Hi, everybody,
I've been busy lately. Here's what's going on:

I've started taking Granma to writing classes at Hollywood Sr. Center on Monday mornings at 10 am. Turns out most of the class remembers her from when she used to go. She doesn't always want to stay the whole time, but we're both enjoying it.

Otherwise, she's still not feeling very well. Her weight remains low, and she has had a few episodes of alarming memory problems. When she's up for it, we work on stories and take drives around the block; the rest of the time, I mostly try to get her to eat and take care of her needs and errands.

Ernie is getting primary care and therapy from the VA, which means our medical bills are dropping but the time we spend on the hill is increasing.

I'm attending a "Powerful Tools for Caregivers" class at St. Charles, near Granma's neighborhood. It has a valuable focus on self-care, which is very motivating. Among other things:

I'm back in aikido, as of the past week or so.

I've submitted a number of letters to publishers, proposing various things for publication. If you happen to like my writing, and know a publisher who might like it too, please say so!

I'm working on illustrations for an aikido manual (worktrade at the dojo) and my snowflake booklet.

Ernie and I will both be teaching workshops with Cascadia Wild! www.cascadiawild.org this fall and winter. Check their calendar; they have an ongoing series of free workshops on Monday nights.

Emily Dana, Melissa, and I put in a winter garden. Ernie, Aaron, and I planted mushroom spawn. Thaddeus identified some edible mushrooms in the yard, already growing -- this sure is a rich landscape!

I got to harvest wapato! by stompling in the mud with an ethnobotany club on a visit to Sauvie's Island. We got stranded by pumpkin patch traffic, but it was worth it. We stewed some of it, and I dropped the rest in buckets of water for hopefully planting in our new bioswale/pond next spring.

I'm looking at options for linking with agencies to get more part-time work that I would enjoy. One option is elder-care, with an emphasis on recording stories .. Visiting Angels, and American StoryKeepers, seem like a good fit. Another is to build up more workshops through Cascadia Wild, TrackersNW, Cob Cottage Co, TryOn Life Community Farm, City Repair, and other organizations that already know me (and Ernie).

The weather has been rainy, foggy, misty, and occasionally sunny. Trees are turning yellow, and sometimes red -- we enjoy looking at them on drives.

We've been canning summer fruits and veggies, and Ernie is now making dill pickles. We bottled two cases of mead and dandelion wine last week, with more to go.

We're starting to think about planning a wedding. Probably in June 2008. I look forward to meeting Ernie's mom when she comes out to visit in November.

It's a cosy fall, with a lot of possibilities mingling with the clouds on the horizon.

-Erica