Attending to the path

It was a sunny Northwest day, and gratefully, the sense to use the clear skies and dry weather for our well-being showed up and we road the energy into town. We need to concentrate our energies and my resources on enclosing the porch of the vardo. The tiny space that is under-cover is the real space we can work with. Like all the construction for VardoForTwo, the process takes being aware and awake to the steps and materials. We have plenty of the white oak siding used throughout the wagon; and Pete will use it to enclose the porch for a two-pod space.

Our day was spent in the city, Seattle, hunting and successfully finding a very-well worn old porthole window for the min-kitchenette/JOTS apartment. Pete's got all the weathered fir for the flooring, we picked up the oak for studs and Habitat for Humanity had 12 tiles that will work well for a non-skid floor. With luck and resourcefulness there will be days for building the pods.

I am recovering from the gas poisioning ... nebulizing with Glutathione diluted with filtered water and opening up my lungs using the Lomi-lomi pressure point work I learned. I don't tolerate the steroid based inhalers for asthma. A lot of filtered water (drinking it) and the nebulizer loosens my lungs and allowed the exhalation. The vardo stays very toasty with the Radiant Electric Ceramic Heater and the Austin Air Jr. keeps the air as fresh as possible.

We attend to the parts of life we can do something about and then pray for help with implementation. There are no pictures from the vardo for the while ... so words will have to satisfy the visual needs. Wish us luck.

BEING where we are

I am blogging from The Big House, perched on a tall stool in our friends' home the day is unfolding. I hear the washing machine downstairs and the ice maker roars on from the freezer. These good friends share their lives, their land and their home with us and we try to be where are and do what can be done. Anna is spending a few days in the hospital, getting the attention she sorely needed to root out a problem that just would not go away. Josh and Jane E. are on their way to visit her with a load of fresh clothes and I have promised to restrain from eating all the luscious berries turning to ruby globes. The gardens in front of their home are filled with ripening strawberries the taste of which can only come from a well-loved home garden. We've been waiting for them beauties since we pulled up in April.

The lifestyle of VARDOFORTWO is the sort that has no long-term scheme. We have three months into the learning process, adjusting to the effects of the environment, practicing building an intentional community and still have more to finish on the inside of our wee wheelie home. "We're starting to have a routine, aren't we?" Pete said as he turned the light out in the Vardo last night. "Hmmm...I guess so." We measure time by Josh's car engine starting up: if we hear it it's near 8:30 in the morning. When he comes home at night it could be anywhere between ... We don't chop wood for heat, but we carry a lot of water. Everything we do that needs water --washing up the dishes, filling a kettle for tea, general washing up of the hands, fingers and face means we walk to the Big House faucet and fill our glass jugs, walk back and empty the water we need.

Pete is in town alone, driving to places I don't go into and thanks to the shared resources arrangement we have going on with Josh and Anna Pete uses Josh's truck so I have Scout if I need to get off the Ledge for any reason, or for a whim. It's a luxury and a blessing, something we can't and don't take for granted. In return Pete fixes things ... installs a railing for Anna's safety up and down the front steps, finds out what the electrical outlets don't work on the porch, clears the walkway down to the basement. I water the gardens, pick the juicy berries and prep the bounty for freezing so Anna will have her berries in a fresh blended smoothie.

We're adjusting to a new form of living that includes sleeping and resting in VARDOFORTWO. The time outside that wee wheelie home spreads differently than some lives would spread. Anna is in her hospital bed getting an arm massage and I've just seen Josh's truck pull into the drive way. Our lives include routine and that levels out some of the steepness to the climb. For the moment there is a hum that is easy. That's something.

A HEALTH OPPORTUNITY

Dear Friends,

When I made the change to the look of our blog here at VARDOFORTWO I wrote about the need to move things around, like I had done in homes with foundations attached to the Earth. I chose a different template after 100 posts, and now there is this gentle green background, like a coat of fresh 'none-stinky' paint. My instinct to move things is hot wired into me, and I've nurtured it with learning and practicing the ancient art of Feng Shui as I understand it. I used my usual re-view and reflection times during the last `Ole Days and added a day to consider what is happening with me. Things in my life was changing -- my body symptoms are different, perhaps in response to the movement of 'things' like the change in the blog background, and the shift in energy I use to keep the posts written. Perhaps there are additional influences. At any rate, I know my attention is needed.

Today I read an article and interview by Jenny Mannion. It has been a while since I'd been to her website. Like the small changes to the blog, that interview has reinforced the actions I'm taking; my shift in focus. "I'm taking time for a health opportunity." I read that quote in the article and it immediately ring my bell (not the ringing in my ears). That is JUST what I'm doing now. My body, mind and spirit are asking for my attention. After reading Jenny's interview I felt a clear and positive GOOD NEWS SIDE to my body's messages.

So, as you come to visit VARDOFORTWO please know the posts may be sporadic or shorter for a time, how much time? I'm not sure. Some projects have slowed, but oh there's a whole lot of shak'n going on. For more on Jenny's interview please click here, it might be the sort of good news you're after. My daily musings and ponderings go on over at Makua O`o as well, with space for silent retreat and spiritual reflection. If you like, the week-ends at Makua O`o offer a place to comment and share your own spiritual musings.

Thanks for being here to share the journey, Mokihana