Memphis Democrat
September 2, 2004

Wow, I thought that rain was never going to stop. Ironweed folks were joking that they were going to flip the cedar posts and rafters of their kitchen over and call it an ark, and folks were calling West Road "West River." Despite (or inspired by?) the rain, Bob has been building a roof over his tent. Dan and Tom have been putting up siding on Dan's house whenever there's a break in the rain. It hasn't bothered Jeffrey though, because he's been inside setting up a new server for Skyhouse Consulting.

With Amy gone, I was worrying about the cats until I heard Laura was taking such good care of them. She searches the house everyday for little mouse presents left by the cats. A bunch of folks went to Rutledge, and with the permission of the owner, picked a whole bunch of yummy pears from a tree. Thanks Stan. A bunch of us went to Kirksville one evening to see a great folk duo perform, called Emma's Revolution. One is a well-known folksinger named Pat Humphries and the other is a woman named Sandy Opatow that Tereza knew in college! They sang inspirational social justice songs that left us humming.

We've been blessed with some lovely visits from friends. Tamar's friend Rebecca came back to visit after a few year hiatus. And Allegra, who used to live at Sandhill Farm visited too, toting both a banjo and fiddle. She also helped me build my wood-fired hot tub. We worked hard making cob (a substance like adobe) to support the tub (made out of a stock tank) and we got to have our first soak already! Speaking of working on the hot tub, Arjen and Stefanie, our Rabbit of the week, helped tons, too. Of course, they live next door so should have plenty of opportunities to share in using it.

Stefanie Kantor was born in Portland, Oregon. She and Arjen (pronounced R-E-yen) have been together for eight and a half years. Stefanie lives in the Timberframe and has a real sense of style, making the place look very homey. And she turned the garden out front into a vegetable paradise. She's very proud of her first very own garden.

It is a big change of pace to move to Northeast Missouri from Portland, OR. Stefanie loves the thunderstorms, but misses the mountains. She's a generous friend and hostess. As her neighbor, it seems like she's often having someone over for one of her delicious meals. And she's always willing to lend a helping hand.

Stefanie likes to stay active every day. She's invariably out on the Ultimate field, even though she's new to the sport. And when Amy is home they have long, and fast-paced, early morning walks. Arjen and Stefanie are residents, which means they are not sure whether they want to stay forever, but we are hoping they do.

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