a long time now. When he saw our boots at the festival he was (apparently) impressed and asked us if we would like to work with him on this project. Basically we will make the felted boot part and he the soles. It looks very promising and could be a long term production felting gig for us.</div><div><br /></div><div>Brian, Wendy and Toby Froud were there as usual and I almost fell over when Brian walked up to me and complimented me on my newest large piece, saying "she really has presence ".. This of course thrilled me to no end as he is the KING of Faerie after all.</div><div><br /></div><div>We saw many of our old friends which was wonderful, including Sunshine, Dylan ,Timothy and there new baby Lila ! This was the family we met a few months earlier in Santa Barbabra. Sunshine ended up having her baby unassisted in the back of there rig at the Health and Harmony fest. Her birth story is amazing. You can read it here,</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://thegypsyamore.blogspot.com/2008/07/arrival-of-something-new.html">Gypsy Amore</a></div><div><br /></div><div>After the festival we went to our friends farm outside of Eugene Oregon. They are old and dear friends of ours and have invited us to stay for as long as we wish on there land . In exchange we would help out around the farm with the gardens and horses and pay a small rent. The land is twenty acres of rolling meadow with a small amount of woodland. There are horses (including a pony), fruit trees, and a big garden space as well. We are seriously contemplating staying for a good long while, at least through winter, maybe longer. It would be a perfect place to build that roof extension on our bus. </div><div><br /></div><div>Sage loves it as well. There is so much to explore and she adores the horses and apple trees. There is also a huge and ancient grandmother oak tree, many hundreds of years old with a swing tied to it, overlooking a meadow. </div><div><br /></div><div>We have looked into a few other land possibilities in the area as well, but cannot seem to decide between them. There seems to be something wonderful and also something lacking in each choice. So far though staying on our friends farm seems to be leading, at least for now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Although it is beautiful I cannot seem to shake the feeling that it will not be <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">the</span> place. It has many lovely meadows, but very little woodland for exploring and no riparian area at all. My vision of our home-land has always been something more much like what Moss and I lived on years ago in the tipi. </div><div><br /></div><div>I really loved that land. I loved not being able to see any houses or man made things around me, just a narrow old deer trail that meandered from our tipi through the woods and across a meadow, a 1/4 mile to where we parked our car. From there it was a half mile or more drive down a dirt road , through the property to the main road. All this on a few thousand acres only a couple miles from town.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was something just so right about being able to walk out my door and keep walking for hours through woodland, forest, streams and meadows, then to return home again without having come across a single person or man made structure. I would go for these long walks regularly, sometimes on horseback and often have the feeling that I was a pioneer, exploring uncharted territory for the first time. </div><div><br /></div><div>The interesting thing is, upon reflection, it was the experience of all these habitats together that made it all so magical, at least in part anyway.</div><div><br /></div><div>I remember well the dark, mysterious and moss drenched forest beckoning me deeper and deeper into it's depth. I wander the deer trails lost in a timeless world, my senses all engaged. The smell of wet earth, the sound of twigs cracking and birds singing sweetly from tree tops. I stop momentarily to refresh myself and reflect beside a stream, and on bending down I notice fresh bob cat scat placed carefully upon a rock. Nearby I see coon tracks in the mud leading away from the stream. The tracks are are pebbled with small holes from yesterdays rain, telling me they are at least a day old. I walk on, emerging from the darkness, slowly at first, as the conifers give way to broad leave trees and a sun dappled oak woodland. I soon find myself upon the edge of a great rolling meadow stretching on as far as the eye can see, the sun shines brightly as a red tail hawk circles over head. In the distance I can see clusters of oak hammocks scattered throughout the meadow, and beyond that, more forest, so much to explore...</div><div><br /></div><div> Unfortunately, in today's world this type of rural, intact ecosystem is somewhat rare, with most land having been fragmented into tiny parcels. One parcel may be all woodland, while the neighboring one has mostly meadow and the adjacent one has the riparian area. We forget it is all really one great whole living entity and each habitat has beauty, meaning and a place in the collective unconscious. The forest represents mystery and intrigue, the meadow, possibilities and expansion, the streams cleanse and renew. Each with it's own gifts and lessons to teach.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Unless one has lived on such an increasingly ( for private rural land anyway) rare and intact piece of land, it is hard to imagine the intimate and subtle experience I speak of. It seems to tap into some sort of ancestral memory of our species having evolved within all these habitats. Now that I have had this experience, it is hard for me to accept anything less, at least for long term living. I do want to point out however that it is not the acerage that is the important thing to me here, in as much as the quality of the land. Five acres containing a small woodland, a few meadows and a pond or stream would be perfect ! </div><div><br /></div><div>The place we are at now is beautiful and magical in so many ways, and I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but Moss and I both feel in our hearts it is probably only short term. As much as we love our friends and the land, we feel this is true.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In other news, our lawyer called a few days ago to tell us that she has officially filed our civil suit against the un named giant super store ( hint - think "bulls eye"). She says it could take from six months up to two years for this to be settled, depending on if we settle out of court or go to trial. If all goes well with that we can use the money to buy land ourselves or go in with others on a piece of land that really does speak to us. We are not going to count on this happening, but it would be nice...</div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, we will likely remain on our friends farm or in the Oregon region, watch the seasons change, grow some veggies and ground out for a time......</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL9003JbtsI/AAAAAAAAAdk/CcdsxQOcOMw/s1600-h/IMG_8560.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL9003JbtsI/AAAAAAAAAdk/CcdsxQOcOMw/s320/IMG_8560.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242036942788081346" /></a>This is how we do our wash, in a lovely little machine called a James washer.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL901D4ClUI/AAAAAAAAAds/foc0Sw_ieE0/s1600-h/IMG_8634.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL901D4ClUI/AAAAAAAAAds/foc0Sw_ieE0/s320/IMG_8634.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242036946204792130" /></a>Moss working a pair of felted boots.<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL901cfwQYI/AAAAAAAAAd0/4ra9A6j0vbE/s1600-h/IMG_8648.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL901cfwQYI/AAAAAAAAAd0/4ra9A6j0vbE/s320/IMG_8648.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242036952813814146" /></a>Moss fulls and shapes the boots with Sages help<div>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL901V_SxmI/AAAAAAAAAd8/29GSD-HLtJs/s1600-h/IMG_8660.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL901V_SxmI/AAAAAAAAAd8/29GSD-HLtJs/s320/IMG_8660.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242036951067051618" /></a>Our friends, Elvolution, a travelling circus that performed at The faerie Fest</div><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL974gm-IlI/AAAAAAAAAeE/7_kzps3oXxM/s1600-h/IMG_8709.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL974gm-IlI/AAAAAAAAAeE/7_kzps3oXxM/s320/IMG_8709.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242044702038827602" /></a>A Great puppet at the Faerie Worlds Fest</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL9744nI61I/AAAAAAAAAeM/rLItLf44FXI/s1600-h/IMG_8725.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL9744nI61I/AAAAAAAAAeM/rLItLf44FXI/s320/IMG_8725.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242044708481985362" /></a>Everyone comes in costume.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL975M7bPnI/AAAAAAAAAeU/3Gzq4_5xUkw/s1600-h/IMG_8729.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SL975M7bPnI/AAAAAAAAAeU/3Gzq4_5xUkw/s320/IMG_8729.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242044713935781490" /></a>This is one of my favorites.<br /><br /><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-90425770669163151752008-08-28T12:58:00.000-07:002008-08-28T13:11:04.845-07:00Still Here .......It's been a very long time since my last post, so if anyone is still reading this blog, I just want to let you know we are alive and well in Eugene Oregon. The festival did not do to great financially though we made a lot of connections that will hopefully be panning out into good opportunities for us in the near future. Including a possible production felting gig for a shoemaker.<br /><br />Thank you for all the offers for computer repairs. Our computer is fixed and at a computer store in medford Oregon where it will stay until we have 230 dollars to get it back. The problem is that most of the money we had been making was from etsy and various other online sales, which we obviously need a computer to manage. It's a revolving door nightmare scenario, but we are doing our best to remain posotive and keep our options open.<br /><br />At this time we are here in lovely Eugene Oregon staying with friends on various pieces of land and trying to sort out our lives and finances. Our email service and website has been turned off for falure to pay . In the meantime to send an email you can use,<br /><br /><a href="mailto:enchantedgypse@gmail.com">enchantedgypse@gmail.com</a><br /><br />I have so many wonderful photos, stories and thoughts to share, but I will have to leave it at this for now, as my library computer time is running out and I must go.....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-91499000381576243962008-07-18T13:50:00.000-07:002008-07-18T13:58:08.729-07:00S.O.SI am writing this quickly from a computer store in oregon. We are not dead but our computer has been for the past month. We made it to Oregon with the bus and are camping in the woods in abeautiful remote spot in southern Oregon near a river . Hopefully we will have the money to fix our computer shortly. We will be here for the next few weeks then will be heading to Eugene for the Faerie Worlds Festival.I have lots of updates and pictures to share from the past few months.<div><br /></div><div>The sales guy is shooting me looks so I better get off......</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-73961848154424668972008-05-27T10:09:00.000-07:002008-05-28T21:17:51.107-07:00Just wanted to post a quick update before we set out on a longish road trip up north.<br /><br /><br />Now that we are no longer bound to this area for reproductive or legal reasons ( at least for the time being anyway) we are once again free to travel. Unfortunately, quite a few things have changed since before I was pregnant and these changes present more than a few difficult, though not insurmountable issues.<br /><br /><br />For starters we no longer have our veggie system. Secondly, the price of bio diesel and all other fuels for that matter, has risen to ghastly new heights. This is all complicated even more so by the addition of our previously mentioned Mercedes diesel. We acquired this when we mistakenly thought we would be settling for a while . THAT in turn is further complicated by the fact that we do not have a tow hitch nor the money to purchase one.<br /><br /><br />But wait, it gets worse ( oh, cm on admit it, you love this ! The drama of it all ..)! Not only do we not have enough money to purchase a tow hitch, but we do not have enough money to drive both vehicles up north where we can make some money working a few initiatives.<br /><br /><br />What to do....<br /><br /><br /><br />After a few moments of panic and confusion we sat down and thought things through a bit. We thought of selling the car, this would bring in about 3-4000. Then again the car will really come in handy at some of those remote campsites we will be going to. Also, if we do find a home base of sorts anytime in the near future, the car would again really come in handy. After thinking through all sorts of options- we left none out mind you, including the increasingly tempting one (Moss's favorite)of trading all vehicles for a wagon and six mules- we decided at least for now anyway, to keep the car and park the bus at a friends house for two weeks. We will then drive the car up north where we have some initiative work in Washington. After a few weeks Moss will take a greyhound down south, pick the bus up and head north where Sage and I will be waiting, probably in hotel. At that point we will be in the beautiful northwest region, land of many free and cheap campsites. Here we will remain for a few months, maybe longer working on stuff to bring to the <a href="http://www.faerieworlds.com/index2008.html">Faerie Worlds Festival</a> in July. It makes me sad that we have to leave the bus, but it will only be for about two weeks.<br /><br /><br />With all that out the way we breathed a collective sigh of relief and turned our attention to other matters.The last few days have been spent refinishing the floor,cleaning and repacking the bus. This is a time consuming, though necessary task that we try to do at least once a year. The task consists of taking everything out of the bus's various storage areas and tossing it into three piles. The piles are as follows,<br /><br /><br />Pile 1 ~ Need it<br />Pile 2~ Want it<br />Pile 3 ~ Gotta go..<br /><br /><br />Following that we scrub down the bus interior, reorganize, and finally burn some sage. This is to cleanse the vibes, ward off any lingering, unwanted spirits and keep the air fresh.<br /><br /><br />I actually like this activity, maybe it is just my triple Virgo nature, but the bus feels so good when we are done. I also really like the idea of having to take stock of our belongings every so often and reassess what we need. It is a noteworthy activity that even those in brick and mortar houses would be wise to practice as well.