Look who came to visit!

Summer in Oregon brings so many pleasures and surprises, including a visit from Baby Ruby and her family! Pamela's cousin in Portland was getting married and Jer and Pamela had some time after the wedding and before the flight home to Berkeley. So Courtney, Aaron and I spent the day with them at McMenamins Edgefield Inn outside of Portland. (Very cool spot--I would definitely recommend it.)



It was much too brief a visit--only half a day--but great to keep that connection going with Ruby and see her progress and development in person. As always she kept everyone entertained and amazed. And it's very wonderful watching Pamela and Jer in their parenting roles.

Here's the whole gang, minus Aunt Hat who was behind the camera. That's Pamela's mom Doris on the left and her dad John on the right. What a sweet and very fun family.




Speaking of sweet and fun, our first house-guest of the season, Mabelle arrived on 4th of July weekend in her self-contained bed and breakfast. All she needed was a flat place to park and a bathroom. She's got a solar panel she plops up on top during the day and that gives her the juice she needs for a reading light and fan for the night.

Most the time we had spent with Mabelle in Monterey was at films or talks or on marches. We had a great time while she was here getting to know each other better, exchanging stories and finding so much that we had in common.

It was hot and sunny and we made a trip downtown to the farmer's market and a walk along the river, and Courtney took Mabelle for a tour around campus, but mostly we spent time in the haven of our backyard--sitting at the picnic table, eating and talking. Heaven.



Then two weeks later it was daVinci Days and we were blessed with more great company-- Helen came from Monterey and Peter and Lee came from Portland. As happened when Helen visited the first summer we lived in Corvallis, the temp went to 100+ and so much of our focus was on how to stay in the shade and keep cool and hydrated.

As always daVinci Days was wildly creative and entertaining. Below is the "Friendly Giraffe"--a one-man effort. But, as you'll see below, most of the machines have more than one pilot, as they're called, plus a pit crew.

The criteria is that the "kinetic sculptures" must be human-powered and be able to complete a race on the ground, up and over a sand dune, through a mud bog and down the river.






















Lots of puppets and pagentry, and most of all, incredibly creativity and fun. Helen was game for everything, despite the awful heat, including a night-time concert by Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and then a hot and sunny viewing of the bog race the next day.

It was great to share the fun with our friends Peter and Lee from Portland. As was the case with Mabelle, we knew Peter and Lee from political work, specifically Palestinian solidarity, and this was the first chance we'd gotten to know each other more as friends. The five of us share a passion for Palestinian human rights work, but we also just plain enjoyed each other, so it made for a really great weekend.

When it was just the two of us Helen and I mainly spent our precious time together on the back deck--an especially nice place for our breakfasts and dinners. We created wonderful salads together and enjoying them over tall glasses of iced tea and long talks.




Just like last year Courtney and I went to the Peoria Gardens' big summer sale twice--filled the back of the Honda not once but twice--and then I had to re-pot all those danged plants. And then, just like last year, we had company (last time Frank and Margaret, this time Helen) who had to watch me pot and pot and pot some more. Luckily I can talk and dig in the dirt at the same time. Below is just a fraction of the fun flowers and herbs I scored...



...and here they are below after finding new homes, mostly around the deck in the backyard.









The front yard is more Courtney's domain. He's got the espaliered fruit trees growing up and along the fence, hardy kiwi, four types of blueberries, a Ukranian persimmon tree, nasturtiums...



...and snow peas, winter squash, wildflowers, lavenders and sages.



We're very inspired, and blessed, by our neighbor Jerry who invited us to pick cherries, and then more cherries, and then more. Big beautiful black cherries. And then he presented us with this incredible bouquet of sunflowers from his garden. His sunflower patch is about the size of our house--pretty stunning. He just broadcasts sunflower bird seed and let's 'em grow!





And speaking of growing, Aaron turned 14 at the end of July. Last year we had a big party for him and I invited neighbors and friends of mine and Courtney's, to help Aaron meet more people in Corvallis. I wanted him to feel part of our community. He of course spent most of his time with his cousin Matt (that's to be expected) and being a teenager he didn't hobnob and meet a bunch of new friends. Oh well, it was a good party and I don't regret it at all.

But this year his one request pertaining to his party was that there only invite people who he knows. Hummm, how weird. But I respected his request and it was an intimate gathering--Maya, Eder, my mom, Courtney, Aaron and me. (Ben was off doing his own thing.)





Here he is, the handsome dude. One of his birthday gifts from me was a photo album of his life. I'd been working on it for several years, but each year when his birthday would come around I wouldn't have it finished. So this year I stayed with it and got it done in time. We all had fun after dinner looking at the photos of his childhood together--laughing and reminiscing.

