Elder Happenings

Tags

DIY, fun

So two significant Elders in my life have been keeping me busy in the last week or so…  First, Ada is 90!!

Our neighbor and local legend, Ada Windecker turned 90 this month and there was a big community gathering to celebrate her major milestone.  Ada is known as the Mayor, Sheriff, and Historian of Alida – the tiny town where we live.  When we first bought our land, the owner of the local Country Store, now defunct but hoping for a re-opening someday,  said to us, “Alida is population 16, 18 if you count dogs.”  It is small!!  There are now about a dozen folks who live right here within a couple blocks of “town” – basically the old Country Store building, a county maintenance building/defunct fire station, and the township dump.  And Ada’s house amidst them all.  She has raised her own five kids as well as many of the local kids as a Sunday School teacher (and superintendent too!).  The gathering had dozens and dozens of folks come out to wish her well.

Family and friends prepared and served sandwiches, salads of potato/pasta/jello, chips, salsa, coffee, punch and cake.  There were four sheet cakes in addition to her showy cake by which she sat greeting visitors.  You had your choice of white, chocolate, marble, or the ever popular red velvet.  Kids of all ages joined in the fun and just before the program started, about three dozen folks on 4x4s arrived to join the festivities.

The program consisted of much music, which, if you’ve ever met Ada, you’d know was a crucial element.  Mark, an old Sunday School pupil of hers, sang Footprints and then Don, a neighbor who also recently turned ninety, serenaded her as well.  Then two of Ada’s grandaughters, Kayla and Kylie (as I recall – both of Perry’s line – apparently the one which breeds good singers) came up and did a smash up of Over the Rainbow and What a Wonderful World.  They were outstanding!!  Several folks stood up to share memories and stories of Ada.  My favorite was Perry’s story about the tooty boat ride on Long Lake.  What a joy to hear these memories.  Ada herself spoke for a bit and even sang a little piece of a song for us.  She was overwhelmed by the day.  But the best was held for last.  Her grandson came up to share a song… and Ada’s secret superpower.  Apparently she’d been asking for him to sing and no excuse would do.  When he’d nearly run out of excuses, she turned on her sweet little tears and proclaimed that she simply must have him sing the Lord’s Prayer and boy were we all glad she used her super power to convince him to sing.  No one can resist Ada’s tears. 🙂

The other Elder keeping us busy is Anne Dunn, Anishinaabe storyteller and dear friend.  We have been on the project for over a year now as I believe the original dreaming meeting was at Esther’s house in 2017 with Esther, Anne, & Annie Humphrey, Patty Kakac, Dan and me scheming on what we could do to make Anne’s dream home a reality.  Now, with Anne having a lot, we have a foundation on which to build.  However, before we build, we must demolish! (Photos are from April 2018.)

 

 

The lot she has is full of debris.  Back on June 3rd, Dan and I spent the day with Anne breaking free one of the old trailers that was stuck in the dirt from being in place for so long.  We were able to remove the skirting and wood framing holding it in place so it could be pulled from its moorings and the attached porch could be broken down.  We had been preceded by Barry Babcock who had chainsawed much of an old tree to clear its danger and happily we carted off a truckload of wood for our troubles. We were followed by some strong ones who broke up the deck and got it in the junk piles.

Much of the scrap metal had been carted off – metal has some value for the entrepreneurial soul.  But much of the wood, wallboard, insulation and garbage (the stuff Anne hadn’t yet dug from the dirt) remained.  Some of the demolition work had been piled neatly but there was a large pile with wallboard that was breaking down.  Anne’s curious nature led her to investigate and she found that drywall can be placed on the ground and, as it breaks down, it can nourish the soil!  She began moving pieces of it to an area on the east side of the lot where she wants to grow later.

After some scheduling, Noreen Hautala, Anne, Dan and I were able to find a day that worked for us to tackle the job en masse.  We hoped for more volunteers but we knew the four of us could make nice headway.  We began by removing more drywall from the junk pile and making an even bigger gypsum garden for Anne.  We filled several large construction trash bags with loose debris and re-stacked boards and other large pieces making the material easier for pick-up.   Robert Saxton had said he could arrange to remove some of it with his trailer so we wanted it to look more approachable!  We did an excellent job.  Robert came by a couple days later and carted off much of the mess.