<br /><br /><br />Refinishing the floor was something that we had wanted to do for a long time. When we first put the floor in we applied, regrettably, a coat of polyurethane . The walls and other furniture which we did later, were finished using <a href="http://www.vtpf.com/finishes.html">Osmo Hard Wax Oil</a>, an all natural oil and wax mixture. We liked the look and feel of the walls so much better, we decided to refinish the floor in the same manner. This tedious process entails removing every floor board, stripping the old finish, sanding and applying the wax.The difference in the floor so far is nothing short of remarkable. Also, it feels good knowing it is an all natural environmentally sound finish on there. I will post pictures when it is finished.<br /><br /><br />On another topic, Sage's birthday is coming up on June 9th and I am sure no one would be surprised if I said I cannot believe it has been one year already ! Although it will likely make no difference to her at this point we would like to start the first birth day off with rich family traditions that we will cherish and return to year after year. One tradition we really like is the northern European tradition of the birthday ring or wreath. Here is a description from <a href="http://www.threesisterstoys.com/t-birthday-ring.aspx">Three Sisters Toys</a>,<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote><em>The Birthday Ring is a classic German birthday tradition. It is a symbolic way to celebrate the anniversary of your child's birth and show reverence for each year of their life thus far. A birthday ring consists of a wooden circle with holes representing each year of life. You may place ornaments or candles in the ring to adorn your birthday table or cake top.<br /><br /><br />Traditionally, on your child's first birthday, you place one candle on the ring and fill the rest of the holes with figures. On each consecutive birthday, you replace one figure with a candle. Place the unused figures in the center of the ring to signify the child's previous years. Finally, on the twelfth or sixteenth year (depending on the ring you choose), the ring will be fully illuminated. This is truly something your child will look forward to each year!<br /><br /><br />You may choose to create your own variations on this tradition, perhaps placing figures that represent events your child experienced during the year since the last birthday or using just one number decoration to represent the child's age along with the corresponding number of candles. The birthday ring can also be used as a decoration throughout the year. It is a beautiful addition to a nature table when the decorations are changed with the seasonally. </em></blockquote><br /><br />A lovely tradition indeed, though it is a bit pricey and money is tight, so it may have to wait until next year, we'll see.<br /><br /><br />I am also making for her a doll that I will present to her on her birthday. In addition to that we will have some type of healthy cake and hopefully will be in the woods some place near a stream, river or lake that we can swim in.<br /><br /><br />We should be done repacking and cleaning the bus within the next few days and at that time we will say goodbye to friends and family and drive north to Washington where we will work for a few weeks to earn enough to bring the bus up. We will also likely buy a tow hitch at this point for the car.<br /><br /><br />After that, it's into the woods for the next few months to soak in the hot springs, swim in the lakes and of course work on items for the festival...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SD4tgQbGJBI/AAAAAAAAAdc/qNEtmO7CJNg/s1600-h/birthday-ring.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205648251474551826" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SD4tgQbGJBI/AAAAAAAAAdc/qNEtmO7CJNg/s320/birthday-ring.gif" border="3" /></a> An example of a birthday ring.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SDzlCAbGI-I/AAAAAAAAAdE/HygXhhon-tc/s1600-h/May2008+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205287091969598434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SDzlCAbGI-I/AAAAAAAAAdE/HygXhhon-tc/s320/May2008+022.jpg" border="2" /></a> Moss pretends to be crazy while holding Sage. What can I say, he has an intresting sense of humor.</p><p><br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SDzlCwbGI_I/AAAAAAAAAdM/4LgMiwChcpU/s1600-h/May2008+109.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205287104854500338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SDzlCwbGI_I/AAAAAAAAAdM/4LgMiwChcpU/s320/May2008+109.jpg" border="2" /></a> My friend Jackie, a photographer, did a photo shoot of Sage. This is one of my faves.</p><p><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SDzlDQbGJAI/AAAAAAAAAdU/G7F4TSIZzB8/s1600-h/March2008+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205287113444434946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SDzlDQbGJAI/AAAAAAAAAdU/G7F4TSIZzB8/s320/March2008+001.jpg" border="2" /></a> Moss looking more his usual self..<br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-57088217144772354732008-04-27T18:24:00.000-07:002008-05-05T10:54:10.434-07:00Two Roads Diverged........In early March we said goodbye to our friends in Santa Barbaara, (with the exception of Sunshine and Dylan who split town in true gypsy fashion. I understand guys, when it's time to go it's times to go ! No worries !)and drove south for Moss's court date.<br /><br /><br />I am happy to report everything went well. At the last minute the DA suddenly wanted to make a deal. She offered to delay for six months then drop the charges. However, Moss would have to agree to some community service work. Our lawyer advised us to take the deal because it would not hurt our civil case at all and it would save us money in the long run with not having to go to trial. Now we can proceed with the civil trial, but not before a much needed six month break from legal hassles.<br /><br /><br />In mid April Moss, Sage and I flew to Florida to see my mom and dad, who had yet to meet Sage. We stayed for 12 days and had a wonderful time swimming in the gulf and visiting. My dad and step mom live in Sarasota and my mom and step dad live in Vero Beach.<br /><br /><br />We are now back in California and contemplating our next move. As always, we have many options. We will be vending at the Faerie Worlds Festival again this year and need to find a nice woodsy place where we can settle in for a time to make boots, dolls, puppets and dye 30 lbs of wool. The question is, where would be the best place to do that. It needs to be someplace easy to get to, but at the same time remote, wild and inexpensive. There are some beautiful and very remote campgrounds in the mountains north of Santa Barbara, but the tiny mountain roads that lead to them are winding, narrow and prone to rock slides. If we can make it down those roads, it would be a lovely place to nest for a time. We may also head north ( which we need to do anyway this summer for the FW festival), and stay near Cougar Hot Springs in oregon. Then again, Northern California has some very beautiful and inexpensive campgrounds as well.<br /><br /><br />The truth is, with our veggie system down, we now have to pay for fuel and diesel is up near 5.00 a gallon. Increasingly we find ourselves parked for days at a time in one spot as we save money just so we can drive to another spot. To make matters worse we have recently purchased another vehicle, a 1983 Mercedes 190 D. It's a great little car that gets about 40 miles to the gallon. We bought this car a month ago for only 3000 dollars. We bought it because we thought we would be staying on some friends land up north for an extended period of time and needed a way to get in and out of town easily. Now however, due to to some serious family/domestic problems on his part,it seems we might not be able to stay there after all. That is really to bad as it is such a beautiful cabin, hand built in the 1850's right on the Rouge river.It has the most beautiful balcony and porch, as well as a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. Gorgeous. We were going to stay there in exchange for work on his organic farm. There still is some hope that we can stay there, but it is slim, so we are making other plans.<br /><br /><br />As much as I love bus and nomadic living, I have been a bit conflicted about it of late, and am starting to wonder if full time travel is the best thing for Sage.<br /><br /><br />There is something to be said for staying in one place year after year, watching the seasons change and the trees grow. There is a feeling one gets from knowing a piece of land, it's secret trails and wildlife, as intimately as the lines on a lovers face. To know, through careful observation and long quiet walks in the woods all the magic and revelation the forest holds. To know the deer and vole trails, the best watering and swimming holes, where the various plants grow from year to year in all there many cycles. To see yourself and life cycle reflected in the seasons. To know the joy of planting a garden with your own hands, helping to care for it and then eating the food you helped grow. When living this simply and close to the earth in a day to day sort of way, there is a true magic and peaceful rhythm one experiences that cannot be substituted or experienced in any way other way. I deeply miss this connection to place, to land.<br /><br /><br />Having experienced these things myself ( Moss and I lived in a tipi for years at one point )it is my hope that Sage will have the opportunity to as well. This is difficult on the road. Yes, we can walk in the woods from place to place and explore many and diverse habitats as we travel, but it is not quite the same.<br /><br /><br />I guess what I am saying is, I am feeling a bit like it may be time to try to lay some roots. In my ideal world we would have a home base, somewhere wild and remote, preferably in a community but not necessarily, where we could grow a garden and build a cobb house. A place with lots of trees, a pond or stream and a nice sunny, south facing meadow. From there we could travel part of the year in the bus, maybe even leave the bus at times and travel internationally by foot, wagon or boat.<br /><br /><br />So, we are putting that out there in the universe as our prayer, that we find a piece of land someplace wild and full of magic. A place where we can lay some roots and grow a garden, at least for part of the year anyway.<br /><br /><br />One thing is for certain though, neither Moss nor I could ever settle down permanently. We both have the heart and spirit of a gypsy nomad. I have known since early childhood that I was destined, for better or for worse to spend a good deal of my life wandering, seeking out the dsuty, remote and wind swept corners of the earth.<br /><br /><br />Gypsy, rolling stone, nomad, wanderer, tinker, hobo..call us what you will,we have been called by many names, but one thing is true, most people who wander relentlessly do tend to feel this call from a young age. You know who you are. Keep in mind, this nomad that I write of is quite a different animal than the one who enjoys frequent trips, usually pre aranged via travel agents, to resorts all over the world. For the true nomad it is more about a way of life. There is also a kind of frantic yet aimless quality to the travel. It is rather like you are racing to experience as much as life has to offer in the short amount of time given<br /><br /><br />When ignored this calling for the road only gets louder and louder until you find your thoughts increasingly filled with images of travel in all forms, train hopping, bus conversions, gypsy wagons, RVs, hitchhiking, sailing. Before you know it your drifting off at work or school, unable to concentrate as you continuously design and redesign the perfect bus conversion or gypsy wagon in your head.<br /><br /><br />As much as I love this wandering life, at the the same time I have always been a homebody, believe it or not. In fact I am probably the biggest homebody I have ever known. I would much rather sit in the bus and read, work on felting, watch the fire or clean than go out to a movie or friends party. <br /><br /><br />It's true, I am a basket of contradictions and somehow I must find a way to marry these two sides of myself, the side that wants, no, NEEDS to keep moving and traveling, with the side that wants to be grounded and have a home base. <br /><br /><br /><br />I believe I have found the answer and now we just need to manifest it in the form of a piece of land or community....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cO-NiACI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/mlhhPwxGL5E/s1600-h/March2008+031.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196692432319807522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cO-NiACI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/mlhhPwxGL5E/s320/March2008+031.jpg" border="2" /></a> Every Sunday this group of Veterans gather on the beach in Santa barabara and put up this memorial to the fallen soliders of the Iraqi war. One cross for each person. It is heartwrenching..<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPONiADI/AAAAAAAAAcY/DbJwpWHUGiM/s1600-h/April2008+055.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196692436614774834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPONiADI/AAAAAAAAAcY/DbJwpWHUGiM/s320/April2008+055.jpg" border="2" /></a> Sage enjoying the beach in FL, who by the way, is now walking fully at ten months ! In fact, she is running !<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPONiAEI/AAAAAAAAAcg/sSh-wWWTppE/s1600-h/April2008+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196692436614774850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPONiAEI/AAAAAAAAAcg/sSh-wWWTppE/s320/April2008+003.jpg" border="2" /></a> Camping on the beach , we have a nice view....</p><p><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPeNiAFI/AAAAAAAAAco/FKD3xrrb_5M/s1600-h/May2008+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196692440909742162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPeNiAFI/AAAAAAAAAco/FKD3xrrb_5M/s320/May2008+002.jpg" border="2" /></a> Our friend Sunshine drew this picture for sweet pigeon Palomino, no longer with us..<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPuNiAGI/AAAAAAAAAcw/argqL-RL8VQ/s1600-h/May2008+010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196692445204709474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/SB5cPuNiAGI/AAAAAAAAAcw/argqL-RL8VQ/s320/May2008+010.jpg" border="2" /></a> Sage peers from the bus window....</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-48306720666740721212008-03-25T12:48:00.000-07:002008-03-27T16:10:03.401-07:00The Arrival of New Friends and the Passing of an Old One....It's been many a moon since I last updated, or so it seems anyway. After spending a month or so up north in Oregon rambling about and visiting with friends ( where we had on going and seemingly never ending computer woes, hence the delay in updating the blog ), we headed down south again just in time for Moss's court date.