remember when

i was just having one of those moments.
reminiscing.
back to a time 'before'.....
i had to go a way back but i found a time before i discovered the road. i had always dreamt about it, don't get me wrong; ever since i discovered i was born in england and had travelled round europe i felt a need to go back, to re-explore (aged 4 i made this self-declaration). and i was just trying to think of my first trip. was it the one where i went to australia and met up with my girlfriend kirst? we did a road trip up to sydney where we met another girlfriend vaness and partied out for new years...
no. not then.
was it when i went to bali with my ma for my 21st?
no. not then.
all aboard to australia with my folks when i was 16?
crumbs.
i remember a time when the 4 of us (my bro, me, my ma and pa) all packed into their old MGTD (two seater, me and my bro in the luggage bit, the luggage- my dad's old scout pack, strapped to the spare wheel, strapped to the petrol tank) hit the road, off for the weekend to go and hang out with other like minded folk and camp in an old shearing shed (tis a kiwi thing- where sheep have new hair-dos) for the weekend... aged 9. i learnt to ride a motorbike this weekend.
with adventures like those it was no wonder i was going to spend some 12 odd years exploring.
but the little details, you know the bits that pop to mind when you're hanging the washing on the line- like waiting for a bus in malaysia where the busticket selling dude tells you that, yes, there will be a bus. this afternoon. some time. and you have to be patient with that.
or when you're seaching a particular colour ( saharan sunset) or a particular flavour ( green mangoes and chilli and sugar on the train- how do i do that at home??)

but do you remember a time before blogs?
before email?
before travelling with a single piece of plastic that will suffice for funds worldwide?

i looked at calix and realised he will never not know these things. he'll only know mp3 and not records. mobile phones- video calling!! (man, that was the stuff of sci-fi) and all this fellow year of the rats, well, the future for them is unimaginable....

these days, i still imagine one day being on the road again; sometimes i even imagine going further than the shop!

but with plans for tree planting and future harvests and with memories as full as these i know i'm all stored up, like a squirrel, ready with stuff stored to nibble on, from time to time.

spare time

i've just noticed this button, a video whatsit
here's our beach visit the other arvo. when the wind is blowing in the good direction you can hear the beach, waiving, from our garden. no need for telly now!!
xxx
mama b tarantino (hehehe)

what have we been up to?

as this guy would have it we've been doing nothing but lounging about in the garden, eating sumptuos feasts and listening to the birds.

we've made a bit of progress- well, the professionals have: we have pipework in the bathroom, we have wires coming out left and right. we even have a plug and a light! but, the bath remains decidedly disconnected and leaning on the wall in the old laundry. we've had gas bottles delivered and we have a machine connected to the outside of the house ready to combine said gas and water and make for lovely long hot baths. but it's the season to be jolly, not the season to be plumbing so we will remain bathless until after xmas at least.
oh well.
it's kinda like having a camping holiday at home- getting all prepared to go have your shower elsewhere.... have i got the soap? where's the towel? oh bugger i left the shampoo behind...
and it's all in good preparation for when we do have a bathroom- oh what luxury! can you imagine?! a bath of our own! and a washing machine! well, that'll do nicely.
meanwhile, on the kitchen front, i've painted the kitchen unit on the floor so we can get used to where it'll be. we've practised leaning on it. we've had conversations over it. we're happy with that little number and can't wait for its installation.
so while the rest of the world is decorating itself in tinsel madness- wrapping up warm or hanging in the shade, seeking the company of their family and friends- we in the rara republic would like to wish you all a happy day.
xxx
b, p, c & the pirate

site foreman

hard at work hammering stuff

supervising.... and then we have time to play

tis hard work being boss
firstly i have to inspect all the work that's being done, check that it's straight and that it stands up to a good dribbling-on
there's a lot of inspecting to be done. a lot.
but mostly i like hammering

and then, when it's all done for the day (and sometimes inbetween) we pop to the beach to dip our toes in

xx
capt c.
(site foreman)

imagination

imagine: that wall there, what's left of it, reduced now to a frame, a shadow of former wall; imagine it gone. imagine the red curtain and the loo that's hidden behind it- gone. imagine in its place a big set of double opening doors. windows on 3 sides, light. this is currently the kitchen with ensuite loo (singing compulsory), slightly reminiscent of certain establishments in amsterdam.... tis the hub of the work, the heart of the home- the kitchen.

