Lately I’ve been wrestling with the idea of buying farmland.  Several of my friends have already made the leap and are busy making the preparations I can only dream about.

Currently my wife and I live in an apartment in Capitol Hill and I feel like I’ve done pretty much all I can do in this situation.  If I buy land now I will surely overpay for it.  If I wait for land to become cheap, I might not have developed the skills needed in time.

After speaking with several friends of mine who’ve done this, it’s obvious that it takes years to learn the kinds of things required to become even somewhat self sufficient.

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We’re having another discussion group this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. at a great Chinese restaurant in the International District called Tai Tung. The address is 659 S. King St. The atmosphere of this place is great, and they let you hang around sipping tea for hours, even after you’re done with your meal—which is why it’s great for discussions, study groups, or whatever. (Todd and I sat and talked there late into the night one day after a previous coffee shop discussion group.) I hope to see a great turnout!

-Frank

All,

I’m pleased to say that we’ll be hosting a dinner and discussion with Ran Prieur this Saturday evening at our house in the Mt. Baker neighborhood.  If you’re not familiar with Ran’s work, check out his website at http://www.ranprieur.com

Food is provided, so just bring an appetite. 6:00 p.m. start. I’m keeping things open for now, but am requiring RSVP so that I can keep track of how many people are coming, and will cut it off if I get more interest than we can accomodate.  RSVP via email to “toddsahl (at) yahoo (dot) com”, and I’ll send you the address.

Also, don’t fret if you can’t make Saturday – if Ran is still in town he will also attend the December SPOA meeting on the 4th.

-Todd

Somehow, the entire month of September went by without a single coffee shop discussion group being held! But I’m rectifying this right now by holding another one this coming Sunday (Oct. 5), at the same time and place as the last one (2 p.m. at the Elliot Bay Café). For those who haven’t been there before, the Elliot Bay Café is on the lower level of the Elliot Bay Bookstore, which is at 101 S. Main St. This venue worked great last time; and I hope that the turnout this coming Sunday is just as high, in spite of the short notice.

Cheers,

FK

On October 2, our meeting will focus on the ASPO-USA conference in Sacramento. Jim Hansen attended and will give us a review of the events at the conference.

Dave Reid will also give an update on the Sail Transportation Network demo project where his boat carried local farm produce to members of our group.

The first discussion group went so well that there’s going to be another one two Sundays from now (Aug. 24). It’ll be at the same time (2 p.m.), but at a different venue. (While Caffe Ladro was great, it’s too small for a big group and it has almost nothing in the way of food.) The new spot will be the Elliot Bay Café, which is in the Elliot Bay Bookstore (101 S. Main St.). I think this will be a truly grand venue for a discussion group. In addition to its air of bookish erudition, it has plenty of appetizing organic chow at reasonable prices (check out the menu at http://www.elliottbaybook.com/about/cafe/index.jsp), and it’s right by the International District – where there’s bound to be other affordable fare, should the discussion session wind up extending into dinnertime!

Hope to see you all there.