<br /><br /><br />Once again, it was delayed until April 9th. We contemplated driving back up north to wait it out, but alas, it just did not make sense to drive all the way back up there only to turn around in two weeks and come back here. As of now, we are in the only place in southern California that we find to be the least bit tolerable, the Santa Barbara and Ojai region. Here we will remain until April 9th, when Moss's trial begins, hopefully for real this time. After that we can go back up north for an indefinite period of time. Due to the high cost of bio fuel we will have to stick to even more regional living than we normally do, in an effort to save money. That means spending extended periods of time living within one region, seeking out free and low cost campgrounds and out of the way places ( there are lots in Oregon!). Once we get the veggie system up and running again we will be able to ramble aimlessly once more. Hopefully this will happen in time for the national Rainbow gathering in July. While here in C.A we are enjoying the wonderful sunny weather and Moss is earning a few extra dollars working some good initiatives, one of which is another great alternative energy initiative.<br /><br /><br />Since Sage is now nine months old and is actively crawling and standing (in fact today she took her first forward steps without holding on!), we felt she needed a little play space of her own. We created an area in the living room of the bus, a shelf with some toys and a place for her high chair. It is not much, but she loves it and has great fun pulling all the toys off the shelf and tossing them around.<br /><br /><br />We have been trying to spend as much time in nature, real wild nature, not the manicured kind of nature that one may often encounter at the local park ( although that can be wonderful too !) as we can. The last few months, while up north I was very happy to have been able to go for long walks in the woods with Sage in the carrier. Here in Santa Barbara we enjoy regular walks along the beach and pier. She has so much fun waving to everyone and is working on saying her first word, "Hi". I have to laugh because she looks like a little parade queen in her stroller (which she now prefers to the sling carrier) waving and laughing at every single person. She really loves people !<br /><br /><br />We met another family here in Santa Barbabra recently, Sunshine, Dylan, and their two boys Timothy and Trace. They have given me permission to write about them, which is nice as we meet many fascinating people but so few will allow us to take pictures or write about about them on the blog ( which I more than understand and appreciate.) They live in their RV, and have begun their nomadic journey within the last year. Sunshine is pregnant and expecting her baby around June 4th ( Sage was born June 9 th !). They are such a loving and kind family. Sunshine is a talented artist, she sings, draws and makes beautiful art from recycled stuff that she finds. Dylan is talented musician who plays guitar flawlessly and knows every song you would probably care to hear. I have been helping them get their blog and Etsy shop set up. You can check it out here,<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://thegypsyamore.blogspot.com/">http://thegypsyamore.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br /><br />I have some sad news to report as well, Palomino, my sweet pigeon friend has passed away. I tried her for days to help her, but she died on Easter Sunday from a combination of head trauma and canker ( a protazoan parasite). I am very sad and do not care to go into the details at this time. My friend Sunshine drew a beautiful picture for me commemorating her life. She is still working on it and when she finishes I will post it here. It means so much to me.<br /><br /><br />As much as I enjoy this area ( as cities go anyway) I am eager to get out of the city and back into the mountains or on the beach. In a few days Moss will take a break from working and we will head into the mountains around here and camp for a while near the hot springs, or maybe on the beach. I think we will take that opportunity to do a deep internal cleansing and fast as well. It will be a nice thing to do just before Moss's court trial and will help him remain clear headed and positive.Then, once that is all behind us we can head back up north for the remainder of the spring and summer.....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vdbeNkEGI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/_hv4vEPrMNU/s1600-h/March+2008+014.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182479260256047202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vdbeNkEGI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/_hv4vEPrMNU/s320/March+2008+014.jpg" border="2" /></a> Sage enjoying her first strawberry.</p><p><br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vdb-NkEHI/AAAAAAAAAbY/Nir74UY5W6M/s1600-h/March+2008+109.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182479268845981810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vdb-NkEHI/AAAAAAAAAbY/Nir74UY5W6M/s320/March+2008+109.jpg" border="2" /></a> The play space we set up for Sage.</p><p><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vmE-NkELI/AAAAAAAAAb4/weAsLgzIBe8/s1600-h/March+2008+185.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182488769313640626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vmE-NkELI/AAAAAAAAAb4/weAsLgzIBe8/s320/March+2008+185.jpg" border="2" /></a> Sage and Mom on the beach<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vmFeNkEMI/AAAAAAAAAcA/-GJ0OftrhL4/s1600-h/March+2008+135.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182488777903575234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vmFeNkEMI/AAAAAAAAAcA/-GJ0OftrhL4/s320/March+2008+135.jpg" border="2" /></a><br />A windy day on the beach..<br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-76302983884768502012008-03-25T12:00:00.000-07:002008-03-27T11:31:31.155-07:00<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vngONkENI/AAAAAAAAAcI/x6j_L3sgcHc/s1600-h/March+2008+088.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R-vngONkENI/AAAAAAAAAcI/x6j_L3sgcHc/s320/March+2008+088.jpg" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5182490336976703698" /></a><br /><br />Our new friends Sunshine, Dylan, Tim and TraceUnknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-53336132175939748282008-02-09T20:24:00.000-08:002008-02-09T23:21:30.937-08:00Legal Update and a Trip Northward...Just a quick update to let you all know how Moss faired at his court hearing. He went to court last week and all went fairly smoothly. They allowed us to switch lawyers from the public defender to a private lawyer. Because of this the trial had to be postponed yet again, until some time in early March.<br /><br /><br /><br />At this time we are preparing for a trip up north to visit our friends and the farm. We will have to be back in a few weeks though for the trial. This is all getting really old, although I have a sneeking suspicion it is not even close to over.....<br /><p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R66ADAF7iUI/AAAAAAAAAaw/CwJBl-qigaY/s1600-h/january08+009.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165206611693373762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R66ADAF7iUI/AAAAAAAAAaw/CwJBl-qigaY/s320/january08+009.jpg" border="2" /></a> While visiting with family, Sage helps dad play his banj-mo (cross between a dulcimer and banjo).</p><p> </p><p><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R66ADgF7iVI/AAAAAAAAAa4/cCKa6OiU-Cs/s1600-h/January+08+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165206620283308370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R66ADgF7iVI/AAAAAAAAAa4/cCKa6OiU-Cs/s320/January+08+003.jpg" border="2" /></a><br />Fun in the basket...</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-51942251284360264872008-01-23T17:20:00.000-08:002008-01-28T22:13:14.300-08:00Legal Saga Continues...The New Year has come and gone and we are all doing well here in rainy southern California. We have to stay here until the beginning of Feuary, then we head North for more farm work.<br /><br /><br /><br />Moss's pre trial date came and went in early January. They set a date for the criminal trial. It will begin on February 1st. I wrote briefly about the legal woes back when this all began, but in order to sufficiently update the saga, some more details are needed. ....<br /><br /><br />As some of you know who follow our blog, Moss was arrested a few months back for exercising his right ( protected by both the state and federal Constitution) to gather signatures of registered voters on a state initiative. He was in front of a certain big name store which I am not going to name due to the legal issues. It is a very well known and established fact that this activity is allowed any place that is "open to the public" and connected to other stores via a sidewalk ( like in a shopping plaza). This particular store chain knows this and has challenged this fact many times in court and lost, the ruling even being upheld by the supreme court. However they continue to find new and inventive ways to harass people working on state initiatives and registering people to vote.<br /><br /><br /><br />Despite Moss's best attempts to talk to the police and store managers, including showing them the laws and cases upheld in superior courts, they threw him in jail and made us post 5,000 dollar bail. This by the way is the bail amount reserved for felonys, he was booked on a misdemenor.<br /><br /><br />At this point we went directly to a civil rights lawyer who agreed we had an air tight case. She is so sure that she is willing to take our civil case on contingency (meaning she doesn't get paid unless she wins).<br /><br /><br />First however, we need to get through the criminal trial, which is the scary part....<br /><br /><br />What makes it particularly scary is a man, a passerby who showed up while the managers were asking Moss to leave and interjected himself into the drama. He approached Moss and told him that the sidewalk was for "walking not harassing people with your damn initiatives " and that he should leave. Moss declined. He then got in his face and threatened to "kick his ass", to which Moss just ignored him and turned back to trying to reason with the store managers. At this point several of the store managers took him aside and began speaking quietly to him for some time.<br /><br /><br />While this was happening there was a woman present, the woman who was in the middle of signing the initiative when the managers first approached. She happened to work for a lawyer, and heard the whole thing from start to finish, including the interaction with the man who threatened Moss. When the cops came she tried to help by explaining to them that it was indeed his right to petition there, regardless of private property or not. They of course refused to listen and Moss was inevitably thrown in jail.<br /><br /><br />A week or so later when we got a copy of the police report we were stunned to read that the man who approached Moss and threatened him bodily harm, told the police that Moss had physically blocked him from entering the store! We also noticed that he was booked on a 602.1., "interfering with a business operator". A quick search on the net revealed that a 602.1 is the following.....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>(a) Any person who intentionally interferes with any lawful business or occupation carried on by the owner or agent of a business establishment open to the public, by obstructing or intimidating those attempting to carry on business, or their customers, and who refuses to leave the premises of the business establishment after being requested to leave by the owner or the owner's agent, or by a peace officer acting at the request of the owner or owner's agent, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to 90 days, or by a fine of up to four hundred dollars ($400), or by both that imprisonment and fine.</strong><br /><br /><br />This is ludicrous of course as Moss did not harass or intimidate anyone. We realize however that this is how the store and police are attempting to spin the situation in order to legally arrest him, as they know they cannot simply arrest him for partitioning. We were very surprised to learn that this man has decided to go before the court in February and tell this lie. We however also have our witness, the woman who was in the process of signing the initiative and saw the entire interaction. She has agreed to testify on Moss's behalf.<br /><br /><br />There are a few other interesting points as well. In regards to the 602.1 there is a little clause at the bottom which states the following,<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>c) This section shall not apply to any of the following persons:<br /><br />(1) Any person engaged in lawful labor union activities that are permitted to be carried out on the property by state or federal law.</strong><br /><br /><em>(2) Any person on the premises who is engaging in activities protected by the California Constitution or the United States Constitution.</em><br /><br /><strong>(d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede the application of any other law.</strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So, even if Moss had been physically blocking the man from entering the store, which he most certainly was not, according to this law, he could not be arrested for it. We brought this up to our public defender who in turn brought it up to the DA and we are awaiting his response.<br /><br /><br />We have also recently been made aware of the fact that this man, who has decided to go before the court and lie, is a retired police officer. This brings up a whole host of interesting possibilities.Was he working for the store undercover ? Was he a plant ?<br /><br /><br />The trial begins on Febu 1st and if found guilty by a jury Moss could go to jail for three months. If he is found not guilty we will then proceed with the civil trial and lawsuit.Currently we have a PD for the trial but we are quickly loosing confidence in her. Our civil lawyer said that she would take the criminal trial for us, thereby relieving us of our public defender who means well but is way over burdened with cases. She said they very rarely will take a criminal trial, especially on contingency, but she really believes in this case .<br /><br /><br />Going with the civil lawyer means that the trial will be pushed back another 30 days and that eventually we will have to pay a lot more money. The money saved will mean nothing though if Moss is in jail for something he did not do.<br /><br /><br />Both our PD and civil lawyer have mentioned that the area where this occurred is very conservative. The judge, as well as the jury is likely to be conservative as well. What's more is this particular station is well known for being corrupt. The lawyers even went so far as to mention, independently, that they would not be surprised if the store (located directly across the street from the main police station and courthouse)had favor with the court and police.<br /><br /><br />We came into this whole thing very naively, thinking that if a person is innocent, that is all they need, they will be found not guilty and justice will be served. However, we are becoming increasingly uneasy as we realize that this is not always the case.<br /><br /><br />I think the court blkif himself said it best recently.