things i'm enjoying:
the stray dog
animal, vegetable, miracle by barbara kingsolver
homemade bread (challah, french, pumpernickel)
crocheting hexagons
my we'moon calendar
good lightbulbs
preserve toothbrush
trader joe's
quaker meeting
grand haven (esp. the kirby grill and dee-lite bar)
clothing matters
more with less cookbook
zach and kellie roth's christmas album
the music of michael riley and friends
dinner parties
spicy peanut sauce
dancing
good beer
founder's
rocky's
the work of byron katie
home brewed kombucha tea
my family
naps
a big bed
learning home repair skills like stripping wallpaper, Spackle, drywall ceilings...
bowling

live is good. there are only a few things that i've been sad about-- friends who are sad and friends who leave for 11 months to travel the world. he will be sad until he isn't and she will be gone until she's home.

Friends,
I will be leaving Well House sometime this month. An opportunity came up for me to live in a collaborative community with my friends who just purchased a home, so I will be moving a few blocks away from Well House.

My position at Well House will be opening this month. I will post more about it later, but for now, here is a description:

Live-in House manager:
Some duties include-- managing household tasks such as meal planning, partnering with residents to complete daily chores, planning workshops/household meetings, meeting regularly with staff and volunteers, helping with grounds work (gardens, etc).

Room and board (meals, wireless internet/phone/computer/phone (long distance) access, use of pottery/art barn, etc) are included with the work.

I was in school for a semester while i lived at Well House. When i finished the term, I continued to work part-time and stay connected to the larger community (my work in Heartside). I would recommend this position if you work part-time or are going to school part or full (maybe not 18 credits full).

This is a great opportunity to learn about living sustainably (Well House composts/recycles and teaches residents how to conserve energy and resources).

Well House is currently an emergency shelter for women and families. We are in the process of transitioning into a permanent supportive community for people experiencing homelessness or who would otherwise be homeless. For more information about Well House in general:
http://www.wellhousegr.org

for more information about the position, email me stephanie (at) wellhousegr (dot) org.

The best part of my vacation was celebrating my feminine spirit (people say that sounds new age, but i don't really know what new age even means, i'm just trying to be authentic in my search for spirituality that is true to me). So Carolyn, Jen, and I performed a series of rituals to celebrate feminine divinity. (there are a few that we don't have photos of, but be assured we celebrated fully.)

We began by crowning ourselves sea goddesses with seaweed we found on the ocean shore:

We picked up Gloria because we thought she would be safer with us than with some creepy dude. She encouraged us in our exploration:

we claimed the mountains for our own:

we reached the top of the bottom of the tree:

the tree loves us:

we leaned to the right, filling up with all the goodness of ourselves and the universe:

we crowned ourselves with fern feathery goodness:

and our rental car:

I kissed my bear in klamouth:

we stood in the whispering circle, whispering, "she's already in me"

we danced gracefully like the statue:

we extirpated our "minotaurs" (things that bring us down and prevent us from being our ultimate selves):

then we leaned to the left to empty out all those minotuars:

we danced with Sheila, our faithful attendant:

(oh sheila!)

and then the ultimate feminine of all femininity, Jessie gave birth to a beautiful baby Ruby:

(ok she's still super preggers in this picture, but Ruby came very soon after this picture was taken)