RealityPivots

I’ve passed on custodianship of the weekly Tango Practica to Gary and have taken my first break from Tango in eight years. I haven’t danced in 3 weeks. I’ve grown weary of dancing with the same few people year after year.
Nat, John and Jan are spearheading an “affordable weekend of classic Tango” in PT on January 16,17,18. Find out more at www.pttango2009.com. Any Readers who attend are invited to come and visit Shedville.
I’m vicariously enjoying the meeting of Tango bloggers in BsAs — Caroline, Sally, Tina, Holly and Cherie. I got to dance twice with Cherie when I was in BsAs so I like to imagine myself joining the table with her and Ruben at Los Consagrados. Heaven knows if I will ever have the money to return. I’m wondering if U.S. citizens have to pay the new $140 visa fee every time they make the 3 month trip to Uruguay and return when their visa expires.

We’ve had a surprisingly warm fall and I still have roses blooming and some new buds.

From Pumpkin, rose, potato

I’ve planted the shallots and garlic for next year and mulched them.

From Pumpkin, rose, potato

Lisa guessed the size of a 432 pound pumpkin at the Food Coop and won a big pumpkin. She has been collecting truckloads of leaves for a new garden area near her cabin — preparing the ground for her return from Southeast Asia in 3-6 months after a trip with Gil.

From Pumpkin, rose, potato

When I was young my mother darned socks. Can you imagine it? You put an egg shaped ceramic(?) object inside the sock to work against and weave the thread into a patch. I’m wondering whether to start doing it myself. I’m continuing to reduce my expenses and feeling more secure than many in the face of economic problems, but I have no reserves. My expenses are very low and I’m enjoying maintaining the property and working on the garden.
I’ve adopted a cold blooded viewpoint on climate change — it’s evolution. I think that in a million years our screw up will have evened out and some new aspect of life will have evolved out of the catastrophe. I was pleased to hear some few outlying voices being raised on NPRadio saying that the current economic crisis could be an opportunity to chart new plans that would reduce greenhouse emissions. However, most plans seem to be aimed at resuming our cancerous growth. Today they were talking about how GM could possible recover by selling more cars to India, China, and Brazil. Good grief.

We’ve got worms. They’ve been raised on fruit so we gave them a bed of over the hill apples.

From Worms

From Worms

From Worms

Lisa found a place to get some aged chicken manure, so we loaded up the pickup and shoved the stuff into the greenhouse half of the Solarium. Then she watered it to start it heating up. Next comes a layer of leaves and then some Magic Dirt from a farm in Chimacum.

From Chicken manure and rocks

From Chicken manure and rocks

She’s hauling rocks to make a garden in front.

From Chicken manure and rocks

The Solarium is now ready for bathing. Quite nice, standing in a bright, open area and anointing myself with warm water. At peace with the world.
Two serendipitous surprises helped bring the project to fruition. Four 4×6 sheets of plexiglass provided the skylight.

From Plexiglass

From Plexiglass

A shower floor pan that suffered some cosmetic injuries during delivery was given away on a web site called FreeCycle. I had thought I was going to have to learn tile work in order to make a sloping, drained platform.

From Plexiglass

I’ve been taking showers at the State Park where I work for a long time. As I eliminate that routine I go into town less often and can make the commute on my bicycle more often. It would be great to eliminate the car. I’m four miles from town.

The weather is beautiful and I’m scurrying around preparing for winter. I tore apart the outdoor dance floor after the milonga on Sunday.

From Last Milonga de los Bravos

I think I’m going to use the lumber for something else and just plan small dance parties from now on. The milonga on Sunday was sparsely attended. Oh well, we had a good time anyway.

From Last Milonga de los Bravos

I’m being torn. I love this quiet, peaceful life in the trees with my building projects but it seems only big city life offers the possibility of an active, passionate Tango life. Well, it’s a problem that flows from riches of opportunity and I am blessed by that and by my outrageous good health. I’m putting the rolled roofing on the roof of the Bathing Shed today.

This Sunday’s Milonga de los Bravos (2-5, stop on by) will probably be the last of the summer season.
I’ve been putting the windows in my latest shed. It has been designed as more of a Greenhouse at Lisa’s prompting.

From BathGreen shed