i have absolutely no excuse not to start writing here again. i am out of grad school--that death march (no offense to people who have been on real death marches, of course)--and i have plenty of time on my hands.
we've moved to an artist's colony, Terra Studios (more here).
this place is hard to describe; easier to show. there are ponds and bluffs and springs and labyrinths and gnomes and dragons and a bevy of trolls. here are some pictures (and a few more) that show the things about this place that i love, and my little brood in the midst of all this magic.
we have only rent, cell phone, insurance and student loan bills now. next month we'll have an electricity bill too, but all the other utilities are part of our rent. even wireless, which is so nice! what this means for our lives is that we have more time together, as a family.
the theme here is GRATITUDE. the statue you see rowan loving up, above, is an example of a type of hand-made icon that's prevalent here--gratitude statues. the matriarch of terra, who helped her husband make this tiny fantastical world out of pasture and woods in 1975, still lives over the hill on this 110 acres, and she comes down and works in the pottery studios several times a week. she talks about buddhism and psychedelics and serenity and cats. it's impossible not to love her, especially since she looks just like one her peaceful, joyous works--all bright eyes and an almost visible halo. her children live here, or close by, and work and play here too. it's a real community. just what we've been searching for for so long.
i'm so so grateful to be here.
