The Teacher As Student...

When I speak of the story of this curious little  traveling project, you might think my goal is to work with a horse and a wagon, and that would be true…but it’s only half of the story.

If you think this story is about the teaching, you’d also be correct, but THAT is simply the mirror through which to step to the more important part of the journey--because this tale’s goal cannot be complete without meeting people. This is the story about YOU, in other words.

If you would have told me, that I would be teaching anything, I would have laughed at you (come to think of it, I would have laughed about the horse drawn carriage thing, but it STILL would have seemed more feasible than teaching)…this was not because I disliked teaching, per se, but because--ironically--I was a painfully shy child.

Indeed,  THAT little girl--the one with big dreams, but thoroughly overtaken with rule-following and a healthy dose of skepticism about what life really could be…and THIS adult, the one overwhelmed by urbanites and their sometimes lack of compassion for each other and how that might rub off on her…that is why I travel and why I teach.

Because, truth-be-told, I’m the student. Each time I’ve gone somewhere, be it Kansas, Iowa, Illinois…just anywhere else…I am immediately thrown off balance in a good way, forced to look at other sides of the coin, bigger pictures, better versions of Life, different perspective. While it’s easy to say I am teaching interesting and varied classes, and I’d love for people to come and learn something new (and I would!), I would also say each time I leave towards somewhere else, this teacher also becomes student, there is as much knowledge out in the World to study, as there is to deploy. This is my little religion: my church lies not in a building, my temple holds no address. My traveling, indeed, is my spirituality and each new hand, or paw, or hoof, I shake is a renewal in the heart muscles, a renewal in all that is right and lovely, at least in my opinion.

HERE ARE THE CLASSES SO FAR FOR 2012

So come on out, Friends, there are classes now here, coming in March through May. As of yet, we are working on bringing this via horses-and-wagons...so stay tuned. And if you are interested in classes, please feel free to contact me. Because I will be in the Midwest in May, it probably makes more sense to traverse to nearby states from there, by the sky is the limit!

I can wait to meet each of you.

The Carnival Atmosphere

 I am writing this story to you from my parents’ dining room table in Florida. If you’re shaking your head in wonderment about the tale of my getting here, you’re not alone. This is a long and fuzzy story, not only in the speed of which this all occurred (one moment I’m in The Big Apple, the next in the orange capital), but in the fact that I was just here SEVEN weeks ago…

If you believe I  exaggerate a bit in the sort of dramatic bits of what go on around here, I assure you, when I say “topsy-turvy”--and it‘s been pointed out to me that I DO have a tendency to use it often, by golly-- it has been used with the full awareness of the complete lack of rational logistics around here. Granted, these are no more unusual than any other life lived or…if they are…it’s because I’ve sort of planned it that way. In other words, when I say topsy turvy, it’s not a complaint at all, but a long accepted way of life.

The topsy turvy, lately, has been going on at such a fast pace, I haven’t even had time to stop and breathe to tell it all: there has been the packing of ten years of my life, into boxes and bags,  for a move down to another apartment in our building. There has been the incessant planning for the big Illinois and Iowa beekeeping tour (as continued from last year), which is exciting, but logistically sometimes complicated. Of course, there’s that attempt at getting the horse drawn wagon tour happening, which is also logistically complicated and sometimes frustrating.  And there was also a  sudden and unexpected stop in PA (which hopefully can be revealed soon), which threw my schedule out of gear, but may be worth it in the long run (and I got to see farmland and meet new people, which was DEFINITELY worth it!).  Finally, there is this trip to Florida for a wagon train ride that may or may not be happening, which is another story unto itself…

As you might guess, my mind is still reeling, trying to process it all, instead of just auto-piloting from one task to the next, as is demanded of me. While I sort the past few days of carnival atmosphere, I shall tell you the stories one by one.

However, tomorrow, I will finally make an announcement on some of the Midwest tour for beekeeping and more. If you’re anywhere in the Iowa or Illinois area, I’d love to meet you! So please stay tuned!

Pitter Patter

 

    This is a story about Valentine's Day....

In this sacred book are the enchanted spells that make the heart pitter-patter. They come in the form of talismans, tokens of affection, snippets of poems, all lashed together with a multicolored cord...guarded by an ancient goddess and bound in leather, this is the story of the things that make the coronary muscle twitch and twitter just a bit faster....

As dramatic as that sounds, the truth of the matter is that this photo-journal was the first gift the Sweetheart ever gave me, a well calculated memento, since at the time I was heavily into Indian dance and objects, and since he guessed I had a penchant to keep sentimental items.


Indeed, these bits of paper whimsies are testaments to his sheepish attempts at romance; they are touchstones of our own stubborn declarations of commitment, despite so much change over the years....

 A pocketful of Valentine's cards...