so, imagine, once again, the wall gone, a big door in, floors polished, new ceiling, nice lighting.... friends, music, sumptuous feast= home

welcome to the rara republic

time consuming

some things are tedious...

team rara

the boss

taking down the wall

the men, up the ladder, fixing (or un-fixing) stuff.

progress

tis a difficult thing to make, progress, in a bureacratic world that demands stamped pieces of paper left and right. there is only so far you can go before the local demi-gods want to come round and poke their pointy noses in to make sure whatever it is your doing is up to someone elses standards. verdict is still out as to whether or not it's worth while seeking said permit. but, i guess, if you don't, one of these days the watchdog will come and bight you in the bum.
so, progress... we are making loads. walls out, paint up. all sorts of things have been done. you should come round and inspect it yourself! beer o'clock is anywhere between 4pm and 6pm (and sometimes happens more than once)
xx
b

clean that!

left over bathroom....

'leccy

you use them how many times per day?
when you go somewhere new you can't find them.
maybe, you can't trust them.

'tis plugs i'm talking about. switches. electricity, man.

walking through the rara republic's new headquarters is like taking a walk through the museum of electrical connections. every era is represented. every style. it is possible to see representatives from almost one of each on the same wall!
none of them aligned.
very few of them straight.


this business of renovating is kinda hard work. we get up in the morning, eat, dress, pack the car for the day like we're packing for a week, for a year. we traverse the city. we renovate. we come home again in time for tea, tired and dusty.
i've sanded me a new set of fingerprints. i'm working up a new set of muscles. we're all learning to swear like builders & have developed the knack of wearing our trousers too low.

we've knocked out walls, hauled up carpets, ripped down ceilings, sanded, stripped, drunk coffee and swore. we're trying to do this all as carefully as possible as we're planning on re-using as much of the timber as possible- the timber, beautiful heart rimu, is no longer logged & so is as precious as the real thing in the bush..... we've saved the bath (you never know, when we're finished we might be able to make a midnight outdoor bath bonanza) we've saved the laundry tub (plans of a darkroom in the garage) we even found some old cinema seats the other day that, when we've finished renovating, we can restore and put in the hall way....

i've planted about 6 tomatoes and enough salady items to keep our folates going for the summer.

and also, most importantly, we planted our first tree.

an olive.


peace
xxxx
b

welcome to the rara republic

touch down!!

the rara republic has landed.

we're about 8 minutes walk (at a slowish pace) to the beach, four minutes walk to the reserve: acres and acres of pine forest, an estuary, cycle paths that go for almost 20km... we've got a little patch of land that from this moment forward will not see one drop of chemical, where the plants and animals and people will coexist in harmony. and if you like 80s carpet, we have a charming little bungalow to boot!!

so, forgive me, if you think i've been slack in writing it might just be that it's about to get a little slacker as we take up the new hobby of converting former nomads into home owners, as we make this little house our home. we have grand plans for knocking out walls and opening up spaces to let in light and the garden.

of course, you're welcome!!!
xxx
b

a day in history

our little man is growing up.
two teeth (and a bump).
three legged crawling & personal impersonations of spiders.
and moving out of the hammock.....

oh we've loved that hammock, the cosy bouncing bed that c has used since he was brand new, bringing about sound deep sleep, snuggled up, cacooned like he was still in the womb. and as we've watched him grow we've wondered just how long he'll be able to continue using it as his head and feet seem to be rapidly approaching either end.

the question was answered in the middle of the night.

after a week and a bit of 'sleeping through' we really thought we'd cracked it: that we were back on the path towards normaldom, towards wholenightsleep, towards bag-less eyes and super happy mama and papa. but no. the bump (tooth in transit) has made life a little difficult for c (we guess) and so he decided sleeping through was over rated when you can have a wee cry in the middle of the night and then get a big cuddle from mama and papa....

but the other night something happened.

he wriggled and jiggled and grizzled and then: sat upright in his hammock.

i woke up to the silhouette of an upright calix. i was out of bed before you could say: what the fork... because the hammock isn't designed for upright babies, the balance goes all skewiff and therefore the likelihood of him launching himself elsewhere is quite high.

and so, in the middle of the night the hammock was evacuated. the next morning the hammock was washed and packed, back into it's little box, ready for it's next bundle. and c is now sleeping in a borrowed cot.

it's so huge. he wriggles and ends up in a corner- i guess used to the confined space, the overnight 'cuddles' of a hammock wall.... with the high sides he looks a little like he's just been handed some sort of sentence for learning to sit upright.

