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20 May 2011South Island networking
15 Year Summary Of The Society And Its Projects Permaculture Hui at Motueka Permaculturalists (those who practice permaculture) from all over NZ gathered at Riverside Community, near Motueka at the top of the South, to meet, talk, debate, workshop and otherwise beat out a path for the future of permaculture here in Aotearoa. The setting for the hui was wonderful for the purpose - a quiet setting amongst trees and gardens, a complex of meeting and dining rooms, kitchen and a hall for performances and a large marque in the middle of a field set about with big oak trees. There were around 200 attendees from all over, aged from their late teens to early eighties and some, but not too many, babes in arms. The presenters and tutors were very interesting, talking on topics as various as appropriate technology (tools and how to find, recognise, use and maintain them), disaster preparation (Chch delegates had much to say about the possible role of permacultuaralists in future/disaster-proofing cities), Terraquaculture (using groundwater as a basis for agri/horti/aqua culture on your land) and many other engaging topics. Adam and I described our experience with food forests and associated matters (seed drilling, green cropping, wild plans for the future etc.) and Adam also did a stand-alone presentation on his Farmageddon 'experience' which provoked a great deal of interest and may result in a trip to Australia to facilitate an 'workshop' for a community over there. The hui featured a day of site-visits and those were very worth-while, giving us Southlander's a chance to see how well permaculture was working in a warmer climate zone. The properties we visited were various and all large by our standard, most being around 50 hectares. They featured all sorts of innovations and were characterized by abundant growth and citrus, the latter being something we don't grow easily down here. Feijoas and figs were also extensively grown, along with grapes which were almost always swathed in netting to protect them from birds. Apples grow well in the region, though not so well as down here in my opinion. Dieter Probest's apple orchard was very interesting and had many varieties that were unknown even to us enthusiasts, but he is in the process of removing many of the trees he no longer has an interest in. A property that interested us greatly was one tucked into the hills near Ngatimoti, where the house is powered by a large waterwheel that turns constantly beside the house and drives the grain mill as well. Their forest garden is huge and features massive bamboo big enough to climb! Much of the rest of the property is planted in sweet chestnut and those are producing huge crops, some of which we ate for dinner. Back at Riverside, we all ate very well, with all of the produce (bar rice) having been grown in the gardens there. That made the meals taste extra good. The hui was very valuable as a venue for meeting others and arguing over directions and plans for the future. There were some heated debates and those seemed to produce welcome change and renewed vigour - just like a good pruning! Hui so far have been in the North Island and it was a greatly appreciated opportunity for us South Islanders to be able to take part without having to travel long distances, though for us Rivertonians, the drive wasn't a short one! Transition Towns - Timaru Many communities throughout New Zealand are developing 'transition' groups to help design and prepare for expected changes to the economy and the environment. Timaru's group hosted the latest get-together and did it very well. The two day meeting was a chance for all representatives from Transition groups from Invercargill, Oamaru, Timaru, Christchurch, Lyttleton, Golden Bay and other centres, to meet and trade ideas. The 'open space' format for workshops and talks worked well and gave those who wanted to put forward ideas a chance to do that with a willing audience. Robyn hosted two groups one on Open Orchards (getting fruit trees into the schools and communities) and another on the value of having and Environment Centre or similar physical base rather than just a group of interested people meeting. I talked to an interested and vocal group about communications, (focusing on email and blogs, of course!). The Transition movement looks to foster the development of useful skills in local communities , skills that increase self-reliance and resilience. There are many people in every community who already have these skills and the better groups are identifying those people and linking them with others through the structure of the group. Project Lyttleton is a good example of the value of being a Transition Town. Having all the structure and networks in place when the earthquake struck within no time the whole town was checked, accommodation sorted, soup kitchens up and running, etc. When the emergency teams finally made it through there was little they needed to do. Transition groups are teaching skills to people from their communities who have recognised the need to 'be prepared'. Invercargill's Transition Town group meets regularly and can be contacted through: http://www.transitiontowns.org.nz/groups and other groups around NZ are also on that website. Our Environment Centre in Riverton is widely known as an important source of skills, resources and information that is helping Southlanders and others to become more connected and self reliant. Everyone at the Timaru meeting knew of us and many had already sought our advice e.g. Timaru set up a Food Co-op some years ago and we were their mentors. If there is enough support from Rivertonians we could become an official transition