My own sorcery lies in that age old feminine magic--spells of sugar and spice, heat and ice...why, cooking, of course!  Here, my pitter patter potion comes embedded in dough--inside the fruit elixir is colored red  as Valentine's Day...

A Heart Cherry Pie!

Yes, despite all of the trappings of a Big City Girl, I do make a mean pie! So good it will curl your socks, by bipee! 

Now a confession: I'm a sinner of sorts--I preach farm girl sustainability and cleverness, but rarely do I have time to practice such gallantry! Yes, my pie is a crux, patched together with premade crust (the shame of it!). But don't worry,  in atonement I will include a REAL made-from-scratch recipe here, because I'd like your heart to go pitter-patter, too!

Heart Cherry Pie ~
CRUST (*Note: this will make a top and bottom crust for your pie)
Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 tablespoons cold water

1.Combine the flour and salt in a medium bowl.
2.Cut in vegetable shortening with a dough cutter until mixture is crumbly.
3.Sprinkle with water; blend until mixture holds together. You may add a bit of water if the crust dries while working with it.
4. Shape dough into ball and place on lightly floured surface.
5. Roll  the dough out. It should be to about 1/8-inch thickness. You can refrigerate this on top of wax paper while making filling.

FILLINGIngredients

• 4 cups pitted  sweet or tart cherries
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• Choice of 1/2 cups honey, 2Tbsp cinnamon or cloves

1.Place cherries in a pot, add 1 cup water.
2.Bring cherries to a boil, then lower to medium heat.
3.Once you see cherries getting soft and starting to "break down," turn off heat. If there is any residual liquid in the pot, carefully drain this from cherries
4.You may then and in:
*1 cup sugar. You may also add 2 Tbpsoon cinnamon or cloves
*For the naturalist, 1/2 cup raw honey
*for the diabetic, NO sugar, but you may flavor with 2 Tbsp of cloves and or 2 Tbspoon cinnamon

5. Once you have finished this, line a roughly 9" pie plate with the dough. Add cherry mixture. Turn edge under; crimp as desired.
6. Carefully cut slits on the top for heat to escape. If you have any extra dough from the edges, you can roll this out and use a small cookie cutter to cut shapes for decor at the top of the pie

Here is the Heart Cherry Pie in action....


Heart Pie BEFORE:

Heart Pie AFTER....

HEARTS on the HEART PIE...

Heart Pie as assisted to the table by the Gingerbread Oven Mitt!

Heart Pie AFTER-AFTER (Yum!!)...

In the meantime, more heart-felt news up next-- a MOVE, a journey down south, and the big horse drawn adventure begins soon!

Words For Friends: Moriah Betterly

A few posts back, I decided to create a little space to lend a helping hand, called "Words For Friends." Not only is this a great (if small) way to help others, but I will say it's a great way to keep oneself in check, just in case it started to feel like personal struggles were truly serious. Indeed, the minor dramas of the world are nothing compared to the savage beating that Life can sometimes hand others...

 I won't go into diatribes about the status quo, economics, or any other World problems (and that's a soapbox I could be on FOREVER). I simply will say that this place is here to highlight average people helping each other, a thing that anyone can and should do at any time; reaching out hands is really reciprocal, and rewarding.

This post is dedicated to my art friend Moriah Betterly, and her family. To be fair, she likely DOES NOT know that I am doing this, and I think she is very much like me in that it feels ackward to ask outwardly for help.

Moriah is a spectacular art doll artist and ceramics artist. Her works are unique, splendid, and well crafted. You can see some of her recent works HERE, and more about her art and life HERE.

Recently her husband, a hard working person returning to school to learn technology to procure a better job, was blindsided by a snafu to his loan process and, without warning, he must come up with an extra $6,000 to continue his education. They have already raised some money, but could use extra help. If this is something you feel you can help with, please click HERE for the story and donation information. The "donations" will actually get you some of Moriah's wonderful art, as well...

The deadline for her first round of donations is February 27th, so if you have some way to send a helping hand, please don't hesitate, I am sure they would be very grateful (and hopefully, she can good-naturedly forgive me for reposting this!) ....

Beloved...

The world spotlights swain, this day when Valentines rule is bittersweet.......

Firstly, let me tell you, with great LOVE and GRATITUDE how thankful I am for your kind remarks, and your reposting on the video in my last post. I had hoped that little video might perhaps make clear the musty ideas I put forth, and give you a full explanation on this unusual endeavor.  Thank you for the various emails, bits of advice, blog following, and more for this journey in the works....

Speaking of which, I'm happy to report that  progress is snowballing forward. There is discussion of a proper documenting of The Beyond Vagabond Project, but first that little video should be proven to be seen quite often. So if you can continue to let people know about the video, it would be beyond helpful (The VIDEO IS HERE by the way)!

