Every day is a new day and with that, a new opportunity.
EVERYONE is welcome and please join us each morning at 7:30 AM PACIFIC
to tell us what you're working on, share your show & tell, vent, whatever you want...
...this is an open thread. Nothing is off topic.
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TODAY'S COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION FEATURE:
Does creating a "living community" interest you?
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We live on three acres of land with a year-round creek that passes right by our home. Our home was built via a "passive solar" design, so it has huge windows facing south that are shaded in the summer by very large over-hangs of the roof. This keeps our home cool.
There is no central heating or air conditioning.
Our home is built into a hill side on the north...so the south side of the house looks like a two-story from the south, while the north side of the house looks like a one-story looking at it from the north.
The "basement" or lower story of our home always stays cool. It never gets above 72 degrees no matter how hot is gets outside nor for how long it stays hot in the summer. And our temps reach the triple digits with regularity in the summertime.
In the winter, sunlight streams into our home all day long to heat it. We use a wood burning stove for heat as well. Our wood stove is very up to date and as clean-burning as they are made currently. I take great care in creating fires in the wood stove that burn extremely efficiently. Once the fire has caught, no smoke goes out of the stove pipe. If you burn a fire in wood stove the right way, smoke belching out the stove pipe really shouldn't happen. Our stove creates 3.2 grams of "stuff in the air (particulates)" per hour.
We have solar-heated hot water.
We basically live in the woods and have grown a wonderful garden with flowering plants and vegetables. We have fruit trees: apple, nectarine, peach, plum and pomegranate. We have blue berries, raspberries, strawberries and black berries. We wanted to grow some food and get our neighbors to perhaps grow other foods so we could all then share in the bounty together. We haven't been able to accomplish that.
But I really want to create a community that shares in growing and harvesting food and shares in working together to live while decreasing the use of energy, water and consumerism.
Growing plants and raising livestock require thriving soil! And thriving soils pull a lot of carbon out of the atmosphere. It is imperative to the future of humans and many, many species of plants and animals, that we create healthy soil by simply tending to it properly. It's not that hard at all once you've got it going a few years...really!
A dear friend (who came to our recent Oyster Bash gathering) has 80 acres of land and two wells. She is going to have another one drilled at the very top of her property that will be solar run. She can grow all the food and all the livestock she ever needs.
We have talked quite seriously about creating an older folks place on her land...as we get wiser to the point of feeling the need of having that as we age. The current idea is to have a central area for gathering and cooking communally, while each person or couple has their own small home or cabin. We would be able to grow all the food we want and help each other do all that needs doing.
In other words, this will be a living community.
A brand new Kossack told us about her son who lives in a Denver suburb with his family. They live in a "living community" of 30 families who have done exactly what we plan for our future...down the road just a bit. And we were told that community in the Denver-area is working out splendidly. Having lived there for seven years, his family and he love it.
This a great idea. Imagine all sharing tools so every one doesn't need to buy the same tools as everyone else. Imagine all the car pooling for trips to town... could be a good little bit of creating less of a carbon footprint. Imagine all the help everyone would have access to in such a community.
YOUR TURN: Are you truly interested in creating a living community for yourself with others? What would it look lilke?
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I'm listening.
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Latest Updates on Kossack Regional Meet-Up News Below the Fold
COMMUNITY BUILDING UPDATES:
Let's build communities!
Every region needs a meat-space community like SFKossacks.
We take care of each other in real life.
I urge YOU to take the lead and organize one in your region.
Please tell us about it if you do and we're here for advice.
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THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY
by sidnora
Half of our happy company, including blue jersey mom, your humble diarist, mconvente, Design the Future, brooklyn liberal, and a DailyKos fan.
the other end of the table -gchaucer2, MBNYC, Ollie Garkey, ericlewis0, Mets102, and that fan again!
Many more photos at the link above.
:: New Regions Organizing! ::
These are the groups that have started since * NEW DAY * began. Please Kosmail navajo if you have started a group before that.