town- let us know if you support this and we can start up a group. While in Nelson we visited the Waimarama Community Garden, tucked in to the far reaches of the Brook Valley. It was largely empty of people, but we were assured there was a team on its way to cultivate. The mandala garden looked as though it was working well and was larger than we had imagined, allowing easy passage and plenty of room to build up beds without the need for wooden frames. The demonstration beds were a good idea also, especially that showing the range of green crops that do well in the area. Many years ago I had visited the garden and seen the installation of the large compost toilet system - as I recall, Nandor Tanzcos was to declare it open the next day - it seems to have worked very well and is still working all these years later. I liked its adobe walls and 'soft' shapings. There were a lot of structures at the garden - sheds and shelters of all sorts. I hope they move to a more 'gardeny' garden soon as those things do age and start to look ramshackle - something to be avoided in a community facility that showcases a particular world-view. There are plans to expand the gardens, we were told by the very friendly woman who came out to see if she could help us, and the promise of a small housing development in the adjacent field, providing a ready 'market' and source of volunteers for the project. We talked tree crops and community orchards before heading off to see the Nelson Environment Centre. It was a very pleasant visit to the Waimarama Community Gardens and I'm sure I'll be back there again the next time I'm in Nelson. The Nelson Environment Centre It was a revelation to me to discover that the Nelson Environment Centre now sits on the site of the hospital I worked in when I first left school some 30 + years ago! The hospital has fallen into wrack and ruin over that time but the new environment centre is very modern and newly built. The buildings themselves didn't interest me much, seeming quite corporate in their styling, but the gardens and demonstration technologies on the slopes out front did. They have integrated a nice organic permaculture-style garden into their front 'entrance', all well labeled and ergonomically laid out, along with a very large 'home-built' solar water heater and geodesic grow-dome, amongst other things. The Centre seems a bit off the track, in terms of casual visitors, unlike our own main street 'Centre', but perhaps their purpose is different. Nevertheless, the visit was a valuable one and we were very pleased to talk with the women at the Centre. Other News:Jeanette Fitzsimons on coal The Coal Action Network organised a meeting in Invercargill where ex- Green Party leader Jeanette Fitzsimons talked about the Solid Energy proposals to mine lignite at Mataura. A strong audience turned out for the meeting, along with 4 or 5 journalists and a crew from Cue TV. Jeanette described the issue of mining and its likely impact to the local environment as well as the global atmospheric environment and made the point that there was only one option left for mankind to avert climate-driven disaster and that it to immediately stop any new mining of coal. This contrasted starkly with Solid Energy's plans and will provide some opportunities for fiery debate and protests in the near future. Jeanette advised of an important speaker about to tour New Zealand to convey that message. Nasa's James Hansen has been advisor to the American government on climate issues and has worked with governments across the globe to halt further coal mining in an effort to save us all from destruction (or at least, decades of foul weather) and will be here in the South next month, speaking at Gore. I'll be going to hear him speak and so I hope, will you all! 2pm Tuesday the 19th James Cumming Wing. Gore Hosts Hansen (Thursday, May 19)Dr James Hansen addressed around 300 hundred people in Gore; regional councillors, council staff, NIWA scientists, farmers, high school students, environmentalists and interested members of the public. It was an especially impressive crowd when you consider the presentation was in the afternoon, during working hours, and many had to take time off work to attend. One Invercargill secondary school teacher had juggled class commitments to be there and wished she could have taken some senior students with her. For some, James Hansen personified good science and what he had to say represented the accumulated knowledge from the world's scientific community from one of the most respected members of that community. For others (the skeptics, deniers or doubters) they wanted to hear for themselves what Dr Hansen had to say and see if he could pass their own personal criteria for assessing the of the value of his words. Although the science was greatly in evidence in Dr Hansen's hour long initial presentation, the motivation for his books and his public advocacy for the health of our planet was an emotional one. His grandchildren featured heavily in the opening of his talk, his obvious pride and love for them was openly expressed and his determination to leave them a decent future on this planet was clear. The sincerity of the man could not be faked, he was not an industry lackey or a slick salesman of corporate spin, he was an honest and humble scientist who loved his family. Dr Hansen's message was essentially a simple one, supported by numerous tables, graphs, extensively researched data and measured explanations of what they represented. He described how a variety of natural "forcings" have influenced our planet's climate since the beginning, but these have been superseded by man made forcings that threaten to take us on a climate changing journey well beyond the natural course of