WIPE OUT

How happens when one canary, two canaries put up bamboo curtain rods to enclose and 'pretty-up' their VardoForTwo?  At first, the look and line of bamboo poles and old favorite curtains from Manoa are a dream.  For an afternoon the porch looked wonderful and the breeze moved the yellow curtains like tradewinds.  By the time we went to sleep the oh too familiar, debilitating feel of weakness throughout from head to toe and then a burning sensation signaled a high-level exposure.  Something was creating a chemical sensitivity episode that would not pass.  Why do these things happen just before sleep?

What was it?  The bamboo poles must have been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides a major toxic trigger.  By the light of my small strand of Christmas tree lights and a light drizzle Pete pulled down the four bamboo rods and took them away; I cut and covered the rod holes with Denny Foil.  The trigger eased, yet not early enough to be without ill-effect on my brain and nervous system.  A night later, a walk to the shore and I am better though weak.

It has been another challenging 'Ole Cycle.  The issue of whether a vardo built as a medical necessity will be reason enough to allow occupancy in a residential neighborhood is part of the challenge (when there's more to tell, we will).  A bit of awesome magic did happen: Ruby, our old Sony laptop returned from the dead for one day during the three-day 'Ole Cycle; just long enough for me to copy the story Tree Skin onto my backup cd (thank you!).  Pete has a bowl of freshly popped popcorn tempting me.  I hear someone chopping stuff for dinner upstairs, and the sound of the SuperBowl is a dim backdrop to a Sunday evening.  JOTS is back to being an outdoor and on the porch of the vardo kitty again (it's a rat related story for another time).

That's the short story for now.
A hui hou,
Mokihana

ENCAMPMENT on The Ledge in the Woods

Encampment on The Ledge. This is how we are stretching our lives onto the slope of earth that is The Ledge. Jots the Panther (renamed 'Panther' after a month of becoming her wild again feline self) has her own vardo carrier home on the porch (to the left of the door). A row of pegs on the front wall hold our outside clothes. The Hawaiian Moon Calendar is pinned prominently on the opposite wall ... reminding us to 'stay connected.' The shiny new metal garbage can is our "pantry" a place to keep our grains, tea and spices dry from the rain and moisture and safely out of reach of the other critters who would just as soon eat our food as find some in other part of the Woods. Conduit and our ancient tarp are the temporary cover for our kitchen on The Ledge. We have work to do on the kitchen ... that would account for us being in Seattle right now. We need supplies to continue piecing together the extensions of our living from the vardo.

Inside VardoForTwo the nature of Reassembling our lives includes making changes when my body signals sensitivity to 'something.' Where once hung our old golden curtains of times not long past, our loyal moss green flannel sheet is now window coverings. The golden curtains are a blend of polyester and cotton and have built into them the formaldahyde-infused base that make them 'wrinkle resistant.' The chemicals off-gas for eons and when heated (by our ceramic heater or sunlight) the gasses splay and are absorbed into the skin. The curtains have been recycled to an outdoor life where the trees, fresh air and abundant rainfall neutralize them with more time.

Magical mystery ... we are part of the magic here on The Ledge. This is a view from the window of our front door ... in the mist is the Pond.

We have taken ourselves out of the Woods today, driving the length of road and a ferry ride to bring us back to the city. The weekly deep rains test our adjustment genes ... with everything soaked outside and only a wee space to be dry, old habits of random access to comfort rattle us. We have come so far on the path and there is more yet. What has made things magical for me are the silence, the sounds of critters who are there on The Ledge curious about our intentions. My imagination is fed and a book grows with all the magic as fuel. I will share bits and snips of that book over the time to come.

Be well and be easy.
Aloha, Mokihana