Happy Anniversary Natter!!!!

ONE FULL YEAR!!! Even though we have been in the Natterbus for 3 years now, the first two years we jumped into an apartment or house when the bad weather arrived. Since going West, however, May 1st marks our first full year in the bus (minus some apartment time when we didn't have enough power)!!!! This feels huge. I will not pretend that this involved the bliss of living a simple life sitting back by a fire at night watching the snow flakes glide by the windows and laughing at how we've solved the answers to all the world's problems. There were constant challenges - from condensation and mildew to dissent for any number of moody reasons, losing power in a snow storm to tracking mud and snow through the bus, cabin fever to a leaking pipe, evacuating in a flood to a screaming voice for one reason or another echoing embarrassingly through a campground. I will also not pretend that this isn't self-imposed suffering. There are many people in poverty who do not choose to live smaller, alternative existences and they may not find this journey particularly thrilling or appealing. in fact, they may downright resent it and I do not mean to belittle their experiences. However, these were not insurmountable challenges and it is my hope that these obstacles are, as they say, "building character".

I suppose you could call it spring now. This year was so difficult to tell, being in a new area of the world and not knowing what to expect compounded by unusual weather everywhere. We returned to the Vancouver area in March to another round of snow. The locals are flabbergasted by this.

We spent a few weeks East of Vancouver while Rowdy did some work. Since he had the car this gave us some great experiences continuing to learn to ride our bikes on bike paths and in and among traffic. It was fantastic to be in such a multi-cultural community - hanging out at the local rec center pool with people from around the world. I hope to replicate this with the kids someday in parts of the world where they can experience all those other cultures first hand. Nothing pulls you out of your own ethnocentricity than landing somewhere totally foreign.

Since that time we have landed back where the kids have a homeschool group and have had some awesome school and bus moments. First, at the campground we landed at, another bus pulled in one day! What a fun experience it is for our kids to meet and see other bus folk!

This bus is wayyyyy more advanced than ours when it comes to being off the grid...the amazing woman who built it created the walls, shelving, kitchen, dinette and sleeping areas all out of clay and straw!!!!

There is a wood stove you can cook upon and she even carries a chainsaw and wood in the jockey boxes. I took many notes touring this beautiful and passion-filled bus.

The timing of this bus was perfect since we have been doing quite a bit of learning around the environment, managing our resources and waste/recycling. It is easy to feel overwhelmed as you discover more and more about the sad facts around our accumulating waste (especially plastics poisoning the ocean and washing up on remote beaches and our dwindling resources (ie: the actual amount of "clean" water in rotation in the world). However, seeing people like this who set a good example for the rest of us gives hope. We may not all be that far along, but each in our own lives we can commit to learning as much as we can, not turning a blind eye and seeing how we can make our own positive step after step.

The kids' homeschool group studied the water cycle and what happens to water during its travels. They went to a wetland and discussed the path the water took to get there and investigated what creatures lived and relied on this area. Then, they toured an amazing Water Resource Center that takes waste and turns it into usable water. Next, they visited an aquifer to find out more about where the clean water comes from and what it tastes like compared to bottled water. Back at the school they mapped the water routes to and from their individual houses and then had a week's worth of garbage dumped in front of them to envision and sort. May all trash-creating beings experience this!

Other recent homeschool projects have included felting, engineering with simple machines to more complex structures, social justice, voting in the BC elections, photography, puppet making and sharing our heritage.

At home we've been navigating our usual math, reading, never-ending Amelia Earhart project, poetry, baking, costume making, stick carving, volunteering at the local SPCA, Canadian culture studies (i.e. Corner Gas episodes :) and constant, fantastic imaginative play along the creek and on the beach. They are soooooo amazingly productive when I remember to get out of their way and let them direct the learning - which is hard coming from a traditional, success-driven learning approach myself. I always feel as if we haven't learned enough and then I go back into their journals or look at these pictures and realize how much they are learning all the time.

Finally, our other bus friends here - the ones we happened to meet at the last campground - have been rebuilding their amazing space from barebones up.

It is crazy to watch and always interesting to see how different people design their buses. With awesome kid bunks, a luxurious king-sized bed, creative storage and space for the impending wood stove - the build has really taken shape.

AND, I got to hold a sweet-faced little redhead during it!!! While Momma got her hammering on, I stole kidlets on a few occasions and we soaked up any venturing rays of sun we could find.

After much contemplation and great sadness, Rowdy recently left his job in NYC with the Made in NY program to take work on the west coast. While this is a big transition for him and us all, it is certain he will be connected to this program always - based upon his deep love of the people and respect for the purpose of the MINY program. It has given and taught him so much and I believe it's impact radiates on into the future.

As for our immediate future, who knows what comes next...except a concerted attempt to live a bit lighter in general and to offset an upcoming visit to NY this summer when homeschool group ends. As always, keep on keep'n on!!! We shall keep you posted. Do good work, love each other and be just whatever it is you are...unabashedly so.