Memphis Democrat
February 26, 2004

I don't know why there are so many Pisces here. Trish, Sara, Ted and Jess (from Sandhill) all have birthdays within three days of each other this week. What I do know is that Pisces know how to throw a great party! They prepared an excellent dinner of Ethiopian food and four layer cake (one for each birthday). Lots of other folks contributed to the spread, leaving us all fat and happy. Then the games came out. You could walk around the room to see simultaneous games of Twister, Boggle and more. Tamar, Cecil and Penn serenaded the group on the fiddle, guitar and banjo. Then we got into a rocking game of Celebrity, which is sort of like Charades. And when that was over, the music was turned up and the lights turned down for some dancing. What a night!

It was also the first event in the Common House as a community building and not a construction zone. Not every last thing is finished (who needs running water anyway?), but most of it is and it was nice to bring such positive energy into the new space.

The warm weather has inspired lots of walking and biking. Stefanie and I saw the first red-winged blackbird of the year, a sure sign spring is around the corner. And the mud did not stop the the die hards from playing Ultimate Frisbee.

Ted and Sara blew cellulose insulation into their house this week. It is looking better all the time over there. While they had the equipment, they were nice enough to top off the walls of Bluestem and Penn's attic.

Dan announced this week that he has decided he definitely wants to stay and build his house here. We're glad he decided to throw his lot in with us.

Stan, over at Sandhill, spent a year abroad in Nigeria as a college student in the 60's. Seeing Alyson's slides of her time in Russia inspired Stan to show his slides. It was really neat to hear his stories and see the pictures of his adventures. And it was especially cute to see Stan when he was just a young lad.

My parents know we don't have broadcast television and like to be exposed to "culture." So when they see something really good on TV, they tape it for us and send it. Recently we received HBO's version of Angels in America. It is six hours long, so we've been watching two hours each week. Somehow we managed to cram ten or twelve people into Jeffrey's bedroom to crowd around the TV.

Tamar's dog Maya developed a lump and the vet removed it this week. The results aren't back yet, but it is likely that it is cancer. We all send Maya well wishes and visions of her frolicking healthily in the fields.

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