Anne noted an old fence that had fallen over along the road side of the lot and we decided that would be the base for a Hugelbed.  Hugelkultur uses wood, compost, soil, and vegetation to create a mound into which you can grow.  The wood retains water meaning there is little need for watering once the Hugelbed is established.  For Anne, this should also create some barriers to foot traffic at the road side of the property.

We attacked the pile of tree remains that had accumulated and created a habitat for birds and such by piling it at the back end of the property.  Dan also cut back some box elder to open up the fruit trees in the orchard area.  Noreen had a mission of getting the fallen roof structure out and WOW did she ever succeed!  She was REALLY sore after all that sledge hammer swinging!

For a bunch of old folks working for a day and a half, we were happy with a job well done. A video of the progress we made is posted at Harn Theory.  And good thing we did all we did as the new trailer arrived less than a week later!!  It needs much work but it’s here and we can begin the cleaning, repairing, and decorating so Anne has a lovely home before winter.  Lots more to do and we are grateful for anyone who has a heart to help.  You can follow the progress at Operation Crone Corner.

 

 

 

Feels Like a Win

Tags

Citizenship, Line 3, Pipeline, Tar Sands

The MN Public Utilities Commission met on Tuesday, September 11^th, Patriot Day, to discuss Enbridge’s compliance filing to the conditions of the Certificate of Need for their proposed Line 3.  And there were Patriots for the Land present in full force.  Many wore cloth signs pinned to their backs.

As the proceedings began, these Patriots turned their backs to the PUC Commissioners to display their messages signifying that they felt the PUC had turned their backs on the Public in deciding unanimously that there was a Need for Line 3.  My favorite was probably “Public Utility Cowards” indicating the Commissioners are people who lack the courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things.

I would have to agree. The Commissioners did turn their backs on the Public, opting instead to grant a foreign Utility company access to push Tar Sands sludge, and all its poisonous constituents, through the clean land and pristine waters of Minnesota’s North Woods and Lake Country.  I decided I would write letters to all five of these Commissioners to let them know of my disappointment.  Here’s some of what I told them.

