by Heidi Madsen | Jul 15, 2015 | Everything Else
I know it’s been awhile since we’ve written, so I’m going to share the good news first…
#1 After some technical delays, we finally launched our “Cultivate the Connection” podcast last week! This interview series is full of inspiration on the nature of human connection. You can listen to our first two interviews with the poetic and insightful Martín Prechtel and Toko-pa Turner HERE.
#2 Our kids classes are going great! Our first summer camp sold out, and we’ve had several requests for another camp in August…so we’ve created The Peaceful Warriors. There are also still a few spots left in Earth Artists next week, but you’ll want to reserve your spot ASAP. We’ll be building with cob (clay), making fairy boats that really float, and all sorts of other fun and messy projects! Learn more and register HERE.
#3 And…we’ve got some new stuff for grown-ups too! The feedback we’ve received from folks participating in the Seed Sessions Mentoring has been amazing! It’s not too late to jump in and join the fun. Check it out HERE. We’ve also got some new classes posted… Personal Permaculture, Connecting with Your Animal Totem, and more. Check those out HERE. 🙂
Whew! And now, for the not so good news…
As you may have guessed from the subject line of this email, we’ve been having some health issues over here. Since this winter, Jonathan had been feeling more and more exhausted with aching joints. When his memory started to get foggy, we really started to worry. He did his best to just push through, like you do, but this spring it got bad enough that it just brought everything to a standstill. With all that we’ve got going on here, you can imagine how unwelcome this added stress has been for us.
Well, the sickness was this elusive thing that we didn’t have quite distinguished, but several weeks ago, it finally occurred to us that he may have something like Lyme disease and that we may be able to get him some help! The test from the “regular doctor” came back negative for Lyme, so it is still a bit of a mystery. The doctor literally told him it was probably all just in his head!
Thankfully, he was able to connect with a great local Naturopath and an herbalist that have been willing to dig a little deeper and approach this more holistically. He is finally starting to feel quite a bit better, and we are much more hopeful that he will be able to be himself again soon. In the meantime, if you’ve got any healing thoughts that you could send our way, we would be ever so grateful.
I now understand the phrase “If you’ve got your health, you’ve got everything.” There’s nothing quite like a health scare to bring you to your knees in a great many ways and force you to appreciate the very simple things in life.
For right now, Jonathan is at least able to work again, but as you can imagine, the house has been sitting up there all alone and unfinished. It looks like it may take another miracle or two for this project to actually come to completion. (Sigh.)
Anyways…any good vibes are most appreciated!
On that note, I’d like to end with inviting you all out for a Blue Moon Gathering on Friday, the 31st! As they say, it only happens once in a blue moon, and we’d love to celebrate with you good folks! It’s a family friendly event, and there’s limited space if you want to pitch a tent up on the hill and sleep under the stars.
Check out more of the details HERE!
We look forward to seeing you on the land soon…
Blessings,
Heidi and Jonathan
by Heidi Madsen | Jun 25, 2015 | Podcast
Toko-pa Turner is a writer, teacher and dreamworker. Blending the mystical tradition of Sufism in which she was raised with a Jungian approach to dreamwork, she founded the Dream School in 2001 from which hundreds of students have since graduated. Toko-pa has been interviewed by CNN News and BBC Radio and has a community of over 60,000 online readers. Her writing explores the themes of exile, embodiment and the search for belonging. Sometimes called a Midwife of the Psyche, Toko-pa’s work focuses on restoring the feminine, reconciling paradox, and facilitating sacred grief & ritual practice. You can find Toko-pa on her beloved Facebook page Dreamwork with Toko-pa or on her website at toko-pa.com.
by Heidi Madsen | Jun 25, 2015 | Podcast
A master of eloquence and innovative language, Martín Prechtel is a leading thinker, writer and teacher whose work, both written and oral, hopes to promote the subtlety, irony and pre-modern vitality hidden in any living language. As a half blood Native American with a Pueblo Indian upbringing, his life took him from New Mexico to the village of Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. There becoming a full village member of the Tzutujil Mayan population, he eventually served as a principal in that body of village leaders responsible for instructing the young people in the meanings of their ancient stories through the rituals of adult rights of passage.
