And It's Rolling (Bob) 2

Well, the old mobile home is gone, gone, gone.  It looks kind of nice without it.  Special thanks to our neighbor Dwayne and his big International tractor.

Nice and Tidy and Ready to Roll (Almost)

Shrubs gone, skirting and support gone, electricity disconnected, water and sewer line broken, expansion unit folded back up into trailer, hubs in good shape.  Now we just need someone fast and cheap with an extra set of wheels to get Nanny's trailer out of here.  And the bank to agree to the sale and release the funds!

Santa Fe - Canyon Rd. - 4/23/12

Arizona: Canyon de Chelly

On the hike to White House Ruins.

Guess who got a surprise visit from Africa?

Oh yeah, we were in the neighborhood so we thought we'd stop by!  Chaz meets his granddaughter, Eva.

Melanie wrote on Facebook:

"Yes, Liz and Ben and Eva came to the USA from Africa without me knowing. Their dad made up some crazy story, so crazy I didn't even try to track it, and went to the airport to get someone and came home with these guys!!!!"

((Chaz sez:

I orchestrated the surprise I just kept lying till the kids got here.  Melanie's head just About popped off.))

(Two strikes, JP.)

First Place

Eason gets his first place trophy at BMX "scoot bike" races today!  First in 2 out of 3 races, then crashed in the 3rd race, but got up and finished.
 
(Sorry,  JP, but on the blog you write for grandson tops wit and micro-economics every time!)

JP WoodCock Returns

JP Woodcock Returns

Greetings, everyone from your favorite mini economist JP Woodcock.  It has been a few years since I was last able to send a communiqué out to everyone from the Great Hall of Mini Economics because, quite frankly, our funding has been slight because our donors have been more concerned with other prevailing economic headwinds such as their own wallet.

Well, we now have our Internet turned back on and I no longer have to answer the phones, weed the ever-flowering gardens on our grounds and clean the johns all by myself.  This relief has allowed me time to reflect on my experiences of the last few years here at the great hall of mini economics and I would like to share with you my feelings and thoughts of these times.

First, and I say rather foremost on my mind, has been my reminiscences of my grandfather the eminent maxi economist; he was born too late to be a mini economist such as myself.  Well anyway, Ambrose Woodcock would stride into my study as I prepared for my exams and say loudly, "Some day J.P.", he called me JP even though I was only a teen,  "JP someday the politicians and the financiers will have developed so much greed that the very structures of the maximum economic apparatus will collapse upon itself before we economists can see the light of day."

Grandpa Ambrose would then start muttering about how Grandma Eloise wanted to summer in Greece but Grandpa Ambrose was uncertain if the Greeks would want to take his money as he felt the Greeks didn't really want to work for his money, UK of course,

and that the Greeks would rather just keep borrowing money from the Krauts until the Krauts were tired of owning their Greek vacations.

I was always amused with Grandpa Ambrose but I took a different direction than him and I took up the study of mini-economics and somehow I felt we mini-economists were outsmarting politicians and greedy financiers with cheap bow ties and green visor hats but it turns out Grandpa Ambrose was correct.

All during the last five years of horrific economic conditions here at the great hall of mini economics, while all alone and plugging all of our leaking conditions with my own digits I have been reading a great deal in the evenings by candle light.

The Tao Te Ching has been my solace and as I have been only able to get our accountant to allow me to purchase a pocket edition abridged version of Lao Tzu's masterpiece sometimes my reasoning of the Tao has been short and small minded.

For instance, once, when the utility workers came to shut off our electricity, I said to them, you do not need to take this action because Lao Tzu says:

           

"Free from desire, you realize the mystery

            Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations."

The workers stared at me as if I were some sort of shiny Chinese enigma and then they

said, the only mystery here is when are going to pay."

I was heartened to hear that economic theory really does hold water dueling with the Tao but I was uncomfortable sitting in the dark and cold for days on end and I finally pleaded with our accountant that we actually saved money by having electricity over the opposite.