• You are responsible to the PUBLIC.  More than 90% of the letters have been in opposition, surely nearly 100% of the volume of input, as many of the pro-pipeline comments were simple pre-printed postcards and very little of anything written to the PUC from that side had any scientific or technically sound detail, much of it being simple aping of the Enbridge hyperbole. Yet, you continued to question those in opposition much more critically.  All the while, taking Enbridge at their word, assuming they were being honest and forthright.
• I’m sure Ms. Brusven and Mr. Swanson (Enbridge representatives) are very nice people and believe what they say to the PUC.  But, as Upton Sinclair once wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”  The company they represent did all it could to minimize and delay the cleanup in Michigan and has not done enough to maintain their Line 3 pipeline to the point that now, it’s a horrible mess.  Enbridge has one of the worst records for safety in the industry.  Yet, you have unanimously granted them a Certificate of Need.
• You are supposed to be an intelligent group of individuals.  [A requirement of being appointed is that a Commissioner must be “learned in the law, engineering, public accounting, property and utility valuation, finance, physical or natural sciences, production agriculture or natural resources”.  I would expect a scientific, discerning approach, especially from Matt Schuerger, the sole engineer on the PUC.]  Yet, as one attorney noted, it was surreal for you to accept the premise that Enbridge can build a perfect new pipeline but when they tell us they can run the current Line 3 safely, you don’t believe them. You (specifically Commissioner Dan Lipschultz) talked about Enbridge holding a gun to your head.  THERE IS NO GUN!  If Line 3 is SUCH a hazard, then it is Enbridge’s responsibility to SHUT IT DOWN.  They have said they will run it if they do not get the new Line 3.  If it is so prone to leaking that it is hazardous to continue operations, it is THEIR responsibility to assure they stop using it before a catastrophic spill, Not Yours.
• Commissioner Lange said she asked herself how she would feel if she woke up in 5 years and had voted “no” and there was a leak.  What she didn’t ask herself was how she’d feel when there is a spill in 6 months, before anything was done to shut down or replace Line 3.  Nor did she ask how she’d feel if her daughter miscarried her grandchild because of benzene exposure directly related to an oil spill.  As she won’t likely be living near the Rez where so much of this pipeline runs, perhaps there is no validity for such a concern.  The June 28^th decision will result in more deaths for us and our Indigenous friends and neighbors.  The cancer rates in this area are abnormally high already.
• The way the Youth Climate Intervenors were patronized was appalling. The body language and condescending tone should have been my first clue the Public Utility Commissioners were predisposed to Enbridge, not the Intervening Parties.  It disgusted me to see the PUC dismiss them without shame… these kids who are working just as hard as any of the other legal teams, all while not getting paid.  They are literally fighting for their lives… for a planet that will be for them, at least what we have today.  A watershed that isn’t poisoned with Tar Sands.
• Science has made clear that 80% of the remaining fossil fuels MUST remain in the ground if we are to avoid massive climate change that will render our planet unlivable.  In addition, ALL Tar Sands oil must remain in the ground, not only because it has only a 3:1 return of energy (at best) but because when it burns, the result is so much more devastating than burning regular crude.  By failing to prevent this Tar Sands pipeline, the Commissioners are directly dooming the people of Minnesota to extinction, likely before our grandchildren’s grandchildren are able to decide if they want to bring another generation into whatever world remains. It’s hard to comprehend you could make this decision while a group of Youth Climate Intervenors, young people who will be most affected by these decisions, sits in each hearing, each meeting regarding the Line 3 proceedings.
• You also decided to eliminate RA-03 from consideration, a slap in the face to the Indigenous.  Especially after it was clearly the route they all preferred, as you clarified with multiple rounds of tantalizing questioning.  You asked them to choose a route in an idealized unreality where the pipeline would never leak. And then you ignored RA-03 as a possibility after they unanimously preferred it.
• Each Commissioner should be asking how he will feel when Enbridge’s New Line 3 fails catastrophically in 2026 (or sooner) and spills 210,000 barrels, like the new pipeline in South Dakota did last November.  Will you feel then like you protected the people of Minnesota?
• How will you feel as you watch on the evening news as Minnesota Law Enforcement, financed by Enbridge, throw Minnesotans to the ground as they protest this pipeline in accordance with a higher law than man’s law… because they see their duty to protect our water and our planet?  How will you feel when they spray our citizens with water in below freezing temperatures? Or when they face us with dogs and automatic weapons?  How will you feel when people are injured or killed in these police actions that the PUC itself assured would be covered by Enbridge funding?  Does it make it OK if the Canadian company pays for the police instead of the Minnesota taxpayers? Or if Enbridge’s private security forces are the ones perpetrating these actions, as long as the contractor is licensed in the state of Minnesota, of course?
• While Commissioner Tuma put on a good show of being concerned about those voicing their first amendment rights, his question about whether Enbridge would financially support the requirements for law enforcement at the construction sites sounded more to me like Winona LaDuke has phrased it: “Will you finance the brutalization of Minnesotans in order to get your pipeline in, Enbridge?”
• In addition, his linking of a sex/drug trafficking fund with the fund to deal with on-site situations leaves me fearing that there will be nothing for the former and all spent on the latter.  At present, I see no evidence in the record that there will be anything that will prevent the Applicant from doing exactly what they did at Standing Rock with their collaborators Energy Transfer Partners.

In conclusion, I let them know: Perhaps you can justify your decision as being outside your job description, but I will be fighting this Line 3.  I will fight for our children, our grandchildren, our water, our plants, our animals, our planet, our future.  I will even be fighting for you.  I just wish you would have done more to help me in this fight.

Please write to Governor Dayton at 75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. #130 in St Paul, MN 55155  or call 651-201-3400 to let him know you do NOT support Line 3.  We need every citizen if we expect to stop this foreign company from poisoning our water.

