December 16, 2024
We come together by zoom to share “What’s ALIVE in us?” and “What’s INSPIRING us?”
Deanne, Michigan , Jack , Vermont, Jo – Upstate NY , Hannah Portland,OR. Sooz, Michigan.
Emergent themes:
Dealing with illness in a hopeful way.
Enthusiasm about projects & life.
Appreciative of our own efforts.
Hannah – I only saw Deanne for about a day that got extended because lmy eye got hurt in a rice cooking incident. I was interested in Deanne’s work because I worked with clay in an artistic sense and ran into Deanne on a WWOOFING platform. Lots of artwork and building with clay in Portland, Oregon. Work-trade program: soda kiln and raku kiln. Photo of city repair children’s stage to share. Intersection repair in Portland, OR. Finally started feeling the excitement for pottery. Now that I have a place to do it and learn from someone else, I’m doing the basics. Enjoying the community in Portland. Grateful to Deanne for sending me to City Repair. Difficult living alone and working alone and finding people. I’ve just been reconnecting family and friends back home and calling home which has been really nice. Working to reduce my waste. Starting a vermi-compost bin. Going to coops to recycle and reduce plastic. Cooking from scratch. Internship at art gallery (was nice, but not for me). Pushing through my boring day job to make ceramics art possible in the future. Artists are poets in their mediums. Tried the fashion scene, but not interested in that energy. I loke clay and natural building.
Jo – Some stories in Ithaca, NY of plazas that got taken over by people’s art (like in Portland). Ithaca Commons (4 blocks blocked to traffic) https://www.visitithaca.com/listing/downtown-ithaca-commons/1820/
Banking with the credit union in Ithaka. Finally found David, who can come here to work with his skills and tools. He answered the phone. He showed up the day that I called and showed up exactly on time. First job: close up the damaged area on the straw bale house. I could not take the material, get up the scaffold alone with a heavy load of material. Now, I can keep it heated and above freezing. He also installed a new door in the room in the barn. Used door interior closet door, then I got a used exterior door, but then that needed to be replaced. He even took me to Lowe’s and showed me the new doors. 7x faster with Dave. Quite a few things to replace. Working a lot with the alternatives to violence project, over 200 people on my writing list. That could probably keep me busy full time. I keep up with it as much as I can. Saturday was another work day. Mohawk Valley Collective = local nonprofit to restore all buildings to public use. Old church needs to be done. Beetles in the woodwork.
Full cord of firewood delivered. I cut some of my own wood. 29 acres too far to haul sometimes. Full face cord on my porch (always dry and ready). Saturday I worked all day there at the hall. And Sunday stacking wood.
Peggy Suze – A fib diagnosis. I’ve made a lot of progress. The natural stuff that I’m taking is helping. Talking with natural doc tomorrow about the results of my blood draw. Move me into a different place with dying. I’m wanting to be more prepared than I am right now. Working on going through stuff and appreciating this great, amazing life. The more I go through things, the more the memories of people. If I was a millionaire, I couldn’t have bought a more wonderful life. It’s feeling close to spirits. I was just in this really great group, with Penny H. Six of us in a poetry group. Women and great men have befriended me and made such a difference in my life. I respect what you do and your kindness, Deanne. It’s been good. And I want to see the moon. Jack, I miss you when you’re not here. You look younger than the last time I remember seeing you. That’s it. Adios! I have a new friend that likes reading like I do. I’m hoping we can all keep this going just a bit longer.
Deanne – Mark Lakeman and family. Park called Dignity Village for small homes for homeless people in Portland, OR. Having meaning and purpose is great, and we want to have fun! Suze and I have mutual friends in our group that are dead within the last year. I like that reflection part, looking back, rounding it up. Poignant. It feels good to appreciate ourselves, patterns, animals, ourselves! Great! The best! Nel is coming over and helping, he wants to come over every Monday for the rest of his life to help. He’s come over twice. We spent day putting in a hot water composting system At Rich Points, in Beaverton, MI. Using compost to heat water up in mid-michigan. He ran a bike shop in CO. Sleeps on a Straw stuffed mattress. Rocket stove in his (metal) pole barn. Nel came over today. Plans to re-lash a ladder. Do some organizing to the red shed. He came a bit late, and we did a lot of talking and we had a good time. He’s a carpenter, mass stove, fireman. He’s got skills. He knows how to work with media and materials. Brought up in a different environment than me, black guy from the Hood, with a science-teacher father. Building trust and pretty dynamic, really nice. One-on-one me-teach-him stuff kind of day. He’ll be passing this stuff onto other people. So that’s great. I’ve been socializing quite a bit. Shane and Levi’s winter holiday party. Spanish teacher Shane, passionate about language and teaching. Levi is a chemistry teacher who wishes he was an art teacher. Great guy. When they were living here, we would bring up the etymology or the chemistry. Feeling pretty high from those kind of things: people, connections. Appointment with cardiologist tomorrow. Why do I have an appointment? Is it already 3 months since we last met? He was recommending some medication for occasional irregular heartbeat Could be preventative? My Energy feels good. I feel fine. Full moon potluck last night! Community! COnnection! Great group of people. Functioned as a conversation group the whole night. Feeling good. Winternship, four weekend workshops every weekend through January. Family of 3 will come to every workshop. Big discount for coming to all of them. You can tell! I’m feeling good!
Jack
I’ve been getting sick for the last 2 months. I’m sick all the time. A new cold each time I go to the Dr. he says I have a new strain of the cold, and not to worry. I am working with preschoolers and they are always getting sick. I will go to bed early tonight, Tomorrow we have Holiday Gift Exchange at school, and I am making gifts with my new 3-D PRINTER ! A lantern. Disney theme Mickey mouse hearts. From plastic.
My mother is doing well. My new job (since June is 5 long days a week, more that my previous job. And it is an hour drive each way.
MY girlfriend of 3 months is keeping me busy, and I love it. (Shows a video of them dancing) Nupur. She is interested in co-founding a Permacuture Farm Center. Her ideas of what kind of house she wants is different. That’s ok. We’ve only been dating 3 months.
Jo and I continue to talk after folks left early, being tired! We shared experiences being on the land and the possibilities of working with volunteers, and teaching woodland workshops for youth. We felt inspiration!
