Searching for Simple

My day has gone by slowly, but has been thoroughly filled. I'm still at the Desert Bungalow - I think I'll leave about this time tomorrow and see what can be done in Bodie before I go to bed Tuesday evening. This morning I broke my fast with half a grapefruit and three kumquats. My grandpa would be proud. I still remember the first time he showed me how to eat a kumquat in Alabama. Now I've got a bag of them to consume in little fits and bursts. I think they'll last me awhile. After breakfast I dressed and went for a hike, out the door and up the mountain. Initially I thought to summit it, but at the base of the rocky outcroppings that capped the mount I found that a large, smooth boulder provided an ample view of the valley below and I suddenly had no desire to climb further. I reclined on the rock and watched the view for at least twenty minutes before finally forcing myself to leave my windy post and head back down the mountain. Of course, my way back was not without a few stops and pauses for the vistas as well. I could look at that view all day - they've got a beautiful, secluded place here.

The rest of the day's activities have been rather lax. I showered, ate some chocolate, read the first chapter of Slater's Earthwalk, and napped. Upon waking, I prepared a light lunch to eat while I watched the next episode of Avatar: The Legend of Korra. I suppose I'm about halfway through the first season, which looks like it's only going to be 12 episodes long - a pity, since it's a really good show. Though I still think I like the original better, I am enjoying where they are taking this new story line. I read an excerpt from Thoreau's Walden, another section in Griffin's Black Like Me, and sorted through the box of Goodwill-bound books of Mark and Lynn's to find a few good-looking reads. Most interestingly, Susan Strasser's Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash, a guide to green cleaning, and a tutorial on solar energy and other sustainable living practices. All of which, I am sure, will be very good reads.

After eating an apple, I find myself here at the computer again, because all of this has put me into a very thoughtful mood, as is prone to happen when I am alone in a house, surrounded by nature. This idea keeps popping up in my head of having only three shirts and simply rotating between two each week, using the third as a backup, then mixing them and doing it again the week that follows. Last night I kept the lights off until the very last second, trying to utilize as little electricity as possible. Every time I shower I think about the bucket bathes of Botswana and how I could achieve the same effect with less than two gallons of water and a couple squirts of Dr. Bronner's soap. A real shower would only be necessitated once a week or before special occasions. Anyway, living in a house makes me think about what I would want in my house someday, and I can't help but shorten the list the more I see. It's time to simplify my life a bit more, sort through what little I have, get rid of what isn't necessary, finish reading books and give them away for others to enjoy (I don't have to keep all of them, just the exceptionally good I-want-to-read-them-again-and-again ones!), and try to create less waste. But isn't that what I'm always trying to do?

Desert Bungalow

Cinderblocks, bold colors of saffron and spice juxtaposed against whitewashed walls. The wind blows fast and loud through stands of blackened, deadened trees and over the sagebrush and desert peach. The peaches are ripe, but they are not edible. Down the dirt two-track and up the steep incline to where it rests, tucked against the mountainside, bordered by the creek with its willows and other leafy greens. It's all so hardy where the water is. The house is large and open, the windows set against the outer wall to give each its own nook for reading. Perhaps I should give each one a try. The light moves with the day, and solar power means that nothing is wasted. Everything unplugs, use it when the sun is up, use sparingly when it's down. Like in Botswana, where all the outlets have a switch to turn them off. So much wiser to use less.

I brought little with me to the Desert Bungalow - my latest house-sitting job, this time for my friends Mark and Lynn. Just a book (that I'll probably finish while I'm here because it's short); my sketchbook, pencils, and watercolors; my quilt; and some patches that I can sew onto my Timbuk2 bag - man that thing is getting full! My plans are to chill, to give myself time to breathe and think and be. As well as to borrow a bike for a little ride, and go for a little hike up the stoney hills. Perhaps I'll even walk down to the creek and do some playing in it. Point being: for the next couple weeks I've got a nice little escape to relax at and soak up my days off. I really like this house-sitting thing - I think I could get into it....

Friend+unity

friendunity: (friend-u-ni-ty) the coming together of a group of friends to share life together, for however short a time.

This weekend I had a mini-vacation: I drove to Reno, flew to Kansas, and got to see Drew and Holly get married. But not only that, I got to see all my college friends again (with the exception of my Spoo), in the same place, enjoying each others' company and quirks. Some would say I spent a lot of money to get out there for the short weekend, but I'd say you can't put a price on what I got to experience.

You see, we're all graduated now, pretty much, and we're all going our separate ways. When I had graduated, everyone else was still together in Chicago, so I could take some solace in that. Now, however, we're all like chaff on the wind - who knows where we'll go!? True, some of us are still in Chicago, but others are in Washington, Kansas, California, Minnesota, etc. The only lucky ones who get to be together for certain now are Drew and Holly.

I suppose this was the first of many reunions to come. I hope the next one ain't too far off. Rumor has it we might already be planning one for next spring... Washington in April, anybody?

~Jaclynn