w o r d s

What a year 2007 was. For us, it had some tough decisions, some crises, some major changes and some really positive accomplishments. In January we backed out of contract to buy a house because of serious structural problems with that house, and because of our lack of faith in the engineer and the contractor dealing with the repairs. In the spring we started our search again, scouring the area for a place that would meet our needs with the help of our agent Charles Woody. Laura checked the listings every night, and we looked at quite a few houses. We found several we liked, and we made offers on three (3!), but for one reason or another it never worked out. The formidable illusions some folks are under as to the value of their house can be completely mind-boggling!

So in May, we finally found our new, awesome house, made an offer less than a week after it came on the market, did the inspection, and bought it! In June, we moved to the new house and on July 6 we listed our old house, after we had it painted and a new roof put on, to get it ready to sell. After the third showing we got an offer and we signed the contract on July 22nd. We got a great price for it - in line with the tax value and the appraisal. We never had a moment of second-guessing the decision to buy our house - it’s absolutely great!

The trip to Ghana and Togo we had planned last year fell through because the in-country coordinator in Ghana became sick and was unable to do her part. And since the trip involved taking a group to Ghana, there was no other option but to cancel the trip altogether. This year we’re planning just a family trip to Togo. There are still a few issues, but hopefully it’ll work out this time.

Health concerns dominated a good part of this year. Laura had some stuff going on, and had to have a procedure done at the hospital this fall. She is fine now. Both my folks, as well as Laura’s mom had, and have, health concerns. A colleague of mine was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, went through a grueling summer of chemo therapy, then an operation and now radiation therapy. A friend of Laura’s died of cancer. A couple of people we know had to undergo treatment and operations for cancer-ish problems. All that made me appreciate being healthy, and prompted me to start working out more again. I also had a physical done. My doctor just said “your healthy - see you next year.” Finally, Laura’s grandma started having some problems in the fall, but seemed to be doing OK. On December 17 we got a call from Laura’s mom telling us that her mom had died that morning. So on Christmas day we drove up to Michigan for the funeral. All this made us not take our health for granted, and make an extra effort to stay physically fit, eat good, healthy food and drive carefully!

I don’t even want to get into politics - I am so disgusted with the situation here in the US. The Democratic “leader”ship of the congress has been a bitter disappointment. And those so-called “presidential” candidates are hardly much of an improvement over the current “commander and thief.”

On the positive side: the Women’s Football Worldcup was fun. And, of course, I was totally thrilled with the extraordinary performance of the German team, defending the championship successfully without conceding a single goal! What a feat!

Another positive: 2007 was my first year running the Jetta almost exclusively on homebrew biodiesel (except for some cold-weather blending in Jan/Feb and a couple of fill-ups at the coop after the move). Also, the official NC tax-exemption for homebrew biodiesel came through this fall. So no worries about having to file road tax for my homebrew. And since we got rid of the Ford, and got an old Mercedes 300D, at least our daily transportation is now no longer OPEC dependent, and relatively carbon-neutral.

So Happy 2008 to all! Peace and Love to the world! Prosperity and health to you, dear reader, and thanks for checking in.

Jürgen

Laura’s grandmother Peg was born on December 6, 1908 in Trevor, Wisconsin - the same year Bette Davis was born (April 5) and Henry Ford produced his first Model T automobile. She was the daughter of Wayne and Lillian (Frank) Bush. Peg died on December 17, 2007 peacefully in her sleep at a retirement home in Charlotte, Michigan. She is survived by her daughter, Dolores Wendell of Charlotte; daughter-in-law, Genie Michel; grandchildren, David Wendell, John Wendell, Carol Kostyshyn, Paul Wendell, Peter Wendell and Laura Wendell; 3 great grandchildren, Mira Kostyshyn, Julia and Jacob Henn. She was preceded in death by her husband, Julius in 1991 and son Philip in 1998.

Peg is remembered for her kindness and generosity, and her love of the good things in life. She was very active in her community as a member of her church and as an officer of clubs and community organizations in Charlotte, and she received community service awards for her work. To her family, Peg’s and Julius’ house was a place of stability and comfort, where the door was always open. Although she will be missed, we’re grateful for her long, rich life and for the moments we shared with her.

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Meet Joey - he’s a 18-hands Clydesdale and a member of the Express Clydesdales Team.

When the team visited Durham last weekend, we were lucky enough to know where they were staying. so we got a special, personal encounter with these amazing hoses. (see below)

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Looks like I’ll be retiring my trusted Simonelli bike sooner rather than later. Last week I was preparing the bike for a ride to work, when I noticed that the frame is damaged. Those fat off-road tires I like, wore a hole in the frame! The side of the tire was rubbing slightly against the frame and I fiddled with it for the longest time to get it to stop, but eventiually I gave up. I figured that the rubber would eventually wear off. Instead the steel frame wore off!

That and the saddle stem that’s fused to the frame and the worn out gears and chain now had me come to the conclusion that the time has come to retire the old bike a start shopping for a new one. The frame is now 17 years old and I rebuilt the bike in 2000. We have been through hell and high water together. Snow storms in France, sand storms in Morocco, a rough encounter with semi and another one with a chicken. The two of us have been around the block a bit - I rode this bike in Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Togo, as well as in North Carolina and Florida A girlfriend left me because of this bike.

So retitiring this bike is not easy. But there are some very cool new bikes out there. right now I have my eyes on a Gary Fisher 29er (the Rig) for roughly a thousand bucks. Seems like great bike. Although I don’t thik I’ll ever have as great a time on a bike as I did with my old Simonelli.