<br /><br /><br />At the last hearing Moss asked the judge (filling in for the previous one)to return the 5000 cash bail we posted six months ago. At the first hearing the judge ruled that she would return the bail under the stipulation that he must not come within 500 feet of said store. The bail however never came and as it turned out the court clerk neglected to write it down, so there was no record of it. Our PD asked the judge about this and he decided that, regardless of the previous ruling, since there was no record of this, the bail would not be returned until the conclusion of the trial. Moss questioned the judge about this and he did not take kindly to the questioning.<br /><br /><br />On the way out of the courtroom the bailiff whispered to Moss that he should not ever question the judge that way. Moss responded,<br /><br /><br />" You know what happened ! You were there, she ruled that the bail be returned. It's just not right.." The bailiff indicated that he did indeed recall.<br /><br /><br />" It's not about what is fair ", came the bailiffs almost aplogetic reply...<br /><br /><br />" It's about doing what they tell you " .......<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R57CkvqofII/AAAAAAAAAao/8Xwxigqhhc8/s1600-h/thompson_carey_hypnagog.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160776159539526786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R57CkvqofII/AAAAAAAAAao/8Xwxigqhhc8/s320/thompson_carey_hypnagog.jpg" border="0" /></a> Original painting entitled " Hypnagog " by Carey ThompsonUnknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-67668418035796203802008-01-01T21:03:00.000-08:002008-01-02T18:52:13.194-08:00Happy New Year !<div>We left the land in Oregon towards the end of November, with lots of hugs, sadness and promises of a speedy return, and headed south towards California. Along the way we stopped over near Mt Shasta for a few days, to visit with some friends. While there, on one of the nights the temp got down to 11 degrees. This was the coldest temperature we have ever endured in the bus and all things considered, it was rather comfortable. If we were to remain in those kinds of temps long term however, there are a few simple winterizing things we could do to make it much better.<br /><br /><br /><br />The front of the bus where the stove is stayed very warm, but the back where we sleep was a bit cold. We realized that directly under our bed where have a storage area, is the only place we did not put insulation. That, coupled with the fact that the bed is surrounded by windows, is the main reason it did not heat up the way the front of the bus did. We blocked up all the windows near the bed with pillows and blankets and this helped a great deal. We did this during our recent stay in Oregon as well, as there were some real cold nights. For living long term in below freezing weather I think that some cut up wool blankets sewed into curtains and hung behind the regular curtains would be all that is needed.<br /><br /><br />Moss went to court on the 5th but the lawyers requested another extension. The new pre trial is set for January 7th. Sigh...these things can take a long time.<br /><br /><br /><br />We celebrated Winter Solstice/Christmas/ Hanukah with Moss's folks and his sister's family. This is quite funny as they are all atheist Jews and Moss and I celebrate pagan holidays. We had a great time none the less and exchanged gifts, lit candles, sang songs, ate cookies. A merry time was had by all.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sage was gifted a few nice wooden toys, Moss received a printer for his music Cd's and for myself some wool roving for spinning on my wheel and some pre spun yarn as well. I have been in a knitting frenzy lately, making wool soakers/pants to go over Sage's diapers.<br /><br /><br /><br />I love my in laws dearly but they are such techno savvy geeks ! Since we have decided to definitely not do t.v, video games and electronic toys, this may present some difficulty in the future.I realize that it is unrealistic to think that we could shield her entirely from t.v, video games and the like, nor would I want to. Our goal is simply to limit her exposure while we are able to ( being careful, of course to not "demonize" it therby making it more desireable) and gently encourage her towards other intrests while still young. We do plan on introducing computers and movies, but not until she is 8 years or older and then only if she expresses and interest. Instead we will focus on exploring nature, making things with our hands reading and listening to the radio. It is not that I feel computers and movies are inherently bad somehow, I just question the effect they have on developing minds and imaginations, and feel they are best left for older kids and adults.<br /><br /><br /><br />Speaking of my inlaws, I want to take a momment to help them out by shamelessly plugging their websites...<br /><br /><br /><br />Moss's mom, Carol Ratafia has been in the art business for 37 years selling her paintings with her husband, Less, at art shows all across the nation. They have just put up a new website featuring her work,<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pyxels.com/Ratafia/index.php">http://www.pyxels.com/Ratafia/index.php</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Also, our brother in law Scott Mccloud, is a comic book artist and has a great website featuring his work,<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.scottmccloud.com/index.html">http://www.scottmccloud.com/index.html</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Now back to our regularly scheduled blog posts...<br /><br /><br /><br />As of January 9th Sage will be 7 months old. In late Decemebr she began crawling and now is quite mobile. She has also been having a terrible time with teething lately and after having tried everything, I bought her an amber teething necklace. These are very common in northern European countries where they have been used for centuries to help alleviate teething pain.The amber necklace, when worn against the skin gets warm and exudes an oil that is then absorbed into the bloodstream where it has an anti inflammatory affect on the gums.<br /><br /><br /><br /> It really does seem to work ! I am thinking of making these and selling them on etsy to help generate some extra income.<br /><br /><br /><br />Speaking of..we opened a shop on etsy this month and I am happy to report that in the first week we made a whooping 435 dollars ! I sold my favorite needle felted guy ever, the elf in the green overalls on the top of the page, for 350 ! We also sold a beautiful pair of boots that Moss made and a small needle felted figure. This is very encouraging and we are now busy making more stuff .<br /><br /><br /><br />We will be in California through January then we are going back up north to do some more work on the farm in washington..<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R3sy3CGkneI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Mk2IoeB9-50/s1600-h/Christmas2007+044.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150766519866924514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R3sy3CGkneI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Mk2IoeB9-50/s320/Christmas2007+044.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Sage on solstice morn, playing with her new favorite toy, a silk play cloth..<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R3wk6SGknfI/AAAAAAAAAaA/VQxPbdd8BuE/s1600-h/knit+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151032657515421170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R3wk6SGknfI/AAAAAAAAAaA/VQxPbdd8BuE/s320/knit+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The soaker pants I am curently knitting ....</div><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R3wzwSGkngI/AAAAAAAAAaI/x6j3eqziKsg/s1600-h/January2008+003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151048978391145986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R3wzwSGkngI/AAAAAAAAAaI/x6j3eqziKsg/s320/January2008+003.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Sage and her new amber teething necklace. These really work !Unknownnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-30236353475143425542007-11-22T21:45:00.000-08:002007-11-26T20:28:38.764-08:00Miles to go before I sleep.....We are back now in "civilization" after spending several weeks at a lovely and remote farm in Washington. We had a wonderful time harvesting the crops, learning about perma culture and helping take care of the animals. Getting in and out on the half mile long dirt road was a bit of an ordeal, but not nearly as nerve wracking as first crossing the small bridge in our 27, 000 pound bus. The farm was huge, many hundreds of acres with apple orchards, grapes and much more. There was an adorable little cabin built in the late 1800's on the property and we spent a good deal of time there when not working, visting with Nadine, the grandmother of our friend who owns the place. She is a wise and generous woman who Sage took to imediately. We were sad to move on but have plans to go back as we made many wonderful new friends and connected with old ones as well . A good time was had by all.<br /><br /><br />It's kind of sad as we meet so many wonderful people and have many adventures in our travels that I would love to write about, but I must draw the line somewhere. It is one thing for me to divulge my own thoughts, feelings and life online here, but I cannot expect everyone I know and meet to want to be part of our blog as well. So, out of respect for folks and their privacy I have a policy of not writing too much about or showing pictures of friends and relatives on the blog. That is , unless I have been given express permission to do so. Instead I try to keep it mostly about Moss, Sage and life from my own perspective. That of course means that only about 3/4 of the stuff I would like to write about actually gets in. You'll just have to use your imaginations as to what the rest of the stuff may be....<br /><br /><br />Anyway, we are now on a friends farm outside of Eugene Oregon, our old home town. I mentioned in a previous post that we were invited to move here and become part of the community they are creating. My friend, I will call her Meadow, is a midwife and her partner, Stone works with horses . They have a five year old girl and an eight year old boy. There is another lovely family here as well with a three year old daughter, Maya. All the children are now being home schooled, after being in a Waldorf school for several years.<br /><br /><br />We have given ourselves this month to feel out the vibe, and to see if it's right for us here. . .<br /><br /><br />The people are wonderful, we already knew that and our visions are in sync...to create a healing space and a self sustaining community of artists and musicians. A place to hold outdoor concerts and workshops.<br /><br /><br />The rain, which has not let up much since we have been here, does not bother me one bit. I am a rare bird in that I like the rain. In fact, I welcome it ! I love to get cozy with a cup of chai tea, and a book by the fire. Sometimes we will listen to the radio..Coast to Coast AM with George Noory or a radio drama. Often we will just sit and watch the fire and listen to the sound of the rain on the roof. Sage really seems to enjoy watching the fire as well, and I love the fact that she is staring at a fire rather than a t.v .<br /><br /><br />When we have had enough of being cozy there are lots of indoor gatherings around here this time of year . Sage has already been to three since we arrived two weeks ago. It is all very laid back with lots of other kids and babies, campfires and spontaneous live music. I was worried at first that it would all be to much for a barely five month old baby. Sage however takes it all in stride, smiling and cooing at everyone she meets. She really seems to enjoy just being held in our arms or the mei tai as we chat. Eventually she falls asleep and there is always a quiet, dark room nearby for her to lay down in.<br /><br /><br />So now we have the task of deciding if we will come back to live here for awhile. Although everything seems perfect, there are other things to consider. We need a place here to work our fiber business in the winter. Down south we can do it outside on the beach or at a campground. Here, we need an indoor place. One option that is becoming more and more attractive is to buy a small yurt and somehow attach it to the bus. That way we will also be able to pack it up and take it with us if we need to move. The other thing we need to sort out is, are we really ready to settle some place for any length of time ? On the other hand, it might be nice to travel about then have a home base to come back to.<br /><br /><br />Wow..so many options..<br /><br /><br />Anyway, for now we are just here and in the bus, on this beautiful land. We will be leaving a few days after Thanksgiving to head South. Moss's trial is on the 4th and we cannot miss that. We plan on visiting with his folks for the holidays then working in the area before making our way back here in January or February.<br /><br />I am so intrested to see where all this leads..........<br /><br /><br /><p></p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqm0x0eVI/AAAAAAAAAYI/bZU4kWNGCQk/s1600-h/October+2007+050.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135909640297806162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqm0x0eVI/AAAAAAAAAYI/bZU4kWNGCQk/s320/October+2007+050.jpg" border="0" /></a> An old abandoned mill on the farm.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZqmEx0eUI/AAAAAAAAAYA/jmLSxRt3WhY/s1600-h/October+2007+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135909627412904258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZqmEx0eUI/AAAAAAAAAYA/jmLSxRt3WhY/s320/October+2007+006.jpg" border="0" /></a> A fresh bowl of grapes from the farm</p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqn0x0eWI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/sOHPbltV378/s1600-h/October+2007+012.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135909657477675362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqn0x0eWI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/sOHPbltV378/s320/October+2007+012.jpg" border="0" /></a> The resident geese.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqokx0eXI/AAAAAAAAAYY/aGrowUAMug8/s1600-h/October+2007+075.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135909670362577266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqokx0eXI/AAAAAAAAAYY/aGrowUAMug8/s320/October+2007+075.jpg" border="0" /></a> Sage Evenstar.</p><p><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqpkx0eYI/AAAAAAAAAYg/seJZ00dHgY4/s1600-h/October+2007+021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135909687542446466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0Zqpkx0eYI/AAAAAAAAAYg/seJZ00dHgY4/s320/October+2007+021.jpg" border="0" /></a> An old cabin on the property.</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-20092379110243696982007-11-19T21:56:00.000-08:002007-11-23T09:55:38.456-08:00<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtNEx0eZI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/DCosKMwq24I/s1600-h/October+2007+052.