First Snow!

Verbosity Mode Enabled

Christy and I spent another fun weekend in Floyd. We started on a couple of "hot" compost piles on Saturday. We're hoping to have some finished compost by the time we start planting in the spring. That night, our neighbors David and Annie had us over for dinner. We discussed, among other things, the possibility of me working for David installing PV systems (photo voltaic). David is a master electrician that runs a PV installation business. This would be my dream job. Working on something that I'm passionate about and that actually does something for the environment is too cool.

I opened our tent door on Sunday morning to discover it had snowed. Although it was a brisk 28° F, we were comfortable in our sleeping bags. But that comfort only lasts until you unzip and need to get dressed.

We took a drive to Roanoke for some coffee and breakfast at our newly discovered cafe - Mojo Cafe. Organic, Fair-trade coffee, and good, healthy food and I'm there. Good coffee, good food and good atmosphere. Afterwards we took a ride to find the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op. Unfortunately the Co-op didn't open for another two hours so we checked out the surrounding and area and went back to Floyd.

Christy and I did a little more work on the platform - mostly putting the remainder of the screws in. We had originally planned on sealing the platform but because of the recent rains and snow we decided to hold off.

Before heading back home we stopped at Ed and Randye's for some more of their delicious goat cheese. We shared a cup of gotu kola tea and homemade blueberry cobbler.We've never had gotu kola before but it was quite good. So we chatted a bit or rather Ed chatted a lot. But it's all good. He is such a wealth of information. He encouraged us to rethink buying a used camper to live in while waiting to build the house and instead we should build a small structure/cottage for the same price (~$2000). That way we wouldn't have to mess with selling the camper once we're done and we'd already have something for storage or guests to sleep in. Not to mention an increase in the value of the property. So I think that's our direction. We also discussed the logistics of getting a well dug and clearing trees. So much work to be done and yet so much excitement.

Oh, and what kind of goat cheese? Red pepper! And yes, it really is good.

We also stopped at Green's Garage for a few staples. It's a self-service (honor system & no store personnel) store that sells mostly local food. What a great concept and such a low overhead to operate. They pretty much have everything you need - from fresh produce to dairy to bread to TP.

That's all kids!

A light dusting

Mojo Cafe

"Charity Starts at Home..."

...however, extreme poverty trumps that notion. Two weeks ago Christy and I went to El Salvador as part of a Habitat for Humanity trip to help build a community center for a newly built community in Santa Ana, El Salvador. This was our second trip in two years. This trip was truly amazing. We were able to interact with the local families and masons a lot more this time. My Spanish has also improved so that was a big help. It's such a moving experience to get to know these people who are so genuine and humble.

It's an honor to be able to leave the comfort of our lives here in the States and have the opportunity to help those in need. It's actually a pleasure to do manual labor for this cause. It feels good to work outdoors building something with your hands.

Our group was a lot of fun, too. As was the case last time, there were only four men and the rest women. At least we weren't honored with aprons this time. The local Habitat affiliate has some really top notch folks working there. They treated us as family as they always do.

If you've ever thought about doing something like this I would strongly encourage you to just do it. It doesn't have to be El Salvador, it doesn't even have to be out of the country. There's such a need for basic housing everywhere. Serving others doesn't necessarily have to entail building houses. There are soup kitchens, homeless shelters or other organizations that are worthy causes, also.

When not working during the week we did some fun touristy things on the weekend. Things like swimming in a lake formed from a collapsed volcano; lunch on a volcano; checking out the local markets; visiting Bishop Oscar Romero's house (Bishop Romero was champion of human rights in El Salvador who was assasinated in 1980); and swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Oh and I can't forget the monkey that stole and broke my glasses. What a riot!




Our group minus 2 lads ..............View of Coatepeque Lake



One of the new houses.................. A typical meal


Day one .............................................Day five



Some of the local children............ Our masons


My flower - Florecita....................... Santa Ana

View of Santa Ana from our room


Celebration night!

YES!!!

3rd Anniversary

Today was Christy's and my 3 year anniversary. We started the day with yummy scrambled eggs, grits and coffee that Christy prepared. For dinner we had salmon and couscous followed by a showing of Bill Maher's "Religulous" at the local Manor Theater and then for dessert - chocolate raspberry tart from Amelie's French Bakery. It was a happy day.