things. Unchecked we stand to loose much currently inhabited land to rising sea levels and will experience severe climate fluctuations . The ongoing survival of many species, whether animal or vegetable, will be compromised and many will be lost forever. By far the most dangerous forcing that is known to science is carbon dioxide which accumulates in the atmosphere over time and fossil fuels are the main contributor. Dr Hansen did communicate hope but claimed that we must turn to our governments to do the decent thing and provide legislation and regulation that will shift dependency from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy forms. Using methods such as a direct carbon tax (that would provide a more realistic recognition of external costs) would force the commercial world to change their practice to accommodate it. What was once cheap fuel would become expensive and more sustainable alternatives would suddenly become attractive. Market forces work but it is up to our governments to shape them in our best interests. The questions that followed were informed, relevant and testing and Jeanette Fitzsimons remarked on how impressed she was with the standard of them. Dr Hansen strengthened his credibility with his honest answers and when some questions were beyond the scope of his research he openly admitted he did not have the personal understanding to give an informed answer. Deniers, who provided their own understandings of climate change by questioning the importance of CO2 and suggesting gases such as water vapour were more important, were answered respectfully (by not totally dismissing the concepts) and putting them into perspective. On the lignite issue that confronted us, Hansen was very clear, it needed an informed public debate (not closed forums) and strong leadership from our government. Mining the lignite would be highly detrimental to the health of our planet and although our emissions may appear comparatively small in an international sense they are still enough to tip the balance. To roll over and let it happen should not be an option if we really cared about our future generations. I was convinced. Hollie goes to Hollywood Well, Auckland in fact but that's pretty far flung and her reason for going there pretty dramatic. Hollie Guyton won the role of one of two 'Southland Delegates for the Sir Peter Blake Trust Youth Enviro-Leaders Forum' designed to foster environmental consciousness in young people and leadership from them in the field. There were 47 others from around the country and they all had a busy time in Auckland, debating, meeting, presenting, visiting interesting environments around Auckland like the Goat island Marine reserve where the snorkeled in the fish-rich waters, and Auckland zoo, where they discussed issues like palm oil importation and the effects on tropical forests. They were divided into sub groups and Hollies groups focus was on sustainable tourism and they got the chance to present their ideas to businessmen, politicians and others. Hollie represented us very well by all accounts and has fired-up her interest in the environment and the politics that drive its protection. South Coast Environment Society News15 years old on June the 8th! Come an join our lunchtime celebrations on your Queens Birthday Holiday. Starting from 12pm Monday 6th with a pot luck lunch (bring some food to share) , then at 1pm we will recap what we have achieved over the last 15 years with a slide show and group discussion before some more informal fun activities you can join in or just watch. One is a quiz just about our history so start studying our website now (the front page has our 15 year time line). We will finish at 3pm with the cutting of the cake and a cuppa. See you there! While we are on the topic, congratulations go to the Invercargill Environment Centre - 10 years old this year!. They are having a special event this Sunday 29th May to Celebrate and everyone is welcome to join them. Onwards and Upwards Three of our group attended a Charities Commission workshop early May and enjoyed hearing lots of tips and stories. We are certainly a very functional and well organised group compared to some but did learn a few good ideas to polish us off. It was also valuable for us as we holding a strategic planning meeting soon and it gave us lots of ideas on thinking outside the square and how to be more effective. Our Strategic Planning meeting will be held 11am to 4pm on the 2nd of July and we will be focusing on the general plan for the next five years. It will be well advertised closer to the time and everyone is welcome and encouraged to contribute. Our last strategic plan is on this website and although we didn't stick to it strictly it gave us a good focus. So start jotting ideas and thoughts down now and help us keep the best of the old, improve in some areas and develop new ones. Check out our history on the websites front page and send in your top 10 priorities for the future. One thing I remembered we used to do was outdoor expeditions e.g. canoeing up the Pourakino in December to see the mistletoe, going for back-beache walks and wider visits around Southland. All we need is a handful of people interested and one person able to co-ordinate and anything is possible. We had hoped to have an Eco Academy up in running but it proved too difficult without a lot of funding at the time. Should we revisit this idea or stick with wider informal education as we have been doing? Thank you for taking the time to let us know it is much appreciated or better still see you on the 2nd! Riverton Organic Co-op NewsRiverton Organic Food Co-op is 20 years old! In Autumn 1991 some members of the Riverton Organic Gardeners group got together to buy organic food they