We slept for 11 hours last night...

...and damn was it nice. Oh and before I get into things, that was Vanessa who last wrote. Not that I don't think Tori is the bee's knees, but I want to make sure credit is given where it's deserved. And ok I'm vain, don't want my oh so masculine image to be tarnished being mistaken for a gushing Tori fan. We did, however see a great series of interviews with her tonight, while in the process of bouncing around Youtube watching videos that move Vanessa. She is quite a woman, I must say. And for me, not the musician part. She's a very intelligent woman, her, with some juicy morsels of thought to chew on.

So anyway, eh hem, where was I? Oh right, discussin' the merits of Budweiser, or some such manliness. Grrr and shit! :-9

Ok who am I fooling, I am Paul, a most kick ass individual, who is working on being the best person I can be. Yes.

This morning we woke up after having had the kind of day that you just can't plan for. One that makes me glad we moved here. One that happens when you take away all the busy-ness of the past few months, taking away all wedding, pre wedding, shower, seeing massage clients, princessing around the Bay Area, etc that between the two of us, resulted in our being away just about every weekend since we've moved here, making for this never quite settled, never quite really here state of being. Always some motion, always some to do, always transitioning back to being here.

And then...this weekend came along, and everything just aligned to this most beautiful exploration of this place we now call home. It started Friday with us going upupup the hills, around the deep into the trees and into the home of this couple who was hosting a presentation by Janaia Donaldson, this wonderful woman who I connected with before arriving here, who does a show called Peak Moment.

She had created this slide show, with video snippets interspersed, talking about all the ways that communities can "go local." As in their energy needs, economic, food, social and on. It so eloquently and inspiringly made the case for living in a more sustainable manner, without going into a big heap of "shoulds" or fingerwagging. Enough statistics and info to spark interest and awareness, but avoiding the bonk you over the head mode of operation that many environmentally oriented people/videos try to do.

Janaia was both on the screen and in person, narrating this, and the assembled group of people were so moved and inspired, they were asking questions and making suggestions in the middle of it, and some great conversations happened afterwards. I was so glad to come across such a thoughtful, engaged group of people here. Truth be told, I was feeling a lot discouraged, after my initial encounter with several groups of what felt like disjointed, ego driven or just plain not deep in it people. Here were some people that I could see connecting with, and even if I didn't, it was good to know they are out here. I did, in the end, connect with a good handful of great people.

Saturday was the day that I had signed Vanessa and I up to volunteer in the Great Yuba Cleanup. It was a morning with people cleaning up nature spots all over Nevada County, and as it turns out, all over the world, apparently the largest single simultaneous event of it's kind in the world. It was, I believe, my first time volunteering for something like this. Perhaps even my first time volunteering for anything of a public nature. Don't quote me on it, I can't say for sure. But I can say for sure that it felt great doing it. We were a group of six or so cleaning up Deer Creek, underneath the freeway in Nevada City.

Apparently it's a place where homeless people hang out, but it was quite clean, given that. Living in the Bay Area, I have seen much much worse, believe you me! You have to keep track of every little piece of trash, literally ticking off the number of pieces and in what category. So we alternated who did the ticking and the picking. Apparently these statistics have been used for such things as San Francisco's banning of styrofoam containers.

After we finished, there was a big picnic in our honor (400+ people in all!) where they feed us, and then had a fashion show by the Haute Trash group. I've heard so many mentions of them, and now Vanessa and I got a chance to see for ourselves - They make clothes out of trash, in most amazing ways. For instance, the MC wore a dress that was made out of a popped raft, the edges draped nicely on the ground, and two of the perky inflation points positioned most saucilly right where nipples might otherwise be. I can't even recall all of them, but some I do were a pair of shorts with discarded cds broken and mosaiced on there. There was a "mermaid" dress made of hundreds of yogurt lids. And all sorts of other great creations, showing how you can repurpose what was once bound for the dump.

