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.
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.
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.
What to do....
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 Faerie Worlds Festival in July. It makes me sad that we have to leave the bus, but it will only be for about two weeks.
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,
Pile 1 ~ Need it
Pile 2~ Want it
Pile 3 ~ Gotta go..
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.
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.
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 Osmo Hard Wax Oil, 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.
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 Three Sisters Toys,
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
An example of a birthday ring.
Moss pretends to be crazy while holding Sage. What can I say, he has an intresting sense of humor.
My friend Jackie, a photographer, did a photo shoot of Sage. This is one of my faves.
Moss looking more his usual self..
