28 May 2005

So this is cool...

I just got back from a get-together of mamas that have met online. Zee German is very cool with me and by obsession with the internets. Have I told you how much I love him. Anyway... he went with me to meet with the mamas. I love a man who can chat with the girls. I love girls who can chat with a man. ;)

Makes me realize more that I have such strength and energy in my friends and even though I won't see them for a long time, they are with me. That holds true for us all. I hope that Dill and Chickadee-D can see at least a bit of that.


Oh - and nothing could be finer than what this weekend has in store... Tonight the Pixies with my girl Spicy-T. My sista. Tomorrow camping on Lopez Island in the San Juans with our favorite fiber muse.

I do love my life. That is so cool.

22 May 2005

I'm Handling This Quite Well

Man I love my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer.

I dedicate this to my beloved appliance.



But I still have to sell her. Thankfully I have the patron saint of moving sales at my side. The Blessed Bloody Mary. ::bows head:::

20 May 2005

at last Zee German

Everyone in the family has written at least one post and I haven't... Well, get used to because I'm not the writer in the family. I will try to write more often but the problem I'll confront is the lack of time in the PC due to a family member using it. The family needs internet access 24/7 or someone could die. We can live without phone, cable even without TV or radio but if the internet is shut down --- CHAOS ---- So, I rather have them do all the typing while I ride my bike, or do something else.

Nowadays, I have been very stressed out because in no time 07/16 would be here. We need to sale a lot of stuff such as car, bikes, furniture, in other words a lot of CORROTOS (Stuff). So to start, tomorrow Sat 05/21 we are having a garage sale or moving sale to start getting rid off Corrotos.
Wish us luck!

Changing the topics, I will try to write in Spanish for those who are having some difficulties with the English language.

Cross you fingers, because I'm not sure when will be the next time I will write...

zee german (The Wife assigned me the zee german name because sometimes I'm grumpy)

19 May 2005

Blech. I hate this part.

Frustrating development today. Nothing that can't be dealt with, but just not what any of us wanted. Apparently there are some extra steps to getting approval for Dill and Chickadee D to enter the UK. It turns out that sole custody isn't enough. The US Passport office had no problem issuing a passport, but the UK Consulate requires me to obtain a letter of permission from an absent parent or a court order stating it is okay for them to travel there as long as he has visitation rights. I don't think it should be do hard to get a court order given that it has been several years since their bio-father attempted any contact with them. None of us has a clue where he lives. I have a pretty good case of abandonment, which IMO should support a court order granting permission. Of course I have learned that the law and what makes sense often don't coincide, particularly in family law matters.

So like I said, not earth shattering, but we definately could have done without it.

Carry on....one step. one step. one step.

Update: Talked to an attorney and got clarification from the Brits. It looks like it is going to be okay and should not be too much of a huge hassle to get this squared away. Keep fingers and toes crossed that all works out smoothly.

15 May 2005

So I guess we are moving.....

I don't know.......it all seems so surreal......right now it's not bothering me because something in my mind is telling me, " You're not moving. So fuggetaboutit." But I suppose we are.

My friends don't want me to move. Well, that's noit entirely true. They want me to go and have a good time and they want me to meet hot British guys and go clubbing and things like that. Things they can't do right now.
My friends say stuff like, "Dill, if I can't go, then you have to. And knowing you, in the next year, you'll have a hot French boyfriend who's uber nice and sweet and since he's French, he'll know how to french kiss very good."
Well. Ok. My friends are super awesome and all around cool to say stuff like that. hahahahaha.
Sooooo, I guess we're moving......ok. whatever.

europe?

ok... i made thiS HUGE post about europe and us moving there but it all got deleted. booo hoooo!!! so heres a sum up of it:

I am the 12 almost 13 yearold in the family.

friends sad me sad, friends move in summer * same time i do! * and i am happy now! but they can still see each other, i never see them again. Except, of course, for when i am rich and famous and i track them down for reunion!

moving= unfair= move 5 too many times. i want to go shopping in paris. send friends something from paris! yay!

yeah... that pretty much sums it all up....

The place where we live now

Yesterday we were supposed to be getting things ready for our big yard sale next week. Of course, as things tend to go around here, we did something completely different. An unexpected sunny(ish) and warm(ish) day lead us out to the farmer's market early in the day. I love the farmer's market. In my opinion that is what community is all about. People coming together to buy food for themselves and their families with those who have worked hard to grow produce, bake bread, prepare delicious treats. Musicians and dancers sharing the joy of their art. Children and adults laughing, smiling....living. True comfort food.

After the farmer's market we had an errand to run to drop some stuff off at a friend's house. And once again, as things tend to go, we got sidetracked. It just happens that the neighborhood she lives in was having their annual art fair. Not being one to pass up art nor neighborhood fairs - we joined in the festivities. Again we saw smiling faces. Lots of smiling faces. And people of all walks of life expressing themselves freely in art, dress, music. The parade featured a band riding on a bicycle pulled sofa. (Yes, I said sofa!) Kids riding unicycles , big tall - must be 6 foot high - bikes, stilt walkers, and a marching band in uniforms were as full of life as their music.

We wound up the day with a nice dinner in our backyard of treasures we acquired on our days journey. Grilled asparagus, a nice hearty sourdough bread, organic chevre, tomatoes, sorrel, basil, kalamata olives. The whole family sat together on blankets and lawn chairs, braving the jungle of our desperately needing mowed lawn. It was wonderful. My heart was swelling with such love for the beautiful family we have made together.

It was a perfect day.

As the day was coming to an end, I thought about how much I love the place we live now and the life we have. It seems almost crazy to be planning such a big change to it all. Yet, it is because of the happiness and love that we have in our lives that makes this the perfect time to do just that.

There is a Zen tale that I recall... A man was searching for a new home when he came upon the gates to a village. The gate keeper asked him what the people in his former home were like, and the man told him of horrible selfish, mean and nasty folk. The gate keeper told him that the people in the village were the same way - and advised the man to keep searching. Soon another man looking for a new home came upon the same village gates. The gate keeper asked the same question of this man. He described a life of love and happiness in the land he came from. The gate keeper smiled and told him that those who lived in the village were the same, and welcomed him in to join them. For whatever you bring with you is what you find. We bring with us a life of hope, creativity, and joy for living. And I trust that is what we will find wherever we go.

13 May 2005

The first post.

Follow along with our family as we set off on our big adventure.

We will post updates, musings, photos, and random stuff as we leave our home in the US and set up house in the UK.

A little basic history -

We are a family of 5 - Mom, Dad and 3 girls. In July 2005 we are moving to England where Dad will be attending a Biodynamic Agriculture program at Emerson College in Forest Row, East Sussex. Mom is a Doula,Childbirth Mentor, and Fiber Artist. The kids are 14, soon-to-be-13, and 4 years old. Our teens waffle between excitement and dread. We understand their feelings, which they will certainly share with you, and hope and believe there will be many good times ahead for them. The youngest member of our family - who we will refer to as "Princess" is...well... she is our princess. Her royal proclomations will be dictated and posted accordingly.

Thats it for now. More to come as we take each step.