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.