GregoryCam 200807

Monday, July 21, 2008

Breakfast, 20080721mo0922

For breakfast today, I'm at Infusions Teahouse having a Spiced Chai with rice milk (sweetened with honey crystals) and the Middle Eastern Plate (wheat pita, black olives, dolmas, seasoned spread).

[0948] I'm catching up on emails and trying to sort photos for posting online. I'm having a strange problem with my outgoing mail servers from my notebook computer using wireless. I'm clearly able to get online to view the Internet, and I'm able to receive emails, however, my SMTP servers won't allow me to send. To clarify, in the swing photo (below), I was just taking a break on the swing after my run. This trip has allowed me some quiet and peaceful moments to reflect and look back as well as look forward. [0953] Yesterday while running, I saw a woman in the bushes and brush gathering and eating berries from bushes. She was dressed in very natural clothing, had no makeup on, and her hair was in dreadlocks. It was kind of like seeing someone in another country going about their daily routine of gathering food. There were other women doing the same, and also families gathering food. Today, as I'm working on updating my blog and trying to organize photos, there is a woman breast feeding her baby across the table from me (another woman with natural clothing and dreadlocks). I know that breast feeding in public happens in some places, although our society is fairly uptight about it. Obviously, out of courtesy and to respect her privacy, I wasn't staring at her. She wasn't using a cloth to cover herself, so this is another impression during my trip that makes me feel like I'm in another country -- some kind of tribal village place where people are more connected to the earth and nature. [0959] When I went running this morning, once I arrived at the park, I started and returned to the National Peace Site located in the park. There is a labyrinth at the Peace Site with a tree in the center.

Working on uploading photos, 20080721mo0918

My mobile office is now setup and running at Infusions Teahouse.

Infusions Teahouse, 20080721mo0905

Arriving at Infusions Teahouse.

Going to Infusions Teahouse, 20080721mo0857

Returned from Running, 20080721mo0806

When I returned from running this morning, I felt like swinging on the swing that is next to the Vardo Gypsy Wagon. I had a good run. It was my longest run on record with my Nike+ iPod running system, so a recorded message from Lance Armstrong played at the end of my run. I
remember the first time I broke a personal record and had Lance congratulate me, I was a bit surprised. Today's run was 6.37 km, 49 minutes 15 seconds, 7:43 min/km, 610 calories.

Yesterday at the Infusions Teahouse, I heard two songs by Brett Dennen: "Ain't No Reason" and "There is So Much More." At that time, I'd never heard his music before. By searching Google on a phrase from the lyrics (in quotes) and then the word lyrics, I was able to discover the song and artist. Going to iTunes and searching for Brett Dennen, I discovered both songs at the top of the list of his most popular songs. I was listening to these and some other upcoming Heart
Songs selections.

I posted some photos yesterday from Infusions Teahouse, but still have more to upload. Hopefully I'll get some more time with an Internet connection today and do that. We don't depart again until Wednesday for the remainder of the tour.

Going running, 20080721mo0657

Morning Light through Stained Glass, 20080721mo0558

The morning light shines through the stained glass in the door of the Vardo Gypsy Wagon. It's time for stretching (Yoga), breathing exercises, meditation, and running.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Going to sleep, 20080720su2058

This photo was taken shortly after 6PM when I returned from Infusions
Teahouse. It's now almost 9:00 PM. I've spent the evening visiting,
and am ready for bed now. It will be nice to go to sleep at my desired
early bedtime.

www.ScheduleForLife.com

Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery, 20080720su1719

Photos of the Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery are now available.

Vardo (Gypsy Wagon) designed by Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, 20080720su1704

Photos of the Vardo (Gypsy Wagon) designed by Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company are now available.

Napa Valley Winery Vineyards in California, 20080720su1659

Photos of Winery Vineyards in Napa Valley, California are now available.

Eugene, Oregon, Photos, 20080720su1633

Photos from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company open house at Owen Rose Garden in Eugene, Oregon are now available. The collection of photos includes pictures from other sites in Eugene. Below is a photo from the open house, a photo of a sculpture at an EcoVillage in Eugene, and also a photo from the Owen Rose Garden.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse, 20080720su1514

This vegan chocolate mousse is one of the specialties at the Infusions Teahouse in Sebastopol

Infusions Teahouse, 20080720su1459

Stopping for tea and Internet access at Infusions Teahouse in Sebastopol.