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135912496451058066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtNEx0eZI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/DCosKMwq24I/s320/October+2007+052.jpg" border="0" /></a> The scary little bridge we had to cross on the way to the farm.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtNkx0eaI/AAAAAAAAAZY/gOsHYlqTCLw/s1600-h/October+2007+055.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135912505040992674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtNkx0eaI/AAAAAAAAAZY/gOsHYlqTCLw/s320/October+2007+055.jpg" border="0" /></a> A view from the bridge.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtOEx0ebI/AAAAAAAAAZg/QexNJAkLV9I/s1600-h/October+2007+043.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135912513630927282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtOEx0ebI/AAAAAAAAAZg/QexNJAkLV9I/s320/October+2007+043.jpg" border="0" /></a> A view into one of the rooms of the cabin.</p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtOUx0ecI/AAAAAAAAAZo/WbZX7LPry2Y/s1600-h/October+2007+044.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135912517925894594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtOUx0ecI/AAAAAAAAAZo/WbZX7LPry2Y/s320/October+2007+044.jpg" border="0" /></a> Sage sleeping in one of the rooms in the cabin.</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtPEx0edI/AAAAAAAAAZw/l6iU5WjKa1I/s1600-h/October+2007+073.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5135912530810796498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/R0ZtPEx0edI/AAAAAAAAAZw/l6iU5WjKa1I/s320/October+2007+073.jpg" border="0" /></a></p>Sage and dad out for a walk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-90933165246598341412007-10-10T21:26:00.000-07:002007-10-15T10:58:19.650-07:00Lord I Was Born a Ramblin ( Wo ) Man......We finally are headed north ! As I write this ( we have a new E.V.O.D card that allows us to access the net wherever there is cell coverage) we are driving north on the 101 to an organic <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">permaculture</span> farm in northern Washington, where through a mutual friend, we have found temporary work ! I will probably not t have regular net or cell phone access while there, (I will be able to go into town or use a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">land line</span> to check <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">eBay</span> auctions though) so this will be my last post for a week or maybe more . It was quite difficult to get Moss's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">pre</span> trial changed, but we did it after much back and forth phone calling to the lawyers. It is now set for December 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> instead of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">oct</span> 17. That means we will have to drive back here in the next month or so, but for now we are northward bound !<br /><br /><br />Santa Barbara is lovely and has been nice to us but it was so time to leave. I can always tell when it is time to really move on because a place starts to look and feel different, sort of empty feeling and desolate . This is however different from actually wanting to leave and feeling as though it is time to leave. We can want to leave a place badly, but if it is not really time to leave then it becomes quite difficult. I have seen this time and time again in my travels over the years. Some towns have a particularly strong hold, New Orleans is one of them. The other reason I know it is really time to leave is the steady stream of visitors throughout the day and being unable to take a walk on the beach without running into someone I know. Don't get me wrong, we love meeting people but it can get tiring when all I want is a little privacy.<br /><br /><br />Living in such a high profile home tends to attract a lot of attention. People see our bus and make all sorts of assumptions about us. They often identify us, correctly, as free spirited, caring and open minded people. Certainly, like everyone we have our many flaws, but we do strive for this ideal. Because of this, unlike folks in a conventional RV, we regularly attract a LOT of people, of all backgrounds who come looking for healing and someone to talk to. We don't mind this at all and are happy to listen and give and receive energy to a person when we can, but it can sometimes be scary and a bit difficult to read someones real intentions and allow them into our home. We often have trouble defining our personnel boundaries and knowing where to draw the line. Now, with a baby things are even more complicated as we want her home to be a safe and healthy place. It just seems that sometimes the rules that apply to those who live in brick and mortar houses are different than those that apply to rolling homes. This is understandable, to a certain extent and is part of why I love travel, but it can be complicated at times.<br /><br /><br />For example, this week we were sitting in the bus reading when there was a knock at the door and a voice called out<br /><br /><br />" Spare a little time for an old Vietnam vet ? " followed by, " Permission to board ?" in a very military sounding voice.<br /><br /><br />I went to the doorway to see a weathered looking bearded, grey haired man wearing a faded black cap with the words "Vietnam vet" on it and a huge back pack. He was a bit dirty and smelled of whisky, but my heart went out to him. These kinds of situations can be difficult as it requires one to make a character judgment of a person in the space of a few seconds. So far we have never been wrong, but there is always that possibility. When I was younger and hitchhiking around the country by myself I got a lot of practice in this art form. When someone pulls over and offers a ride, you have about twenty seconds to asses the person and make the right decision. I rely a lot on my gut instinct and intuition.<br /><br /><br />Moss and I looked at each other and shrugged,I turned back to the fellow and told him,<br /><br /><br />"O.k, but leave your pack outside "<br /><br /><br />He put his pack down and hobbled into the bus, sitting down on the bench, thanking us repeatedly. We then began over an hour long conversation consisting of him crying hysterically and reliving, in vivid detail , story after story of his time in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">nam</span>. He showed us bullet holes, where he was damaged by agent orange and cried bitter tears for his brother William, killed in combat. This was a broken man and my heart went out to him. The intensity of his emotion was frightening and we did not know what else to do so we just listened, which I think was all he wanted anyway. At one point I reached out and grabbed his hand and he seemed to appreciate this. When he was finished we offered him some food, which he ate then thanked us and went on his way.<br /><br /><br />This is just one example of an often repeated scenario, with a varying cast of characters, all with stories to tell, some sad, some happy, some rich, some poor, all just wanting to share.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, Sage is doing well and seems to enjoy traveling, though this will be her first long trip. We are trying to provide a sort of stability in our day to day rituals to counter the constant stream of new places and people that she encounters. I think she is adjusting well. I took a series of photos of her, my favorite to date, showing the first time on her belly and having "floor time".<br /><br /><br />I have included them below.....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jxwswx9I/AAAAAAAAATA/AfTqg6HYAr8/s1600-h/October+10-2007+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120139532904220626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jxwswx9I/AAAAAAAAATA/AfTqg6HYAr8/s320/October+10-2007+005.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jyAswx-I/AAAAAAAAATI/oRysIHqXXRU/s1600-h/oct2007+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120139537199187938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jyAswx-I/AAAAAAAAATI/oRysIHqXXRU/s320/oct2007+006.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jyQswx_I/AAAAAAAAATQ/-hpuG3ZhwLs/s1600-h/oct2007+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120139541494155250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jyQswx_I/AAAAAAAAATQ/-hpuG3ZhwLs/s320/oct2007+005.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jywswyAI/AAAAAAAAATY/SGzE5zlHIec/s1600-h/oct2007+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120139550084089858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rw5jywswyAI/AAAAAAAAATY/SGzE5zlHIec/s320/oct2007+004.jpg" border="2" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-3496690123892955072007-10-03T12:59:00.000-07:002007-10-06T07:37:29.473-07:00Song to a Seagull.......Today was such a beautiful windy day ! The kind of wind that shakes the bus and bends the trees ! I adore windy days. There is something magical about wind that seems to transform any ordinary day into one of mystery and wonder. I went out to the beach for a walk while Moss stayed back at the bus with Sage. They are both sick..runny noses, coughing. Poor girl, this is her first cold and she is teething as well.<br /><br /><br />I wore my mohair poncho, as I always do on windy days. It's warm and cozy and flaps around behind me like a cape or wings as I walk. I had a great time on the beach alone reflecting on all the recent and wonderful changes in my life. I also took the opportunity to study some bird species I was unfamiliar with and take some photos. I saw a few dead birds out there which was sad. I wonder if it's from all the pollution in the storm run off pond where the sea birds hang out.<br /><br /><br />On a sad note..early this morning while driving from our night time sleeping spot to our daytime hang out spot, I saw a dead sea gull in the road. He was recently killed, just a few hours maybe. Such a beautiful bird he was, so clean and white and healthy looking. He lay on his back, wings spread out behind him like an angel and head turned to one side. In some morbid way he looked quite beautiful. If it wasn't for the small trickle of bright red blood coming from the side of his beak, one might wonder if he was still alive.<br /><br /><br />It made me so sad to see him like that, cut down in his prime. He was an adult herring gull , and judging by the beautiful condition of his feathers, had probably recently finished a molt. Perhaps it was his first adult molt, as herring gulls retain their brownish feathers for several years before growing the typical white and grey ones.<br /><br /><br />We stopped the bus and Moss went out to move him from the middle of the street to a patch of shrubs on the side of the road . We frequently do this for animals we see that have been killed in the road. We do this for a few reasons... one because neither of us can stand to see such beautiful creatures rotting on asphalt, instead of earth, and two because it keeps the crows and other scavengers from being hit while attempting to feed.<br /><br /><br />There are a lot birds around here, especially on the beach where we park. There are a few juvie gulls and a flock of pigeons that we have become acquainted with as well as many other species of gulls and salt water birds of which I am unfamiliar. Every day the pigeons are there to greet our big green bus as we pull up. I throw them bread, bird seed and whatever we have that's healthy. A few times I had Palomino with me on my lap and it was interesting watching their reaction. I think they trust me more now because they saw another pigeon being friendly with me and now they don't venture far from the bus during the day.<br /><br /><br />Seeing that sea gull and my walk on the beach today reminded me of one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs, Song to a Seagull.......<br /><br /><br />Song To a Seagull<br /><br /><br />Fly silly seabird<br /><br />No dreams can possess you<br /><br />No voices can blame you<br /><br />For sun on your wings<br /><br /><br />My gentle relations<br /><br />Have names they must call me<br /><br />For loving the freedom<br /><br />Of all flying things<br /><br /><br />My dreams with the seagulls fly<br /><br />Out of reach out of cry<br /><br /><br />I came to the city<br /><br />And lived like old crusoe<br /><br />On an island of noise<br /><br />In a cobblestone sea<br /><br /><br />And the beaches were concrete<br /><br />And the stars paid a light bill<br /><br />And the blossoms hung false<br /><br />On their store window trees<br /><br /><br />My dreams with the seagulls fly<br /><br />Out of reach out of cry<br /><br /><br />Out of the city<br /><br />And down to the seaside<br /><br />To sun on my shoulders<br /><br />And wind in my hair<br /><br />But sandcastles crumble<br /><br />And hunger is human<br /><br />And humans are hungry<br /><br />For worlds they cant share<br /><br /><br />My dreams with the seagulls fly<br /><br />Out of reach out of cry<br /><br /><br /><br />I call to a seagull<br /><br />Who dives to the waters<br /><br />And catches his silver-fineDinner alone<br /><br />Crying where are the footprints<br /><br />That danced on these beaches<br /><br />And the hands that cast wishes<br /><br />That sunk like a stone<br /><br /><br />My dreams with the seagulls fly<br /><br />Out of reach out of cry.................<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOAgswx5I/AAAAAAAAASg/-ckj5RuZ7j0/s1600-h/October+2007+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118004534726150034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOAgswx5I/AAAAAAAAASg/-ckj5RuZ7j0/s320/October+2007+006.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOBAswx6I/AAAAAAAAASo/KRcdvHv_Y0I/s1600-h/October+2007+038.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118004543316084642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOBAswx6I/AAAAAAAAASo/KRcdvHv_Y0I/s320/October+2007+038.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOBgswx7I/AAAAAAAAASw/LI_X_-poY7M/s1600-h/October+2007+036.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118004551906019250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOBgswx7I/AAAAAAAAASw/LI_X_-poY7M/s320/October+2007+036.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOBwswx8I/AAAAAAAAAS4/gjiiL8DR8ns/s1600-h/October+10-2007+034.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118004556200986562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RwbOBwswx8I/AAAAAAAAAS4/gjiiL8DR8ns/s320/October+10-2007+034.jpg" border="2" /></a><br />Some of the regulars gathered in front of the bus. The view from the pop out window.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-91342193429792884702007-09-27T11:26:00.000-07:002007-09-28T17:01:23.341-07:00Business Plans and an Epiphany......Before I begin this latest update, I wanted to mention that I have added a photo archives on the left panel. Here you can view most of the photos contained in this blog, including a chronological order of bus construction and a separate folder for travel photos. I will be adding more regularly as we go along...