I did endless spreadsheets that showed that taking no action was more expensive than taking action and paying our bill.  Again it was a relief to see what was going on while I was in the bathroom.

The accountants were happy and relieved as well because we accrued no utility charges while the power was off.  There was the nasty business of paying a turn on fee to the utility company but the accountants were more than happy to have me negotiate this.

Now that order is returning to our Great Hall and we have electricity and a receptionist I am pleased that I am now able to return to my research on the Australian marsupials and their effect on that continents economy rather than pulling weeds and mowing lawns in the great expansive shadows of the Mini Economic Hall and it's magnificent grounds.

Geralds tree at ghost ranch

Economy Trip to New Mexico and Arizona

Julia and I decided that we needed to economize on our genealogical trip
-- especially until Tim arrives. Therefore, we looked for the best
deals we could find. Here are photos of our rent-a-car (be ready Tim,
you ride in back) and our room in Santa Fe.

Peaceful morning in santa fe.

From the World Subud Association

After many years of calm efficient service, Julia Hurd has stepped down as World Subud Association (WSA) Secretary and Silvana Caradoc Evans has taken over. 

  Silvana joined the WSA Executive Team as Administrator in 2010, soon after the World Congress in Christchurch and working closely with Julia, has gained much knowledge and experience during the last two years.   The Executive Team is grateful that Silvana is able to take over from Julia as this offers continuity and stability for the WSA.

First Solo Bike Ride -- No training wheels!

Almir: Sarajevo Anniversary

Probably you have heard about the 20 year anniversary of Sarajevo being under the siege . . .on April 6. was anniversary,
in the downtown, lots of foreign reporters, journalists who spend time here during the war...

Almir

Easter

Looking like an old homesteader child, Eason stands in the door of a newly constructed chicken coop, dressed in rubber boots, underwear, a tiger shirt, sporting an Easter lollipop and pretending that he is a storekeeper.

Ideas / 1

Spencer's first doodling trying out the capabilities of "Paper" on his new iPad-play-thingey.  Pretty impressive color transparency, I think. (Click on doodle to enlarge and view it better.)

April Flowers

Dragging a heavy chain of Chaucer, Wordsworth, and T.S. Eliot et al, I pretend / aspire to be an' ignorant savage' picking daffodils for pleasure in the horse fields.

Lori Shares Some Gorgeous Art

Here's a picture of John W's*** latest work of art!!!!

(***Ed:  aka Johnny Brown Beard aka John Wolden.
 John built that shining flatbed on this rig.)

Chaz is Empty in: The Night

The Night

The night has become

Useless for me to sleep

I slowly walk around our

Home looking for traces

Of you

I stand by the fireplace and

Ask if you want me to

Start a fire and all I hear is

The wind outside

I slouch down into the purple

Chair and I squint to see if any

Shadows of you are in the

Kitchen calling out to me

Asking if I see the woodpecker or

The cardinal in the feeder

But I can only imagine your

Beautiful face smiling at me

While you make tea

The night has become useless for

Me as I am hopelessly adrift in the

Space between your leaving and

Then returning to my arms

For a few days I can remember your

Intimacy with me but now I am losing ground to forgetting how you move and forgetting how you speak and forgetting how you twirl your hair

Yes even in our cool blue bedroom

That you love so much the night is useless to me and just last night I no longer could hear the birds & the geese and the crickets sing my

Heart was too far away and even this

Room seemed useless to me

I stare at calendars and clocks and quietly watch as the hours pass until

You return and I walk by the cactus in

Our hallway and promise you will be

Home in just a few days

Charles Grimes

Mazes, Mandalas, and Flowers

I love Lynne's richly textured, colorful and imaginative textile art over at her site.  Check it out . . .

Lado

The Annual Croatian Night in Anacortes again.  Salmon, pivo, lots of music and traditional dancers.  This year's performances included a suite of music and dance  "celebrating spring with propitiation to Lado -- a deity predating Christianity.  The songs ask for green and fertile fields, healthy youth, and harmony in the villages."

Very cool.