Once again residing in his native New Mexico, Martín teaches at his international school Bolad’s Kitchen. Through story, music, ritual and writing, Martín helps people in many lands to retain their diversity while remembering their own sense of place in the daily sacred through the search for the Indigenous Soul.
For more information visit: floweringmountain.com
by Heidi Madsen | Mar 26, 2015 | Everything Else, Kids Classes, The House Build
This is a long one, please bear with me.
We often have folks telling us that we must be “living the dream”, and while I absolutely wake up thankful for this crazy/awesome life, we still have our fair share of pretty constant challenges. It would be inauthentic to pretend otherwise, and so that’s why I am being brave today to tell you that we are eating some pretty large pieces of humble pie right now.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we did not complete our house in time to move in this winter. Even with the generous loans from friends and neighbors, we weren’t able to get it all enclosed before the conditions turned frigid and icy and it just wasn’t safe to be working up on the roof. That’s OK, it’s not the end of the world. We have a sweet little school bus to keep us warm.
BUT…because winter came fast, and the ground froze before we could fully landscape the hill behind the house, this meant that the sand bermed on the backside of the house was pushing on it all winter, instead of being sloped away. The result is that 2 of our trusses shifted forward about 5 inches.
It’s not catastrophic, but it’s enough to mean we couldn’t move forward on building until we dug it out and straightened them.
Oh, the thoughts that go through your head when faced with a failure! We’ve all got them, right? Please tell me I’m not alone. “What were we thinking?!” “This is too hard.” “I’m tired of this!” Etc…etc…
Well, while it’s important to acknowledge the disappointment and sadness about it, wallowing in the upset just takes too much energy.
The fact is we messed up. We shouldn’t have backfilled until the outer shell of the house was complete. We thought we could enclose it all quickly before winter set in, but we were wrong.
So…we put on our big girl/boy panties and asked for help.
Many thanks to my dad, who was able to hook up a trade with the local excavators, and yesterday was the big day.
A giant rumbling machine made its way down the hill and spent a good chunk of the day totally carving away the hillside behind the house. It’s quite a transformation. It frees up the pressure on the house, so we can get back to building the roof and walls. And it means we can build our root cellar on the northwest side this year instead of waiting until “Phase II”.
Hopefully this means a lot more action will be happening with the house soon.
And let me tell you, we are so looking forward to this project being complete enough so that we can focus our energy back on the work we are passionate about providing.
It has been a giant conundrum for us to be simultaneously growing our business here, WHILE we create the venue…nevermind building it by hand AND somehow paying our bills.
Oh, I’m not complaining…because we are absolutely choosing this! I’m just saying that, yes, it’s a little crazy AND we are clear that the commitment that still moves us to tears is helping folks remember their deep connection with the Earth.
Speaking of which…
Our Earth Warriors Nature Club started up again last Friday…on Spring Equinox, the New Moon, and a total solar eclipse. It was a magical day, to say the least.
Here we are playing a game of “Fire-Keeper”, a kid favorite. The kids are stalking, trying to steal a small bell (the fire) and make it back to the outer circle without the blind-folded Fire-Keeper in the middle hearing them and pointing at them. Incidentally, it was actually raining on us during this game, but the kids were so focused on stealing the “fire” that not a single kid complained!
The best quote of the day came during closing circle:
“My favorite part was digging in that dirt, and my least favorite part is right now because it’s time to go!” ~Wesley, age 8
Thanks so much for your continued support! Just keep imagining the amazing space the house will be, both for our family and as a classroom!
We look forward to seeing you on the land soon…
Blessings,
Heidi and Jonathan
by Heidi Madsen | Feb 19, 2015 | Everything Else, Off-Grid Living
Holy wow! This is a game changer! No more sitting in my cold car pulled up close to the concrete wall of the Town Hall, trying to send emails using their wifi service. Ahh!
Working from home means I can stoke the fire all day and keep it cozy.
Now…we just need a couple more solar panels to power this stuff…
Since the house isn’t done, they installed the main box on a post outside the bus.
Jonathan had to pull the cable through the back door.
Three 6-foot tall men in the bus sure accentuates the tightness of our home.
Woohooooo!