Next Steps in the Line 3 Fight

Tags

Enbridge, Line 3, Pipeline

These past weeks, there has been much communication to the MN Public Utilities Commission on the eDocket regarding the Enbridge Line 3 proposed Tar Sands pipeline, nearly all of it in opposition to the approval of Line 3.  There was also good coverage on Democracy Now! where Winona LaDuke summarized the issue about as completely and concisely as I’ve ever heard.  Her interview, in large part specific to Line 3, starts at the 51:40 mark.  But Honor The Earth and other Environmental groups are not the only ones opposing Line 3 and appealing the PUC’s June decision on Line 3.

The Citizens Acting for Rail Safety opposes the approval of a certificate of need for the Enbridge Energy Line 3 replacement project. [6-22-18]

Citizens Acting for Rail Safety opposes new oil pipelines because:
·  More pipelines will not stop the movement of oil by rail. Rail and pipelines are not interchangeable and play different roles in our energy infrastructure networks. Shippers and refineries will continue to take advantage of the speed and flexibility that freight rail transport offers over pipelines.
·  Expanding oil transportation infrastructure dilutes limited safety resources. Presently, there are not enough independent inspectors to ensure the safety of existing rails, tankers and pipelines. Rather than building new structures, current limited resources should focus on reducing risk to communities from the existing rail and pipeline infrastructure. Pitting oil trains against pipelines is a false choice that may distract communities from pursuing efforts to improve rail safety through
common-sense regulation, while absolving oil and rail industries and regulators of their responsibility for rail safety.
·  Expanding oil transportation infrastructure increases risk to more communities. Pipelines and oil by rail are both dangerous to the communities they impact. Rail may be more likely to spill, but pipeline ruptures are typically larger and more expensive to clean up. Residents, local governments, water resources and the environment are all threatened — starting at the well heads and all along the rail
and pipeline routes, through our prairies, wetlands, watersheds, agricultural lands, native lands, cities, towns, and industrial areas, across our rivers and streams, all the way to the destination refineries and port facilities.
·  Building additional oil infrastructure that will soon be obsolete is short sighted. The United States has a record-breaking glut of crude oil in storage because more is currently extracted than is being used worldwide. Demand for oil is unlikely to reach levels equal to supply as our society transitions to a cleaner economy run on safer and more affordable renewable energy. Many communities across the
country are already successfully resisting efforts to expand oil processing and export facilities served by either pipelines or oil trains.

On 7-20-18, the Department of Commerce Division of Energy Resources issued a letter regarding the PUC’s requirement that Enbridge establish a decommissioning trust fund (an important protection for Minnesotans and the State of Minnesota, and, as such, in the public interest) as a condition of obtaining a certificate of need.  In this letter, the DOC-DER established the many issues with the proposal Enbridge submitted on 7-16-18 and stating:

DOC DER recommends that the Commission not approve the Enbridge July 16
compliance filing as it relates to the decommissioning trust fund condition and order Enbridge to propose a revised decommissioning trust fund proposal that:
•  Is consistent with, and requires no changes to, existing Minnesota and federal law;
•  Includes collections over the expected 50-year life of Line 3 project in Minnesota at least to equal approximately $1.5 billion (USD), as adjusted for inflation;
•  Is not controlled by Enbridge Inc. or any present or future affiliated entity;
•  Is established only for the purpose of deactivating, monitoring, and removing the
pipeline together with remediation of the soil at the time Line 3 is taken out of service in Minnesota; and
•  Includes other provisions as required by the Commission.

And the MN Pollution Control Agency (PCA) is doing their best to assure proper legal proceedings and accountability with their 7-30-18 comments to the PUC:

The Department of Commerce appears to be working hard to prevent Enbridge from building a dirty Tar Sands pipeline through the pristine waters of Northern Minnesota.  The 8-31-18 supplemental filing by the Department of Commerce read as follows:

INTRODUCTION

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) issued an oral decision on June 28, 2018 granting a Certificate of Need (CN) for the proposed Line 3 Replacement Project (Project). The Commission granted the CN contingent upon Commission review and approval of several modifications or conditions. It is the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s (Department) understanding that, but for the required modifications or conditions, the Commission determined that the record would not support a finding that granting the CN would be more favorable to the public interest than the consequences of denying the CN. In a Notice issued by the Commission on July 11, 2018, the Commission directed the applicant, Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership (Enbridge or the Company) to submit compliance filings on five mandatory CN conditions. In its July 11, 2018 Notice, the Commission also requested the Department make recommendations on whether the Commission should approve or modify the Company’s compliance filings.

