Getting it together for Ashfield Fall Festival (happening this Saturday and Sunday). Won't have some things, will have others. Had a few hiccups with the PC and printer but L helped me with fixing and/or creating work-arounds, yay!

Need to finish one more scarf by Sat. It's half done so I should be able to finish and wash it.

***
Meeting Tues night went well. Lots of people there interested in seeing what ideas there were for helping people winterize and/or deal with heating for the winter.

- Weatherization workshop next Thursday, where people will learn some weatherizing skills and what to look for at people's homes. Follow-up is that when someone wants help with doing these things at their homes, there will be more people who can come over and help do it.

- Raffle starting at the Fall Festival for various items like restaurant certificates, a cord of wood, quilts, etc. I donated one of my scarves. Raffle culminates in December and the proceeds will go toward buying weatherizing supplies, etc.

- No expectation that we could raise enough money to help pay heating bills, but trying to get the word out to people to apply for LIHEAP. Two women there had gotten training in helping people fill out the forms and another wanted to learn -- the forms aren't that difficult but the help is needed to ensure proper documentation accompanies the forms.

- Fellow from Triads and some other folks spoke on aid available to seniors, including checking in on those who wish it. The police chief said the police are often the point of contact for people needing help and they coordinate with Triads and others, then he had to go into the Health Services meeting, where some of the concerns about members of the community getting heat were also being discussed. We should be getting some funding for supplies as well. One of the senior craft classes coming up will be making draft-stoppers. Every bit helps!

- Will also be articles published in the paper, and a collection spot for warm clothing will be arranged. Someone suggested one of the churches or the Food Pantry, but it may also end up being in Town Hall. I'll finally have a new home for a box of fleece hats and mittens I have leftover from when I used to make them for sale!

- We discussed how some folks may feel awkward about getting help, especially if they don't have the money to pay for materials (pride, etc.) -- thoughts were that they can maybe help others in other ways, and/or remind them that by reducing the amount of energy they're using to heat their homes, they're helping all of us to save the environment, and to save more fuel for the future.

- We signed the contact list so we should be in the loop for future meetings, and signed up for the weatherizing team as well.

***
Three years ago Rob Hopkins and some interested folks started an experiment in Totnes in the UK -- A Transition Town. Today there are 85 places working toward transitioning to being low-energy, more self-sufficient, reducing their carbon footprint, with an eye to being prepared for peak oil as well as helping the world's climate and environment. There are ~700 other places indicating interest in learning about being Transition Towns or even Cities.
Future Proofers is an excellent article on how larger communities are seeing what they can do to help themselves be ready for the future, including roof-top gardening in Brixton (a London borough).

Although we don't have the currency idea around here, I do have some hope for our area, with the CSAs and farmers markets, Northampton's plans for becoming more sustainable, and now our own town's work to help folks here. This new group is not just talking about help for this winter but in future years as well.

***
And speaking of planning for the future, Kew Gardens is working with African healers to create gardens with the 30 most-used healing herbs, so that the herbs in the wild won't be completely decimated. Use of herbal medicines is on the rise and some herbal populations are getting hard hit -- bad for them and bad for the people who will be counting on them down the line. Part of the Breathing Planet Programme, which is also working in places all around the world on conservation and reducing CO2 emissions (1/5 comes from deforestation):
Natural Healing - Kew Gardens and the Breathing Planet Programme

Article mentions something called the Eden Project over in Cornwall, will have to look that up later!

Exciting work being done!

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. - Henry David Thoreau

This was the quote I chose to be next to my senior year photo in high school. I've been working on those foundations off and on all this time, and this year will probably be one of the most intense for that, although most people will probably not see a lot of it. That's okay, foundations are like that.

My Moosie spindle came today. The whorl is made from moose antler, and the wood I chose for the shaft is called kingwood (dark). The ones in the photo on http://www.journeywheel.com/specialspindles.php look a lot like it. I've spun a little on it already of course, seeing as they ship it with some wool already started on it. Spins for quite a long time, and quite finely too!

Decided to make the car and farm first aid kits using a couple of large tins I had in storage in the attic. I want the containers to be somewhat insulated but I hate putting in zippers, then saw the box with the tins and thought, "hmmm...." So I've cut out cotton batting and fabric for both tins. One I've finished sewing the pieces and glued them into the tin -- looks like it should work just fine. Will do the other one tomorrow.

Went to the mall but just missed getting to the post office in time. We put in a good walk around the mall, couple circuits as usual. Tomorrow morning I'll go back and mail that package, plus I have to stop at S&S to get some meds, and maybe check out Family Dollar for a few things. Oh, and last week someone told me they'd found organic fruit juice at Ocean State Job Lot, so maybe I should check them out as well, before stopping at the bank on the way home to make a deposit, just to get in as much as possible in one trip.