we've been toying with the idea of making him a little futon, but seeing how much he wriggles and escapes the blanket we just know the poor wee sausage will spend his night on the floor... so we've got a cot.

but, to make sure he still gets his overnight loves he sleeps with two companions: dandy-lion and dodo, 2 gentlemanly lions , one each from his french nannie (dodo) and his kiwi granny (dandy-lion), who give him each a kiss on either cheek on behalf of nannie and granny and stay tucked up under either arm.

aiie, the times they are a changing....

a day off

i've got the morning off. it's as close to a day off as i'm likely to get. i haven't had one for 4 months.
the boys have gone to storytime at the library and then off to visit a friend and me, i'm alone, in the house.
i'm not going to do any work even though it'd be prefect with nothing to sidetrack me, and there's a pile i could do.
i wasted a whole heap of time fluffing about: putting the washing on, tidying. i can do that anytime.
i feel compelled to do some gardening, but the wind's blowing and, well, it's work too.
i could do my nails.
(except i don't have any nail-doing equipment. and actually, i'm not really sure what's involved in 'nail-doing')
i should read.
put my feet up.
relax.
do some yoga
breathe!

but i think i might go back to bed and sleep.

sleep is always an investment.

xxx
b

sprung!

the blankets are out. off. up. on the line. airing out. being spring cleaned.
the grass is greener than the original green thing (which i think was probably grass) on both sides of the fence
we've been gathering dandelion, puha and chickweed leaves left and right to put in our salads.
we've been dancing in the sunshine.

ladies and gentlemen: spring has arrived in the rara republic.

we went to earthdance on sunday: along with 60 (or 120, lots anyway) other cities in the world celebrating our earth: we danced the first dance of the (hopefully) many over this coming summer.

oh yes.

isn't it always so exciting: the fresh new green of decidious trees? the delicate fluffy blossoms?

as much as i always swear to every winter i encounter something along the lines of investing in real estate in farflung tropical islands, there is nothing quite like the joys of spring.

xxx

know any good translators?

no, it's not a plug for our business... but...
despite being fluent in 5 languages and being able to do 'travel speak' in quite a few others, these last few days c has kept us guessing.
he's started talking.
it's not the 'how would you like your breakfast in bed' kinda talking, it's calix-speak, a specialist language in a world all of its own. but it has words, real words. we've just got to figure out what they mean!!!
as his teeth are developing and pushing further forward in his gums (on the edge!!) he makes new sounds, playing with the new shapes and edges going on inside his mouth (i guess, i'm no expert here). but seriously, this week he's come out with some sounds that he tends to use in the same way all the time.
we've guessed at their meanings
erma-ma-ma (i'm hoping) refers to me: mama
arnngyaya refers to p: oh, before you say yeah, right, he says it when p leaves the room. he says it when he sees p again. he smiles, sighs and says it to p with a cheeky grin.
these two words could have several potential other meanings. they might not be words at all.
but proud mama and papa that we are we've decided to translate it as being just that: mama and papa.
xx
b

winter projects

crumbs, despite the fact that it's wetter than a wet thing out it is just around the corner:
spring: wound up- ready to pounce.
which means i better pull me finger out and finish my winter projects. i have a pile of sewing i'm slowly slowly making my way though (although i add to it everyotherday and therefore it might be winter 2010 that i'm aiming on), there's a chair in the 'garage' that used to be part of a duo of non-matching chairs. now it's all by itself, nude, waiting for upholstery. some shelves, a wee cupboard, actually 2 wee cupboards, a thing to hang the pots on... it's not that i'm lazy (really) it's just that every item needs one or two things to complete it... i can't help it if i have so many great ideas.
i was about to type "but i have finished something" until i realised i just have to sew on some velcro.
oh, but i already have plans for the summer. oh, those long balmy days. i've got jandals, new shoes and a super pair of sunnies just waiting for the right opportunity to be launched on the planet. i have schemes involving newly recycled and refurbished t-shirts, for the summer. a nice wee summer skirt, a sleeveless dress. oh bring it on.
i've been practising too, barefootedness. and oh how tender are my little feet after months of wrappingupwarm?!
see- i'm wishing it away already!!
patience.
patience.

patience.

