making a move

Faber is shifting - more to come soon!

Nov. 2 Entry

Yikes!  I feel like I inadvertently abandoned my Blog.  Maybe it's a case of "the busy's", or the ever present nature of Facebook.  

I was sitting in church tonight and suddenly realized it was November 2.  This was the night my father passed away 18 years ago, and I hadn't given it a thought all weekend.  Usually on Halloween I have something happen that clues me in, but this year it just never came to mind.  So while sitting and listening to music in church I was thinking that it was sort of nice.  Partly because I thought about my dad 2 times today, regardless of the anniversary.  

First was when I put Levi down for his nap for the second time.   My dad would always make me take a nap on Sunday afternoons at the same time he did.  Our neighborhood had an unwritten rule that kids stayed inside until 3pm on Sundays so that everyone could enjoy their dinner and take naps, etc.  Obviously, the kids hated this rule, and I always attempted to find ways to sneak out.  Knowing this, my dad would always make me take my nap on the top bunk of our bunk beds, and he would snag the bottom bunk.  I would always wait for his breathing to slow down and then try to ease myself down from the top bunk, across the wood floor and out the closed door.  9 out of 10 times I would get caught or end up falling asleep before he did.  So as I caught a couple Z's next to Levi, I thought about how great those Sunday naps really were.

The second time I thought about my dad today was when Levi was eating lunch.  Nora and I have a really hard time getting our menus and lunch times to match up right now, not to mention Levi's schedule.  Nora has several food allergies and needs to eat pretty often.  It's not unusual for me to look at the clock, see 4pm, and realize that I haven't eaten anything that day.  So we were both talking about how we need to try to line up lunches or dinners better and eat them as a family.  My parents did a great job of this, and I know Levi will miss something if we don't do it.  But I was remembering when he was diagnosed with Cancer and was on a special Macrobiotic diet, that we still ate together.  My mom was probably more to thank for that, but it still was a great memory of our family around a dinner table talking about the day and laughing about something inappropriate for dinner conversation.

So, sitting in church, I didn't feel a lot of sadness - just some additional gratitude.  Miss you dad, and I'm trying.

Family Reunion Pics

The family at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Levi "swimm'in" in Little Glen Lake

Levi wearing his Real Salt Lake soccer kit from Uncle Garth

Visiting the other cottages in Grandpa's boat

The family arrives by boat to the Little Glen Lake cottage

The boys look for crayfish on the doc with Uncle Nathan


Cousin Pic A.K.A. "Chad and Kim renew their vows"

bubbles

With State of Michigan Data (big circle)


Without State of Michigan Data

off the grid

Sorry folks, I went "off-the-grid" there for about a month. I've been working hard to finish up a project and my eyes are just able to start focusing on distant objects again. A life spent 18 inches from a computer screen all day is not good for the soul. So as I come out of the haze, here are some fun things I'm working on around the hood.

1) We've been working with Calvin to see what the viability of wind energy is up at Newberry. We are meeting with the city tomorrow to check in to see what other barriers might be in place. I'm really enthralled with the idea of a Wind Energy Community Co-op where members buy in and offset their own power use. Like most things in my life, Denmark is the source of inspiration.

2) Coit Bridge reconstruction is moving forward well, and the final designs should be coming out soon. The new design has big sidewalks and native plantings. It has a hefty price tag, but I think there is an opportunity to raise some money for this thing.

3) Jon and I have been testing out geocaching and have found a couple locations in the neighborhood. I'll let you know what these modern-day treasure hunters find.

4) My neighbor April has just started up a great new blog called my-grandma-was-green I'll also post a link in my sidebar. But I encourage folks to surf over and check out the story of her living this year like her grandma did 40+ years ago.

what I'm reading

Inspiring stuff...

"Modern society is characterized by isolation and a weakened social fabric. The various sectors of our communities—businesses, schools, social service organizations, churches, government—work in parallel, not in concert. They exist in their own worlds as do so many individual citizens, who long for connection but end up marginalized, their gifts overlooked, their potential contributions lost. This disconnection and detachment makes it hard if not impossible to envision a common future and work towards it together.

We know what healthy communities look like—there are many success stories out there, and they've been described in detail. What Block provides in this inspiring new book is an exploration of the exact way community can emerge from fragmentation. How is community built? How does the transformation occur? What fundamental shifts are involved? He explores a way of thinking about our places that creates an opening for authentic communities to exist and details what each of us can do to make that happen.

"My intent" he writes, "is provide structural ways to create the experience of belonging, not just in those places where people come to just be together socially, but especially in places where we least expect it. This includes those places where people come together to get something done. These are our meetings, dialogues, conferences, planning processes––all those occasions where we gather to reflect on and decide the kind of future we want for ourselves."

Citizens have the power to change the community story and bring a new context into being. Block shows us how we can overcome isolation and anxiety and create communities alive with energy and possibility. This book is written to support those who care for the well being of their communities. It is for anyone who wants to be part of an organization, neighborhood, city, or country that works for all, and who have the faith and the energy to create such a place."  from www.peterblock.com

hold the day in your heart

Perfect weather!  We Michiganders know that in the middle of February your thoughts go to Spring.  And yesterday's weather almost makes a winter like this year's tolerable.  The layers of green are starting to fill out.  From our roof deck we look over a small valley that is now popping with lime and hunter green.  It feels like being in a tree fort when you blur your eyes.   And with good weather comes happy cohousers.  We were out in force getting on top of Spring projects.

The landscaper just finished up this winding path to connect out to the park.  Kids just can't resist it and it pulls them in like a tractor beam.  Their eyes get all hazy as they get drawn toward the park.

Most of the dads found themselves watching kids in the park on Saturday morning.  Mother's Day inspired actions I'm sure.  

Marty, Lou and Jim took on another project.  We agreed to put up a screening wall between our parking wall and the neighbors.  We had some trees planned for this area, but space is such a premium on the site, that we renegotiated the site plan and carved out a space for some future composting or storage.  The trade off was 11 posts and some lattice work.  Many hands make for quick work though, and the posts are all in and steady.  

Ian volunteered to take Levi around for a couple laps as Levi pronounced, "Hold on tight, yeah!"