Is it still only February?

We took an early spring break and spent a week in Oakland, CA visiting our son. He is an amazing host and kept us wined, dined, and entertained in style the whole time we were there.

And what a great city! Overshadowed by its big sister across the Bay, Oakland usually only gets attention for its riots, on and off the football field. They actually do a lot of things right.

There are neighborhoods wonderfully walkable and alive with a great variety of small independent cafes, restaurants, bakeries, and shops, driven by the Oakland Grown localization movement. Fresh food is grown in back yards and community gardens and offered for sale through CSA's, farmers markets, and local grocers.

There is public transportation and there are bike lanes--unfortunately, there are still too many roads and cars and people. You can't blame people for wanting to live in such a naturally gorgeous place with a mild climate and beautiful architecture. But the crowding makes living expensive. The climate makes the streets a haven for the homeless.

By the way, do you think these cranes gave George Lucas any ideas?



We had a great vacation, but we're glad to be back home. Even though it's cold here and it will be months before we can dig in the garden.

Meanwhile, good things are happening here. We're very satisfied with our first order from the buying club, Furniture City Foods, and encourage everyone to join (free) and check it out. There are no minimum requirements for personal ordering, and you may find yourself as delighted as we are with the variety of healthy, high quality, and regionally produced foods available.

"The Power of Community," will be screened on Wednesday, February 29th, at 7 pm at the UU church on Prendergast. Turning to localization out of necessity when they were cut off from the Soviet Union in the 1990's, the people of Cuba have managed to turn their country into the only sustainable one in the entire world. There are some wonderful lessons here and I'm looking forward to the discussion. This is offered free and open to the public.

Finally, I've gathered some info and posted a Local Banking page here as a resource for people who want to move towards greater freedom from corporate rule over their lives. Bon voyage!

Back under the blanket

Winter's back, so I've burrowed into my corner of the couch again and started a really complicated new needlework project that changes colors every few stitches and uses mostly blended threads. It should keep me busy till spring.

I also finally took the time to figure out what Pinterest is all about. What a great time suck! File this under "a picture is worth a thousand words" --in this case, lots of pictures, so make that thousands and thousands of words. I've found some great ideas for future projects out there on The Internets, and some great eye candy too.

Our first order has been submitted to the new food buying club, and as word gets around town, we seem to be growing by a few new members almost every day. We're hoping, of course, that this turns out to be a huge success and we all end up eating healthier foods from nearby sources. Go Jamestown!

The winter that isn't

While this season has had its moments, it is far from what we are accustomed to. The daytime temperatures are mostly above freezing. There is no snow on the ground. And we actually bought snow tires in preparation for what last winter had led us to expect this time around. Nope.

Instead of spending my time huddled under a blanket with books, I've been kind of busy with what I think of as "projects." The new second story, while unfinished, has heat and insulation, so I have craft space, previously confined to the kitchen table, and have been taking advantage of it.

I'm also getting involved in things outside the home. The film series has brought me into contact with new people who share my interest in localization. Some of them are Jamestown's version of the Occupy movement, with a strong emphasis on community building. I expect that we will start holding meetings soon. Yes, meetings, not encampments. I don't control what other people do, but I'm hoping to skip the drama stage and go right to positive constructive actions. We'll see how that works out.

Frank Besse of JTNY has started a new food buying club, Furniture City Foods to allow people to buy healthy foods directly from regional food producers at wholesale prices. Anyone who can pick up their orders in Jamestown is invited to go to the sign up page, create an account for free, browse the online catalog, and order as desired. This club is just beginning and Frank expects to add more local suppliers to the mix as things evolve.

I've also begun to learn weaving, a whole new skill for me, from Joyce Rose, who has her studio in the UU church basement. The idea of making my own fabrics (particularly from strips of old garments) is intriguing to me, but first I have to understand how a loom works, and the whole new set of terminology that goes with it.

We'll probably make trips to both coasts to visit the kids before spring, while we can still afford to travel. Watching the Middle East growing more and more unstable, I'm expecting that transportation (ourselves from place to place, and goods to markets) is going to become very expensive sooner rather than later. I remember the lines at gas stations, the 55 mph national speed limit, the lowering of thermostats in public buildings during the oil embargo in the 1970's. The WWII generation remembers rationing. Younger people have no experience with things just not being available for them to buy. This is concerning.

I'm planning to be busy expanding my own food production this summer. To be dependent on things we have no control over has reached dangerous proportions.