This weekend we'll head to the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. It'll be nice to spend some alone time on the coast and explore the city.

Ain't it the truth

Thought for the week:

The other day Christy and I were talking about our jobs and I expressed my desire to work for a company whose principles are in line with mine and Christy said, "You're working for a company that prevents the theft of products made in China that'll be in a landfill in two years." And I was like, "Wow! How messed up is that?"

Think I'll go install solar panels somewhere.

No duh, we're in NoDa!

So, Christy and I have been living in a part of Charlotte called NoDa (short for North Davidson St.) since June. It's the cool and funky part of Charlotte. When we first visited NoDa I told Christy that this is where I'd want to live if we were to live in the city. There are great music venues, art galleries, cafe, french bakery, fun stores, and more, see here.

Christy is still at Carolina Raptor Center as their Controller and I'm at Alpha - High Theft Solutions as an electrical engineer.

We spend most of our free time hanging out at home, riding our bikes, playing music and visiting with family and friends. Usually we'll spend some time camping on our property once a month. Madchen is enjoying the south, too.

Next month we'll be quite busy. On our 3 year anniversary we'll be spending the weekend in Wilmington, NC (on the coast); Christy's 15 year high school reunion; and ending the month with a Habitat for Humanity trip to El Salvador. We're looking forward to October!

Our First Structure!

Alas, we've completed our first building project. Christy and I were ready for more comfortable accommodations when camping so we decided to build a tent platform. This serves several purposes - level sleeping off the ground and a better vantage for viewing our surroundings. It's a 10' x 10' structure situated on the side of a hill. We used locust wood from our property for the posts. Our neighbors tell us this is a very hard, strong and durable wood good for fence and support posts. It's also a great alternative to pressure treated wood. The platform itself was made from nearby milled spruce.

I'm glad we started with a small project. It's a great way to learn techniques that we'll use later on when building the house. I have to say that building the platform wasn't easy. A lot of sweat went into erecting it. Mostly from digging the holes. Christy honed her skills with the digging bar and post-hole digger. Using the chain saw was quite fun, too. I felt like such a woodsman.

My dad use to call me "nature boy" and it's a nickname that I've always enjoyed. This past weekend finishing up the platform on my own was very cathartic. It's just you and nature... well, and perhaps a tent and a sleeping bag, and a camp stove, matches, food, etc. but you get the point. It's just such an awesome feeling to be out there by yourself with the trees with minimal comforts (go ahead and laugh Lindsey, Jamie and Lauren). My daughters like to make fun of their dad and his penchant for the woods.

(Click on image to view video)

SheRox Triathlon

Sunday my sister Nancy and I (Christy speaking) participated in the SheRox triathlon at Latta Nature Preserve just north of Charlotte. It consisted of an 800 meter swim, 27k bike ride and a 5k run. These events are so much fun, and a great reason to get in shape and improve your overall fitness. We both did well, coming in under our goal of 2 hours. The race started in the lake just as the sun was coming up. As I was about 5 minutes away from the finishing the swim, and wishing that part were over, I noticed that every time I turned my head to the right to breathe I could see the sun peeking up over the trees at the edge of the lake. It was beautiful, and it gave me some scenery to enjoy to take my mind off the struggle to get to shore.

The bike portion went fast, 17 miles in one hour, and I worked harder than normal because the spirit of competition got into me. Not being a particularly competitive person, I secretly relish the feeling of flying past someone on a long downhill! Take that!

It's hard to start running after the bike ride, because your legs are full of blood from using your quads so much on the bike. So the first few minutes of the run were a struggle! But running on the trails in the woods is refreshing, and I finished in 30 minutes. In this case knowing you are almost there makes you able to tolerate the exertion.

I recommend doing a race to anyone who needs extra motivation and a deadline to get in shape. Just sign up, put it on your calendar, and then get busy exercizing!

rick:
The triathlon coincided with a visit from my mom. She took the train from Durham to Charlotte. We had a great time. On Saturday we had lunch at Carrabba's (Italian) and then took a ride on the Charlotte light rail. She was a good sport by getting up before 6 AM on Sunday to attend the triathlon. Afterwards we all went to Boudreaux's Loisiana Kitchen for brunch. We're really glad she came.