But perhaps more exciting--THIS BEAUTY:

This, ladies and gents, is a ramshackle little gypsy vardo and the gentleman in the pic is the MidWestern fellow that owns this magnificent roadster. I've spoken to this caravan's owner already, a wonderful character with typical country courtesy and a good story or two to be told. The wagon was apparently built by the former head architect of Texas University!  Yes, it's quite the little wagon that could, but it's at a somewhat reasonable price, and apparently well built (it's wired for electricity, and is insulated), and it's far less expensive than most of these gypsy wagons that I've seen online so far. PLUS, it can be towed by horse OR car! And yes, you can see it in the top pic, with a cute driver's seat, to boot!

I will be taking a look at this while I'm on my FLORIDA to Alabama tour, in March (see the schedule, HERE), and I'm hoping against hope that this lovely is still available. And here, Friends, is where fingers are crossed and the bitter before the sweetness comes in. There is a sort of restlessness here, probably more so than with other journeys. Why this is, I can only venture, is to guess it's a tale of small and accumulated heartbreaks.

There are so many things gone wrong over the past year--not swept away disasters, mind you (whilst knocking on lucky wood!)--but just enough that one recoils from the Beloved it pets, unsure whether it will lick the hand, or bite it.

The more I think about this, though, I realize that I do this to myself--getting ahead of myself, loving a thing, an idea, before I know it's mine. But those very things have helped me cross the moors of an impossible landscape. You can't just BE the director of the first gothic and experimental ethnic dance troupe in NYC, or create shows that focus on women, or run an honored bee business that focuses on a 75 year old natural European philosophy, or go all over the country to teach it...or run a motley and diverse group of farmer-writers...or...do any of this if you didn't love the thing(s) beyond whether it made sense or not, and before you knew whether it would work or not.

But after licking these wounds you go on, a bit gun shy, and hoping for the best. Right now, there are logistically both big, exciting things, and then small frazzling things that create the hodge-podge that is life, but I won't tell tales, those little fears build up enough to leave a certain bit of trepidation lodged in my chest. While its never stopped me from completing a project before (there's that knock on wood, again!), I've also never had such a strange slew of signs over the past few months, so there is a crossing of fingers and toes and small prayers offered from humble lips....

If you are interested in helping, there is the tip jar at the top left of this little spot, or even a word of encouragement or advice works well. We're an upside down little grass-root-ish project, but we make up for it in spunk and determination.

In the meantime, I focus back on the Sweetness, as those things Beloved do not always sink their teeth into skin...

The Sweetheart has made my Valentine's Day beautiful as ever, as is the tradition.
Even with funny simple gifts:

A girl can't resist chocolate! These are little love-token brownies. Alas, my sweet-tooth got to these before I thought of a camera shot!

Meanwhile, I'll have some enchanted decor and other sweet notions for later tonight!
HAPPY ST. VALENTINES DAY!
What about you, what Beloved things are you up to?

New Announcement!

Alright Friends!

A day too long in tinkering, here is our next video presentation!  After several different people kept asking us about more information about the project, we decided to simplify it in this video. We hope this will give a clearer idea about why the project is so dear to us.....and maybe make all of the information at the top of this little site a bit easier to understand and navigate?

So without further ado, here's the latest Beyond Vagabond Video....

Remember, this humble little project could use your help. Even spreading the word about this funny little endeavor is very much appreciated! Thank you!

Full Moon Musings....

The February Moon is known by many names, and each time she makes her appearance, I will pull from my shelf the withered book filled with old symbols and superstitions. Amongst them are the many names for the full moons, as told by many peoples. She is the Celtic Ice Moon, the Storm Moon to the Olde English, and--my favorite--the early Colonials knew her as the Trapper's or Hunter's Moon...

The smell of Winter is still in the air as I run out to the darkened back patio and stand, staring at that silver orb in the sky. What she has seen in a millenia of ushering people during sleeptime, I don't know, but every full-moon here is about running outside---temperature be darned--and making a wish whilst staring at that hallowed heavenly body.

The February Moon is now generally accepted as the Snow Moon, and while that might seem ironic since this is probably the mildest winter in these parts, in recent history, it's now doubly ironic since the forecast calls for snow over the next few days.

This will be great weather to commence the turning of the busy season and this, I suspect, is universal amongst many of us. I foresee a whole lot of cocoa and marshmallows and strong tea to usher in my hustle and bustle life of many mistresses: a world of Art, Animals, and Agriculture.

ART
If you weren't aware, I am a folk artists reborn from performing arts roots. I lately have been lucky enough to have some works published and accepted into a few online juried groups, and here are some works for PFATT, a new group that has kindly allowed me into their ranks. 

