My Place in the World
Penn Valley, CA :: Kate just told me that I stress her out more than any person she knows. I wanted to point out a few obvious exceptions – Hitler, Pol Pot, swine flu – but I didn’t go there. So I stress her out more than any person she knows; it’s not hard to see why: this afternoon I came to her with another idea. Amidst the never-ending stream of my bright ideas, there is one dream Kate and I keep coming back to. We’ve talked for a coup

Give Thanks at the Table
Penn Valley, CA :: It’s the day after Thanksgiving. I’m sitting with my dad talking about recipes and miscellany. This is a great way to start a day. A cup of coffee, dad’s eating leftovers, I’m eating a gluten-free vegan blueberry muffin (I’m going to be enjoying a vegan diet again for a while). We’re debating the fine points of pork tenderloin, killing and plucking chickens, installing solar panels on a roof (that’s what he does these days for income), turk

Merlin’s Justice
Grass Valley, CA :: I’m sitting outside a Starbucks in Grass Valley. This town is where Kate grew up. It was a beautiful Sunday. I went for an hour-long walk with Molly today, and then went for another long walk by myself later in the afternoon. It’s 7:30 p.m. A clear night after a beautiful day, but it’s getting cold now. It’s actually too cold to be sitting outside without a jacket, but I needed to be within earshot of the five guys drinking t

Work
Penn Valley, CA :: I experience life through work. I find pleasure in making things, helping on projects, moving stuff, fixing items, etc. When I have a project I have purpose. When someone needs help I have meaning. I always knew this about myself on some deeper level but until John and I started talking about our value as members of a community I didn’t know how much I was driven by this. Example: We arrived at my Dad’s house in California last Monday. Since then I have raked and moved the leaves on his lawn (about the size of a suburban lot), removed wallpaper paste left on the walls (from the last time I was here and worked on taking the wallp

Welcome to California
Penn Valley, CA :: We are in California and I’m loving it. Although Oregon has become a very special place for me and I can see us settling there when this trip is finished, I am a California girl 100%. Fall in Nevada County, California is wonderful. The deciduous trees flash bright red, orange and yellow between tall evergreen pines. The air smells wonderful. My sister describes it like, “mushy leaves and pine needles, old brick, rusty ir