Whole Foods, Sebastopol, 20080720su1412

I just arrived at Whole Foods. I spent some time in the Farmers Market looking around and visiting with people.

Sebastopol Farmers Market, 20080720sa1332

Fruit Tree, 20080720su1225

This is a variety of fruit that grows nearby. Returning from my run earlier, there were two fresh plums that fell together on the path. They were delicious and sweet.

Running complete, 20080720su1212

I just returned to the Vardo wagon, and am reviewing my running summary displayed on my iPod using the Nike+ running system. I have a key holder that I put on my New Balance 768 running shoes. In this way I can put the Nike+ transmitter on a non-Nike shoe. My running summary for today is 5.82 km, 46 minutes 15 seconds, 557 calories burned, and a pace of 7:56 min/km.

Going running, 20080720su1116

I'm going to go running again in Ragle Ranch Regional Park. I'm hoping to get photos posted later today.

Design Workshop, 20080720sa1024

In today's workshop, Jay is beginning with an introduction to the "art" of architecture. In this photo, he is discussing the influence of sacred geometry in design.

Refueling, 20080720su1011

Odometer 213943.1, 11.366 gallons, $4.399 / gallon, $50.

Pioneer DEH-1600, clock setting instructions, 20080720su0958

To set the clock on the Panasonic DEH-1600 car stereo, follow these instructions:

Turn the radio off by pressing and holding the SRC button (under the label OFF).
Press and hold the Audio button in the upper right corner of the radio. After holding the button for about 3 seconds, the clock will begin to blink (the hours).
Use the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the time hours or minutes. Use the left and right buttons to toggle between setting the hours and/or minutes.
When done, push and hold the Audio button again fir about 3 seconds until the clock stops blinking (hours or minutes).

You may be wondering why there are instructions in this blog for how to program the clock of a car stereo. The reason is because this blog contains technical support tips and solutions for a variety of technology items.

Morning Light through stained glass, 20080720su0704

This is the stained glass window in the door of the "Vardo" (Gypsy wagon). It allows light in, but also provides privacy.

I just woke a little while ago. We returned last night around 11:00 PM after having gone to an 8:10 PM showing of the latest Batman movie. The movie lasted for well over two hours. When I got home last night, I took some time to respond to some important emails.

Today's Tumbleweed Tiny House workshop is a design workshop. Yesterday's workshop was dedicated to the building process. I'm really glad to be able to sit in on these workshops. I tend to be someone who avoids expending time and money to go to conferences or workshops. I figure if I need information I'll find it online or in a book, but these sessions seem very valuable. These workshops remind me of times when there is something I'm trying to diagnose and repair with a computer system and the solutions aren't on the web or in a book. So, I call technical support and navigate through a maze of interactive phone menu options, I soon realize that there's no pterecorded answers to my questions. I realiy just need to talk directly to another computer technician to bounce some ideas off them. So it is with building a home. It's not like there's a support number you can call and "press 3 to hear answers to many common problems," such as, "Have you tried restarting?"

The participants who have attended the sessions came up with many good questions that were all related to their own unique building needs/desires. Some were interested in natural and alternative building materials that would have few if any chemicals.

I'm going to take some time now for stretching (Yoga), breathing exercises, meditation, and then running. I hope to get online today so I can catch up on posting pictures from this past week. Since I've been on the road, it's been hard to find an Internet connection, and when I do find a good connection, there hasn't been time to sit for long. Hopefully today I'll get that time.

It seems that when I write up these longer entries on the iPhone and post them by email the formatting (word wrap) gets messed up for some reason. So, I need to get on the web to fix that manually.

Driving from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol, 20080719sa2253

Saturday, July 19, 2008

At the theater, 20080719sa2013

Thai House, 20070719sa1848

Dinner at Thai House in Santa Rosa.

Highway 12 north east to Santa Rosa, 20080719sa1819

Tour of Jay's Home, 20080719sa1645

Jay is giving a second tour of his home after the day's workshop.
Participants have a few new questions after having more knowledge
about the building process.

Gypsy Wagon tour, 20080719sa1631

Jay is showing the Vardo and answering questions about its design and
construction.