<br /><br /><br />We are still in Santa Barbara and probably will be in and around the area for awhile, or at least until Moss's legal stuff is resolved. The other day we got to listen to Dennis Kucinich speaking down by the pier. He is, as most of you know, a possible candidate in the presidential race, and one of my all time favorites. Last time he ran on the green party ticket. It was so refreshing to hear someone tell it like it is. He will certainly have my vote if he ends up a candidate.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, I do enjoy this area but it seems we have been trying to head north for so long, and each time we are delayed. On the bright side it feels sooo good to be back in our home again ! There are a few good paid initiatives that Moss has been working on and that has been wonderful for our cash flow, although we are trying to wean ourselves off petitioning and onto more creative ventures. These initiatives will be going until possibly December which will give us lots of time to save up money to invest in our fledgling business's and to live off.<br /><br /><br />There are a few things we have been tossing around, but so far the best ideas seem to be a combination of eBay sales, felt boots and a travelling puppet show. The felt boots have been coming along quite nicely and we have recently sold three more pairs ! We are still perfecting and fine tuning them and I hope soon we can offer them on our site here. In addition to the boots we have also been selling the herb kratom on eBay and doing well with that, picking up lots of regular customers and bringing in hundred or so a week. This is great, but our cost of living is higher now since our old engine was destroyed and with it the veggie oil system as well. Until we get that up and running we have to pay for bio diesel, which is more expensive and harder to find, though there is a place here in Santa Barbara. The new veggie system, when we finish it, will be way more efficient and operate on three tanks, two for the veggie and one for the diesel.<br /><br /><br />The other thing we are working on is a travelling puppet show. For the past year I have been experimenting with turning my felted dolls into puppets. That's the easy part . The hard part is coming up with good stories. Ultimately we hope to have a mix of stories, some political, some educational, and some fairy tales for children as well as psychedelic ones for adults. Some shows will be specifically for street busking and some geared more to schools, libraries and museums.<br /><br />Moss, who has extensive theatre training and experience ( a BA in theatre and one in audio engineering) , will be doing the audio and probably most of the puppetry. He has been dabbling in puppetry since he was a young child, even doing paid shows at country clubs and dinner theatres! His sister, Holly has a degree in puppetry and lots of professional experience (she taught him how to move them well) to lend. We are very excited about all this and will update everyone on our progress as we go along, though it may take a year or longer to develop.<br /><br /><br />Warning..I am about to launch into another deep, poetic and sappy soliloquy about my beloved daughter, get used to it......<br /><br /><br /><br />Sage is doing well and growing so fast ! Everyone always says how alert she is for a three and a half month old. Since we both have had very little experience with babies, or even children, we both assumed that's just how babies are, but people keep telling us that is not really so.<br /><br /><br />It seems I spend a good deal of time just gazing at her, dreaming of all the things I want to share with her and teach her. I realize we do not have the money that many other families have, so my aim is to fill her life with so much love, magic, beauty and poetry that she will grow up completely unaware that we were a "poor" family. It will only be when she is older that she will suddenly realize that her family was poor. As I dream so many things for her it is hard not to lose myself completely in her. At the same time though, I now understand that to a certain extent it is part of being a mom. However I also think that it is important to keep a part of myself for me. This may seem obvious but it is surprising how so many women seem to forget that. It is also, I have recently realized, the secret to allying my sadness of her growing up. The love one feels for their child is so encompassing that it threatens to swallow you up. One can become so identified as a mom that as the child grows and needs you less and less, it can feel as though you are withering away. Eventually when they move away there is great pain and sadness as the role of mom is diminished.<br /><br /><br />The inevitable question at this time becomes, "If I am not a full time mom, then who am I ? "<br /><br /><br />This is even more so for younger moms who have not had the chance to really find out who they are and explore their world. I have had 18 adult years to do so and so it is easier for me to recognize this as it happens. The answer, I am discovering, is to continue to pursue your passions and to follow your bliss, whenever possible, so that when your baby grows up and leaves, you have something left for yourself.......<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWMFIp2DI/AAAAAAAAARQ/Y6ouc6aFzOQ/s1600-h/sep07+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115058042322933810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWMFIp2DI/AAAAAAAAARQ/Y6ouc6aFzOQ/s320/sep07+011.jpg" border="3" /></a> Sage and I hanging out. The rocker in the picture is a folding antique one I got on ebay for 30 bucks ! Comes in handy for nursing Sage to sleep, yet takes up very little room.</p><p><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWMVIp2EI/AAAAAAAAARY/fXmd26bFbPg/s1600-h/sep07+026.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115058046617901122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWMVIp2EI/AAAAAAAAARY/fXmd26bFbPg/s320/sep07+026.jpg" border="3" /></a> Sage and I..</p><p><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWMlIp2FI/AAAAAAAAARg/MBjJrf-2ey4/s1600-h/sep07+029.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115058050912868434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWMlIp2FI/AAAAAAAAARg/MBjJrf-2ey4/s320/sep07+029.jpg" border="3" /></a> Our house plants enjoying a sunbath...</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWM1Ip2GI/AAAAAAAAARo/tbDosi-81DE/s1600-h/sep07+033.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115058055207835746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWM1Ip2GI/AAAAAAAAARo/tbDosi-81DE/s320/sep07+033.jpg" border="3" /></a> Palm trees and sun..need I say more ?</p><p><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWNFIp2HI/AAAAAAAAARw/K18mvBhgnQA/s1600-h/sep07+052.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5115058059502803058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvxWNFIp2HI/AAAAAAAAARw/K18mvBhgnQA/s320/sep07+052.jpg" border="3" /></a></p><p>Dennis Kucinich telling it like it is.....</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-87211682838983856992007-09-20T18:08:00.000-07:002007-09-20T19:02:19.263-07:00We are finally back online with a new, or at least refurbished computer, thanks to Moss's brilliance ! He found a computer on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">eBay</span></span> for 200 bucks with a 10 gig hard drive, bought it and replaced the smaller hard drive with our bigger 30 gig hard drive.. He then went on to replace the screens and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">wifi</span></span> cards, figuring it all out as he went along.<br /><br /><br />As of this writing we are in Santa Barbara, after spending two weeks house sitting and visiting with our friends Jackie and Frank in the Valley. While there we took the time to get some much needed work done on the bus. In the back,above the bench/bathtub combo, a shelf was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">added</span></span> for Sages clothes and diapers. Then we added a cabinet at the foot of the bed for our clothes and moved the bookshelf from the foot of the bed to above our heads. We also took the bottom of the birds cages and created storage areas. Some time ago we noticed that the birds never venture to the bottom of the their cages and hence that is wasted space. We now have a great place for recycling, trash and various other things. Lastly we took the ugly black windows on the outside ( spray painted black because they are blocked on the inside by walls) and painted them green to match the bus. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">SOOO</span></span> much better looking ! Now all we have left to do is install our water system, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">which</span> we have all the parts for, including the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Paloma</span> on demand hot water heater, a 70 gallon fresh water tank and a 40 gallon grey water tank. What we don not have is the money to have the tanks welded under the bus.<br /><br /><br />In addition to the work on the bus we also spent a good deal of time last week calling around looking for a lawyer to take our civil case against the "unnamed store" and "unnamed police Dept". This is in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">regards</span> to Moss's false imprisonment last month. Every lawyer that we met with was willing to take the case on contingency. They all said it is not a big money case by any means, but it is the principal that interests them. All agreed Moss's civil rights were clearly violated and that he was very much allowed by law to be there. This, according to the lawyers is a clear cut case of false imprisonment and there is no doubt we would win in court. They are so sure that they will take the case on contingency. We went to court on Sept 17 to plead and a public defender was appointed for the criminal case, as we can not afford a lawyer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">for </span></span>that part.The public defender seemed clueless and the only reason he did anything was because we suggested it. Moss of course pleaded not guilty but surprisingly the DA still wants to go ahead and prosecute. Everyone was sure he would not go forward. That's fine because it just makes our case better in the end.We go in again on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">oct</span></span> 17<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">th</span></span> for the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">pre</span></span> trial and according to our lawyer the judge will likely throw it out. After that we begin the civil trial. If for some reason the judge decides to let it go on and the DA goes forward then we have a full blown trial on our hands and we get to subpoena the store video surveillance, call our witness and have all kinds of fun !<br /><br /><br /><br />If we do win we don't expect to receive large amounts of money by most standards, maybe 15,000 after lawyer expenses and such. Of course, that will help us tremendously, but it is, as our lawyer stated, the principal as well. Moss spent 24 hours in jail, was extremely disrespected and forced to post 5,000 dollars for his freedom. All for absolutely no legal, justifiable reason. Surely that is worth some compensation.<br /><br /><br />All of this means our plans to head to Oregon in October are delayed for and indefinite period of time. It looks like we will spending more time in Santa Barbara, which isn't to bad. We found a new place to park near some gorgeous botanical gardens. Sage has been enjoying looking at the flowers and trees. I noticed she is very visual, preferring intricate patterns and bold colors. From the time she was two weeks old I noticed her staring intently at the art on the walls and smiling. She does that in the bus also where the walls are much closer and adorned with artwork. Perhaps she will grow up to be an artist ?<br /><br /><br />On another note, to the person who made the (unpublished), nasty comment regarding my spelling and their hope that we were not planning to home school sage, thank you... It is true my spelling in the previous post was horrid ! I am actually an adequate speller. That post was written in a hurried manner and when I am doing rough drafts I misspell a lot of things then go back and fix it all later. At that time I had forgotten to do that. So thank you for bringing it to my attention, but I do think there was a kinder way to word it than the way you did. And to answer your question, yes, we do plan to home school.... :)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiLFIp1-I/AAAAAAAAAQo/qoXzywaIQzQ/s1600-h/sept07+005.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112467575748024290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiLFIp1-I/AAAAAAAAAQo/qoXzywaIQzQ/s320/sept07+005.jpg" border="2" /></a> The bird cages with new closets underneath for storage.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiL1Ip1_I/AAAAAAAAAQw/3f4PYVNOLjo/s1600-h/sept07+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112467588632926194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiL1Ip1_I/AAAAAAAAAQw/3f4PYVNOLjo/s320/sept07+022.jpg" border="2" /></a> Shelf for Sages clothes and diapers.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiMFIp2AI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/_nW_xpvnHQk/s1600-h/sept07+015.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112467592927893506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiMFIp2AI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/_nW_xpvnHQk/s320/sept07+015.jpg" border="2" /></a> Book shelf above bed and Sage sleeping peacefully..</p><p></p><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiMlIp2BI/AAAAAAAAARA/jx4GN5KwdxA/s1600-h/sept07+020.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112467601517828114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiMlIp2BI/AAAAAAAAARA/jx4GN5KwdxA/s320/sept07+020.jpg" border="2" /></a> New closet above bed. </p><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiM1Ip2CI/AAAAAAAAARI/VSbY-LHtWL4/s1600-h/sept07+011.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5112467605812795426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RvMiM1Ip2CI/AAAAAAAAARI/VSbY-LHtWL4/s320/sept07+011.jpg" border="2" /></a>Bus windows now painted green.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-55593940330691152012007-08-24T23:41:00.000-07:002007-09-20T07:55:00.795-07:00To Everything There Is a Season...It is amazing how having a baby brings out the kindness in everybody. Moss and I have received so many congatulatory emails and even gifts from folks we never met . One such gift came from a sweet woman named Lori. Despite recovering from surgery she took the time to quilt a baby blanket, and crochet another blanket as well as booties and a hat for Sage. How very sweet ! They are gorgeous and so appreciated. What a nice story to be able to tell Sage. How someone she never even met loved her enough to hand make all those beautiful things for her.<br /><br /><br />Another wonderful hand made gift came from my very own mamma ! She hand made a gorgeous patchwork blanket for Sage. In addition to that she passed on to her a cloth doll that HER mom made for her when she was little. How wonderful for Sage to have a doll that was made by her great grandma for her grandma.