Aaron's other birthday gift was a week's trip to Monterey to stay with his buddy Robert and Robert's family. I love that Aaron and Robert have been friends since second grade, and Robert's mom Patty and I do our best to help the boys maintain their friendship. Robert was here last winter break and hopefully he'll be back this year.




The other handsome boy in my life, Courtney, is seen above and below doing his early morning watering in his garden along the south side of our house. I especially love the romano beans growing up the bamboo structure that Courtney built for them. During the two week period of hot hot weather Courtney was up and in the garden early each day trying to keep all his plants from frying. Here and there was a burnt leaf or two, but for the most part everything survive thanks to his care and diligence. Every household and garden should be so lucky as to have a Courtney in it.



Well, that's been our summer, more or less. I'm hoping to be more regular about blogging when winter comes. Too much keeps me away from the computer during the summer months--precious guests and family, the pleasure of being in the garden and among my flowers, and the total luxury of reading under the great shade trees in our backyard.

But so many things that I'd like to include in this blog get lost in my miniature memory bank. "Must not have been that important" goes the old saying, but I don't think that's true. So I'm praying for a long rainy winter in which to type away at the computer hour after hour with no regrets of missing time outdoors.

In the meanwhile, I'd better get back out there--before Ben's builds another tower without me!




Thanks for reading this and I hope your summer is warm, sunny, restful and rejuvenating.

Til next time, much love,

Valori

The Beatles, a baby, a birthday and a close brush with death

Hmmm, what can I say about May other than it was a very intense month and not at all what I had planned. Tom Nelson's event on May 3rd went well--a good crowd at the Library, dinner afterward with friends, including Josh, who was leaving for Damascus the next day to continue his Arabic studies. Information was spread about the Free Gaza Movement and we might have someone locally who'll go on one of the Free Gaza boats this summer, which would certainly make the time invested in Tom's event well worth it.

I had only one other event that I was part of the planning for: on May 17th emma's revolution, a two-woman band from Washington, DC, was playing in Corvallis as a fundraiser for Benji Lewis, a young man refusing to go to Iraq for the third time.

Benji had joined the Marines at age 18, went to Iraq twice, was part of the assault on Fallujah, and promised himself he would not be part of anything like that again. He served his time, was honorably discharged, moved to Corvallis, got a job, started school, fell in love, and then last October got notice of involuntary reactivation (not the same as stop-loss, but similar).

Anyway, a group formed to support Benji and before you know it he's on a speaking tour of the Pacific Northwest, he and his girlfriend Marci have developed amazing organizing skills, and then suddenly his reactivation got cancelled. For the full story go to www.couragetoresist.org and click on Benji Lewis.

All this is to say that after Benji's event there was nothing else on my horizon, until....but that story is later.

Meanwhile May started out mild enough, with The Beatles At OSU. This was the fourth year in a row that these OSU students (some new each year and some the same all four years) performed a Beatles album as a fundraiser for CARDV (Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence). It's not that they sound like the Beatles, it's that they sound exactly like The Beatles.

Each year it's been a fabulous show. The tickets are $5, the cause is a great one, the energy that the musicians put out is really wonderful. Last year we took Aaron and he liked it, so this year he said yes to going with us again and he brought his friend Simon too.

It just so happened that it was also the weekend that Aaron had to have his "baby" with him continuously for 48 hours for his sex education class. It's not like he hasn't been around Ben enough to see that a baby takes alot of energy, but I don't think he was prepared for how much impact his "baby" was going to have on him.



Simon was such a great sport and actually alot of help since he'd had his baby the previous semester and so knew the tricks for keeping the baby happy. It was a very sophisticated baby and made a certain cry when it was hungry, a different sound when full, and another cry when it needed to be burped, and yet another for a diaper change. And, yes, it woke up several times during the night and could not be easily comforted. Dang!

Anyway, everywhere that Aaron and Simon went the baby was sure to go--on a walk around town, to Willamette Park, to dinner before the Beatles concert, and to the concert itself. I can see how it would be much better to have two daddys than one--nothing like a good support system to make life easier...and more fun.



In the end I was proud of how responsible Aaron and Simon were with the baby. It seems to me that the school was right on in its timing. Last year it would have been a disaster--this year they just did it and with surprisingly little complaint.

As Aaron heads towards his 14th birthday I'm increasingly aware of how little preparation kids in our culture get for taking care of themselves. If life only required that we be able to operate electronics, download into our computers, upload into our ipods, etc, then no problem. It's those other pesky details of self-care that are missing and so I determined in my devious little mind that this summer would be all about building skills.



Courtney brilliantly offered Aaron an easy way to make $5 just clipping his hair (I'm a real weanie and won't use those clippers) before either Courtney or I finish off the haircut with scissors. Aaron's first try was a success and so he built some confidence and made some cash.

