(no subject)

There is a chill in the air. It reminds me of Sweden.

A year ago this day it was already snowing in this city.

potluck at ecohouse

A few days ago, ofthearth happened across my journal and read about my ongoing scheme to start up a co-op in Rochester. He messaged me. "Hey, " He said. "I live in a sort of co-op, and we're having a potluck on Sunday. You should come!"

Ryan and I cooked up a batch of tamales last night and took them over across the river today for this potluck. It was a bright and cold day, my favorite, and we were full of hope.

Our tamale recipe promised much:

Congratulations! You are now part of the few, the proud, the tamale cooks. You will notice that your life will be instantly different. You will be popular. People will invite you over. As you walk up to a crowd of people, you will hear someone say, "Isn't that the Tamale cook?" Yes folks, your simple life will never be the same. You have arrived. Please remember to be kind to the little people."

When we set down the plate of tamales, a whisper went out through the crowd. The tamales were well received.

The other food was great too. In particular someone had made some kind of chili-cheese cornbread that was absolutely the most divine thing I have eaten in months.

This house is one of the "dual family houses" that there are a lot of around here, a big wooden house where each floor is a complete housing unit. But the residents rent both portions of this house, and altogether the house and its six residents are EcoHouse, an environmental-oriented housing co-op and certifiably the awesomest thing this side of the Mississippi. Treated to a tour of the grounds, Ryan and I marvelled at how so much living space could possibly exist in a house that outwardly did not appear particularly vast. Whatever their technique (inter-dimensional vorticies?), the results are delightful, including a big friendly kitchen, two sunny enclosed balconies, a "projects room," numerous bedrooms, and a basement stuffed with a complete bicycle shop and a few woodworking power tools.

The crowd gathered for the potluck was great too. I think we will get on excellently.

Quist W. Roxby

I received this email today:

Subject: Quist W. Roxby

We decided to name our nutritional yeast at dinner, so we went around naming letters, until we had enough to anagram into a name. This was the name we settled on. I thought it sounded scandinavian enough that we should notify you.

K

touching, no?