We were finally able to purchase the building on land contract in January 2007 (a process we highly recommend) and we recently secured funding through a state matching grant/bank loan. So, with fear and trembling, we've begun the renovation process to turn the second floor from a space unusable for anything but storage to a living space.

To begin, we needed to clear out all of World Fare's stuff from the storage space on the second floor (which filled the back room in the 'before' picture below). We moved everything to a newly cleared and cleaned space in the basement.

Then we needed to tear out three strange walls in the middle of the space to open up the back of the building into one large area that will be used for a kitchen, living room and dining room. The standard before and after shots are below; if you'd like to see more photos of the process, check out our photo set on Flickr.

Before:

After:

We hope to document this process as we go with writing, photos and drawings, so you should hear more from us soon!

I've heard several people criticizing the strikers, saying that in the end, they'll all lose their jobs and that they're being greedy as the highest paid employees in the area. But Rob and I are still left with the question: why should a company that is consistently turning a profit (even in a flailing automotive industry) be allowed to cut its manufacturing employees' pay in half? Are the CEOs, who could certainly thrive on half their salary more than an hourly worker could, willing to make the same sacrifice if such budget cuts are indeed necessary? Twelve weeks of $200/week strike pay and standing at the plant's entrances in all kinds of weather doesn't look like greed to me. It looks like a desperate attempt not to allow corporate executives to send us back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution.

In his book Second Nature, Michael Pollan writes touchingly about a hedge of lilac and forsythia at his childhood home on Long Island, N.Y. To the adult eye, the hedges were simply flush against the fence. But he had his own secret garden, a space between the hedge and the fence. "To a four-year-old, though, the space made by the vaulting branches of a forsythia is as grand as the inside of a cathedral, and there is room enough for a world between a lilac and a wall."

"There is room enough for a world between a lilac and a wall." Beautiful, both as a turn of phrase and as a practice.

I'd prefer it--and would have less of a problem paying taxes--if my money were going toward things like affordable, clean mass transit systems and health care for all U.S. citizens. Or toward alleviating poverty and hunger in our country and around the world. Or toward sustainable energy. Or toward beautiful public spaces. And the list could go on ...

Such laughter has been welcome in the middle of some overwhelming months of intense, but good work, including our efforts to publish a new road map on faith and food as a follow up to Do Justice. I suppose both of the examples above would indicate how not to be faithful with food...but certainly how to be faithful with a scanner, a little HTML and a sense of humor.

Click below to read the article and, if you've got a minute, I'd love to hear your feedback.

• worldview


• commodified

we've found Trek's Navigator 100 to be a great choice for this type of riding, with sturdy and versatile racks for carrying up to 50 lbs. worth of laptops, groceries, books, potluck dishes, etc. we ride on the street to protect walking pedestrians, but also to hopefully make the streets a safer place for cyclists to be by encouraging cars to be aware of us (though I wouldn't go so far as the cyclist I saw the other day cutting in front of a car in the left turn lane at a red light).

one of my particular issues has been attempting to bike in professional clothing, particularly skirts. obviously some skirts won't be practical for biking (if they're too narrow and inflexible that I can't even get my leg over the bike, for example). but in more bike-progressive places, women find ways to maintain their fashion aesthetic while honoring their desire to cultivate the earth and their neighborhoods. now I wouldn't necessarily call myself a fashion diva (though a diva in another context, for sure), but this site was helpful. and here's a quote from a blog I found in my research that makes me want to live in Copenhagen:

"Social Documentary in High Heels", is one way this blog has been described. It's about bicycle culture in Copenhagen, Denmark. 35% of the population - 550,000 people - ride their bike to work or school each day. Bicycles are such an integral part of our culture and there are many aesthetic aspects on the streets at any given moment.

and here's some advice that delights me: "Be smart. Be aware. Be stylish. Stay awkward."

yes, stay awkward. you already look kind of dorky in your helmet, but awkward is necessarily 'in' in the biking world. I'm already making plans to sew some triangular 'earmuffs' that will velcro into my helmet as a means of preventing my ears from aching on cold morning rides.

and yet another step--or should I say: ride--in the right direction for me will hopefully be biodegradable vegetable-based bike chain oil. may seem a bit obsessive, but in the effort to move away from fossil fuels as a means of getting around in a more sustainble way, it doesn't really make sense to slather my chain in a petroleum product.

