Christmas '08

Happy holidays to all! We are waaaay overdue for a blog update, so settle in for some pictures of the last six months.

In July we started driving east from Cali. After a debacle with the bikes (we dragged them behind the car for about a mile-but they survived-another vote for old school steel bikeframes!) we got back on the road headed east. Once we got past Utah it started to feel a little more familiar: our kind of beautiful. {In the interest of full disclosure, Utah creeped us out because we listened to the audiobook of Jon Krakaeur's "Under the Banner Of Heaven," about fundamentalist Mormon sects.} But we were in a hurry to get to Asheville anyways, to see our beloved family, friends and lush mountains. Since we'd always experienced road trips as a bit tough on the system, we decided to do the master cleanser juice fast on the road, which made for interesting conversation and no meal stops, but plenty of time to talk and relax. Stopping about every 2 hours we made it across this beautiful country in a reasonable amount of time, audiobooks playing all the way. Once in Asheville we went right to work fixing up our little house--here's Kenneth after a full day clearing out trash from the crawlspace. Yikes! We had the help of our friend Matthew Kugler from California, who was tempted to move to Asheville and so came for an extended visit. His assistance helped speed the house work along to a good resting point before the wedding. (Matthew has since fully relocated to Asheville, bringing that Left Coast love along with him!)
In the midst of home repairs (we ripped up carpet, fixed the porch and threshold, cleaned up the basement, etc.) we also GOT MARRIED!
It's true, we were still writing the ceremony mere days before the big event, but the wide-open hearts of our guests--and the mountains watching over us--ensured an incredible success. Many thanks to all who joined in blessing us.
On our drive back to CA we enjoyed many scenic stops, including the
Badlands of South Dakota,

Devil's Tower in Wyoming,
Mt. Rushmore, and the bubbling craters and buffalo of Yellowstone --this one charged us, and Kenneth screamed like a little girl!

Since our return, we've been immersed in our Alexander Technique Teacher Training, and working steadily: Kenneth at the Walden Center and School with children ages 5-12, and Michele as a personal assistant to a management executive. Our latest "home ec" projects include lots of breadbaking and soupmaking, growing shiitake mushrooms, worm composting, and kombucha tea... and wondering where we'll end up after we complete our training. Oh, and loving married life!
We've both also been enjoying our continued spiritual practices, adding sitting meditation and sacred sound chanting to the mix. Michele has been busy keepin' it real (and frugal) with lots of homecooking (and harvesting persimmons!), as well as assisting the planning committee for the Alexander Technique society's annual conference (June in SF), and reconnecting with family members after the sudden loss of her Auntie Mary in November. Kenneth has had an exceptionally full schedule, attending the Bioneers Conference in October (link), a Joanna Macy retreat weekend (known as the Work that Reconnects-link), as well as going to the very cool (& cheap!) Green Festival (link) in SF. Kenneth is also continuing his work with the Pachamama Alliance's ATD Symposium (link), helping to launch a teen version. Following up on his intentions with the New Dreamers Curriculum (link to NDC Blog), kenneth is working on inventing games for ages 5 on up that teach kids ecological thinking in a noncompetitive and constructive learning format (ooohh, aaahh).
Our thoughts and hearts are with you all, celebrating the return of the light and the beginning of an enlivening new era. Much love, Many Blessings and Happy Solstice, Festivas, and all other beautiful hoopla as well!, Michele and Kenneth.

Wrapping Things Up in CA

One more week before we start driving to NC! Here's what's been keeping us busy....
Our Alexander Technique training class took a bowling field trip this spring.



Here's Kenneth surrounded by the makings of our wedding invitations.







The finished product!



To keep our wits about us, we spent a lovely weekend in the Sierras at a friend's cabin, lulled by croaking frogs and lakeside serenity.


Don't despair that without pottery, our creativity has not f0und outlets.


Here's a scrumptious polenta pizza by Kenneth,




and Michele's square foot garden.

We look forward to your news, and hope you're enjoying summer!

April 2008

What a party...Oh yeah, did we indulge in some serious PIE for Michele's 35th birthday party!!




I'm reveling in the celebration and fun that was had for my birthday. Thanks to all of you who joined in!



In other news -- Kenneth and I had a wonderful whirlwind weekend at his sister Trina's wedding in Louisville, KY. We enjoyed every aspect of the event: sharing food, conversation, and dance with the Fischers, Kalawskis, and friends from all over. We hope our own wedding is as beautiful and jubilant as theirs, and we send them love and best wishes for their marriage.




Spring in Berkeley sure comes early... Here's a glimpse of my first attempt at "square-foot gardening." We've already eaten lettuce, chard, bok choy, radishes, and broccoli rabe from seeds I started in February-- woo-hoo! It seems Kenneth's offerings of cornmeal have for the moment pacified the ravenous squirrel who nipped off our sunflower and squash starts while a second round is underway. Steadily growing: edamame, snow and snap peas, tomatoes, basil, spinach. Soon we'll start a guild of corn, beans, and watermelon in the corn circle Kenneth designed so that, come summer, you'll be able to stand amidst the corn and see Orion at dusk. Of course he'd make the garden into experiential art...!