<br /><br /><br />This week has been crazy hectic, and finally after nearly a week straight of preperation we are ready to leave here. As I write this update we are just minutes from leaving. I am so grateful we were allowed this space to nest and give birth. We have been very busy packing this week and it is with a bit of bitter sweetness that I go about disasembling my birth alter and taking down the carefully placed pictures that only a few short weeks ago I put up. I am reminded of the day I gave birth in that room, now almost three months ago exactly, though it seems like just yesterday. I replay the events over and over again in my mind , relishing every deatil. The smell of lavendar oil, the way the sunlight filtred through the curtains at the momment of birth, Moss's strong and loving support all forever etched in my mind. I remember too the beautiful air of excitement and energy that seemed tro envelope the house and everyone in it , in the days leading up to her birth. In the days after I recall the special, magickal other worldliness the three of us existed in as we got aquanited.<br /><br /><br />I have been so enjoying watching her grow these past few months, all her little milestones. Every day I hold her tight and as I look at her my heart fills with such love but at the same time a deep sadness knowing that she is already three months old.I mourned her newborn stage, I mourned her one month and two month stage, and now her three month stage. I suspect it will be this way for the rest of our life together. As much as I delight in her growth I also realize that every step she takes, with my love and encouragement, is a step futher from mamma. I am struck by the irony that I want so much to hold on to her, yet it is my job to guide her towards independance in a selfless and loving way. In the end I reaize that I cannot hold on to her, for she is not really mine to hold. She is her own person and all I can do is love her unconditionally and cherish every single momment. <br /><br /><br />What a profound lesson in true love and detachment mothering is, the ultimate bhakti yoga .......<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl5lmTMgI/AAAAAAAAAQA/7pXtkf-KZaE/s1600-h/crochet+"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl5lmTMgI/AAAAAAAAAQA/7pXtkf-KZaE/s320/crochet+" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104590373923271170" /></a><br />The blanket made by blog reader Lori. Thanks Lori !<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl6FmTMhI/AAAAAAAAAQI/FccUtVQ0w1g/s1600-h/mom+blanket"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl6FmTMhI/AAAAAAAAAQI/FccUtVQ0w1g/s320/mom+blanket" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104590382513205778" /></a><br />The blanket made by my mama. Thanks Ma !<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl6VmTMiI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/q4SSNVw3j_I/s1600-h/clothdoll"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl6VmTMiI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/q4SSNVw3j_I/s320/clothdoll" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104590386808173090" /></a><br />This doll was made by my grandma for my mom.. Thanks Gram !<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl6lmTMjI/AAAAAAAAAQY/P3Tyfa9PRTo/s1600-h/sagewind2"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl6lmTMjI/AAAAAAAAAQY/P3Tyfa9PRTo/s320/sagewind2" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104590391103140402" /></a><br />Sage all straped in and ready for her first adventure !<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl7FmTMkI/AAAAAAAAAQg/mzLF-3t8UlQ/s1600-h/onthe+go"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rtcl7FmTMkI/AAAAAAAAAQg/mzLF-3t8UlQ/s320/onthe+go" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5104590399693075010" /></a><br />And away we go....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-43506606800818771782007-08-21T22:48:00.000-07:002007-08-25T13:10:36.579-07:00Computer Down....Just a quick note to let you all know that Moss, Sage ,myself and the flock are all alive and well. We have received a few emails inquiring about our well being and asking why I have not posted in a few weeks. There are a few reasons....<br /><br />The most important being that Casper, that mischevious goffins cockatoo of ours has suceeded in chewing through the computer cord which in turn shorted out the computer and fried the motherboard ! This has resulted in us being temporarily computerless as we scrape together some funds for a new computer. At present I am on a borrowed computer ( borrowed as in for a few minutes to write this update). We hope to have a new or rather, refurbished computer within the next the next week. <br /><br /><br />Long time readers of this blog may have noticed that my posts do tend to be rather infrequent, although I try to post at least once a month. My philosophy of blogging emphasises quality over quantity. Instead of countless entries filled with meaningless dribble about what I had for breakfast or what movie I watched last night, I prefer instead to wait until I feel really inspired and have something to say. There seems to be a necesary waiting time between each post to allow myself to sufficently fill up with inspiration, before I once again purge myself for all the world to read here on this blog. <br /><br />Anyway, Moss and I have finally fixed our solar electric system and are currently packing the bus in preperation for our maiden voyage as a new family. Our plans, if you can call them that, are to "go north", eventually ending up in Oregon at some point to visit with some dear friends, introduce them to Sage and check out an intentional communitry as a potential homebase for us. How nice would be to have a place to settle for a few months out of the year ! <br /><br />This week was full of excitement for us ,LOL..... Moss was in front of a store that will herefore go unamed (due to a pending lawsuit ), gathering signatures for a california initiative, and the store called the police. This lead to him being arrested for refusal to leave and tresspassing . He refused to leave because it is his constitutional right to gather signatures on state initiatives any place that is open to the public. This is interperted by the court to mean in front of any store that is in a shopping plaza connected by a sidewalk to surroundng stores. Moss sat in jail for a day until I was able to bail him out. The good news is we now are looking for a lawyer, and already spoke to one who believes we have a very good case against the store ( although he does not take civil cases anymore ) and can sue them for violating Moss's civil rights. A friend of ours who was petitioning in Washington at this same store and arrested for it, recently received a large compensation . The thing is, Moss tried to tell them, he wanted anything BUT to get arrested . He kept telling them to call the city attorney. This usually works because the city attorney informs the ignorant officers of the little known law and we are released. He tried showing them the papers he had outlining the various court cases supporting this law, and still they did not listen. They never even read him his rights. Luckily there was a lady nearby who works for an attorney and saw the whole thing. In fact, she tried to explain to the officers the law also, but to know avail. As Moss was being put into the cop car she gave him her number and said she will testify.<br /><br /><br />He goes to court on Sept 17th at which point he will plead not guilty and we will proceed with the lawsuit. If all goes we'll be able to sue this obnoxious store BIGTIME.......<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-LlFmTMbI/AAAAAAAAAPY/kLRyvnsgE2A/s1600-h/sage2"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-LlFmTMbI/AAAAAAAAAPY/kLRyvnsgE2A/s320/sage2" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102450372108300722" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-LnVmTMcI/AAAAAAAAAPg/hhadxAA5z5E/s1600-h/sage+green2"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-LnVmTMcI/AAAAAAAAAPg/hhadxAA5z5E/s320/sage+green2" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102450410763006402" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-LolmTMdI/AAAAAAAAAPo/o_SoISWtrRA/s1600-h/sagegr"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-LolmTMdI/AAAAAAAAAPo/o_SoISWtrRA/s320/sagegr" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102450432237842898" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-Lp1mTMeI/AAAAAAAAAPw/8nGU-_-oeiQ/s1600-h/pisage"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-Lp1mTMeI/AAAAAAAAAPw/8nGU-_-oeiQ/s320/pisage" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102450453712679394" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-Lq1mTMfI/AAAAAAAAAP4/MZwDaMqFxNY/s1600-h/casper"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rs-Lq1mTMfI/AAAAAAAAAP4/MZwDaMqFxNY/s320/casper" border="2" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5102450470892548594" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-81821974021766282792007-07-29T15:15:00.000-07:002018-01-27T20:41:25.710-08:00Moving Right Along....Sage is now seven weeks old ! The time seems to be going so fast, and though barely two months old Moss and I look at her and think she looks so old, practically a toddler. Our lives seem to be slowly reforming themselves into some semblance of their previous incarnation. I say "some semblance" as things are the same, yet quite different. Sage's birth seems to have opened my heart in so many ways. I have more patience and love now for everyone I see. I look at people, even the hardened criminals and think, "that is someones baby !". I realize that in so many ways, we are all children...<br />
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This week we managed to get a seat belt installed in the bus, and hence Sages car seat, after of course, some initial problems. The seat we had would only face one way and would not work right on our bus seats. So, we had to go out and buy a "convertible car seat". That is a car seat that goes from infant to toddler (40 lbs). We can now turn the seat facing back as is recommended for an infant, without having to rip out and redesign the bench seat. The down side is it cost 90 $, the up side is now we have a safe seat for Sage that we can keep for a long time.<br />
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This week we also added another member to our family. Her name is Palomino and she is a very dear, very sweet, brain damaged pigeon who will be joining us and the rest of the flock on the bus. My friend Jackie, a fellow rehabber, took her in a few months ago, as a fledgling. She was found almost near dead following an attack by a hungry family of crows, which resulted in severe head trauma and a badly damaged eye. Jackie nursed her back to health over several weeks and I volunteered to give her a home. The sad thing is, because of her brain damage, she has never learned to eat on her own. Their is a high likely hood that she will need to be tube fed twice a day for the rest of her life. This is no problem for me though, tube feeding a pigeon is not a difficult thing and something I have done many, many times when I was actively running my wild bird center. She is such a sweet girl and I am so happy to have her with us. She also cannot fly well,( she flies backwards sort of and cannot go very far) despite the fact that her wings are in perfect working order. This is also due to her brain damage. Besides that she is healthy and happy, though one does get the impression that there is something not quite "right" about her. She loves to snuggle on laps and have her beak and head scratched. She is very handle able and I look forward to her being a sort of ambassador for pigeons everywhere.<br />
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Anyway, now that the car seat is in, we are just waiting on our new solar charge controller to arrive from our good friends at the Mobile Homestead ( I highly reccomned these guys for all sorts of great alternative energy RV products), before we can leave. Our old one broke some time ago, leaving us with no electricity. This one , The Solar Boost 2000 <a href="http://www.mobilehomestead.com/alt/altproducts/solarboost.htm"></a>is supposed to ultra efficient, to the point where it is like adding an extra panel.<br />
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The plan is still to head to Santa Barbara for a time where we will sell my sculptures and the new felt boots Moss and I have been working on. We are very excited about the boots and have been saving up money to start a business making them. I love making my felted doll sculptures, but they take so long and each one must be an individual work of art. The boots are great because we can have just a few styles, we can both make them, and they are the same every time. Moss is doing quite a bit of the boot making and is becoming quite the cobbler. He felts them, lays out the wool and shapes them. I am responsible for making the soles and surface design. We both dye the wool. When we get the first three display models done I will be posting pics and taking orders if anyone is interested.<br />
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I have some other excellent news as well. Some dear friends of our from Oregon bought some land awhile back and have recently contacted us with an interest in setting up a small commune, or intentional community, on their land ! There is already another family there and lots of children. They offered us a space for our bus, and in return ask only that we participate in building projects, help in the garden and just be part of the community ! What a wonderful way for Sage to grow up ! These are long time friends of ours near a town where we lived for quite awhile, Eugene. So, we will be heading up there probably in fall to check it out.<br />
