Last week.
This week.
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On April 4th, 2010, our wedding anniversary, Arann and I went to Tomales Bay, to the house where we stayed the night we got married.
Well, fake married. We haven’t legally gotten married yet.
In November 2008, we were at the height of our wedding planning when California passed Proposition 8, denying same-sex couples the right to get married, and we were heart broken. We thought about canceling the wedding, but instead we decided to continue with our plans, because we felt the ceremony with our loved ones was the most important part.
And on April 4th, 2009, we had an amazing celebration with family and friends.
But because we want to get legally married in a state where all people are allowed to get married, we haven’t gotten legally married yet.
At first I didn’t think the legal part mattered to me. But a year later, I can feel the difference. Even though people, and insurance agencies, don’t question us when we say we’re married. And even though we made our vows to each other, and in my heart I know that is the most important part. I also know that if anything happens to one of us, the other one has no legal rights. And that bothers me.
So in June…
We are going to Iowa.
Because who wants to go to Iowa to get married?
We do.
We want to support the middle state that has historically been a leader in civil rights.
First making a stand against slavery in the civil war, and then putting woman’s suffrage on the agenda 50 years before the rest of the country.
And now leading the way again with same-sex marriage, which became legal in Iowa on April 3, 2009, the day before we got fake married.
Coincidence?
No way.
We are going to Iowa.
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If I am walking somewhere and I come to an intersection that I want to cross and the light is red…
then I cross the street that is green.
If I come to a bus stop and the bus isn’t there…
then I keep walking.
If I have to choose between instant oatmeal and healthy make your own oatmeal…
then, regrettably, I eat the instant, even though I know it is a packaging nightmare and it has too much sugar.
If I make cookies…
then I eat so much cookie dough that I become ill and then I burn my mouth on the cookies I do bake.
And if I want to put up a blog post, but I am at a hotel with a bad connection and it takes too long to upload photos…
then I just don’t post.
This is what has been happening to me for the last week that I have been traveling. It was very frustrating not to have an alternative to my waiting.
(Rolleiflex photos: Arann waiting for Rube to make us breakfast, in Athens, GA.)But I am in New York now…
So, while I may have to wait for other things, at least my internet waiting days are over.
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Sometimes near is better…
Especially when I feel so far.
Today I am in Dayton Ohio.
Tonight I fly to New York.
Five more days until I am near again.
(The view of my backyard, spring 2010. Photographed on my Rolleiflex)
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We are getting excited for Windrush Farm Camp 2010. The applications have already started coming in… so make sure you send your forms in quickly to reserve a spot for your child at the best sheep herding, veggie picking, dog grooming, wood fired pizza making, pool party in the Bay Area.
If you still need a registration form you can download it right here….
CampRegistration2010
Can’t wait to see you soon!
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(This post contains a photo of a butchered pig and may not be enjoyable for everyone.)
I would be editing photos from the pig butchering I went to a couple of weeks ago, but instead I have to do my taxes… this is one time I would rather be editing.
Part of this pig, who was raised by my friends, was in fact enjoyed by our community at our Anniversary/Easter dinner. While I did not have any of the ham, because I do not eat much meat, my loved ones said it was very tasty.
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On my trip through the South, I got to visit my friend, Ann, and her girls again. Which was nice, because the last time I saw her youngest daughter, Allie, she was just propping herself up on her elbows.
A lot can change in a year and a half…
And some things remain the same.
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Lily turned three years old this month.
One of the presents Lily got for her birthday was a whole bag of tootsie roll pops.
And the month before that, she got a baby sister.
I learned from hanging out with Lily that three is the perfect age to become a big sister…
But I also learned that three is not the perfect age to get a whole bag of tootsie roll pops.
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Spring has finally arrived and suddenly everything is coming to life again, including my schedule. I have a lot of exciting new projects on the horizon, and after a good long, wet winter, I am ready to get to work again.
One of the potential projects that I am most excited about, is working with Rebecca Burgess on her year long commitment to Fibershed.
Rebecca is trying to bring awareness to the problems surrounding our current textile industry, and to do so, she has vowed to only wear clothes that are made within her Fibershed.
This means that for one year she can only wear clothes that are made from fiber (wool or cotton) that is grown and produced within 150 miles of her home in Marin County.
So Rebecca is working with local farmers, like Mimi Luebbermann at Windrush Farm, local artists, like Heidi Iverson, fashion design students and local businesses… and hopefully I will get to document it all… if she gets enough funding.
Because Rebecca is eager to get this project going as fast as possible, she has set up a sort of micro-loan program with a cool organization called Kickstarter. Kickstarter provides a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, explorers… and we have to find people to provide the funding.
So our search for people who are interested in supporting this important project has begun. And the first step is education.
So if you would like to learn more about Fibershed then check out Rebecca’s new blog:
http://fibershed.wordpress.com/
If you would like to learn more about Rebecca then check out her new website:
http://www.rebeccarburgess.com/
If you would like to help make this very cool project come to life, then please click here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fibershed/funding-fibershed-one-year-150-miles
And if we get enough support, hopefully, very soon, you’ll get to see the farms and farmers where Rebecca will get her fiber, you’ll get to see the artisans who will make her clothes, and you’ll get to see Rebecca wearing some incredibly fashionable, sustainable and locally made clothes.
somewhere between a handshake and two kisses 