Meanwhile little Ben was moving into a next stage of his own. Below are photos of his 3rd birthday party. Here he is with his two buddies Ella and Keaton.




His aunt Aunt Mindy and cousin Jakob came from Monterey to help celebrate his birthday...



...along with his Aunt Kenya and his cousin Nicholas.




Below, Ben and Keaton were of course very interested in the cake that Sierra, Maya's friend and co-worker, made. Too bad the photo doesn't show the great play structure that Ben got from the family. Eder, Maya, Courtney, their friend Jay and my mom all spent many hours putting the structure together in time to surprise Ben on his birthday. (Never believe the box instructions that say 4-8 hour assembly time.) Anyway it's a work of art and should keep Ben busy until middle school.




Ben had his first experience wacking a pinata--with Eder in the background working the "controls".


After all the hard work was over Eder and Daddy Jay, as Ben calls him, got to kick back by the fire pit and enjoy some brews in celebration of Ben turning three.




And here's the rest of the story of May 2009: Shortly after 12:30 on the 5th a phone call came to the Co-op from medics in an ambulance saying that our buddy and deli co-worker Carolyn was on her way to the hospital after having been hit by an SUV while riding her bike to work. Not only hit, but also dragged 20 ft and then pinned under the rear tire until the firemen and medics arrived and rescued her. Yes, Carolyn instructed the medic to call her work and say she wouldn't be there--ever the responsible worker that she is.

I won't go into the details of her injuries--just suffice to say they were numerous and extensive. Carolyn's a 62-year-old grandmother and peace activist (probably a pacifist, but in no way passive), who was luckily in great physical shape and with a determined will as tough as steel. She was quoted as saying "Get this ****ing SUV off me! This is a stupid way to die!" She's got alot of people close to her, but especially her grandson Calder she was not ready to leave.

Anyway, as workers at the Co-op continued to hear more details about Carolyn's situation--that the SUV driver was uninsured, that Carolyn wouldn't be able to work for at least 4-6 months, etc--the energy started to build to do a fundraiser for her. A group of us got together and brainstormed and came up with.... CASH FOR CAROLYN!

We planned an all-day event for June 6th, and what sounded like a fairly straight-forward and simple event grew and grew until it was quite the extravaganza. But with each growth spurt we could see the potential for making more money for Carolyn, so we continuously said yes to whatever came along and in the end it all payed off.

That morning Carolyn arrived, a bonus we couldn't have predicted would be possible, by pedicab driven by our friend Dan Crall and was greeted by Sally with a gift of a new pair of shoes from FootWise. The police were only able to find one of Carolyn's Keens after the accident and she had been mourning the loss of her favorite pair of shoes. Here was a replacement.

The event was taking place in two locations next door to each other. A giant rummage sale was set up in the parking lot behind Fireworks Restaurant, along with a stage for live music. Then at the Co-op a silent auction and cake raffle were set up in the Community Meeting Room.





She was also greeted by her old troublemaking buddies, the Raging Grannies, who Carolyn used to sing with before she started working at the Co-op.





There's Raging Grannies in lots of towns and cities these days and they all share the funny and political lyrics they've written to popular tunes that everyone knows. Another trademark they share is the big wild hats and funny aprons they wear. Makes them hard to miss.




The Grannies were just the right way to kick off the day, and the energy just kept growing from there--one great musical act after another made it really fun to be there (and many of the musicians were Co-op staff members). The morning mist and clouds and wind finally cleared in the afternoon just as Future Roots took the stage and put on a great show.



Meanwhile people were shopping the rummage sale like crazy and making donations beyond what they purchased, including those who hadn't heard about Carolyn before but were so impressed by her and by the support they were seeing and feeling all around her.

I'm sorry that we didn't take any photos of the action in the Meeting Room. There were over 60 silent auction items--many of them donated by Co-op staff members--artwork, jewelry, pottery, massages, rafting trips and on and on. And the cakes and desserts in the cake raffle were amazing and beautiful and so danged creative.




Below is the lovely Jeannie Holiday, the mistess of ceremony and wonderful hostess/comedian/performer of the day. Without her humor and bright energy the day would not have been nearly so fun.

And with his back to us is Aaron, who won the award (in my book) for best volunteer. We had lots and lots of people working all the aspects of the event, but none out-did Aaron for continuous hard-work and cheerful attitude. He was my hero and Carolyn's.

My other hero was Courtney who throws himself behind me in whatever I take on. In this particular event he worked long and hard with gout in his foot and so many hours of pain and agony and still he was there to the very end.