From there, we walked around downtown Nevada City where there was a sidewalk sale happening all over town. At one point, down the street and away from the main drag and all by itself was this shop, whose name I forget, but above it was the fading sign from it's goldrush past, saying it was an Assayer. We asked inside, and were told it was the place where gold miners in the 19th century would come to get it weighed, then get paid, kind of like the modern day recycling drop off spots that homeless frequent for that 10 cent deposit we all pay. Vanessa and the woman in the store got into all sorts of conversation, with the woman in the end offering to help us when we decide to shop for a house, telling us where the wells are good (yes people use on site wells for water here, in many cases), where the weather is not, etc. This, from a shop owner who we clearly weren't buying anything from at the time. Yes, we're not in Oakland anymore...

After this, we left in search of the Mountain Bounty Farm, where we had seen in a flier the previous day was having a Fall Harvest celebration. V didn't have the directions on her, and fortunately (we thought) someone looked them up at a cafe we were at earlier. But arrgh, curse you Mapquest, you led us astray, yet again! We ended up on this gravelly, bumpelly road that seemed to be leading us nowhere, quite well. Beautiful, yes, but also frustrating. We went back the main road, and continued on to Mother Truckers, this little health food store that acts as a big hub for the area.

They told Vanessa where to go, and it was, alas, much simpler (and completely elsewhere) then Mapquest directed us. It's Google Maps for us, always. So we make our way down, and just when it seems, uh oh, here we go again, down a dirt road, there is this bright and cheerful sign for the farm, pointing the way. We go there, and where once there was nothing but us, now there's cars, parked on either side for quite a while. We walk in, and in amongst the trees was this gorgeous farm, live music happening, and all manner of zesty folk mingling about. It was one of those look over at your wife, and grin moments, like wow, is this real? We live near this? Wowww!

They had the most amazing produce, of the hugest proportions. One flowering plant was, I kid you not, 10 or so feet tall, one with orange/gold flowers, the other maroonish. We were told they were called Moulin Rouge. How fitting, they were so outsized and dramatic. Down amongst the celebration they had about a dozen varieties of tomatoes from the farm to try. I'm no fan of tomatoes, but the Green Zebra ones got me. Literally green zebra striped things, they looked so cool. I still didn't eat, but Vanessa enjoyed like crazy for me. Thanks V ;-)

We also got to be salsa judges, as they were having a contest for that. Wow, such an amazing assortment, from across the spectrum. From supervivdly colored and flavored to muddy and cloudlike chocolatey ones, it was a treat indeed. A bluegrass band was on, and it was a treat to see 5 guys just working it so well together, voices, instruments, facial expressions. I could go on for days about all the sensations, people, and plants there, but just trust me on this one: It was a treat indeed, and inspiring to see such an amazing creation, nestled in the trees of the Sierra foothills, and from the looks of it, doing quite well.

Oh, and I almost forgot the link between that and the last part of our day: a $20 bill. Found among the rows of produce, just laying there on the ground, ripe for the picking. Vanessa got a big grin, and we ended up seeing the movie Shark vs. Eagle at the pocket sized Magic Theatre. It was, that night, a one woman operation. She ran the snack booth, took our ticket money, then closed the curtain and ran the projector. It even had an intermission, which, dang it, I think all movies should have, so you can fluff your butt and stretch. Civilized, it was. The movie was quite quirky, and I liked parts of it, but was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more of the comedic talent that I knew the lead had, being one of the duo Flight of the Conchords.

Today, well today just rasseled our plans to work on our businesses and be productive to the ground. Literally. In the afternoon Vanessa and I decided to take out here banana leaf mat and a big long pillow, and have a good lay down session on our lawn. Wow, how refreshing, doing...nothing, in the middle of the day. A proper Sunday, indeed.

Well I must go now, Stella (my cat) is asleep in my lap, her head and paw laying on my forearm. Ah, what a life I have :-)

Oh and I've now officially gotten my first consulting client..stay tuned. It's been nice to be able to introduce myself as a Sustainable Business Consultant. Ha, that's right!!!

good night.