Afternoon Workshop Session, 20080719sa1438

The afternoon Building Workshop session is going well. Today, Jay has
been presenting the details of how to build an efficient and enjoyable
small home. His presentation covers every aspect of building a home
from the foundation up, and the presentation is structured based upon
the construction process and timeline as events would naturally
transpire on the construction site. Workshop participants are free to
ask questions and share from their own experiences, which stimulates
some informative discussions.

In his presentation, this morning, Jay took the group through the
building process to the point that framing, exterior walls, and
weather wrap were on the house.

This is not a hands-on workshop. In order to present the most
information in a short period of time, the presentation uses detailed
photos, floor plans, and a complete list of tools required for
building. Most of the presentation materials Jay is referring to are
in an illustrated color workbook that is given to each participant.

The day began with a tour of Jay's home to give participants a look at
a finished product. Most in attendance seem to have some building
experience and know the general terminology of building.

The workshops are organic and improve with suggestions and feedback
from participants.

Patio dining area at HopMonk Tavern, 20080719sa1349

Finishing lunch and getting ready to return for the afternoon workshop
session.

The Veg sandwich at HopMonk Tavern, 20080719sa1321

www.hopmonk.com

Going to lunch in Sebastopol, 20080719sa1244

The morning workshop session was excellent. A group of us are now
going out to lunch.

The Workshop is Underway, 20080719sa0955

Apples at my doorstep, 20080719sa0951

Breakfast, 20080719sa0927

My favorite brands of food bars right now are CLIF BAR, LÄRA BAR, and
KIND. Clif donates funds to organizations that address environmental,
health, and social issues, such as Access Fund, IMBA, and Leave No
Trace. KIND donates 5% of profits to the PeaceWorks Foundation, www.PeaceWorks.net

I washes my running clothes this morning in the shower and now they
are hanging outside in the sunlight. So, they should be dry by tonight
and ready to use tomorrow morning.

There is an apple tree next to the Gypsy wagon that drops fresh apples
and they roll to my doorstep. I like to eat those for breakfast or
have some of the fresh berries and fruits that are growing in trees
here. It's nice to mix fresh foods with the raw food based bars that I
eat. The advantage of eating apples that fall from the tree and roll
to my doorstep is that it avoids the typical supply chain: farmer buys
land, farmer hires workers, workers pick food, corporation buys food,
food gets packaged, marketing department creates artwork for
advertising campaign, cable television company delivers advertisement
to home, consumer gets hungry seeing advertisement, consumer gets in
car, before car can be filled with gas a war must be waged in the
Middle East, gas goes into car, consumer drives car to grocery store,
trucks delivering product go to grocery store, product is
refridgerated, consumer buys product, throws packaging into landfill,
consumer is asked to pay for (or fight in) the war to get more oil for
gas for the car for going to the grocery store, the cycle starts all
over again.

Instead, having an apple roll to my doorway seems like a simple way to
avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble. So, that's why I try to
incorporate them as much as possible into my diet.

Returned from running, 20080719sa0849

I got back from my run a little while ago, around 8:30 AM, and helped
Jay with setting up for today's workshop. I'm going to shower and get
dressed.

Luther Burnank Experimental Farm, 20080719sa0825

My return run takes me through the Luther Burbank Experimental Farm
where there is an ocean of flowers and unique plants.

National Peace Site, Ragle Park, 20080719sa0747

It took me a little over 10 minutes to get to the park. I took a short
break, and now I'm going to continue my run. The opening to the trail
is just north and a little west of the National Peace Site in Ragle
Park.

Going running, 20080719sa0706

The sun is rising over the valley. The cool moist air of the night is
still settled in over the land here. I bought an Earth Flag from the
Santa Rosa Community Market Co-op yesterday. I like having the Earth
Flag flying anywhere I am working and staying. I have them at home in
Iowa at my office and home.

I'm going to run the full distance to the park this morning. I took a
lot of photos of this running path yesterday and of the many flowers
along the way. So, this morning I can simply focus on running.

I'll go from Burbank Heights north west through the various flower
gardens to Bodega Avenue, then west on Bodega Avenue (Highway) until I
reach Ragle Road. At Ragle Road, I'll go north and slightly west to
Ragle Ranch Regional Park and run the loop that goes over Bridge 4,
Bridge 3, Bridge 2, and then Bridge 1. Then I'll return by the same
path.

I have all of this in photos from yesterday that I hope to upload
later today. [0716]