couldn't grow themselves; citrus fruit, flour and rolled oats. A phone tree was organised and due to demand, monthly ordering soon became fortnightly. Two volunteers would collate the orders and order the produce, then others would come once the cartons had arrived at Guyton's garage and separate the orders ready for pick-up by members. Different volunteers would bank the money and pay the bills. More products were sourced over time – most popular being the $1kg or $2kg organic summer fruit from Central Otago. With membership at 60, the Co-op was outgrowing its base. In 1996 when an Environment Centre was established, the Co-op shifted to operate from the corner of the Centre where it remains today, sharing the Centre's running costs. At the 10 year milestone changes had to be made. As people who run voluntary groups are well aware there is always a shortage of volunteers with the same few who are always willing to do more than their fair share and others who never seem to have the time. A new system was needed to make it viable in the future and stay being a non profit group. It was suggested that we could put a mark-up on the food but volunteers could get a percentage discount for each hour they did. This meant volunteers doing 7.5 hours a month would get their food at cost price, those doing 5 hours a month would get a 10% discount and those who didn't have time to help, paid the full price. This mark-up on public sales would enable the Co-op to gradually increase the stock available on the shelves, eventually no longer needing the phone tree, and then extend the range of products – for example, we are now selling eco-friendly skin care and cleaners. This model was so successful, not only is the Co-op still running as a 'not for profit' shop they can usually attract enough volunteers to do the work needed. This system is now being modeled by other communities around the country. Being able to sell to the public with the minimum mark-up enables more people to access organic food at low prices including many tourists who detour this way having read about the shop in the Lonely Planet Guide book. Buying as local as possible and selling it at low mark-up is supporting organic growing methods and helping New Zealand to move towards a sustainable future. New volunteers are always welcomed to come to be part of this great community service. To celebrate we had a pot luck dessert in April and enjoyed hearing about the history and had some fun competitions. We had a good range of original volunteers, present volunteer and new ones. It is a great achievement of which we should all be proud. We need more local vege suppliers, if you are an organic gardener please consider expanding your plot and making a little bit of extra money. Great range of over 16 apple varieties are offered each week so start experimenting and get to know some new favourite apples. We have certified organic chicken back in both whole and pieces and there is an option of local free range pork if there is enough interest not strictly 100% organic yet but getting close. It is a great time to start volunteering in the winter when we are quieter and many of our volunteers travel overseas for part of the winter, just let us know you are keen when you come in to shop. Robyn had a two hour lunch meeting in Methven with 8 ladies from a brand new food co-op she has been mentoring over the last few weeks by phone. They had just had their first order arrive that week in a members garage and it brought back memories of our beginnings. Lucky Robyn had a lot of ideas to offer which will help them avoid a few of the pitfalls and tips to get their co-op to be running smoothly in no time. Heritage Harvest FestivalThe day before Today will be a flurry of activity for the Riverton crew. We are making preparations for the weekend's harvest festival and there is much to do. First up this morning is a trip to the school to collect the vegetable models. Last year, there were dozens of potato dinosaurs, carrot cars and horses made from marrows waiting for me when I arrived to transport them back to the 'harvest hall' - this year I expect there'll be as many if not more. Kids like making things out of vegetables and their creativity knows no bounds. Then I'll be gathering up produce from all over: strings of shallots, trays of garlic, sacks of corn, bins of pumpkins - anything and everything that says 'autumn harvest'. We've apples galore, all sorted into their varieties and ready to be displayed and tasted, the cider presses to be lugged down to the hall and set up ready for pressing - all manner of things to move about. I'll be making an extra large plate of oatmeal and stewed Peasgood this morning to keep my energy up! Our 'Harvets Festival' t-shirts arrived last night and they're looking great - we'll be colourful walking advertisements for the festival where ever we go. The Times didn't do themselves proud at all this year by advertising us the way they did last year so we'll have to wait and see how our visitor numbers look but at this late stage we don't care at all and have friends from all over coming to take part in the workshops, the Saturday night feast and the general weekend of standing around talking and eating, sampling ciders and pressing apples, catching up with each other and having a go at learning something new. If you are in the vicinity, come along too. The festival is at the Aparima college hall, Riverton, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00am to 4:oo pm both days. (Evening up-date) The hall is filled with fruit and vegetables. There are banners and balloons. The stooks are standing waiting, the apple-peelers poised. Pumpkins and marrows, scallopino and kumikumi stacked on trestles, kowiniwini and la