c, while the perfect yogi, isn't terribly patient. for him there is only now, so he can't wait for 1 minute, let alone 5. but because there is only now, there isn't tomorrow or thedayafter or next week even. i wonder when we learn that? when we discover potential? or hope? both positive things to have in your handbag, mind, but something that takes the now and shoves it into the little coin purse.

i think i need more practice.

xx
mama b (still learning)

while spring's been busy lurking, hangin' out on street corners, looking nonchalant: up to no good, we decided to do away with all that folley and head to the hills.

well, after a season of snowiness that people who are interested having been dubbing as the best one since sliced bread (do they say that??) the hills were looking good and fluffy. white. sparkly. mountainish.

some very good friends of ours invited us up to castle hill for a long weekend to play. p went down hill very quickly doing an amazing rendition of a yeti, while c and i sat round being gentile, looking at snow from a respectable distance. no unnecessary downhill antics for us!! (til next year anyway).

and while we were there mother nature had the decency to bless us with 'a big dump' (kiwi speak for a load of fresh snow).... worrying us for at least 5 minutes about access (we had no chains) and whether or not we had sufficient food/wine/nappies if we were snowed in...

alas, the snow snowed, but wasn't enough to keep us there and almost at the same speed that p flew down the hill we were back in the big smog and bugger me there was snow all over the hills here! coulda stayed at home (except for the fact we wouldn't have been with beautiful friends in a mountain chalet having a lovely old time;) )

le printemps

the seemingly ceaseless grey skies relented for a moment and the citizens of the rara republic snuck out to stretch their legs, in search of spring's avantgarde.

and we found it, hidden on the tips of branches as fat buds ready to burst, opening bright petals towards the sweet sun and soft fresh green leaves.

the sun warmed our faces. it recharged our batteries ready to face the next bout of grey.

'tis c's first spring. (not that he's got a reference point)

and although the winter hasn't really buggered off entirely, yet, we can be happy watching the garlic grow, the buds fatten and the grass go all sorts of green until the last moment when the hourglass world tips over and the sun comes back again....

MiHi Horse

i could sit here and moan about stuff all day. i've recently become a grownup so i think i've won the right to do so. like moaning at my neighbours for making too much noise, for example.

that's old.

like moaning about boy racers. oh the noise they make with their loud 'performance' exhausts and maltuned turbos as they hoon up and down wontonly. bleeding waste of resources, that's what it is. tyre rubber, fuel, and other stuff that they consume.

that's old.

i could moan the whole winter away; get bogged down beneath a pile of soggy, nearly dry washing, cursing the price of electricity, swearing at the rain, protesting against the frosts.

old!
old!

meanwhile i forget the new. the long long list of firsts that rocket past on a daily basis.
first proper sitting up by myself.
first pee on the potty!
first falling asleep on cafe table.

i forget to embrace the sweet joy of innocence and to see things through my son's eyes.
or hear things through my son's ears.

why bother being old when i can sneakily have a chance to revive my newness, to recycle my youth- bring it out, polish it and give it another whirl.
somebody once said you're only young once. twas probably me. what a pile of sh1t. you're as young as often and for as long as you like.
somebody once muttered something about life's too short to .... what a load of cr@p. unless of course you're referring to moaning (other than in ecstacy, which is on the list) or harbouring negative whatsits .

get off your flaming rectum and go and have a look! see. smell. listen....
(unless of course you're currently at work being paid to surf, in which case: carry on!)

ok, that was the entry from My High Horse this week.
next week i will probably be dishing out humble apologies left and right. perhaps i should create a hyperlink...

xxxx
b

oh, ps, it's got nothing to do with my being vegetarian, but is it just me? or is the whole world suffering from an irony deficiency?

sleeping beauty

what else can you do in winter?

off the road

down south we're still rugged up.
we watch the buds fatten, ready for the burst of spring. the wind still sends icicles from the south, but what the heck: here in the republic we have our own blankets.
the advantages of being off the road.
you're not out in the elements all the time. no bus waiting if you don't fancy it. no side of the road wonderings to other people's timetables. (for this reason alone i'm likely to spend days indoors looking out.anyway; who can find the time?) i'm not fond of grey.
actually, i'm not really into extremes: beige for instance- all deserts- parched, no vegetation... white, all snowy, blinding. grey: wet.
looking back i don't know how i ever managed to step foot out of the house other than for my own stupidity! outdoors: now there's extreme!
my thrills are a little more low-key: slow-mo: watching c, day by day, gaining strength until one day: hop: he can sit up by himself. or watching my garlic grow. or waiting for my hair to come back after a disasterous fringe atempt...
these days i get all the extremes i need from the national geographic, thanks very much! (and they're the issues from the '70s!)
anyway, who can afford the fuel?
the big fuel hikes have us all couch bound. sitting at home watching it on the (national geographic) telly. saturday night is the new sunday night. bed is the new out.


