this is hard

highlights of today--our first graduation weekend inquiry, more phone-line nonsense, an accidental double-booking (by previous manager), and host + guests temporarily locked out, eek!

despite all that, its rolling along with a few new bookings. its still bizarre to me every time someone calls on The Booking Phone. Still a bit nervous too, brad (old manager) is so polished and confident sounding. soon, soon.

meanwhile my lungs keep filling with mucous and i have a wracking cough. feeling nervous about winter's onset and the coming chill!!

we own a hostel

i've been neglecting this blog because it was feeling too solipsistic and self-absorbed. now there's news--BIG news. We (a group of 6 people--3 X twinoakers, 3 current Woodfolkers, 3 Patchwork Farmers, 2 members of the cult of Rebecca's[local health food store]--yeah, small town with lots of crossover) have now OFFICIALLY taken ownership of Alexander House. the hostel has been running for about 5 years, in an sweet little house in belmont. the crazy thing about this project is that its a collective endeavour; no boss, no manager, no bottom line except all of us. pretty f'n amazing.

today was our first day, and we've already experienced: random man who forgot his coat, and returned to retrieve it/befriend the current guests, lost luggage delivery during dinner (chris went over to deal), request for guests with a service dog (turns out its illegal to refuse or charge extra). It is amazing, overwhelming, exciting, awesome. the best part is that we're all in it together--and that feels pretty great. tell all your friends and fam--we're still working on the new-and-improved-website, til then you can book a room by calling 434 327 6447.

momentum

...is an amazing thing! and overcoming inertia.

the self expression leadership program is really helping me push through resistance, put myself out there, make requests of people and be in ACTION!

my project #2 is to transform Cville into a garden of eden by establishing edible landscaping (fruit trees, nut trees, berry bushes) on city property, in parks, and on commercial property that borders public spaces. i met khadija abdur-rachman a couple weeks ago--she's a city person who works for neighborhood development. our brief chat left me confident that she had energy and know-how in this area. i knew she'd be a key person but it still took me 2 weeks (!!!) to get the nerve up to contact her. i finally emailed her today--within minutes she'd written back an excited email, full of energy and ideas. the gist--she's in!!

then, i went to alexis--burnt out on cville activism that he is, i'm banking on his fruit-o-phile nature to overcome his pessimism for local organizing (he does have over 80 fruit trees in the yard). brief chat and....also in!!

then, the scariest one. susan, who works for the urban farm and used to work for parks and rec. intense power house lady. not the exhuberant, bubbling type. quick to point out the many flaws in a seemingly good plan. after staring at the phone for a full 5 minutes, continually talking myself out of it (we dont' really need her! etc.), i just picked up the phone and called QCC. totally by chance, i caught her in the office (its market day). i gave it to her the quick and dirty. dropped some names. told her i thought of her, b/c it perfectly bridges her worlds of city parks and rec, and community based urban farm.

and....just like that....

she's in!!!!

whoa. that. is. whack.

i've already sold vince on it, so we've totally got a kick-butt group. of course i have no idea what this will REALLY involve, what it will look like, etc. but ride now i'm just ridin' the wave.

canning

part of the agricultural intern position that sky and i have taken on is CANNING! our goal has been to grow as much food as possible, and preserve as much as possible for the winter. we kicked off on saturday, bumbling through the tomato canning with kelly's help. should we cook them down? can them whole? add spices? take the skins off? a quick call to Acorn and we had what we needed "just add a bit of apple cider vinegar and you'll be fine!"

On Monday, i made a bunch of pesto with basil culls from the farmer's market via food not bombs, as well as a big pan of zucchini bread. Alexis approved fully, and licked the bowl. Tuesday, sky made another batch of lacto-fermented purple kraut. i've become very addicted to the kraut.

today, we did another round of tomatoes and then got adventurous with roasted peppers--preserved in a balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic rosemary concoction. whoa! major yum. its pretty decadent eats around here these days, with all of the luscious tomatoes, zukes just starting, peppers, basil, and beets. not to mention onions, leeks, carrots, cabbage....

next up: canned blackberries and blueberry jam. peaches, pears, grapes...and FIGS! though the figs don't usually make it to the canning stage.

birthday bash

i've never thrown myself a big 'ole birthday party before. in fact, i've never really thrown a big party before. The experience was really remarkable.