Tomorrow I have to warp up the table loom. If possible I will also have the small rigid loom we got at the New Year's Eve party also warped for other people to try out. Friday evening is the demo at Sage Park school in Connecticut, and I plan to be weaving there.

Saturday we'll be stopping in at Letterpress Things in Chicopee to drop off one of our eye charts -- the owner collects first prints, and since he's been so helpful to us in various ways, seems only fair he should get one :) Not sure what else is planned for Saturday at this point.

Sunday morning we're off to the farm to look at the land with fitzw's dad, and talk to both folks about possibilities for agricultural development and construction. Then Concentus practice in either the afternoon or evening (yet to be decided).

Last Wednesday was my last regularly scheduled day at the chiropractors' office (unless they're unable to get someone to cover this week - I said I'd work if they couldn't get someone). The continuing lack of communications about changes in office procedure once again reared its head last week (why am I hearing about a change on Wednesday that they've been working on implementing since December?). And quite frankly, given that I rarely got a full shift (once in the last month) nevermind a full week, makes it more expensive for me to be working there than not. So, I'm on their list as a sub still, and will do some work at home.

I'll spend some time working on house projects, catching up on some artwork, reading more for my Novice Schola class, and putting together photos of books for kass_rants. Since we don't merchant a lot and don't have a commercial web site, it'll be nice to have our books getting more exposure. With any luck, it might help to keep me busy and out of trouble :D

Last night instead of watching a DVD or whatever, fitzw read to me while I had some tea, etc., then I read to him while he re-worked a bookbinding. We're reading _Dies The Fire_ together right now.

Today was pretty uneventful - washed and hung up a load of laundry, washed a few dishes, put some garb away, and started inventorying and bagging some fabric I don't need access to for a while (yes, the inventory includes where the bags are located). fitzw and I went to Ingleside to pick up a few things today and also got in a walk while we were there.

I made some mini travel sewing kits for our just-in-case kits. Since fitzw and I both have Swiss Spartans now, it's just a few needles and thread, but I thought they'd be useful to have -- 'just in case'.

I figure this evening I'll work on a tunic I cut out before Pennsic but didn't have time to sew, and do some tweaking of my Yule/12th Night dress -- I noticed this morning that one side of the front opening on the bodice isn't quite square enough.

I guess that's all the news from this little corner of the world.

Was poking around on energybulletin.net (some good stuff there, but thick reading at times) and found an article on small scale farming/victory gardens, by Sharon Astyk. If you want to read the whole thing, you can find it here: http://www.energybulletin.net/24634.html

I've pulled a section from it for here...

( Small scale agriculture )

She talks about being creators, not consumers, and I think it would be marvelous if more people grew at least some of their own food. Most folks I know don't have enough land to grow all their veggies and fruit, but I imagine even a small garden would not only be useful, but really there's nothing more tasty than veggies straight out of your own garden. I usually grow one grape tomato plant (if I can get one -- otherwise, a very sweet cherry tomator will do), simply because I find them to be great snacks, esp. when I'm out gardening and starting to feel a little peckish. And lettuces are remarkably easy to grow.

( more of my thoughts on small scale gardening/farming )

( The Plan )

Sundry cleaning-type things in the a.m., then off to the chiropractor for my adjustment. Knees have been a problem lately, among other things. She noted a general congested state of being and recommended ginger, licorice root, and slippery elm. Well, I have a tea at home that has two out of three and the licorice (yuck) is what's most helpful with congestion of all sorts apparently.

Then I had a little over an hour to kill before work, so I went to Don Gleason's Camping on Pearl Street in Noho, and got topographic maps for between Holyoke and Ashfield, both through Easthampton and northward and also Williamsburg and Greenfield maps.

Then went to Deals and Steals on Pleasant Street (close to Don Gleason's). Got probably 2-3 years' worth of Toms of Maine toothpaste (hey, at those prices I wasn't going to argue, and the sell-by date was sometime in 2009), as well as some Luna Lemon Zest bars, and some cute little bottles of Toms of Maine jasmine liquid soap. Should be handy when camping, and the bottles are re-usable.