oh, i remember the day.....

xx
b

l'ail

picture a french man:

dark hair, moustache, beret, on a bicycle, with a baguette, stripey shirt, says oh là là...

for the second time since arriving in nz p has been given a gift of garlic.

he asks, is it because i am french? is this an acceptable gift?

some people don't like you to leave after a visit emptyhanded. some people believe the best gift is something that has come from their own hand. (i know in the late summer we spent all sorts of time trying to palm off our tomatoes to anyone without).

it is the quintessential image of the french man, though, string of garlic round the neck as he rides off down the country lane on his bike...

apples

somebody had their first apple.
somebody recently had been paying a lot of attention to other people when they ate. and although we discovered that the pirate is quite fond of quiche, on this occasion we're talking about c.

his first 'solid' meal.

as a gift we've been given a fab little machine called a babycook which steam cooks veges and then saving the water can incorporate it into its blending to make a delicious pureed apple.
or pureed kumara (sweet potato) that we had today. mmm.

however, with cheeks that big it is impossible to tell whether or not c actually ate the food or stored it for later...
xx
mama b

buzzwords

this week/year i shall be mostly ranting about: carbon credits
my word
is the whole world talking about it or is it just here in aotearoa?
carbon neutral.
they've just produced the first carbon neutral magazine.
what the heck is that all about? eh?
we were debating this at lunch, p and i, about being carbon neutral and how does carbon neutrality become an asset. i think the idea is that certain things, certain actions create carbon,(bad) and other certain actions eat it or neutralise it, (good).
we discussed whether or not the rara republic is carbon neutral.
for example: we've both caught quite a few airplanes, being (former) fans of travelling to far flung hemispheres= bad. but we get mega bonuses for growing our own organic veges = good. and surely i get bonus points as well for planting trees in my former life as a landscaper...
how do you own negative carbon??? who gets the points for the tree planting/growing: the planter, the tree grower, the tree owner (surely it's only temporary ownership) the tree worshipper?
so this is how i think it works:
person buys big a big fat 4x4 and suddenly feels guilty about the amount of fuel they're burning and carbon they're creating. googles 'carbon + offset'. gets sidetracked searching for a villa in the south of france. eventually gets back to the subject at hand and buys carbon points with goldcard.
conscience cleared.
and accumulated some handy fly-buys points as well!
some marketing dude is smiling now.
no, seriously. surely it's about living consciously? surely it's about buying stuff locally, in season; stuff that's produced using the best methods possible. eco isn't merely short for economical.
p said 'tell them i think it's all bullsh1t'.
this is his equation: being vegetarian is carbon friendly up until you start f@rting. and he's studied environmental engineering! (which he also reckons is merde)
tis hard to be a proper hippy when everyone is jumping on the (bio-fuel) bandwagon.
xxx
mama b

'versaries

ready for the road

look at my winter-ready pants and cardi

makes me a bit like a superhero

x


three years ago today the path of two freelance nomads crossed in a siberian guesthouse:
we'll drink to that!

somethingorother years ago today one Nannie (who knits fab winter outfits) was born:
bon anniversaire!

four months ago (tomorrow) one future nomad/dreamer/superhero/freedom fighter/.... was born:
hip hip hip hourra!

and all that.

the sun was shining like a non-winter goddesss and we visited the seaside and dined on fish.

xxx
mama b

you know it's cold when...

house builders in canterbury are all in denial.
they think we live in some kind of tropical zone.
still.
i see houses popping up left and right with no heat-pump attachment ( heat pump: only method of central heating here- it's kinda like reverse air-con, in fact it is; in the summer it doubles as air-con) on the outside and wonder what the heck.
you know it's cold when you open the fridge and then close it/open it again to see if the light comes on cos it just doesn't feel that cold in there.
you know it's cold when your water freezes on the inside of the house.
you know it's cold when you've left the heater going all day and it has heated your room to 12 degrees....
two lots of socks to bed.
the pirate is cursing us as we sent her off for the operation and she's been getting round with a great shavenpatch of bald. furless.
but inbetween we're lulled into false securities with balmy noncoatish weather. the bees are out (probably feeling a little ripped off when the sun buggers off really early & they're out trying to get a lift back to the hive).
winter in the temperates.
anyway, we've passed the solstice so as long as we keep chanting thesuniscomingback we'll be right (sorry all you northern-hemisphere folk).