Tons of people helped out--a crew of awesome fairy women came over in the morning to transform the house--ivy and flowers everywhere, billowing fabric and candles. sky and trout made pies. as people started to arrive, i had the supreme delight of playing music w/trout and ez.

it was nice to be present and offer my energy to the party in that way--i love playing with trout so much. as it grew dark and the room slowly filled with people, fruit, and flowers, we faded out and began corralling folks for the play-within-the-play.
some chaotic madness ensued, as we tried to cover all the parts and fill in gaps. the quartet of Wall rehearsed their segment in one corner as thea and i attempted to coordinate the other characters. "do we have a theseus?" "no, i'll go find one" "oh wait, we have theseus, we need demetrius!" "whose bottom?" "jon. but he doesn't want to be in it. but elsa will. oh wait, she's already oberon." etc. beautiful chaos.

After one false start, the actors launched into the dramatic and absurd play. it was utterly hilarious and spectacular, i couldn't help howling with laughter throughout. vince's dramatic, touching and prolonged death scene (in striped tights) was particularly moving.


After the play, everyone started singing the birthday songs--traditional, plus the usual twin oaks bevy. my favorite:

its your birthday/grunt/its your birthday, grunt/people dying everywhere/vultures flying in the air/its your birthday/grunt/may the candles on your cake/burn like cities in your wake/its your birthday/grunt

...and then a wild dance party. there was lots of fruit: peaches, mangos, bluberries, ground cherries, plums; as well as the apple and peach/wineberry pie, ice tea, wine, and dates. it was a truly decadent and magical evening.

and jon's chaps brought it to the next level.

day in the garden

sky and i slept in til a deliciously late 10:30 this morning (well, mostly slept) so after meditating, half the day was gone! it was a big garden day, slowly turning out the brassicas and making room for the summer/fall stuff. we pulled up the rest of the onions and hung them to dry, trimmed up the last batch and bagged them. harvested the rest of the broccoli side-shoots and pulled up the plants. harvested the first leeks, thinned the beets (and harvested the thinnings). the tomatoes are starting to come on, and we have an amazing variety--fuzzy peach, grape, german striped. some big mamas, too. getting close to canning time. harvested some purple cabbage and made a new batch of kraut.

and then cooked a lunch of beets, broccoli, tomatoes.

sky went out to twin oaks tonight, and its sweet to have the night to myself. indulge in an episode of 6 feet under (yes, i'm a closet addict), eat some peaches and coconut milk ice cream, call friends, clean my room, prepare for the BIG DAY tomorrow. and now to bed, as i've got an 8:30 date with a neighbor to talk about borrowing a weed wacker.

ask and....

one of my favorite landmark distinctions is "making powerful requests." Today, sky and i were tabling for Urban Evolution (yes, its starting to be like THAT) at a Meet Your Neighborhood event in Lee park. Towards the end of the event, the main organizer came over and urged us to go up to the main tent. A few city workers, from neighborhood development and public utilities were there answering questions from the people.

we ran over. The audience questions were on the wane, so i jumped in right away. First, i asked about edible landscaping on city land, including parks. i got a name in parks and rec--the dude to follow up with. then i asked about grey water, and got a muddled answer about rainwater for landscaping. sky took the mic then, and asked about zoning and the 4-unrelated-person maximum occupancy regulation. nothing new there; preventing slumlords, accurately judging utility use etc.

i sat in my seat, very present to last nights dream in which i was invited to join boulder, colorado's city council. these people's JOB is to serve us, to make cville a better place to live. so much of our work is about neighborhood development. this was an amazing opportunity, what else could i ask for? i've been planning a ridge st. block party for august--a harvest fest, cookout, neighborhood story sharing party in the street. so far, the various permits we'll need total nearly $300. i've been feeling pretty stumped about where that money will come from--this is not a wealthy neighborhood. folks have been happy to bring a dish to share, or share stories. they're psyched to have a party in the neighborhood. i went back and forth in my head "ask, no i can't ask, just ask! no, i can't." it never hurts to ask, i decided. so. i made my powerful request, bumbling a bit and ending with the possibility for the event; a chance for the community to really come together and connect, have a good time and build community. pause. winning smile. the three panel folks silently stared at me. pregnant pause.

then, the moderator approached me and said quietly, "sometimes we can make an exception. give me a call" and handed me his card. i looked at it, and it said "Maurice Jones, Assistant City Manager."

whoa.