ratte arranged on burlap sacks. Crunchy apples swing on strings, waiting for the teeth of hungry children to close around them, the cider presses sit, dry for now but come morning ... I'm hoping for a good article in tomorrow's paper - the interview went well and the photos I sent through looked very festive and bounteous. We've been a very busy team of festival organisers and now it's time to get some shut-eye (with the fragrance of apple pies emanating from the kitchen and the sound of light rain on the roof.) Po marie. (Harvest feast with Earth Hour) Turning out your lights for an hour seems a simple enough statement of support for sustainable living and surely wouldn't attract criticism from anyone other than the power company representatives, but it surely does! It's usual for some hard-bitten conservative commentators to deride the practice, labling the practitioners 'luddites', claiming that it does 'no good' and crowing how they'll negate the actions of the 'light-savers' by 'turning on every light in the house' etc. How amusing they are and how we laugh at their witty ways! Naturally enough, the Luddites of Riverton (there's a lot of us!) celebrated Earth Hour with not one, but two hours with the electricity turned off. That'll show the Oncelers! There were around 40 of us, celebrating the harvest with a feast at the (old, country) town hall. We did burn candles though (It's not easy being green - sometimes you just have to do the best you can.) We had music to get us through the dark hours - unplugged acoustic of course, and singing. Even a dancing girl. It was a merry time indeed. The right-wing naysayers who loathe such merriment would have been infuriated by the fun we had. There was wine, beer and cider, punch too and acres of food. When I got back home I found I'd left the bathroom light on, don't tell anyone (there were more moths on the ceiling than I've seen all year - I guess with all of Riverton's lights turned off, they came like moths to a ...) Left behind after feast one pizza stone platter and one large glass pot lid, someone else is missing theirs! Harvest Festival Review The two days in the hall where the Harvest Festival was held were great fun and enjoyed by all who came to see what this year's festival had to offer. Crowds were bigger than previous years and came from wider afield. At the same to, more locals came along to see what it was all about and many returned with their families to try the activities and be part of the fun. Most appealing (the only apple pun I'll inflict on you dear reader) was Malcolm McKenzie's cider-press. Dozens of people had a turn of the screw that squeezed the juice from apples that they'd brought in themselves or that were supplied by local orchardists. The resulting juice was drunk on-site, taken home to be refrigerated and sipped slowly over the next few days or poured into demi-johns for the purpose of making cider. Even the left-over pulp was given to a woman who fattens pigs, making cleaning-up at the end an easy job. Our visiting 'woodlander' Grace took several workshops on woodland crafts and taught how to use a draw-knife to carve gypsy roses from lengths of hazel and garden dibbers from willow. In a workshop held outside, Grace showed the methods used in establishing a woodrow such as those found in Britain and encouraged the attendees to get some started here in Southland. I hope they do. Cheese-makers and honey-producers held workshops or gave advice from their stalls in the hall and the Steiner School team sold their colourful items to happy customers. The kids vegetable creations were again a mainstay of the harvest displays and there were a number of very impressive examples of champion vegetables grown in gardens around the district, most notably a huge pumpkin and daikon from a grower at Nightcaps whose secrets I seek to learn! The refreshments in the form of cups of tea and cakes and nibbles were capably managed by the Riverton Rangers from inside of the hall kitchen and they were well patronised. Visitors seemed well catered-for on all levels and those I spoke with said they enjoyed the Harvest Festival very much indeed. We had ten workshops both days which were very well attended and all activities pretty much paid for themselves. Next year we hope to get our advertising out earlier but otherwise the formula worked well. A big thank you to everyone who donated time, advertising money or prizes to make it all so successful. Winner of the Driftwood Sculpture raffle kindly donated by Wayne Hill was Lisa McDonald of Balfour. Community Gardens/ Community Orchards Matarua already has two excellent community gardens and now are looking at branching into fruit trees as well. Robert and I went up and did two two hour presentations on the 14th April about orchards, fruit trees, soil care and permaculture which were very well attended and well received. We have scouted the town and found lots of sheltered public spaces they could grow in including espaliered along a north facing fence in a children's playground. We will return in June to do a roving fruit trees and berries pruning workshop to pass on those skills before we supply them with their trees in August. Do join in and help if you are in the area to help plant and care for the trees. Contact person Barbara Cunningham 03 Ryal Bush is also starting a community orchard and garden around their old school. We went up and spoke to their team on the 7th of April and admired the lovely sheltered area they have to work with. Please contact: if you are interested in helping with this project. Owaka has a new community garden and now are working as a community to find places to plant the Catlin's collection of heritage and roadside fruit trees we grafted and saved last