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, November 22, 2007

Miles 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.


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....


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.


We have given ourselves this month to feel out the vibe, and to see if it's right for us here. . .


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.


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 .


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.


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.


Wow..so many options..


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.

I am so intrested to see where all this leads..........


An old abandoned mill on the farm.





A fresh bowl of grapes from the farm





The resident geese.



Sage Evenstar.




An old cabin on the property.

5 comments:

mamak said...

I just want you to know how much I enjoy your blog. It is beautiful and peaceful.

Namaste,
mama Kim

Amy E said...

Hi Pixie! I wanted to let you know that I received my order today and it's so cute and soft! Thank you!

Amy

Anonymous said...

Hello both of you! I have been following along since the start of your bus conversion. It's great to see both (now all three) of you so happy. I have a bus question: What are the favorite things you did in regards to the conversion, and what things would you do differently if you were to do it again? It's rare to find people who us their busses full time over an extended period. Thanks again, and keep writing.

-Richard in Rossland BC.

Anonymous said...

Richard,
Thanks for the comment !

To answer your question..I have a lot of favorite things we did in the bus, but of them all I enjoy the woodstove with glass insert, super efficient solar fridge, solar power system and real wood floors.

As for what I would do differently..I would strive to make it a more "green" bus, using less toxic materials for insulation. We would also not have coated the bare metal floor with tar to prevent rust, as was advised to us. It is under many layers of insulation, plywood and wood flooring..but it still creeps me out..

Anonymous said...

Have been most interested in what you have done with the bus conversion and been reading here off and on for months now.

Your baby is darling...such nice features she has! You are brave living as you do...but it is a lifestyle we have talked of doing sometime...though our family are all grown now. Thanks for sharing your experiences!