In its August 10, 2018 supplemental recommendations, the Department concluded that the Company’s current general liability (GL) insurance coverage applicable to the Enbridge U.S. Mainline System, includes significant exclusions for insurance coverage related to damages caused by a crude oil spill. Further, the Department recommended that the Commission not approve the compliance filing to the extent that Enbridge intends to rely on its current policy language to cover the Project because Enbridge’s current policies do not adequately protect the public interest.

ENBRIDGE’S CURRENT INSURANCE COVERAGE IS DEFICIENT

As summarized in its August 10 filing, the Department concluded that the GL insurance policies of Enbridge and Enbridge Inc. applicable to the Enbridge U.S. Mainline system and, potentially, a new Line 3,1 are deficient because the coverage terms contain significant exclusions related to damages caused by crude oil spills.2 [TRADE SECRET HAS BEEN EXCISED]. In the Department’s assessment, the policies do not cover damages from crude oil spills to any significant degree, if at all.

MOST OF THE REST OF THIS SECTION IS [TRADE SECRET HAS BEEN EXCISED] – so much so that it’s not really intelligible so the public is largely in the dark on the details of why their coverage is deficient.  We can only go by what the DOC has given us in the Introduction and Conclusion, which is pretty damning…

CONCLUSION

Enbridge has provided its currently-applicable GL insurance policies in response to Department information requests related to Enbridge’s compliance filing regarding a condition for a CN for the Project. It is Enbridge’s burden – not the Department’s – to demonstrate that the terms of its GL insurance policies will provide coverage consistent with the Commission’s order. This supplemental filing was submitted in response to an information request seeking the underlying analysis of the Department’s August 10 recommendations. Consistent with its filings on July 30 and August 10, 2018, the Department continues to conclude that Enbridge Inc.’s current GL insurance coverage applicable to the Enbridge U.S. Mainline System and, potentially, a new Line 3, include significant exclusions for insurance coverage related to damages caused by a crude oil spill. Enbridge’s current policies with the exclusions and other limiting language will not comply with the terms and conditions in the Department’s insurance recommendations. Therefore, the Department continues to recommend that the Commission not approve the Company’s compliance filings related to the insurance condition.

But I’m not sure what Fond du Lac Band is thinking with their action. The Fond du Lac/Enbridge announcement looked like this:

I think Elizabeth Oppenheimer sums up the offer to the Indigenous accurately in her letter to the DOC urging the PUC to move to investments in renewables:

On September 11th, the PUC will address:

What action should the Commission take concerning the certificate of need
modifications compliance filing filed by Enbridge on July 16, 2018, in accordance with
the Commission’s forthcoming Order? (PUC: Ek, Bahn)

What does this mean?

• The September 11, 2018 Commission Agenda will focus on the modifications to the certificate of need as ordered by the Commission. Specifically, whether Enbridge’s July 16 Compliance Filing on the certificate of need modifications provided the type of additional detail the Commission requested.
• The Commission has not yet issued its order concerning its decision on the certificate of need for the Line 3 Replacement project.
• The Commission’s September 11 Agenda meeting will be webcast. You can watch here.

I’m feeling up and down on this issue.  I keep hoping that the Commissioners will pull their heads from their butts and see through Enbridge’s BS, but I fear that their decision is already bought and paid for and there is nothing much We the People can do to change it.  Hence, we need to keep calling Governor Dayton.  We need him to do all he can to STOP LINE 3 NOW.

As I indicated, there were many public comments, almost all in opposition to Line 3.  This may be my favorite letter I saw and I hope the PUC Commissioners are considering it:

PUC commissioners:
I’m a 65-year old retired white guy. Hardly the stereotypical radical environmentalist.
I’ve hunted, fished, hiked, and boated across this great state for 40 years. I feel like you’ve betrayed my trust when you voted to allow a foreign corporation to make more profit at the risk of jeopardizing the natural resource that define our state.

