Things to be thankful for

The 'storm of the year' is over, and it wasn't as bad as they predicted, although the snow was quite deep when I shovelled my way to the barn in the afternoon. The sun is shining on this very cold winter morning, but weather won't impede travel, which means the flights are on time- yipee. I got an e-mail from Andy yesterday mentioning that there were going to be more election announcements, which could have meant more riots (my flight was delayed two times in December due to the riots & airport closure). After an initial groan, I steadfastly proclaimed that I wasn't going to have a delayed flight again (like I really have a choice!), and decided that I'd just accept whatever news came my way. Today's online news tells me that Celestin has been withdrawn from the election- which hopefully means a peaceful time in Haiti, with flights on time.

I'm really looking forward to the 'Get rid of Tina and send her back to Haiti' potluck party with friends tonight (I coined the name- didn't want them to come up with a better name!). I'll hang out with some good folks, have some cider or wine, and then they'll pack me into a middle of the night taxi bound for the airport in Toronto to get me on my 6:45 am flight tomorrow morning.

Friends and family continue to be super supportive, both financially and emotionally, as I prepare for this trip. I'm particularly excited by the excitement of donations of hand and power tools, and musical instruments for the schools in the Deslandes area. (http://www.strawhomes.ca/Haiti.htm). Social networking is a wonderful tool for spreading news, and I really appreciate everyone who is helping pass the word along, and of course, appreciate donations from people.

I'm quite looking forward to seeing the compressed earth block school, and to helping plaster it. It will be really interesting to help develop a curriculum that will help participants build more sustainably in an earthquake zone. I get to pull out my teacher skills, builder skills, and if I'm lucky, we'll manage to play some music while I'm there as well.

Ian Thomson, friend, fire fighter, and owner/builder of a beautifully timber framed straw house, is going to join me in the Deslandes area in March. We are going to build a facility for composting toilets, hopefully out of light clay/straw and recycled pallets, maybe with a thatched sugar cane roof. The community is quite excited by this project, and we both look forward to working with them.

My list of contacting media, friends, etc. is almost complete; tools & tent are packed, and piles of clothes are on bed waiting to go into pack. Hmmmm, why do I feel almost relaxed? The snow day yesterday was quite helpful in keeping me here to get business done, but I think I'm really relaxed because I've got such amazing people in my life, looking out for me, picking up the pieces after I leave, and passing on the torch.

Onward! And thank you, all of you, who are helping in this venture!