La Casa Grande Colectiva

Author: Andrew

  • fingernail dirt

    I type to you today with filthy fingertips.  Today’s soil meets yesterday’s soil in the space between my flesh & fingernail.  Drew says he heard somewhere about some lovin’ chemicals that get released when you get down & dirty in the garden.  That helps account for this great feeling, perhaps, or at least explains it some.

    I might also attribute it to a distinct feeling of closeness with the mother.  For I have (at least) two wombs from which I sprang: a human womb, in which fetus-me grew these very fingernails (or some preliminary prototype), & an earthly womb, out of which all my particles came & will eventually return.  Carl Sagan said we’re all “starstuff,” & to that I add that we are more directly “earthstuff”.

    JP, Gretchen, Drew & I speed-dug a garden bed this morning, & then I had a fine time “double-digging” it — turning over the top soil, turning over the next layer, & using my bare hands to blast the clods to smithereens.  As I stepped on my shovel, the earth pulled me & the shovel into it, toward her core.  Indeed, every day of my life, my mother pulls me back to her.  She loves me far too much to let me go.

    These garden beds look like mouths of the mother.  The rich dark soil looks like her skin.  Breaking up these clods in my hands, I touch her so intimately.  What a fucking honor!

    And also, as visitors are quick to point out, these fresh, unplanted garden beds look like graves.  When I die, my mother will take me back, & out of me-made-her, will grow vegetables again.

  • office hours

    Jacob started keeping “office hours” a few weeks ago.  The hours themselves vary – sometimes he goes 6-8, sometimes 10-midnight, but he leaves his door open and openly welcome distraction.  Of course, he used to do that anyway, but now it looks intentional.

    We miss Jacob!  In his absence, Maria and I are holding honorary office hours, I at his computer, blogging (obviously), and Maria on his bed poking around at his books and DVDs.  Anyone with something on their mind is welcome to stop by.

  • Jacob Barton!

    Call your mother!

  • Beer Dig

    Yo! La Casa hosted a BEER DIG yesterday, which means we bribed our friends with alcohol to help get our pit ponded!  Something like 40 people showed up, some of them with shovels, for a muddy-fine time digging, grunting, drinking, heaving, hoeing, and drinking.

    Some La Casans went out round about 10AM to imagine a desirable curvy shape for our pit-pond to take, wiggling our garden hose and some electrical cords around until everyone ok-ed it.  Maria threw down some white spray paint to make it official.  “Dig here.”  We made a design with two shallow, wiggly fingers and a mound in between.

    Pond shaping up

    In the picture above, Liya (purple shirt and fabulous overalls) stands in front of the mound and between the two fingers. You can see how high the water table had gotten from the night before!  We bailed out the pit more than once, and it quickly filled back in with fresh water from the ground.

    Towards the end of the day

    Above: Towards the end of the dig, you can see even the new fingers filled with a bit of water.  The north finger is the close one, and on the other side of that soggy mound, you can see a bit of the south finger.  We made a lot of progress, and we have more digging to do yet!

    Bonnie in the low contrast of the sunshine

    Anna, Brett, & Bonnie in a dramatic pic!

    Many beds were prepared as well

    Above: Meanwhile, some of us worked on digging new garden beds and raising them up with soil from the pit-pond.  We carried sod to the front yard to replant it in a strange patchwork under a tree, hence Vinnie with a wheelbarrow of sod.

    The hungry laborers

    Post-dig din: whole wheat macaroni with tomato sauce, quinoa, (leftover) delicious chili, and home-made bread-machineless bread.  The sun going down, and the crowd dwindling a bit.  The alcohol finally catching up with me….

    Post dig bonfire

    And finally, as we digested our elbows and beer, we enjoyed a big-ol’ bonfire, the first of the season.

    Post dig bonfire 4

    Thanks for digging with us, those of you who did!  I, for one, thought it went swimmingly, pit-ponds, garden beds, soddy jigsaw puzzles, bowls of quinoa, and raging fires considered.

  • Black Bean Burgers

    We had a potluck dinner at La Casa tonight, which turned into a little fire in the garden firepit with guitar, conversation, & digestion.  The food theme?  “Americana!”  I tried out a new recipe, which came out very well, so I think I’ll share it.

    It comes from this website & goes like this:

    INGREDIENTS

    • 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
    • 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
    • 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
    • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tablespoon chili powder
    • 1 tablespoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
    • 1/2 cup bread crumbs

    DIRECTIONS

    1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
    2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
    3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
    4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
    5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
    6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

    I tripled the recipe, cooked black beans instead of messing around with cans, & (of course) used eggs from our chickens. I didn’t like how the burgers came out baking them, so I decided to fry them in sunflower oil. Yum!

    Maria, JP, & Gretchen also cooked amazing food, so maybe they’ll share their recipes, too.  & of course, our guests brought great dishes, so maybe some of them can share in the comments.

    potluck at la casa potluck at la casa

  • a day

    What did y’all do today?