I didn’t think greed, money, and corporate interests always won out over public welfare.
Maybe in Texas, but I thought Minnesota was different. Now I’m not so sure. Maybe I should have joined the ranks of those environmental “radicals” a long time ago.
As I interpret your decision, you chose to risk “pristine” parts of the state to protect the existing pipeline corridor. Someone will have to help me understand the logic of this decision.
I wish you would realize a consequence to your actions. I wish you could be forced to wade in — bathe in? — the first oil spill to gain a better appreciation for what you’ve done. It’s just a matter of time.
But seriously, how do you sleep at night?
Mike Prouty

And this may be my favorite excerpt from a letter:

In short, Fuck all of you that voted for this, you have wasted everyone’s time by this bullshit delay to act like you actually were going to hold Enbridge to a high standard and say no to business demands of the fossil fuel industry. When this industry does go belly up, the people of MN will again have to foot the bill. This agreement negotiated by the PUC is pathetic and an embarrassment and held Enbridge to a stunningly low bar for a multi-national multi-billion dollar company.

Yeah, I’m with that guy.

Pimentos, Old Stone Mini Golf, & Hamilton – Oh My!

Tags

fun, Hamilton, local art

What an amazing weekend we had in Minneapolis!  There are always so many people to see and things to do and this weekend we had some of the best of both!

We started with a trip to Northern Sun for some sign frames (we have new Water Protector signs to post) and some replacement buttons (Dan gave his “Jesus had two dads and he turned out OK” button away a while back and needed a new one).  Then we stopped for just a sec at a new community bookstore – Moon Palace Books, which had a terrific layout of books and a delightful cafe in back.  They also had used books upstairs but we left without tempting ourselves…  Some potential new reads I found were Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble & Die Wise, both by Stephen Jenkinson.

Then we headed to our friend Sadie’s place where we would spend the weekend with her roommate Alison.  They have an awesome place and we were greeted with an amazing Mona Lisa painting that Alison had just acquired at an estate sale.  After some relaxation, we decided to head to her favorite restaurant, Pimento Jamaican Kitchen, where we were able to hook up with Uncle Cam and Aunt Karen too!  So good to catch up with them and enjoy some really great food.  We tried the One Love combo bowl which included jerk chicken, jerk pork, beans and rice, slaw, and plantains.  We didn’t even try any of their sauces as the meat was so delicious with the other sides.  Alison’s boyfriend met up with us also – we’re making friends faster than ever!!

The next day started with a drive over to Laura’s where fresh, ripe plums awaited my washing.  Since they were SO ripe, I didn’t think they’d survive until I could get to processing them at the Harn so we decided to make cordial instead – way better idea!!  Lutz advised as I filled jars with plums, sprinkled in some sugar and added the vodka.  In six weeks, we’ll be able to see how it’s tasting.  I have big plans to get the rhubarb cordial started when I get home too…  This is fun.  And beautiful!  Will make some good gifts…

I grabbed a quick book from the Little Library a couple houses down as it was a 35th anniversary edition of a book I have been meaning to read for some years – it had an Appreciation in it by Maurice Sendak and I wanted to check it out.  Boy, am I glad I did as I thoroughly enjoyed his words about this book.  Must get to it soon…

Then we headed to brunch at the Tiny Diner, a Permaculture-based diner with really good food, if not spectacular service.  I don’t know if our waitress hated her job, didn’t care, or just was off her game but wow was she NOT real friendly or helpful.  She seemed to try a bit harder after I’m guessing she heard me say to Laura as she brought her a spoon, “Maybe she’s having a bad day.”  Laura had to re-request said spoon after a delivery of sugar and stir sticks.  Good thing we got it as the sugar was really clumpy and had to be removed from the decanter with a spoon instead of pouring it from the spout.

I am always amazed by bad service when it seems to me there is a simple solution. If you’re a server having a crap day, say something!  Maybe, “Hey, I’m off my game today.  Not sure what’s up but please have patience with me if I am not as cheery or well-oiled as I normally am.” or “My cat died last week and I’m still feeling a bit blue so my brain isn’t firing on all cylinders.  While I’m doing my best to make your visit a good one, please let me know if I’m dropping the ball on anything as I could use a little extra help this week.”  I believe most patrons will be happy to accommodate and might even leave a BIGGER tip to try to help out your day.  I think most of us (those of us with a bit of compassion anyway) want to help others’ lives easier if we can.  But first we need to know you’re having a hard time, not just an apathetic grouch.

