A Sunny Porch

Sitting here on my front porch, watching steam from a mug of Stumptown waft, curl, disappear from view. A ridiculously quiet start to a morning, no guilt, knowing that tomorrow brings a 4 hour school bus ride with 100 kids and a handful of parent chaperones, beginning at 5:30 a.m. It will be an amazing trip to the Olympic National Park, 4 days of hikes through old growth and canoe paddles around Crescent Lake, science investigations to learn more about watersheds and the fun of asking questions and stories told by S'Klelum elders. Yes, there will be a campfire with skits and songs, communal dining halls and cozy bedbunk cabins where the whispering will go on well past the "lights out" call. It will be educational, energizing, entertaining, and exhausting. And so, for now, in this quiet of my sun-drenched porch, the busy activity of evaporating coffee steam is absolutely the perfect pace to start this day.

So, too, begins week 3 of training for the redwoods run.

The Riddle

If I knew how to upload this, I would. If I could share with you the version I have on my I-pod, I would. It's been around for awhile now but I'm hearing it again, and liking it even more the second time 'round. Enjoy, and Happy New Year, 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alrdva9vJsw

Waiting to Exhale

"Attention is love, what we must give children, mother, father, pets, our friends, the news, the woes of others. What we want to change we curse and then pick up a tool. Bless whatever you can with eyes and hands and tongue. If you can't bless it, get ready to make it new."

--Marge Piercy

It's been one week since we as a nation came together and swung open the doors to a new day. People are writing, talking, sharing what this all means. What having for the first time in our country's story a person of African descent leading us forward says about how far we've come and where we are headed. Yes, I know that this matters. In insurmountable ways, electing Barack Obama as our 44th president matters.

I'm not sure it is for mainly these reasons though that I find myself getting caught off-guard this past week by sudden well-springs of emotion; a tight squeeze of the heart from some unknown force, followed by cleansing tears. It happened again today, on forested trails above my home, while watching these autumn days turn. The gusts of wind tossing countless leaves dancing into a nickel-gray sky. Care-free cascading towards solid ground, and then, together en masse, they begin to do the work they are here for, work which will continue throughout the dark winter months ahead, necessary work for the greater good of this planet.

There is a stirring about, the world in a collective exhale. Finally, we can all breathe again. We've been waiting for so long, waiting to know what our future holds. And for so many of us, after years of dread and doubt, shame as we watch greed and narcissism tap-dance upon a world stage, there is finally a reason to celebrate. To be proud of our leaders and how they represent us. I am seeing it, feeling it all around me. From the mouths of the poets upon the stage, in the music of Ozomatli on a Friday night, in the sincerity of a letter scripted by a young child to her future president, the "thumbs up" from the driver next to me at the light...in the smallest of ways I sense the power of hope restored in a people, and with it a determined will to land on solid ground together, to do the work that needs to be done. Ahhhhh!!


"This is the blessing for a political victory. Although I shall not forget that things work in increments and epicycles and sometime leaps that half the time fall back down, let's not relinquish dancing while the music fits into our hips and bounces with joy our heels."

--From the Art of Blessing the Day by Marge Piercy

Holy Dome, Batman!

I love my siblings dearly, let's just make that very clear right here from the get-go. And like any healthy familial relationship, there's bound to be a little bit of sibling rivalry. Seems like in the past year our brotherly/sisterly battles have included extensive remodels on the properties we each own. We coincidentally leveled the playing field by each hiring a contractor by the name of Brian. From that point on, that's just about the only thing we've had in common. You would think that Dug's complete remodel of a Vietnamese restaurant into a popular bistro that serves up tasty pacific northwest cuisine to happy customers (http://www.agatealley.com/) is the hands-down winner of this "all in good fun" competition. However, last weekend my younger sister, Sarah, may have just taken the prize when she and a dozen of her friends and family erected a geodesic dome that, when done, will rival the living space in my 1,200 square ft. humble abode.

It could not have been a better weekend weather-wise and with "all hands on deck", literally, things went together pretty smoothly.

D

A

D

I missed the first day's events so only took part in the heave-ho! aspects of getting the roof on. In actuality, I did a lot of holding, tugging, and looking-up.

The plan now is to finish the insides with a loft, bedrooms, running water, electricity, and a wood stove. With the work she's already had done on her home, and now this new living space, we all know we've got a place to go when this economy really starts to crumble. It's a visual dichotomy to be sure. I'm so proud of my sister and how she's continued to create the kind of space that she wants for herself on her property. The horses, goats, chickens, dogs, and barn cats only add to the appeal. No wonder

Waldo never wants to come home!

Say Moose!

Here it is, barely October and we've already accomplished so much this school year. The kids are busy creating a presidential campaign of their own, complete with four political parties, campaign workers, headquarters, candidates, and platforms. My class decided they are the "Green W.O.R.K.S." party, (working on restoring key systems) and have researched issues related to the economy, foreign affairs, social welfare, education, health care, and the environment. What a better place this world would be if some of their ideas came to fruition! Being around these young people gives me confidence that the future is in good hands.

They love our "moose breaks". Wish you could have heard the laughs and conversations generated from the "Tangled Moose Photos" I showed them off the Anchorage Daily News website.

Ginny Sue

Mom left us two years ago this past Friday, the same day of this year Paul Newman made his own great escape. He was her favorite, Butch Cassidy and the The Sting are probably the two movies I remember most from childhood.

"Raindrops keeps fallin' on my head..."

We celebrated her and all she did for us with an afternoon picnic of fall harvest fruits and cheeses, her favorite wine and a bit of frisbee...of course.

Is there any place more beautiful late September than a Willamette valley hillside?

Farmers' fields of tawny gold
a checkerboard of slumbered orchards and coastal fir
dried leaves, their curled edges catch a breeze, float solitary to winter resting places
as migrating flocks overhead push their way southward.

How lucky am I to have family close by, to still be able to laugh and play together
spontaneous games of "coaster golf" through the house with Dad and brother
a trip to the beach
late night concerts at the Crystal and walks through Sarah's woods
talks over the news of the day

She'd be happy to see us this way
It's just what she would have wanted.

**Photo taken this weekend at Oceanside, OR**

XIX

This weekend's trip to Waldo Lake marks nineteen consecutive years of visits to my favorite place in the world. While friends paddled across, Waldo and I hoofed it around (he carried the wine and shrimp fajita fixings) and we met up at a great backside camping spot. Left yesterday afternoon in what my dad would call "a fine Oregon mist", noticing how light my heart felt...haven't felt that since AK. Copious amnts of huckleberries this year...winter stash now within easy reach in my freezer.

Richard left us this week...from his favorite spot in Canada, just like I knew he would.