Dropped things off at the car, stopped in at Acme Surplus to buy some safety pins, tape, and gauze for building the first aid kits. Picked up a muffin and a cookie (I know, really healthy) in Thorne's Market on the way back to work. Did laundry at work again, between massages, filing, etc. So, I got a little exercise running around town all afternoon. Home again, home again, to show fitzw the maps and stuff and get ready for a client. fitzw made beeswax cakes after the client left, for sale at Birka. The double boiler is quite handy, and the cakes are yummy-looking. Unlike the soaps I used to sell at Birka, if someone were to actually take a bite of one of these, nothing bad would happen to them (as far as I know, glycerin isn't that great to take internally, at least not in large quantities). Hopefully they'll be of use to embroiderers, bookbinders, etc.

That's it for now. No earthshaking thoughts or philosophical stuff. G'night!

Did some research online last night, will be hopefully looking at sleeping bags at Target and backpacks at EMS later today, when we go out to Petco and the post office (combining trips, yay!)

We continue to work on getting in better shape, building endurance and losing weight. I'm far from being able to hike with a backpack, but that's one of my eventual goals. If I can wear armor and fight for several hours at a time, I know I can do this too. The trick is to be able to do it without killing my knees the day after :D

Must make draft stopper today.

Bags for my cards and stuff arrived today. Hoping the leather arrives this week.

Must work on a recommendation and on painting today.

Hopefully more work on NS/BB today (putting in the class descriptions that arrived yesterday), so it can go online by the end of the week latest.

fitzw is being very productive, and has gotten 4 VCDs done so far -- we'll be bringing prince_hring's books and VCDs to sell at Birka. He wrote books on making a medieval clock and making a portative organ, and made a VCD on the portative organ as well.

Maybe next year we'll have a book of our own to sell -- I've been bugging fitzw about doing one on gothic bookbinding. He has something online (free), but not everyone has online access, and there's a lot more he could put in about things like English vs. German bindings, etc. The internet has many wonderful things to offer, but sometimes a book you can hold is simply better.

The Medieval Feast book arrived and I look forward to checking it out. Still trying to read other books at the same time, so should be an interesting couple of months, trying to prepare for Novice Schola, spring gardening, and more.

The Self-Sufficient Life... by John Seymour arrived the same day, and both fitzw and I have browsed through parts of it. I read the preface and some of the intro stuff, checked out the chapter and subheadings, then skipped to the back where it talks more generally about being a 'self-supporter'. Some interesting things of note from that section...

The successful person:
1. is debt-free

2. has more than one skill/more than one income source (just farming isn't enough these days, as my in-laws know well)

3. is part of a community that is mutually supportive (this means help when you need it, giving help when they need it, trading skills and goods, and ESPECIALLY having healthy social interactions)

#1 is probably my biggest challenge, as I expect it is for most folks. We're working on it though; it's a challenge I'm happy to take up once again. Of course, we just got an equity line this past summer and built an addition on the garage, but I think the resulting ability to have space for learning to weave, spin, and print were worth the expense. And we did our best to design it in a way that would make it attractive for re-sale, when we eventually move out.

#2 I'm working on. Great thing about being in the SCA, is all the opportunities to learn things from folks with all sorts of skills. It's given me chances to not only learn new skills, but learn what things I'd rather not do or am not very good at.

#3. is interesting, as over the years it's come up in random discussions that if there were some sort of 'disaster', some people have thought SCAdians would be among those who would fare better than the average Joe/Jane. Many attribute it to skills SCAdians have acquired. But according to John Seymour, any number of ecovillages and back-to-nature-type groups have failed because they only considered skills and not compatibility and an agreed-upon social structure. If SCAdians do indeed have a higher survival factor, it would be as much because of having a sense of community as of what skill sets the group contains.

Meantime, we're doing sensible things that we should be doing in life regardless of what one thinks regarding peak oil, pollution, etc. -- making more meals at home, eating healthier, going for more walks, learning new things, making new friends, deepening relationships.

I'm definitely not jumping in all at once. I like my different teas, thank you, nor am I giving up hot chocolate. But I did place an order with MotherNature.com during their last sale (20% off your entire order, and free shipping for orders over $50), ordering some things we get anyway but at lower prices. So, a compromise. And now I won't have to buy some teas for months!

We're going to do a major re-organization of the attic and some other areas this year. Some things will leave, others will move, and yet others will be put into storage for future use. We have things that will be useful on the farm but aren't as useful in the city. And I have more fabric than I can use in the next 3-5 years, but it's perfectly good fabric, so we'll determine what we're using in the near future and box the rest. The boxes will all be labelled, and an inventory list drawn up that will list the contents and location of each box. I wouldn't want to do it for a school or other institution, but for just one house it should be manageable. And who knows, we might even find some things we've been looking for....

Speaking of inventory, I'd best get back to the every day business of getting ready for Birka and count books, rats, and sheep...