    My alarm went off at 5 this morning; I got out of bed at 6 to get to work at 7.  I thoughtfully forgot to turn my alarm off when I went to walk Sophie, so housemate-friend Ronna had the pleasure of grumbling around for the snooze button.

    At work, I stocked shelves & portioned out tahini.

    After work, Ronna helped me plant seeds (!) & inspired me to start digging a new garden bed – yay!  Dog-friend Sophie roamed the yard & didn’t eat too much chicken shit.  (Just enough, I guess.)

    I took a break from digging the bed which I apparently still haven’t come back from.  Housemate-friend Jacob & I visited our neighbor-friends Vinnie & Jill, & then I took a nap.  After the nap, I biked with Jacob & Jill to Ananda Liina for a Yoga class.  The bike ride took something like a half an hour both ways, & Jacob led us in a fancy zigzag pattern on the way home.

    When we got back, Jacob & I had a bit of food (leftovers!) & chatted with our housemate-friend Maria.  She said she was going off to Murphy’s.  Jacob said he was staying in.

    I went off to a potluck at neighbor-friend Connie’s place.  After schmoozing for a while, I biked home with housemate-friend JP.

    Back at La Casa, I started typing up this blog entry when housemate-friend Heather came home with two houseguest-friends: Michael & Ben, both in town to check out the Art & Design program at the U of I.  I borrowed the house computer to finish this entry in my bedroom, & here I sit.

    So my day looked something like that.  Full of “things to do,” full of good people.  I like things, & I like people.  Now I suspect I’ll read some haikus & go to sleep.  Goodnight, internet people.  I like you too.

  • Happy Pi Day!

    Yo!  March 14 be “Pi Day” – 3/14!  Enjoy this music video from my friends “back home” in Upstate New York – the Mathematicians!

  • House Concerturtle

    Last Friday, March 6, La Casa (under the MCery of friend & former resident Anna) hosted Concerturtle (!) – an evening of performances of (mostly) new experimental works.  Three residents (including your humble narrator) participated in music-making.  We packed our living room with delightful human beings, kept our guests in grape juice & popcorn, & followed the festivities with a talk-back session & a bonfire in our garden.  I (for one) thought it went swimmingly.

    The “Program”:

    Hi there,

    Do you remember this assignment?  Here are two versions:

    “Write a statement that you want to be true.”
    “Write a statement that is unfortunately false in current society.”

    I want this assignment to linger in the air for a while.  I find that  I’m never quite done with it.  Dr. Parenti recommends exercising your  “desiring muscles” frequently enough that they at least don’t atrophy.

    So, I’m starting a weekly bulletin:  This Week in Desire Statements.   Send false statements and related artworks & project links to unfortunately DOT… false AAT… gmail DOT… com, and every Friday (I hope) I’ll put
    together something out of it.

    Thanks,
    Jacob Barton

    • The Solution to the Problem btw Israel & Palestine, by JARband.

    More about this piece here.

    • Playing (with) Policy, by AnAndR.
    • The Squirrel’s Nut, a story composed & told by elizaBeth.
    • Bagatelle No. 1, performed by Snow Leopard & Jacob.
    • Duke of Uke & His Novelty Orchestra, performed by Dave, Lorene & ?.
    • Rigadoo, performed by JP, Erin, Charlie & Kendra.

    Rigadoo plays some hot bluegrass & Celtic music with traditional instruments & a set of mesmerizing “chakra bowls”; the Duke of Uke plays funky tunes on ukulele (accompanied, in this instance, by electric bass, tuba, & backup singin’); Snow Leopard arranged Bagatelle No. 1 (by whom?) for keyboard & udderbot; elizaBeth shared a draft of a story for children pointing to the absurdities of capitalism with talking rodents!

    We six La Casans have inherited a tradition of house concerts – a tradition I happen to adore.  I can think of no better venue for a show than a good friend’s living room!

    UPDATE: some photos from the event,

    concerturtlethumbs

  • AndR self-description

    I, Andrew Heathwaite, moved to La Casa (& Urbana) in fall 2008 to attend School for Designing a Society.  I’ve never loved where I’m livin’ like I love this place.  Living here, I feel free to work on the thoughts & conversations I want to have.  Physical space allows for mental/spiritual space; intimate friendships allow for emotional needs fulfillment.

    “I”:

    I work on music, language, writing, performance, with an intention to generate alternatives & variety in Everydaylife (when is Everyday?) & in the spaces between.  Most recently, I’ve enjoyed time (not “spent”) meditating, composing & performing music in 17 equal divisions of the octave (a juicy microtonal scale), writing poems, playing (with) policy, reading ancient Asian texts, digitizing Herbert Brün audio, participating in morning chats with Drew, walking Sophie, stocking shelves, digging holes, potluck hopping, & breathing.

    I love it here, & intend to stay for a while.  Visit! Let’s talk Universe.

    Links: