Welcome, Followers!

As an ENFP (Champion) it's a huge part of facing my day, knowing that people are checking in to see what inspiring thing I might be up to today.

This isn't an ego thing. I don't claim the credit or even the inspiration to follow this path towards sustainability on a budget; I know the glory belongs to God. It is His strength that holds me together; all I am doing is showing up and saying "yes" as much as I possibly can.

I find that I can say "yes" more often when I feel that I'm not operating in a vacuum. That's why seeing people following the blog is so huge and important for me.

Thanks so much, and welcome!

A stroll in the moonlight

Liz and I piled a few people into our cars and headed off into the local hills for a moonlight walk. The local parks have a 10:00 curfew, but we didn't let that stop us. However, when we finally stopped at a likely trailhead, the two police cars parked there gave us some pause.

"Closed at ten o'clock, folks," they told us, waving us on.

So we drove to a different place and parked on the street and walked in.

The moon was lovely, the path relatively free of roots, and the night warmed in a way that only East Bay nights seem to after a cold afternoon. Jori fell off the path. A bit later, he jumped out from behind a tree, roaring, frightening his friend Isabel and falling into a hole, dragging her along after.

He's not a quiet young man.

Liz, on the other hand, reached a natural altered state and playfully danced with her moonshadow, quietly infused with the magic of the moment.

We eventually made our way to a labyrinth there. They way down looked especially treacherous in the dark. I thought of the people my courageous brother rescues quite regularly from their bad choices, and carefully considered the course of the next several minutes. Out of the moonlight, my eyes adjusted to the deep shadows and I saw the path rather more clearly. Everyone else went a stupid way, so I hurried to the base of the cliff they were approaching from above and waved them off.

More accurately, when they finally heard me below them, they realized that the other way down was better.

Betsy, Jori, Nicholas and I left everyone else in the labyrinth and came home. I wasn't really done being out, but I'd had a sufficiency, and all four of us realized we weren't willing to sacrifice functionality the next day for more fun in the night.

Betsy and Jori are such a welcome part of our community. We know they are traveling, and sometimes we get preemptively sad thinking about their departure sometime in the middle of 2009. Xena summed it up nicely: "We're their summertime."

I wonder if Summer looks as fondly on our delight, we who celebrate her warmth and freedom, or as wistfully at our eagerness for the joys of Autumn.

House meeting agenda item

"What's this agenda item about some bike-packers coming to visit?"

"Well, only if we want them to. I met them at Make Faire. They're a cute couple, Ryan and Mandy, who are traveling about, making a documentary about sustainability, community living, simpler choices, that sort of thing. I promised I'd ask all of you if they could come visit."

"Is there some issue?"

"I certainly don't think so. I love getting filmed and interviewed-"

"Me too!" "So do I!"

"-but since they'll be sharing the shower, at the very least, and probably the kitchen too, I felt like I better get all of our input."

"Do we have room for them? Our veggie-oil bus fills quite a bit of driveway."

"Oh, they're on bicycles-"

"Ha! HA! Let's keep inviting more and more people, as long as their transportation fits in the remaining space on the driveway!"

"If I don't feel like being filmed, I'll just hide in my room."

"I'm sure we can work out the shower arrangement."

"How long will they be here for?"

"Overnight? A day or two?"

"Oh, well, then of course they can come over!"

Blogger Convergence - Jori and Betsy

We got an email some time back about a couple who are touring the country in their veggie-oil bus. "We're visiting national parks as well as intentional communities and other interesting places."

Well, we certainly might qualify as an "interesting place," plus we've got the whole community thing going. After checking with my housemates and my wife, I called these two to get the ball rolling and formally invite them.

"We're in Placerville right now," said Betsy. "We'll be staying another couple of days, and then we'll be looking for some veggie oil to fuel up the bus."

"I think instead of asking you for a firm arrival date, I'd rather you just call me about 24 hours ahead," I said.

"Even with the uncertainty of collecting waste oil, negotiating with a restaurant owner and all that, I'm fairly certain we can give you more notice than that," she said.

Hmm, I wonder what having them around will spark?

You can check out their journey so far at the Travels of Jori and Betsy.