Floyd Fest, la Fruita and Hornets

My Birthday! And what did we do? We went to Floyd, of course. It also happened to be the weekend of FloydFest - a four day music festival with musicians of many different genres.

Friday night Christy and I went to the weekly Friday night Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store. Outside, musicians playing on the sidewalk while inside there's even more action.


Friday Night Jamboree at the Country Store



Photo by Doug Thompson



Sidewalk Musicians Outside the Country Store

Here's a short video highlighting the Floyd music scene that Smithsonian Magazine recently filmed:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/videos/25911104.html

Saturday morning Christy and I headed to the southwest corner of Floyd county for the annual FloydFest. We spent the entire day, leaving around 11 PM. What a blast! To be so close to these performers and seeing so many people. It was a perfect day - sunny and temps in the mid 80s. We got to see one of our favorite performers - Oliver Mtukudzi - from Zimbabwe.

Oliver Mtukudzi, David Grisman, The Crowds

It was, without a doubt, one fun fesitval. Oh, and the food was plentiful, varied and good.

On Sunday we pretty much took it easy. Woke up to see a fawn in front of our tent. For breakfast we had oatmeal and fresh brewed coffee (french pressed, of course). The rest of the day we mostly explored the property, hung our solar shower, and chilled out. We did make an unexpected discovery - we had a peach tree that was fruiting. That coupled with the blackberries that were everywhere made for a pleasant day. That is, until I hit upon a hornets nest. While securing the solar shower for use, I unknowingly stirred up a hornets nest that was in a log I was perched on. It was a funny sight if viewed from a distance. I was able to escape with only 4 stings. After the excitement I was able to retrieve the shower and mount it elsewhere.

Check out these blackberries that Christy and I picked:

Homesite/campsite

The next trip, Christy and I hope to build a tent platform that overlooks what we call the valley. Stay tuned.

Afterwards we headed back to the property to pitch our tent in the dark. Thank god for headlamps!

Easter Weekend Part III (Sunday)

Durham, NC

What a difference 8 hours of sleep makes. That coupled with being able to stretch out diagonally in bed - sorry Christy - makes all the difference. Adrian and Keith are awesome hosts. They're so accomodating and I just thoroughly enjoy myself whenever I visit. So today is Easter Sunday and my mom, Ron, brother Roney, his wife Beatriz, and kids Parisa, Bianca & baby Micah will be joining us for dinner. This will also be the first time I see Micah who was born a few weeks ago.

Adrian and I ran a few errands during the day. While out and about we saw this woman with rain barrels in the back of her truck. We pulled up beside her and asked where she got the barrels. She gave us the name and number of her source and so we called and made arrangements to meet the guy selling them. Adrian and Keith had already installed one at their house and wanted a couple more. So we ended up purchasing 4 - two for A & K and two for Christy and me. The guy who sold them modified them himself. Two of the barrels were formerly used for olives from Argentina. It looked pretty easy to modify so perhaps we can do so in the future. I'm envisioning Christy and me having a water collection system in excess of 500 gallons. Consider this, for every 1" of rain falling on a 1000 sq foot roof, 600 gallons of water can be captured. That's incredible! So after one inch of rain fall one could fill 12 50 gallon barrels. We don't have to suffer the consequences of a city imposed restriction on water use if we all collected our own rain water.

Before dinner, Roney had taken the girls to a nearby park. I ended up joining them for some tennis. On the way back to the house I borrowed the soccer ball Bianca was holding and kicked it up ahead of us. The ball did a Beckham bend and ended up hitting the driver side of a car in which a woman was sitting. She turned to look at us and immediately drove off. I couldn't believe it. Here I was feeling so guilty and expecting to have to apologize and she simply drives off. I guess she felt a little intimidated by the girls presence.

Dinner was enjoyable as always at A&K's - a baked ham and roasted vegetables followed by a homemade velvet cake my mom made. All was delicious as was the company.

Afterwards I did a little demonstration on how to put together a hot batch compost bin.

Pre-demo discussion

Adding leaves...

and even more leaves

Adrian and Micah

Keith, Micah und mutti