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At present we are still enjoying our time with Moss's folks, though eager to move on, which we will do, just as soon as the part we are waiting on arrives....<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rq0__VJ1sZI/AAAAAAAAAOo/rrs_RItS8ns/s1600-h/july07+106.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5092797110868619666" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/Rq0__VJ1sZI/AAAAAAAAAOo/rrs_RItS8ns/s320/july07+106.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-33047756218962456002007-07-20T11:37:00.000-07:002009-04-20T17:46:23.654-07:00Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream....I am standing on the beach, as the ocean rushes and swirls about my ankles. The waves are large and the waters are filled many hundreds of strange and unknown creatures. I am frightened . Looking to my left I notice my mother standing beside me, she looks so strong and confident, her back straight and her head held high. She is a portrait of poise and grace and she walks slowly to meet the rushing waves.<br /><br />"Are you not frightened mother ? ", I ask, incredulous.<br /><br /><br />"what is there to be frightened of ? " , she responds, smiling sweetly.<br /><br /><br />"The waves are huge and the ocean is filled with so many unknown creatures ! " I respond.<br /><br /><br />"Nonsense", she says squeezing my hand gently, "there is nothing to fear. You just dive in, like this.."<br /><br /><br /><br />With that she dove into the waves. I watch her twist and turn joyfully in the waters with ease. Suddenly, I lose all fear and with a running start I too dive into the water, letting the waves take me away, there is no resistance as I swim effortlessly along side her. Together we swim into the wide open ocean as the great mother envelopes us...<br /><br /><br />That is how my labor began June 9th at 7:00 am. I awoke with a contraction and running to the bathroom I noticed a good amount of blood on the TP. This is it , I say silently to myself, with a mixture of excitement and dread, this is the day !<br /><br /><br />Suddenly all my senses are heightened, I pause briefly, to savor the moment. Looking out the window at the sun filtering through tree leaves, I notice what a beautiful day it is. A male house finch sings softly from a nearby perch, a redtail hawk cries in the distance and a slight breeze blows gently through the open window, carrying with it the many smells of late spring and early summer... recently mowed grass, warm cedar chips, freshly blooming flowers . I notice, just outside the bathroom window on the ledge, the resident pigeons are nesting and the mama looks down on me from her place upon her nest. I will soon be a mother too, I think, as ours eyes meet .<br /><br /><br />A contraction draws my attention back to the immediate situation, I rise and walk excitedly back to the bedroom. Moss is just stirring from bed as I tell him, this beautiful day will be the day of our precious daughters birth ! He is excited, though sweetly nervous. Since the contractions are not real strong or regular at this point we take the time to clean up the room a little, prepare the birth pool and make sure all our supplies are in order. I then settle down to meditate, listen to my c.d's and relax.<br /><br /><br />Around 1:00 pm contractions are becoming a bit more regular and I am feeling some nausea. We decide to call our midwife Kari and give her a heads up, as well as our friend Jackie who will be providing labor support and photography. After a short conversation, everyone agrees that it would be best for them to make their way slowly over to our place.<br /><br /><br />Despite the fact that I am handling everything well, I am eager to get into the birthing pool. Moss fills the pool for me and after a half hour I get in. If this is it, I am gonna sail through labor, I think smugly as I lower myself down into the warm water. The relief is nearly instantaneous and seems to actually halt my contractions. I fear that maybe I got into the water too early and although I know this is probably not helping my labor along, I could not bring myself to get out. kari arrived a short time later and upon seeing me in the tub laughing and talking, decided to check me for dilation. After checking she announces I am 2 cm dilated.<br /><br />Yikes..on hearing this my previous smug confidence disappears. Things are going to get a lot more intense...<br /><br /><br />Kari suggests I get out of the pool and walk around to get things going. I pace the hallway for a while and this really does seem to speed things up. Before long I am needing to lean on the stair railing during contractions. I keep this up for some time, until I can no longer bare the sound of my in laws arguing downstairs over 1940's actors and old tv shows, which although I find very amusing, was becoming distracting. We decide to move out to the bus to labor for awhile. It was here that things really started picking up as I began to lose all sense of time and really entered my own little world. At one point I stopped pacing to throw up, sit on the birth ball and moan through a contraction. Once again Moss was there for every contraction, rubbing my sacrum and offering me kind words of love and support.<br /><br /><br /><br />At some point we move back into the house and on the bed, with Moss behind me, rubbing my back. My main coping method was to breathe slowly and deeply between contractions while concentrating on actively relaxing my bottom as completely as possible. When I felt a contraction coming on I would signal and Moss would rub my sacrum, as I vocalized using low and open throated tones.This helped incredibly. I read that there is a subconcious link between the vaginal canal and the throat. By keeping the throat loose and open with use of certain tones, the vaginal canal is relaxed, which in turn allows for an easier, less painful birth. I noticed the few times my voice began to rise to a kind of squeal, my pain intensified dramtically. As soon as I brought it down low things were much more manageable.<br /><br /><br />We stayed on the bed in this way for what seemed a very long time. At some point kari came in and asked if I wanted to be checked. Reluctantly I agreed. After checking kari announces I am 7 cm dilated ! I am both pleased and disappointed at this news. The good news is I am nearing transition and will soon have Sage in my arms ! The bad news is..I am nearing transition...<br /><br /><br /><br />On hearing this I felt well within my rights to finally get into the birthing pool. I slip into the warm water with a huge sigh of relief and let my body float with my head resting against the side of the kiddie pool. Moss was right there, as he was throughout the entire labor, holding my hand and rubbing my back. This was the most intense part of my labor. The only way to deal with the intensity of what I was feeling was to completely surrender to it. I could not run away from the feeling, or stop it. I could only submit myself, body and mind to it, and keep telling myself to relax all my muscles. The Beatles were playing on the ipod,<br /><br /><br /><br />"Turn off your mind relax and float down stream, this is not dyeing, this is not dyeing" ...<br /><br /><br /><br />I had to smile at how perfect that mantra was. Gotta love those Beatles. I was then reminded of the dream that began my labor and visualized myself diving into the waves of contractions I was now feeling. I continued on in this way, laboring in the water for some time, riding the contractions like waves. They were coming hard and fast at this point, starting as an ache in my sides and quickly building to an extremely intense tightening across my lower belly and back, then gradually subsiding. At the peak of every contraction my hand would shoot out, almost involuntarily, grasping and clawing wildly at the air like a person drowning. I wanted to grab something, anything, and pull myself back. It felt as though I was sinking , being sucked down into the very earth herself by the force of my own body. Always a hand would quickly emerge from some where for me to hold, usually Moss's, but there were others as well. I noticed every time the sensations got to much to bare I would feel a rush of energy, followed by a feeling of ecstasy, which I figured was the much talked about endorphins, "the body's natural pain relief."<br /><br /><br /><br />At some point my thoughts began to turn towards pushing, and just as I was thinking this I started to feel the urge. Thank Goddess, I thought with a renewed strength. I am so close to holding my baby !<br /><br /><br /><br />These pushing contractions were distinctly different. I felt them throughout my entire body instead of just my lower back and belly. Every muscle in my body seemed to surge at once, causing me to bare down with very little effort on my part. I was doing nothing at this point, my body was in complete control and I was simply along for the ride. The Moody Blues, To Our Children's children, was playing on the ipod and faded in and out of my consciousness between contractions . At last the contractions seemed to slow a bit and I had a long and much appreciated rest. I draped my head over the side of the kiddie pool and breathed slowly, relaxing completely in preparation for the final act..<br /><br /><br /><br />Before long I felt that intense aching again in my pelvis and lower back that signaled the start of another contraction. With this one however there was an added sensation as my pelvis seemed to separate, to my amazement. It felt like I was splitting in two as my body literally opened and became as a vortex for this new soul to enter the world. I realized this was the baby moving down lower into the birth canal . Oddly though, there was little pain at this point, in fact there were fleeting moments of what I might call, pleasure, followed by the very strange and some what alarming sensation of my body opening. Another rest, then a contraction, my entire body convulsing at once and baring down hard, then the "ring of fire", that intense burning as the head crowns. Excited voices drift in and out of my consciousness, the smell of lavender oil fills the air, time stands still, then silence as I go deep within myself searching for that last bit of strength to actively push the baby out.<br /><br /><br /><br />The next thing I know there is a huge release of pressure and Holly, Moss's sister exclaims excitedly as Sage slips out into the water just in time to Moody Blues, Eyes Of a Child, playing on the ipod. I cannot see what is going on because I am turned around and draped over the side of the tub and and on my knees. Everyone is oohing and ahhing excitedly. I turn around, Moss lays Sage on my chest and our eyes meet for the first time. Breath taking....<br /><br /><br /><br />"Hello beautiful daughter ! So wonderful to meet you !"<br /><br /><br /><br />But wait, something is not quite right. There is concern in Kari's eyes as she tells me Sage is not breathing. Rub her back Kari tells us. Moss and I vigorously rub her back. Is she o.k I ask repeatedly ? Kari does not confirm that she is. The room goes quiet as we continue rubbing Sages back and kari suctions her nose. Finally after what seems like an eternity, the first cry, tiny at first, then louder.<br /><br /><br /><br />We all breathe a collective sigh of relief as Sage lets out a healthy wail. She is wrapped in a warm bath towel and the two of us, still attached, are helped out of the tub and onto the bed, where we are joined by Moss. We cuddle for awhile and eventually Moss cuts the cord. Soon afterwards Sage begins nursing.<br /><br /><br />This was the most profound and beautiful experience of my life.<br /><br /><br />I am so pleased I chose to birth naturally and I cannot imagine doing it any other way. Yes, it was intense but never did I feel that I could not do it or that it was too much to handle. I actually found myself longing to re live my birth experience weeks later. In some strange way it actually felt good.... to feel the awesome power of my body, to be aware and conscious of this sacred event, to witness and honour the emergence of this new soul into the earth plane in such a deliberate manner. I simply cannot imagine a more peaceful and sacred way to welcome a child.<br /><br /><br /><br />Sage Evenstar Ratafia was born on June 9th 2007 at 7:05 pm, weighing 7lbs 14 0z, and we couldn't be happier ...............<br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /><br /></p><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1l7cIkRI/AAAAAAAAAMw/2SUE-pKmwbw/s1600-h/sages+birth+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089407979632496914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1l7cIkRI/AAAAAAAAAMw/2SUE-pKmwbw/s320/sages+birth+002.jpg" border="2" /></a> </p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1l7cIkSI/AAAAAAAAAM4/JOOLK7HCzXY/s1600-h/sages+birth+045.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089407979632496930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1l7cIkSI/AAAAAAAAAM4/JOOLK7HCzXY/s320/sages+birth+045.jpg" border="2" /></a> </p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1mLcIkTI/AAAAAAAAANA/DYLj72-kaDE/s1600-h/sages+birth+049.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089407983927464242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1mLcIkTI/AAAAAAAAANA/DYLj72-kaDE/s320/sages+birth+049.jpg" border="2" /></a> </p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1mLcIkUI/AAAAAAAAANI/0d_lc0lh1PQ/s1600-h/sages+birth+054.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089407983927464258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1mLcIkUI/AAAAAAAAANI/0d_lc0lh1PQ/s320/sages+birth+054.jpg" border="2" /></a> </p><p></p><p><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1mbcIkVI/AAAAAAAAANQ/p6y8FMbjD_4/s1600-h/sages+birth+055.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089407988222431570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE1mbcIkVI/AAAAAAAAANQ/p6y8FMbjD_4/s320/sages+birth+055.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-73981566675356902612007-07-19T15:08:00.000-07:002007-07-20T15:50:53.464-07:00<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEztbcIkMI/AAAAAAAAAMI/wvCuDHNp8a8/s1600-h/sages+birth+056.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089405909458260162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEztbcIkMI/AAAAAAAAAMI/wvCuDHNp8a8/s320/sages+birth+056.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEztrcIkOI/AAAAAAAAAMY/6tC0thOJY1I/s1600-h/sages+birth+072.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089405913753227490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEztrcIkOI/AAAAAAAAAMY/6tC0thOJY1I/s320/sages+birth+072.jpg" border="2" /></a> </p><p></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEzt7cIkPI/AAAAAAAAAMg/16dVNH5QuLs/s1600-h/sages+birth+082.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089405918048194802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEzt7cIkPI/AAAAAAAAAMg/16dVNH5QuLs/s320/sages+birth+082.jpg" border="2" /></a> </p><p><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEzt7cIkQI/AAAAAAAAAMo/p8q50zcMQVw/s1600-h/sages+birth+100.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089405918048194818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqEzt7cIkQI/AAAAAAAAAMo/p8q50zcMQVw/s320/sages+birth+100.jpg" border="2" /></a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9132481.post-8676282155013612282007-07-18T15:33:00.000-07:002007-07-20T15:37:24.696-07:00<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE41LcIkWI/AAAAAAAAANY/hULFmZ-w71I/s1600-h/sages+birth+107.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089411540160385378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE41LcIkWI/AAAAAAAAANY/hULFmZ-w71I/s320/sages+birth+107.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE41bcIkXI/AAAAAAAAANg/t1Bk1vvDXoQ/s1600-h/sages+birth+120.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089411544455352690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE41bcIkXI/AAAAAAAAANg/t1Bk1vvDXoQ/s320/sages+birth+120.jpg" border="2" /></a> </p><p> </p><p><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE41bcIkYI/AAAAAAAAANo/DboXR6NBBrE/s1600-h/sages+birth+119.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089411544455352706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EegVOX8q2f0/RqE41bcIkYI/AAAAAAAAANo/DboXR6NBBrE/s320/sages+birth+119.jpg" border="2" /></a><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3