in the real world: c is rapidly expanding his vocablulary to include adjectives such as eeeurghgh (i think means stinky) and his noun of the day is iiieyeeer (nappy).

p is busy translating

while i have been breastfeeding in random carparks while attending a small business course...

life as normal in la famille may-bouffandeau

xxx
mama b

yuletide warmth

happy solstice everyone!
whether it be 24 hour arctic sunshine on your longest day or the long night (with the long-johns) of the south, we hope you were warm and happy.
in the republic we warmed some wine to toast the sun's return: a subtle blend of sliced oranges, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, sugar and cheap red wine (don't feel obliged to use cheap red wine if you're following this recipe). we drank from earthenware cups; candles lighted (red, blue, green and yellow) to guide the faeries and garlic planted to ward of next seasons' colds.
other than the sun's tardy arrival into the day you'd never guess it was mid-winter solstice we were celebrating as once again 'twas unseasonally warm; we sunned ourselves on the terrace.
actually, that is how you knew it was the winter rather than the summer solstice: 'tis too hot to have tea on the terrace in the summer...
we wandered aimlessly for a bit on the saturday arvo in the guise of huntergatherers rather than ramblers, spotting olives rippening here, nude appletrees there and a chestnut inbetween, storing the information much like squirrels, for our next outing with bigger pockets/big bags :)
if it's on the ground...
xxx
mama b

tagged

i've been tagged.
one of my travelling girlfriends, lacey, tagged me.
i'm not quite sure what it means exactly other than i need to introduce ourselves- answer a few questions. which i guess is about time anyway.
so here goes:

citizens of the rara republic: complete the following questionaire:
One thing I don't like:

• b: soggy shoes
• p: people that talk loudly
• c: wind
• the pirate: cheap cat biscuits

Three of my favorite foods:

• b: olives/mushrooms/cheese...
• p: cheese/good cheese/chocolate
  
• c: left boob/right boob/left boob
• the pirate: good cat biscuits/ butterflies/ bread off the lawn for the birds

My favorite recipe:

• b: rocket and blue cheese somethingorother
• p: the next one that b will do
• c: see above
• the pirate: good cat biscuits & rainwater, frosted.

My drink:

• b: wine- i prefer a merlot i've decided
• p: coffee
• c: see above
• the pirate: rainwater & butterfly tissane

The dish I wish I could cook:

• b: souffle
• p: something with meat
• c: boob related, again
• the pirate: something with bird

My best food memory:

• b: arriving in beijing and being presented with all that great vegetarian street food.
  
• p: cheese/wine/chips and chocolate: overinduldging after 2 weeks in the bush.
• c: first boob of the morning.
  
• the pirate: catching a big juicy rat and the giving it away to my fellow citizens.

We're not very complicated creatures here in the republic, are we?
xxx
b

bienvenue/welcome/haere mai

introducing la famille may-bouffandeau, citizens of the rara republic:
the pirate- residant cat, lounger, free-loader, bird scarer, butterfly hunter
pascal- papa, lover, chef, gardener, sharer of wisdom, mate
rebecca- mama, lover, dreamer, part-time creater (in part), mate
calix- petit prince, super hero, chief smiler

rara republic: population:4

has been some time in creating, this republic. several revolutions on the way. the path here, el camino, le chemin, has been windy and long. but once here, settled, feet up and looking back, was a mere 5 minutes worth and not at all up-hill.
(for reflections see: www.notmadnomads.blogspot.com )
(for inflections see: http://picasaweb.google.com/pascal.on.tour/)

so far this year in the republic we have been: growing, eating and preserving tomatoes (and various other legumes, but mostly tomatoes), dancing, feasting, hosting anarchists and hippies, practicing yoga, loving, taming the pirate, and having a baby.
all of that and it's only april.
and nearly none of it has been on the road.
but all of it has been a journey.

so, as always, the idea with this blog is to write and let you know just what has been going on in our little world, post photos and pieces of us. the idea is also to do it kinda frequently. but i won't promise. rather, i'll let you drop in from time to time and be quitely surpirsed with updates.

xxxxx
mama b