6 August 2007 (Monday!)

A busy weekend, but some good things accomplished all told.

Saturday: We rise at about 7:30, and I sit, shower and get dressed. The plan for today is to head to Natureworks to see Lisa's friend/mentor Nancy and talk about a plant mystery, then head out to the CT Winefest to enjoy the fruits of the state. Just before we leave, GP comes by with the jointer (I hadn't heard from him all week so I wasn't sure if he was going to drop it off). I now am the proud owner of a Delta 37-195 jointer. Hooray for more woodworking fun.

The winefest was fun, though there were a few things I had an issue with: there were only 11 of the 23 wineries represented, food was a bit scarce, and the entry fee only got you 5 tastings and stamps in the passport (we were under the impression that we could get stamps from everyone there). Other than that, we had fun and got to try some pretty good wines, as well as fresh oysters at $10 a dozen.

Home in the afternoon, and take a nap. We wake at about 6:00 and get a call from John and Marie about dinner. Out to Adam's Mill for a nice, if leisurely (a.k.a. slow) dinner, followed by mini-golf up the road. Mini-golf was a bit disappointing - the course was actually pretty interesting, but I think they built it and then never did anything to keep it up. Ah well, it just makes us pine to go to Monster Golf in Danielson.

Sunday: Rise at 4:45, quick shower, dress, take care of the animals, and out the door at 5:15. ChrisP and I head up to Springfield to pick up Dev, but he is sick, and so cannot join us for the workday at Camp Caravan. We make it to the camp at just after 7:30, so we sit out in the dining hall. We have breakfast with the work crew (yogurt, oatmeal, granola, fresh raspberries, tea and coffee), discuss the major work for the day, as well as inner work to take on as we go. The items for the day:

- Clear out and clean up the first floor of the dormitory, to prepare it for use.
- Move all tools and materials from the second to the third floor of the dormitory, to allow more work/sleeping space
- Get bunks in and set up (ten in the dormitory, six each in the three habitable cabins)
- Move extraneous furniture out of the cabins
- Move the trestle tables from the auditorium to the dining hall
- Mow

I also get further tours and clarity on the facility, the gardens and the kitchen. Unfortunately, without Dev, I missed a couple items, but they should be manageable in the first two days in the camp. Good solid work. The facility is a little rough (OK, that's an understatement - the phrase "there's a lot of potential" was created for this place), but as I shared with the Work group, I had the sense that there is already a stillness and quality of energy here that usually takes a few days to become available in other places we've worked.

Home, and tackle a few chores (though I miss one that will become a JotD for tomorrow), and then out for Thai. Crispy whole fish for me, crispy beef for Kerry and duck for Lisa. Home and I pretty well zonk out.

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Some odd dreams that are just on the edge of my memory - none related to the course. Up at 6:30, morning routines and out to work. I have only a couple meetings today, so I hope to get some of the long-standing tasks off my list.

My first meeting was a doozie. A customer who is a former IT person was getting a little too far into the details. Finally, I'd had enough and told him that he had requested a service, and that the "how" was quite frankly of no concern to him. I'm not sure he took it all that well, but both the service delivery manager and I discussed it afterwards, and we agreed that it needed to be said. I have to admit though, I did lose myself a bit in that moment - it felt like a deeper "me" speaking, if that makes any sense. I'm reserving judgment as to whether that was a "good" or "bad" me, and simply accepting that it is.

Home a bit before Lisa and tackle a few things before she gets home. We grab dinner and then head out to pick up 300. Watch that for the evening and then to bed.