January

We were lucky enough to get a little sun over new year's.... for a short while, at least. Kenneth's dad invited us to spend the holiday with him (and Kenneth's sisters et al.) at his house in St. Petersburg, Florida. It started out sunny and we enjoyed walks on the beach and swimming in the ocean. But it soon turned colder than Berkeley (or atleast windier). Ironically our returning connection through Chicago was delayed for 6 hours because of torrential rains in San Francisco! Aside from playing with his nephew Eli (above), Kenneth had a grand time decorating his palm with the henna we picked out for his niece, Eva. His kindergartners were impressed! (though some thought it was scary too)

At mid-month, we went for an afternoon hike at Las Trampas Wilderness, about an hour east of Berkeley. Not only did we luck out with a sunny day, we had amazing sightings of wildlife: TWO bobcat, and TWO coyote!

We also found a hillside covered with holes like this (below), dug by the cat(s) -- footprints made it a sure I.D.


We're excited to approach the end of January, since we'll soon be moving upstairs (in our same house) to a sunnier room with a shared living room. Finally, our dinner guests won't bump their heads on the ceiling of our basement apartment! It is cold and rainy in Berkeley (oh so rainy; the only silver lining is that we've set out rain barrels to collect water for the garden we've planned). Thank goodness we love making soup and watching movies.

Winter Solstice Blessings

As we ready ourselves for the transition to lengthening daylight, we can't help but feel thankful for all the many blessings in our life together. Preparations for our wedding keep us busy and thoroughly engaged in the vision we're creating for married life (blissful, of course!!). We've been lucky enough to enjoy developing friendships with California friends, while eagerly awaiting reunion with our east coast loved ones. Michele has undertaken a new level of kitchen mastery, exploring soups and curries and beans, all sorts of wintery dishes. Kenneth has been working diligently to create an innovative learning environment for his kindergarten charges, researching local lore and ecosystems to engage their curiosity. We're newly and deeply motivated to consider our commitment to global wellbeing, after attending an Awakening the Dreamer symposium hosted by the Pachamama Alliance (www.pachamama.org/content/view/2/4/). For us this all fits in nicely with our Alexander Technique training; we're looking for ways to lighten up, in our bodies and in our footprint on the planet!
We wish you all the very merriest of seasons, with all the hopefulness the returning sun brings. By all signs, 2008 looks to be a benchmark year. To life! Love, Kenneth and Michele

Thanks for Friends

To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we drove south to Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Parks, where we shared a cabin and fabulous meals with our friends Tim and Ela, who drove up from L.A.

What better way to appreciate our beautiful planet's amazing diversity than to walk amidst huge, ancient redwoods, admire misty treetop views, revel in rich forests?










Our thanksgiving day dinner was a spectacular feast; Tim cooked up a perfect bird. We played games and talked and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Ela and I marveled at the comraderie of the Blue Team!

October Outings

What a busy month! In addition to enjoying the beautiful East Bay weather, in early October we went to Big Basin Redwood Forest, where our campground had a resident white peacock (below). As usual, Kenneth found lots of places to run, jump, and scramble, including inside this huge redwood (left).





In mid-October, Michele's mom Leigh came to visit. We took her to see a fabulous sunset over the San Francisco Bay at Indian Rock in Berkeley (below, right).






Michele and Leigh also enjoyed a beautiful boat tour of the Bay, traveling under the Golden Gate Bridge. Check out this guy paddling around the Bay!

Late Summer 2007

Greetings from Yosemite! Actually we're home in
Berkeley now, but we had a great 4-day hike in Yosemite right before school started up again.

We hiked in to spend the first night at Cathedral Lakes (right), starting the next morning with a bracing swim (brr!). Day 2 was a fairly level hike to Sunrise Lakes (below right), where we swam again (in slightly warmer water this time). On Day 3 we hiked up to Clouds Rest, which not only afforded us this great view of the back of Half Dome (above), but on the trail we happened to meet the sister of a friend we know in Asheville! Small world.

Kenneth just started a new job as an after-school teacher for kindergartners at an arts magnet public school. The kids adore him, and he puts his typical attention-to-detail to work creating lesson plans to keep them entertained (and out of trouble). Michele is currently unemployed--the retail store she managed for the last year closed, and she's shall we say, exploring her options.... We are both thankful to be back in school with our Alexander Technique colleagues, looking forward to working on you when next we see you!

We're also grateful we got to celebrate weddings with so many of our friends this year (five couples!!). It afforded us an opportunity to explore what we want to create for our own, as well as spend some quality time with friends and family members.

Looking forward to hearing your news. Fondly, Michele and Kenneth