May the long time sun shine upon you, all love surround you and the pure light within you, guide your way on "~Incredible String Band

Thursday, September 20, 2007

We are finally back online with a new, or at least refurbished computer, thanks to Moss's brilliance ! He found a computer on eBay 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 wifi cards, figuring it all out as he went along.


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 added 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. SOOO much better looking ! Now all we have left to do is install our water system, which we have all the parts for, including the Paloma 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.


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 regards 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 for 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 oct 17th for the pre 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 !



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.


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 ?


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.... :)





The bird cages with new closets underneath for storage.


Shelf for Sages clothes and diapers.


Book shelf above bed and Sage sleeping peacefully..

New closet above bed.




Bus windows now painted green.

20 comments:

Lizz said...

Wonderful! We (my whole family of 7!) enjoy your blog. The insides of the bus is lovely. Good work you guys!

We're in Eugene. Hoping to buy a bus ourselves in the spring.

Wendy said...

I've been reading your blog for a while & I can't believe someone would make a comment about your ability to homeschool based on your ability to spell in one blog post! You handled it beautifully, I must say.

Your life is so very different than mine, but I really enjoy reading your updates. As a homeschooler, I think the education you can offer Sage will be amazing.

tansy said...

i have enjoyed reading your blog...i just stumbled upon it a few days ago and had to go back to the beginning and read all the way through!

i love your bus. we are hoping to do something similar in a few years...currently we have 6 children at home. once the older 4 (from previous marriages) are out of the house, we hope to travel up and down the continent, exploring and homeschooling.

sage is a beautiful baby! and such a great name (my youngest is orion sage but we call him sage).

Sara said...

I just LOVE the inside of the bus...and how wonderfully homey you guys have made it. Very nice! The bedroom area is so great...it must be wonderful in there with so much light and squishy-ness :)

Unknown said...

Thank you for being you.

I have to say I've been reading your blog for quite sometime now and felt the urge today to comment.

Maybe it was the pathetic person that had to point out what a bad speller you are... which wasn't even the case, since you are quite the speller.

But I just wanted to add that what you and your family are doing is beautiful, wonderful, and gives hope to people like me that leads hectic beautiful lives.

I wish nothing but the best to you, Moss, and your lil one.

I hope to meet you one day. Maybe I can give Sage a Hoop?

www.AstroHoops.etsy.com

And I hope she grows up to be an artist just like her parents ;)

Lew and Jan Johns said...

I find that Bloggers don't get much support or feedback. I have been following your Blog and your Travels through Life and appreciate your Work-both the Blog and your "Bucking City Hall". You Folks remind me that I didn't have the Stomach for it in Viet-Nam War times. I wish I had...
But on a very positive note, Sage has become your real Work-and the very Best kind of Work that is!
Lew

Unknown said...

Lizz !
we love Eugene ! We lived there for 8 years in a tipi, out on Lorane Hwy. We hope to be moving back within the year, kind of a homebase for us. Maybe we can meet ? Eugene is a great place to buy a bus.

Wendy ~ Thanks so much for the kind words. I am not really sweating the bad speller comment. That one actually was not that bad. You would be suprised at how many REALLY nasty and obscene comments we get ! That is why I moderate them.

Tansy ~ Thanks for reading and I hope you can draw some kind of inspiration or practical advice for your future journey. BTW ~ I love the name Orion, beautiful.

Sara ~ Thanks ! I love the bedroom area too. It IS very comfortable back there. But then, I have always loved small sleeping areas. When I was a little girl I put my bed in the closet. BTW ~ Love your blog/website as well ! For anyone who has not seen it, check out the living lightly tour in my links section. They run there RV on veggie oil as well.

Kit Hoopster ~ LOVE the hoops ! I was just thinking about hula hoops the other day and thinking what a wonderful toy that is. I played with them when I was younger, but they are great for adults as well. I prefer toys like that over video games and hope to emphasize things like that for Sage, though it will be awhile until she can use one. Thanks for the blessings and good wish's.