Dan said the biscuits and gravy was good – had a hint of lemon – and Laura’s egg sandwich came with pickled radish that was excellent.  I had the New Mexico Omelet with cheddar and pickled peppers – so delish!  The place had a lot of info about Permaculture, including a really rad pollinator housing complex.

Next we headed to Big Stone Mini Golf which was so wonderful.  Sorry no photos yet as we forgot our camera and I’m waiting on shots from my friend.  But check out their website for some shots.  The golf course is aged and has some rough edges that hang your ball so if you’re super competitive, you may find some frustration.  We were out for a fun day of artsy golf and got just what we wanted.  We definitely got out money’s worth on a per shot basis – the scores on a fourteen-hole course ranged from 60-80.  [Why, yes, I did win!!  But I was worried when I got an 8 on the first hole!!]

After the golf, we walked the grounds checking out all the sculptures.  From the IV/Walker statement on health care and the world of high art to the Shiny Mushrooms and Beans, to the Chains in the shape of a person on a large stone slab, there was much to make you think.  Oh, there was a Pig flying an Airplane and a giant Roshambo too.  And if you like pigs, there is also a free-range pig that wanders the grounds.  He keeps the goats and chickens happy – you can feed those guys if you like.

We got uber lucky when the artist who started all this wonderfulness, Bruce Stillman, was found walking the grounds.  I thanked him for creating this place and mentioned that he should let us know when he starts giving tours of the houses (there is a tiny house, a large home, and a studio).  Lucky for us, when Laura mentioned the studio tour, he gave us one!  We got to see his latest work along with some of his early things that he houses in the upstairs area of the place, including HIS Mona Lisa.  I was uber impressed with his latest concept of “Justice” and I’m hopeful to get a shot to add to this blog soon.

After golf, we headed to the city to meet up with a bunch of folks for an evening on the deck at Psycho Suzy’s.  I think I went through about 5 or 6 glasses of water as we talked and talked and ate good food.  We got to see the giant spider that comes out as the sun goes down and we saw bats flying around as it got even later.  What a lovely time with friends new and old.  Try the Thai Pizza – it’s really good.

Then it was back to the lovely old home for a good night’s rest – well, a partial one as we were up until almost 2!!  But I was up early enough in the morning to meet another house guest, Elsa, owner of Yoga One in Alexandria, who regaled us with stories from her previous evening – what a joy to meet her.  Hope to see her again when I’m back in Alex.  I had been meaning to check out that Yoga Studio…

The big event was yet to come… Hamilton!!!  Friends Sherry, Jamie, and Ann joined Dan and I for lunch at MacKenzie Pub before the show.  Totally recommend this place if you’re going to a show at the Orpheum as you can then sneak over to their bathrooms during intermission – and YES!! It’s WAY quicker than the line inside the Orpheum.  Three of us had the Caribbean Pork Tacos – GF and so full of flavor!  Sherry Ann ordered the hummus platter that had loads of kalamata olives and two kinds of bread.  Dan was disappointed to hear they were out of the Scotch Eggs but that just means he’ll have to get them next time…

So, Hamilton was just incredible.  I’ve seen large stage plays in the past, I saw musicals and operas in D.C. when Mom used to live there, but this was just beyond anything theatrical I’ve ever experienced.  There was SO MUCH going on all over the stage.  The choreography was excellent with the fast-paced and the stop-motion, the graceful and the blunt.  Every move was executed with precision and the singing was top-notch.  I cannot recommend this show enough.  I especially liked the T-shirt that said “Hamilton & Jefferson & Madison & Washington.  Burr.”  🙂

It was a wonderful experience in so many ways for me.  I will be listening to it on CD – especially Act 1 which had such a powerful effect on me.  Writing like you’re running out of time, indeed.  I just couldn’t help but see the links between what I’m trying to accomplish in fighting Line 3 and what Hamilton was doing in fighting to create a government for this newly birthed nation.

More on the Line 3 opposition next week…