These are some wooden works, looking for new homes on the 10th of this month:

A mischievous Star Messenger, sending wishes to the town below....

And here is a bevvy of painted and wood burned wonders:

AGRICULTURE:

Ahh, this is a toughie, an elusive love affair, it seems. Every year I am this close to manifesting those things only found in seed and chick catalogues. Ever-so-close am I, finally, to being able to plant the Moon And Stars watermelon and tomatoes with crazy old fashioned names. I am always a breath away from finding out which fruit trees will grow in my planting zone, saving those two baby goats who will be packgoats on the farm, getting that antique wheelbarrow, and training a cob horse to pull a good wagon. And those are just some of a laundry list of agrarian curiosities I yearn to materialize. As of now, they continue to be fickle phantoms, I guess. I am hoping this is just a touchstone lesson in patience; the farm groom has cold feet.

ANIMALS (and Adventure!):
However, this grass IS greener on my side, and that is the HORSE drawn carriage project. I have been working furiously to try to get this little project together, and to that end, there will be a few new videos here TOMORROW, with a few more details about the journey, so please stay tuned...
There is much effort in streamlining a few features here, as I have no idea if people truly are aware and understand all of the facets and  logistics of the project...
...so hopefully all shall be made clear tomorrow, and then--with a bit of luck, lore, and wishing--all will move forward from path to path, and Moon to Moon.

An Ode To The Sweetheart

This is the story of my other half. The Sweetheart. I will try to make this short; he'd say that my writings were too long and winding, and who reads that far, anyway? Ahh, but most journeys are one ever-lasting labyrinth, I'd counter..so here is my short and not-so-short post....

Because, by all accounts, I am almost certifiably a tree-hugger, this stark picture online caught my attention, the other day:

It is, indeed, a tree grown round a bike. A friend eventually pointed out that this tree was found on an Island in Washington State, and the story goes that a boy left the bike against the tree in 1914 to go to war, and never returned. The tree then grew around it.

This led to another friend to volunteer more pictures, from Iowa, where a farmer, because of war, left his plow against a tree and it, too, grew around the plow. Those pics are HERE.

While I can't be sure if these stories are literally or just figuratively war stories (did they both really leave for war?), there is no doubt these images are startling. And deeply meaningful, at least for a lost poet like myself. That each plant, for all intensive purposes, decided--with audacity-- to grow around, and despite, its foreign companion, and make it a part of itself, is but one interpretation. That the trees have taken these items into their souls is another....these are the sorts of stories that have powered a good bit of my life, but it leaves others scratching their heads....

You might laugh, knowing that there are still people who hold onto their dreams just a bit more than reality, and this has driven the Sweetheart mad, a time or two. How does any man hold onto to such an untamed bramble such as myself? While I don't eschew reality altogether (I am possibly the most responsible, pay-the -bills, schedule-to-within-an-inch-of- my-life type person I know), it is not what gets me out of bed in the morning. And to the naysayer of Dreamers I simply say, "reality" is an ever changing, unguaranteed thing as well. We are all vulnerable to its changing tides. If your foundation is within, there is no place you cannot go.

However, I won't fib: my foundation is a bit ramshod at the moment. Somewhere back on the trail I lost the little dreams of stability. A farm , planting seeds, the ideas of chickens and EGGS. Quilts, hammocks, pies on Sundays. A fun wedding. And even with these picture perfect ideas, I wouldn't have minded the hard work. I revel in it. I feel useful then. I suppose these things are frivolous, but I'm so far into my blinders with these goals that I sometimes don't see the forest for the trees.

So I suppose instead of mourning, I simply moved along...all jangled-like.Which I do often, this moving forward thing. And when you're the Sweetheart to a person like me--all vim and vinegar-- it's a tough beating to go side saddle.  So this note, really, is an  open letter, an Ode To Sweetheart and the men like him.

It's funny, because every time I talk about my adventures, and speak of the man who has made it possible, people stare at me WIDE eyed. Who  IS this SUPERMAN who lets you be yourself? Conversely, I've heard stories of other lucky lasses and their Superhero men. Oh, they seem to be rare, indeed. A man of good humor that deals with my antique obsession, my performance penchant, and every little insecurity, worry, dancing in the halls and singing out of tune... do these people really exist? And fool's heart: he thinks I'm pretty! He's stood out in the snow (because I love it. He does not), for the trifling idea to make me happy.  I think it is hard for him, at times, to know the extent of my hard fought dreams and crazy adventures (and perhaps subsequent letdowns), this reluctant mountain-man to my crazy pioneer/mountain woman.

In many ways, we are opposites. But like a man-made thing of metal encompassed by a giant thing of nature, perhaps these opposites will encompass each other, healing and growing together. 
And that, my friends, is my best short-and-not-so-short post...