Hey Lew ! ~ Thanks so much for the feedback and for reading. Our suit against the city and giant superstore is nothing as important as what folks in the late 60's and 70's were fighting for, but thanks for the thumbs up.

~ Pixie

Rick Brentlinger said...

Pixie, Moss and Sage-

What fun to read your interesting adventures. I enjoy seeing your pictures and the ingenious ways you've made the bus into a home.

May God bless you in delightful and unexpected ways every day of your lives.

Rick Brentlinger

Anonymous said...

Hi pixie ,i just finished my monthly visit to the site to see you sage and moss.Our sage is gettingbig and we cant wait to see her some day.I saw the doll mom gave you gram really loved to make the dolls.we are all very proud of you and moss and your strength to leave the trappings of our society and persue happiness as you perceive it.aunt lisa and everyone says hi.I will see you next month and may all be well
uncle Tom ( pappy )

The Mystery Machine said...

Hi pixie and moss- haven't written to you in so long, and it looks like you are doing just beautifuly. I can't help but wonder at your grace in handling the sugar-in-the-engine incident, moss being arrested, even the nasty commenter....you are definitely an inspiration to many, especially to me.
i am in venice beach, soon to be topanga canyon, so please let me know if i can ever help with anything. and i promise this time it won't be filled with snafus like my trying to give you my computer was!
ps sage has the wisest eyes.
carmen aka nighthouse

The Mystery Machine said...

Hi pixie and moss- haven't written to you in so long, and it looks like you are doing just beautifuly. I can't help but wonder at your grace in handling the sugar-in-the-engine incident, moss being arrested, even the nasty commenter....you are definitely an inspiration to many, especially to me.
i am in venice beach, soon to be topanga canyon, so please let me know if i can ever help with anything. and i promise this time it won't be filled with snafus like my trying to give you my computer was!
ps sage has the wisest eyes.
carmen aka nighthouse

Candice said...

I love your blog and your bus, and you guys are just such beautiful people.

And you would be an excellent homeschooling family! Shame on the spelling police!

Tiffany said...

I am in awe of you guys. And truly inspired. It would be amazing to travel and live like you all! Amazing! Keep the blogs coming!

Tiffany said...

I am in awe of you guys. And truly inspired. It would be amazing to travel and live like you all! Amazing! Keep the blogs coming!

Anonymous said...

Yea! My heart soared when you said you would homeschool Sage! I can't imagine any other way for your beautiful family. Although we're not living on the road, we have spent the last three years remodeling our 1870 house so we can really understand how much work has gone into creating your lovely home. We're an unschooling family of four on the east coast - if you wonder over this way drop us a line - we're more than happy to share our home (and ample parking space) with kindred spirits. :)

Unknown said...

Susan !
I LOVE old houses! How wonderful that you are restoring it. Thank you for the offer. We love to meet kindred spirits as well.

Anonymous said...

It's a great bus, the inside looks more cozy than most houses. It is always quite inspiring to see people leaving the true american dream... rock on :)

Mary said...

I know lots of brilliant people who cannot spell and lots of ignorant people who can. I am a teacher and I think the best thing you can do for Sage is give her your heart of knowledge!

Your blog encourages my family to 'make the leap!'

Thanks for writing! Mary Z.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I just discovered your blog. What a blast! Whoever posted the homeschooling comment, is clearly an uneducated individual indeed! And I want one of your pregnant dolls, they are beautiful! saskia

Eartha Lustig said...

Hey there! I just stumbled upon your blog. I just wanted to say I admire your lifestyle and everything your doing. In fact, your living out the dream I haven't quite been able to do yet :) So inspiring. And your bus... beautiful and amazing. Best wishes on the rest of your journey! Keep those gypsy souls alive.

Blessed be,

Eartha, Vancouver Island, BC