I must confess that biking introduces a new category of consumerism with all of the gadgets that are available, but if I'm going to drool over something I don't have, might as well be fenders...

and looking ahead, the issue after "Storytelling" will be "Let's Get Together 5" (deadline: 9/14, publishing: 9/21). each September, we celebrate our publishing anniversary with an issue on community, in the broad sense of the term. this year--I can hardly believe it--we celebrate FIVE years of bi-weekly publishing. here are links to the previous issues, just to give you an idea of what we've done in the past and to get your mind turning on submissions for the upcoming installation:

2002

2003

2005

2006

let me know if you have any questions or suggestions (kirstinvgr [at] cultureisnotoptional [dot] com). you can also join the writer's e-mail list (and more) here.

• what is the role of storytelling in your immediate family? what do you hope to teach your kids about storytelling?
• are you good at making up stories? why or why not?
• think of some of the stories you've heard your parents or grandparents tell over and over again--why those particular stories? what are some of your favorites? what have they taught you about who they are and what they love?
• is there a story from your life that you wish had turned out differently? re-tell the story however you like.
• what are some of your favorite short stories or novels? what is your response to people who gravitate toward reading non-fiction because they want to 'learn something' when they read?
• how do we learn how to tell stories?
• what is your experience with unique ethnic qualities of storytelling? what cultures are you fascinated by in this respect?
• whom do you think of as being a particularly good storyteller?
• what has been your experiences with radio shows like This American Life? Vinyl Cafe? Prairie Home Companion? others?
• documentary films seem to be becoming more popular--why? what is the value of these films compared to fiction films?
• what is the value of 'true' stories compared to 'created' stories?

we camped at Ely Lake Campground, which is a county park located on some very sandy seasonal roads. at times, it felt like we were driving on snow. there were (quite stinky) pit toilets and a hand pump for water and some rambunctious raccoons who actually OPENED our cooler on the second night, which we had stupidly left out. but it was pretty and quiet and really cheap--only $10 a night. we had a whole camping loop to ourselves...

The next issue of catapult is called "Getting Even" (7/27), which will be the last one before our August publishing break. "Getting Even" will focus on revenge and forgiveness. Here are some questions I sent out to our writer's e-mail list:

• Who in your life models forgiveness to you? Who models an inability to forgive?


• What makes revenge intuitive and satisfying? What makes it unsatisfying?


• When have you experience forgiveness in a memorable way, either as an individual or as part of a community?


• What aspects of our culture and systems encourage vengeance over forgiveness?


• South Africa has provided a model for communal reconciliation. What are your thoughts on this model? What other models have you observed, whether on micro or macro scales?


• When has it been difficult for you to forgive? When has it been difficult to be forgiven?


• Do revenge fantasies serve any kind of redemptive purpose?

If you would like to join the writer's e-mail list to get regular updates on publishing dates, deadlines and topics, you can do so here. Don't worry--it's easy to unsubscribe if the list isn't what you thought it would be.

• Hard-boiled eggs from Heritage Acres in Carson City, Michigan
• Mom's blueberry coffee cake made with fresh blueberries from the farmer's market
• Spiced apples with currants and toasted walnuts, sweetened with maple syrup
• Pomegranate green iced sun tea with lime

• Bova Bakery Italian Herb crust
• Red sauce
• Artichoke hearts
• Pickled Garlic that a friend brought back for us from Gilroy, CA, garlic capital of the world
• Monterrey Jack cheese
• Red currants

• Bova Bakery Green Pepper/Tomato/Onion Focaccio
• Garlic butter bechamel sauce (recipe below)
• Farmer's market green pepper, asparagus and yellow squash sauteed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar
• Fresh tomatoes
• Dill cheese from the farmer's market
• Scallions and spinach from our CSA share