Below is the last act of the day, the zombie surf rock band, They Won't Stay Dead. The lead guitarist Craig had OK'd it with Carolyn ahead of time that he was wearing a smashed up helmet and tire tracks across his torso. She had already made jokes about tatooing No Parking Zone across her abdomen, so she was fine with his dark humor.



Something none of us planned, or even could have imagined, was that Carolyn was able to stand up, with no help but her back brace and cane, and thank everyone publicly. No dry eyes in the crowd right then.



Carolyn swears that this event--with all the love and support it generated--has knitted her broken bones back together in rapid time.



And we raised buckets of money for her--more than we ever could have imagined. Thank goodness for good strong community. Life would not be nearly so rich without it.

Thanks to Chris Johnson for some of these photos of Carolyn's event and to Courtney for the others. And thanks to anyone who made it all the way through this very long blog,

Valori

Domesticity on Crystal Lake Dr

Springtime this year has been a mixture of "ahhhhh, finally" and "what, already?!" Too many things happening in too many directions and then weather does it's part to confuse us, fluctuating between cold-wet-rainy and warm-sunny-beautiful.




The defining point, that proves we've moved from winter into glorious spring, is that we've moved our base of operation outside. Clean-up of the long-neglected deck has begun. The laundry is drying outside on racks, instead of inside by the woodstove.




I took down the very faded Tibetan prayer flags from the deck and Aaron and I strung them on long poles of bamboo and sunk them in the ground near Courtney's gardens.




My plan is to put up new strands of prayer flags each year and, as they fade, then move them to bamboo poles and eventually have a field of flags.





The idea is that as the wind blows the flags, prayers fly to the heavens. Please excuse this brief commercial for ICT, but if you make even a modest contribution to the International Campaign for Tibet, they'll send you a beautiful little strand of prayer flags--just the right size for a window or doorway. 888-Tibet-Now www.savetibet.org





As for what else is happening in the garden, here's my handsome Master Gardener cooking up the last of his winter harvest of arugala that he loves to put in his pastas.




But to back up in the story a moment: earlier in the spring we hired our neighbor Paul to trim the giant tree in our yard in hopes of keeping the trees happier, avoiding dead branches dropping on our heads, and letting in a little more light.




Paul was fairly fearless, though cautious, and Courtney assisted from the ground (the danger zone) and all went smoothly and it felt like one more step of spring cleaning and getting ready for life outdoors this summer.




Our enormous maple tree in the front yard hangs over the pathway next to our fence. The pathway is a very busy thoroughfare of walkers, bikers and joggers, and the maple makes a beautiful shady respite from the summer sun and heat.




Here's a close-up of what it looks like this time of year.




If you've been reading our blog for a while you may remember the story of a woman who fell from her roof and died--a woman I didn't know, but wished I had after reading the many obits written about her. She died before we moved to this neighborhood, but her straw bale house is just down the street from us and her partner Peace John still lives there.




The whirley-gig frog above is always fun to see--it's wheels whirl around with the wind. And the peace sign below is across the driveway from the frog and right next to...




...the pump house that sports these dancing pigs and, this time of year, a big show of daffodils and tulips.




Meanwhile, back at the farmstead, we hired the expert help of our neighbor Tal (on the ground working) to build a fence around the front yard. He's getting assistance and encouragement here from Courtney and another neighbor, Jerry.




The reason for the fence is, for one, to keep Ben in so we can all be out in the yard and not constantly worry that he'll bolt for the street.



Another reason is that Courtney is planting espalier trees all along the fence and they'll grow up some but mostly sideways. Already he's planted a Bosc pear, asian pear and fig tree along with a hardy kiwi and smaller things like peas.

Slowly but surely the grassy lawn in the front is being replaced by edible garden. There are four blueberry bushes and a persimmon tree and little garden strips inside the fence dug and ready for planting.

All this is to say that we're working on our little plot of sanity in the midst of a world that seems less than sane. My heart continues to feel heavy from the suffering in Gaza and the West Bank. Our friend Josh is preparing to return to Damascus to study Arabic again before he returns to the South Hebron Hills to continue his work with Christian Peacemaker Teams.

Much of my time is spent preparing for a guest speaker we are hosting from the Portland area--Tom Nelson, a lawyer who specializes in international law--who will be speaking on his investigations into war crimes committed in Gaza during the attacks in Dec and Jan.

Also Tom was on board one of the Free Gaza boats that made it to the Gaza port last August--breaking a 41-year blockade of Gaza from the sea. His stories should be interesting.

On a happier note: Ben's heading towards his third birthday, Aaron's getting ready to graduate from middle school, and Maya's loving her new job. Everyone appears to be happy and healthy and somewhat sane, so what more can you ask for!?!

Thanks for reading this, and I hope your lives and hearts are full of spring energy!

With love,

Valori