Memphis Democrat
March 2, 2006

Greetings! This is Andrew bringing you the latest news from our ecovillage. This week has been one of interesting polar dualities. It has been both freezing cold and beautifully warm, enabling both ice-skating and Ultimate Frisbee.

We're all still trying to take a breather after our yearly planning retreat, yet there have been many committee meetings to maintain the momentum of ideas and energy. I counted at least six meetings, including the Land Use Planning Policy Committee, Visitor Team, Debt Committee, Tree Team, Outreach Warriors, and an ad hoc discussion about the agricultural use of composted organic materials. The Web Team didn't meet this week, but our newest resident, Ron, has been scarce around the community since he has immersed himself in a project to redesign our website. His dedication is amazing and appreciated.

We celebrated two birthdays here, back-to-back, for partners Ted and Sara. On Friday, by Sara's request, the Community Building was converted into an impromptu movie theater for the showing of "Saved!" And by Saturday - Ted's Birthday - the same space was transformed into a plush lounge complete with lots of cushions and candles. We all shared jokes and stories into the wee hours of the morning.

This week, in lieu of Valentine's Day, we celebrated "Validation Day" (less commercialism, more heartfelt sentiment). For the past several weeks, we have all been handcrafting cards for each other out of construction paper and magazine clippings, and writing how much we appreciate each other. Finally, on Saturday morning we had Validation Day Brunch - a potluck affair of delicious breakfasty foods, followed by the delivery of the cards. We played a fun game with it, by reading a quote from each card and having everyone try to guess whom the card was for. Everyone there was shining brightly, which was beautiful to behold. Think about the people in your life, and let them know that you appreciate them - it can make all the difference...

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