Out the window, it is a night filled with sound. Frogs in the ditch across the street, cars passing by, distant dogs barking. The Frogs and the Dogs definitely complement each other as if to say, “Hey, I hear you. Also, our names rhyme. So there.”
It is a cool, breezy night here just after the sun has set and the sky has become dark. I am comforted by the glowing orb who keeps me company when company isn’t around. Feels like the Moon follows me around. When there’s a cycle beginning and ending, I always, no matter what, smile so big when I first catch a glimpse of the Moon coming back from being in the Shadow of the Earth. Tonight she is full and glows brightly above the treetops, creating a dim silhouette of pines and the spine of the Sweet Gum in out front yard.
Today was a day to put on the books – though it started yesterday (as per usual) to be accurate. I’ve been taking one on one Spanish lessons from a friend in Saxapahaw. Yesterday was the first day we began really diving into the meaty and juicy bits of the patterns and formulas of the language. After the lesson I felt like I’d learned something significant, or was at least finally on my way. After spilling primer all over myself for my latest project, the 1st community announcement chalk board, I really needed to get out of the house… Thankfully, there was a dance party at the Haw River Ballroom for free, hosted by my friend Milo who is moving away to learn to be a beekeeper. I wish them luck and will be happy for their return. The dance party, however was amazing and I enjoyed teaching my friend Brian how to hula-hoop. I’ve been exercising lately, so I can fit into a Chinese tea dress in May, and this week I’d gotten off my regular workout habit (giving in to the snooze button…). This dance was EXACTLY the lift I needed in order to get back on board. I also bought a bike… and I’m stoked. Pun intended. So I danced the night away, shook my groove thing (as it had not been shaken since New Years Eve and what a glorious night/morning that was in the heart of Blues country with my sweetheart…) and proceeded to go to bed promptly after returning home.
This morning I awoke to a phone call from the Sparrows saying that it’s time to go clean up the river. This wasn’t a surprise to me, I’d only forgotten that it was Saturday morning. Nonetheless, I hopped out of bed, put on my mud boots, and proceeded to clean 4 bags of trash out of the Haw River and surrounding islands, banks, and beaches. There were about 20 of us this morning and what a crew it was. Very fulfilling personally and also create a sense of community that I’d been eager to get ahold of again now that Spring is on her way into the house. After our river cleaning, we had lunch at the Eddy Pub and I went home to work in the garden.
This year, I’m doing a layered garden. In the fall I put down newspaper and about 15 bags of leaves from Paw Paw’s yard. Soon I’ll be putting down a layer of compost from my neighbors huge compost pile and on Wednesday, there’s a load of soil/compost mix I’m having delivered to the garden. Tilling the soil last year proved to be extremely difficult and that red clay soil won’t let me grow all the things I want. Like carrots. Anyhoooo, I drove stakes into the ground around my double layered beams and I’m excited to start this year. SO looking forward to a homegrown salad. Pickles. Beans. Tomatoes. Beets. Radishes….. the list goes on and on. Gardening truly makes me happy. The learning, the work, the time, the soil under my fingernails and in my hair… that list goes on and on too. I’ll shoot some photos and share as time goes by.
Lastly, I went to a community public forum meeting today and soon there’ll be a Saxapahaw Village Council. This group is intended to be a civic listening entity for the community and an official representative body to be proactive interactors with the county and other governing bodies. I’m glad to be a part of it. More later.
So enough with the procrastinating, I’m going to write more on my thesis now, but I needed to start typing and get the flow going before anything of use or gravity could come out of me for my paper. Thanks for listening to my day. I’ve enjoyed it so far. I hope to get at least 5-7 more pages done tonight, then a well-deserved phone date with Peter. I very much look forward to his voice and his giggle. He is in Colorado spending time with his father who has alzheimer’s, but is having good days despite a projection of soon exiting this world. I am keeping them all (Peter, his father, and brother) in my thoughts. Wish me luck with this paper now. I turned down running naked with a tiara on in order to type some pages tonight. It BETTER be fruitful, else I totally screwed myself over.
anita lorraine moore 
This is what I wrote to my professor advisor tonight – after creating two outlines and deciding on which to proceed tomorrow morning/afternoon:
PS: Jeff thank you for your feedback so far. I was sitting on my porch tonight grueling over what I’ve been writing and what to go on to next. It made me smile in appreciation of your feedback and depth of answers/questions. You’re the type of practical, question asker that I need in order to get this done. I will have three things for you by tomorrow night:
1. A detailed description of Democracy Matters’ history and capacity including: funding, staffing, # of campuses, where they are, and the differing structures in which campuses are set up (ie: formal pres, vice pres, etc structure, co-president communal structure, smaller campuses who only have the head of the organization working hard to maintain by themselves…ETC)
2. Outcome indicators – this will include analysis of the tension you mentioned between the 2 DM goals (public financing of campaigns and student advocacy of them on campuses) This will also include the discussion of advocacy evaluation – its fogginess (As per the article you sent which was very helpful in helping me to understand the differences between traditional evaluation of success and the complicated nature of evaluation of advocacy effectiveness)
3. I want to go into the politics of campaign finance reform. Not so much the history behind it, and maybe that lends itself to the context section of the paper, but the power players behind different viewpoints on the topic. Some support it because of its ideals within a participatory and representative democracy. Some support it because of its ability to defeat incumbents. Some support it because of its inclusion of minorities. Some do NOT support it for the opposites of those reasons. Do people who are against it, when using such arguments as “not with my money you don’t” truly believe then in democracy or a republic or whatever? Thats a tension that lies in my heart. I think it should be included in all this.
Send you this tomorrow night.
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