Olympic Imagination

We have contracted Olympic fever. Not that we have become overly competitive (a slightly obsolete cultural modality;) no we are thrilled with the excitement and exhilaration of going all out to the edge of your potential, giving your all. Watching world class athletes at the top of their game push the boundaries of their limits. Yes! So inspired I went out to run my skis on edge down some big snowy hill. Yesterday was bluebird and cool with little wind as I skinned up the 9000'+ cone of Mt. Bachelor. Quiet of fun Saturday social with lots of skiers and riders whooshing down the trail by me, slowly climbing to the summit. I enjoyed panoramic views of Oregon from the top. With the camera put away it was time for me to leave the starting gate and carve my way to the bottom. Great snow the whole way made for a fabulous vertical ride of 3365'. I of course did not do it in one go. A few stops to rest the legs, catch my breath, take some pictures, and soak in the glorious world of winter.

Can I get a Who Dhat!

We want to salute the Saints Super Bowl win this year! Fantastic game. Great friends. Excellent beer. Geaux Saints 2011!

A house that doesn't move.

We are thankful to be out of the van full time as of yesterday. To finish out the month of February we will be living in Redmond, OR 30 minutes north of Bend. We have been offered a weeks rental in a fully furnished two story house. It is nice and warm and the Olympics are on.
When March rolls around we will move down to Bend and the apartment we have leased for the next six months at least. Today we bought some house type things, like a crock-pot. Looking for a couch and bed.
Julie worked with the goats at Juniper Groove Farm yesterday and she goes into work again tomorrow. She is trimming hooves this week and milking the few does which have come into milk this season. I am still applying for a position at any of the hiring kitchens in town. Be well and if you want to come visit us in central Oregon we have a bright orange guest house. Light and love zach.

Our new ride!

We are standing by our lovely Gloria as we get settled into our new digs. But we are super excited to cruze around in our new ride! It's a '96 FWD Volvo wagon.





We now enjoy having warm feet, and also warm bums with the fancy seat heaters. It is so quiet inside even when it's windy and bumpy outside (this kind of had to do with the fact that our stereo was locked with the anti-theft mode. We tried to get the unlock code from the Volvo dealer. It wasn't right because our great new ride is a rebuild from a totaled vehicle and has a stereo from a different car. Today though I found the code hidden in the car and turned on the tunes!) We are loving the freedom of leaving our home at home and venturing out with our warm comfortable vehicle. Light and love. zach

The Evening Shadow of the Cascades

Bend, Or is nestled along the banks of the Descutes River on the edge of the high desert and at the foot of the spine of the central Cascades. Julie and I have just settled on the apartment of our choice hear near the center of down town. Our landlords promise to be interesting friends who live in the main house on the property. Sculptures and gardens cover the grounds and the duck pond is just below the finished tree house. Our apartment is a second story unit above the wood shop and gear storage in the garage. Cozy with around 600 x'. Julie and I will be doing a lot of raw food and grilling as there is only a simple 2 burner electric range and convection microwave oven. We are excited to share a warm place with each other and be privileged to use the beautiful grounds that contain our soon to be home. Julie went to interview at a goat dairy today where she was offered the job of herd manager. She is think it over and give heavy consideration to the reality of horn debudding and attrition of kids. Lots of things she likes about it though, and I'll let her tell you all of that when she takes the job! I have my resumé in at the local ski hill for teaching kids to ski! All good fun and a great way to work seasonally. I hope to hear from them soon. We are still in the van and camping at night out on the National Forest land just out of town. We are looking for a second car. Well there you have it. It sounds like we are leaving the journey for a little while and taking up the domestic life again. In many ways we hope this is so and then of course we know that the road will call to us again (although maybe not in the same way.) We are thinking of playing house for 16 months or more while we get a little grounded and squirrel away a little traveling money. Hopefully we will be able to work more fully on the self discovery stuff too as a lot of the hardship of gypsy life will slacken in the face of suburbinaty. Like the portrayal of Julia Childs in Julie & Julia, we want to know "What should I do?" And staying in one place will show us which things come up as distractions in our adult lives and which choices we make from a deeper source. At least we hope we will make the distinction. Light and love zach