NEW GROUPS LIST:
• California Central Valley Kossacks
Organizer: tgypsy
• New England Kossacks
Organizers:
Clytemnestra (Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island)
Common Sense Mainer (Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont)
• Houston Area Kossacks
Organizer: Chrislove
• Kossacks in India
Organizer: chandu
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ESTABLISHED GROUPS LIST: (List will grow as we discover them)
• SFKossacks Founded by navajo, Formed: May 2, 2005, More than 80 members
• Maryland Kos Founded by timmyc, Formed: Feb 23, 2011, More than 54 members
• New York City Founded by Eddie C, More than 58 members
• Baja Arizona Kossacks Founded by buddabelly, Formed: Feb. 13. 2011, 90 members
:: Current Diaries in Planning Mode ::
•
Baltimore area kossack meetup suggestion by
sreeizzle2012
• Colorado Kossack Meetup by ColoTim
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:: Events Currently on the Books for ALL Kossacks ::
ATTENTION!
IMPORTANT BUMP TO THE TOP!
SteelerGrrl has a Charlotte DNC roll call diary up for anyone going to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC starting September 2nd.
Send SteelerGrrl a kosmail to connect.
KOSSACKS REPRESENT!
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Saturday, September 15th
Central Valley Kossacks Lunch!
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: Ket Mo Ree Thai Restaurant & Bar
238 G St.
Davis, CA
530-759-2255
HOST: tgypsy
RSVPs So Far:
1. tgypsy
2. cooper888
3. gotmooned (Mr cooper888)
4. SallyCat
5. Mr. Cat
6. mrsgoo
7. Kestrel - tentative (Maybe)
Latest diary about this event: Central Valley Kossacks: Let's Meet Up
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DailyKos readers who live and/or work in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
Saturday, September 15th
New England Kossak Meet Up!
TIME: Noon - 3pm
LOCATION: Bangkok Cafe
369 Central Street
Foxborough, MA 02035
508-543-THAI (8424)
map
HOST: Clytemnestra
Affirmative RSVPs thus far:
1. Clytemnestra
2. Rick DeVille (husband of SadieSue)
3. SadieSue (they will be coming from Western Mass willing to carpool)
4. GreyHawk
5. Hawkwife
6. thankgodforairamerica (coming from central, CT willing to carpool)
7. 8. 9. Moody Loner, mommyp00ka, and the Little
10. jarbyus
11. bjedward
Maybes:
litho
paulitics
brillig
northerntier (will be coming from central VT, willing to carpool. )
The Poet Deploreate (will be coming from the North Shore, willing to carpool.)
Common Sense Mainer
Phil S 33
Samantha Clemens (progressive radio talk show host)
rougegorge
annieli
Latest diary about this event, including activities to do in the area.
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Saturday, October 13th
Cheers & Jeers Meet-Up
TIME: 1:00 - 4:00 PM
LOCATION: Margaritas Mexican Restaurant
775 Lafayette Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
HOSTS: Common Sense Mainer and Bill in Portland Maine
Send Common Sense Mainer a Kosmail to RSVP.
EVERYONE is welcome!
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Friday, October 19th
SFKossack Red Carpet Rollout for Dave in Northridge
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION: Yank Sing
Rincon Center
101 Spear St.
San Francisco
Send navajo a Kosmail to RSVP.
RSVP LIST:
1. Dave in Northridge
2. navajo
3. Lorikeet
4. Steveningen
5. jpmassar
6. kimoconnor
7. norm (Maybe)
8. MrNavajo
9. remembrance
10. Glen the Plumber
11. Dharmasyd
12. boatsie
Send
navajo a kosmail if you post a diary about an event so we can update our round-up.
This diary is an example of what SFKossacks do year-round to build our community.
Personal bonds are strengthened and more are feeling comfortable
creating events on their own.
SFKossacks has been organizing since 2005.
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Okay. Floor's open.
Tell us what you are doing on this NEW DAY?