Been away...

Dear Gentle Readers,

So sorry for my longish silence. I was off to Ontario for a dear friends wedding. It was on the beautiful Lake Bob, and was a delightful adventure in unwinding. The photo above is of the sunrise my first morning there... so lovely!

And my favorite laborer is off doing some new labor of his own. James has started his freshman year at Earlham College. It's a wonderful place and I hope he'll thrive there. It's my own alma mater and I know what a special place it is. I know what a special kid James is. I think it could be a good match once he adjusts.

I'm working in the office now, having swept the floor a bit and re-rigged my tarp. It's just started to rain and is quite lovely out here at the moment. I have a good bit of work yet to do on the office, but other things to tend to as well... I'll keep you all posted!

Take care, be well, do good!

M

Getting there...

Getting there. The floors will go in nicely (yeah!)

The Georgia situation is a mess. So much for the optimism from yesterday. 

It's protracted. It's going to get more so.

The line of the day had to be the Russian response to Bush's announcement that he's sending troops in to Georgia for "humanitarian" aid due to the crisis there. The Russian Foreign Minister simply said: We see Mr. Bush needs a new speech writer. 

I'm heading out of town for a bit. 

Progress may or may not continue in my absence.

We'll see....

Update

I'll post photos tomorrow. 

The office is coming along and we've got the floor figured out. It looks SOOOOO AWESOME!!!

Briefly, this morning I woke up to the news that Russia had issued a cease fire. It's calming down in Georgia and (fingers crossed) the worst is over. Russia's willingness to cooperate is encouraging. 

It was a perfect birthday present for me to hear and I'm ever thankful.

Tim sounded great and I'm glad for it.

More soon.

M

Worse cases...

As a professor, I've taken a perverse delight in spinning out the worst case scenario for a situation with international conflicts in order to drive home the importance of knowing what is going on in the world for my students. Normally, it doesn't come to pass, we breath a deep sigh of relief. 

It gets their attention. It makes it relevant and it makes an impact. 

But today as I was frantically reading through the news on line and watching CNN International, I looked at James, and said "for all the years I've studied the Caucasus, and as much as I love this region, watching this is like the worst case scenario come to life."

He nodded solemnly and said "yeah. . . it really sucks."

Or as I said to my mother, it reminds me of watching the 9/11 attacks, but no one else really aware of why this is so tragic. 

Perhaps I'm over dramatizing. It would be nice to know I am.

Georgia situation:

OH (EXPLETIVE!!!)

For back ground for anyone keeping up with the news:

Briefly, my MA thesis was an in-depth analysis of Russia's decision to use force against Chechen and Tartar secessionist movements, my PhD dissertation was on incentives for domestic policy makers to agree to join the Black Sea and Caspian Sea Environment Programmes, focusing on the Caucasus. And of course, I've been studying the social and economic influences region for more than 15 years and working there as a consultant since 2001, with the UNDP Kura Project(s), Black Sea Environment Programme, Caspian Environment Programme, IFC Stakeholder Analysis for the BTC Pipeline, etc. I also have now become certified in "mediation and alternative dispute resolution". Suffice to say, this situation is ringing all sorts of bells for me.

Let us all hope and pray for peace to come soon.

STUCCO!!

Hi Folks!

First, news from Georgia is that the family is safely stowed in the mountains at a lovely place, and there is a sense that all is well - or as well as it can be in a small country being invaded by Russia...

Upon hearing the good-ish news I dashed outside to happily slap stucco upon the walls. This is the finish coat and I have to admit, I'm lovin' it!!

Here it is on the first day - actually Friday.

I'm groovin' with the wabi-sabi - it looks so organic.

Like the forms inside are looking forward to emerging and moving in!
Oddly the second bag was a very different hue - See below:
I decided to use the more gray bag on the lower back wall. The bookshelf will cover it mostly, so it won't be so evident. Interestingly, it was marked as "white" like all the other bags...
Once it went up, it looked bluer, and the next day the three bags had some definite differences in shades... But still I really like the organic shapes of it.
So now I am done with the stuccoing. It was actually a lot of fun and sort of inspiring. I'd love to do more and when I DO finish the outside later, I'll get to do more. 


But as is stands now, I'll working on the insides next - getting it to functional- 

coming next, doors and floors!!

Problems in Georgia.

Dear Readers,

I'll post more pictures soon. I've been working. 

But at the moment I am watching the news about the situation in former Soviet Georgia and the Russian attacks into South Ossetia and beyond. 

This is an area very dear to my heart - I've spent a great deal of time in Georgia, and I've grown to love to people, the culture and the country. My partner's wonderful wife is from Georgia and her family is so dear, every time I visit I feel like I've come home again. And their two children are in Georgia visiting their grandparents right now. I've heard some disturbing reports about the bombings. I'm very worried. Please keep this family and all of the people in the Caucasus in your prayers. I'll update as I can.