year. We will also provide grafting and pruning workshops so they can independently continue to reproduce and share around their communities resources. Ph if you would like to be part of this project. Our Riverton community Orchard is starting to produce lots of fruit and berries and we will hold monthly working bees to mulch plants, prune and care for the plants and design a path system for easy access. ph Robert 03 2348249 and he will put you on his ringing list. Heritage Fruit Tree ProjectThere were bumper crops for fruit this year especially apples so visiting new 'old' orchards...yes we have discovered more!...and catching up with old ones was very fruitful this year. The samples were better quality than usual and we have steadily photographed them and recorded their characteristics. We have used up our three years of funding for this project from the Sustainable Farming Fund and have just enough money left to publish our orchard handbook ready for winter. We will continue to fundraise from our August Fruit tree sale to complete the project. Robyn is now mainly focusing on how to ID the collection and we will start work on selecting the best for Southland as our collection fruits over the next three years. We have purchased four very good books to help us ID them which Robyn is finding easier now she has got the hang of it. It is great once you know the name because then you have the history and origins which are usually very interesting. We are also very lucky to have had a traveler with excellent computer skills who has transferred our 470 x 44 excel spread sheet into a web site that will be linked to our website with the photos and characteristics up for all to see one page per specimen. This will hopefully be up before spring and allow others to ID their own fruit and get international ID support from other countries orchard experts. We spent a night with a lady from Canterbury tree crops who organised the grafting of 150 of our Southland heritage trees last year and enjoyed swapping information and ideas. We talked of getting together one weekend with all the apple enthusiasts around the South Island to work on a South Island data base for what fruit trees grow best in each region. We are also researching apple houses that most farms had to store their crops over the winter, the one still standing at Drummond may be the only one left but if you know of others please let us know. The Fruit Tree list for 2011 is now on our website so please pre-order early to ensure you get most of what you are after. The trees will be available in August. Likewise if you would like us to graft anything special e.g. reproductions from an old orchard let us know soon as these cuttings have to be taken by mid July. Riverton Estuary Care news It's the Riverton Estuary Care Inc.'s AGM in a couple of weeks time 7pm Tuesday 14th June at the Centre. The group has stepped up its activities of late, especially around the control of pest plants at the reserve (thanks Kevin and Joel)and the improvement of the tracks that will become part of the proposed cycle/walking network. As well, we are employing a specialist barberry eradicator through the QEII Trust to rid the reserve of the noxious pest. WE have also used the services of two local specialist 'assessors' who have assessed (what else!) the values of Te Wai Korari Wetland and will release that report to us shortly. During that study, the first sighting of a fernbird at the reserve was reported - that's a very exciting development. We are also planning a spring estuary clean up day and summer 'Estuary festival'. Again, the AGM is soon. Come and see what we've been up to, or in fact who we are if you don't already know. New members always welcome. Robert Guyton Coming upFriday night soup nights on again: First and Third Fridays of each month 6pm-9pm or part thereof. Bring soup or bread or $5 and enjoy sitting chatting round a cosy fire. Wednesday night Movie nights: second and fourth Wednesdays of each month check on the website which eco theme movie/documentary we are showing. 7pm start gold coin donation (Also there is enough interest we could all chip in for a shared pizza tea before hand starting at 6pm) Good selection of courses over the winter programme just being finalised. Finally from our USA correspondent: I asked our friends if we should be there at 7 when the doors open for the Judy Collins concert -- whether or not we would have to elbow our way through to get good seats. Bradley responded: "Well. I don't know. But probably not, since we have V.I.P. reservations" ... at which point I declared: "I'd better get a dress!" So, I stopped by Goodwill on my way home from work to look for a dress. Something simple. A jumper, perhaps. Red would be good to match my one pair of hardly-dressy shoes. But alas! There were NO red jumpers. Not much of a selection at all, really. Fewer dresses than I expected, though I couldn't recall EVER flipping through the party section before. So it became any skirt in a storm. The peach-colored thing would do even though it was tight in the armpits, a tailoring feature I had forgotten. My red shoes would not do. But the $5.99 black sandals promised not to clash with the $5.99 dress and it all felt pretty good. Then as I headed out the door, gosh! A peach-colored handbag. When was the last time I considered accessories?!! And just $3.99. When I returned home and emerged from the shower, I put on my new duds to show David. "Pretty good, huh?" as I flounced around a bit ... and shoved my hands into the pockets. TWO twenty-dollar bills in the left pocket and two convenience store receipts from North Andover, Massachusetts in the right. Damn good shopping, I say. (and the concert was good, too!) Cheers! Carol Clapp |