[update 12/2: added the pic of the bike on Fes]

October was quite a ride. My Benz was in the shop for most of the month, which was inconvenient, but at least all the repairs so far were under the seller’s warranty (new alternator, fuel pump, fuel injector, new turbo) and he also gave me a loaner to drive while he was working on the Benz. The kids were having a bit of a rough time in school (social stuff and adjusting to the new school). So we had a few meetings with teachers. so far it looks like things are back on track. Laura and I also spent a day at Duke Hospital - this also looks good now and should be taken care of. The fun part in October was our Haunted Housewarming Party last Saturday. It was a lot of work getting the house (and us) ready for a big party, but it was worth it and the party was a lot of fun. Thanks to all who came!

My new ride - a black 1991 Mercedes Benz 300D. She’s at 244,000 miles, and going strong. Well, right now she’s actually short a turbo, but that’ll get fixed next week. Even without the turbo she’s a mighty nice ride, especially now that she’s no longer on that stinky diesel, and running on homemade juice.

We brought this plumeria back from Hawai’i in 2004 and planted the stem in a pot. For a while nothing happened. Then it started growing leaves. This spring Laura transferred the plant to a larger pot and it started growing more leaves.

When we moved, we gave the plumeria a nice, sunny spot on the deck. The plant loved the hot weather this summer and grew like crazy. Last week we noticed the flower buds, and tonight was the night! The plumeria’s first flower opened. Pretty amazing - it took only 10 hours, and in the last few hours you could almost watch it unfurl its delicate petals.

Click on the picture to see the gallery.

More on plumerias here …

YES!

FOR SALE: SECLUDED COUNTRY HOME WITH BIKETRAIL

Two-bedroom secluded brick ranch with biketrail/walking path and large basement in Bahama (20 minutes North of Duke Campus). The single-track trail is a .33 mile figure eight on the 2.5 acres wooded lot. The trail runs through the forest, crosses the creek and climbs a nice hill.  The path lets you fully enjoy the beautiful wildlife and plants occupying the wide variety of habitats on your land. You can hit the trail in the morning for 30 Minutes and still make it to class/work at 9:00 AM on campus (or anywhere in Durham).

More details: The house was built by a contractor for himself and has a lot of cool extras like a wood furnace that is hooked into the duct system and a whole house fan that keeps the place wonderfully cool during much of the year. The house has a terrific kitchen with a huge pantry and large counters with lots of workspace. We just put on a brand new roof and gutters. There is a full basement that is half finished (separate entrance and driveway) and half unfinished workspace (no moldy crawlspace - lots of room for your stuff). The bedrooms (2) are large and full of tree-filtered light. We loved the place and hope you will take a look.
Very reasonably priced at $198.000

Please call our agent (see below) if you’d like to see the house:

Charles Woody (919) 620-0959 or Cell (919) 724-5100
e-mail: cwoodyhomes [at] verizon [dot] net
MLS# 942743

We did it! Two weeks ago we closed on our new house, moved our stuff to the new house and then spent about a week cleaning and fixing up our old place to get it ready to sell it. Today we fiished up, and our agent will list it tomorrow.

The new place is just 10 miles from Bahama Road, just outside the Durham City limits. Although it’s in a subdivision, and much closer to Durham, it’s much more secluded and quieter than Bahama Road.

We spent all day at the house on Bahama Road, cleaning, painting, moving stuff. I’m beat! Time for a cold beer in the hot tub! Happy Independence Day!

Auf Deutsch: Vor zwei Wochen kauften wir unser neues Haus und zogen um, von Bahama nach Durham (ca. 15 KM). Danach renovierten wir unsere alte Bude etwas - brachten sie auf Vordermann, und sind jetzt soweit dass wir das Haus zum Verkauf anbieten koennen.

Wir haben heute den ganzen Tag am Haus gearbeitet - geputzt, gemalt, und aufgeräumt. Jetzt ist es Zeit noch etwas mit einem külen Bier im Whirlpool zu entspannen! Bilder vom neuen Haus kommen bald.

We had a rather dry spring, and so only last weekend we finally found an opportunity to engage in our annual post-solstice ritual of burning our yuletide tree. After getting two inches (52mm) of rain on Saturday last weekend, Sunday evening was calm and cool and it was pretty safe to torch the bone-dry Frasier fir.

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Yesterday, like every day, my daughter on the way home from afterschool told me about her day at school. She was upset because one of her teachers had told her to throw away one of her favorite books, “The Marvelous Land of Oz” because it contains “witchcraft and superstition.” Julia said she felt humiliated and singled out by her teacher, whom she had until then very much respected.

Laura and I were furious about this and Laura went and had a long talk with the principal of the school, who will hopefully read this teacher the riot act. Teachers have no business telling students what not to read. They can assign books and reading, but censoring a perfectly fine chilren’s book is outrageous. The teacher had invited the kids to bring books from at home to read in class, and the children were just reading for themselves, so this was completely out of line.

The issue here is not just one bigot teacher, rather it is that this happened in a public, taxpayer-funded school, and that there is a rather vigorous movement in the US of bigot book-burners, who sow fear and hatred by denouncing many works of popular fiction “evil” because the books discuss the supernatural in non-evangelical tems. Most notably, the book-burners have honed in on the wildly popular Harry Potter series. They denounce the themes of witchcraft and superstition in the books about a young apprentice wizard in a sort-of prep school for wand-wielding wierdos.

So I had to sit my little girl down and explain that no teacher has any business telling her she what she can or can’t read at home. And I also had to explain that sometimes teachers make bad choices and say things they should not say, or do things they should not do. And when that happens she needs to tell her parents or another teacher. And she can always count on us to back her up.

And then I made the point to her that it is quite hypocritical of the Christians to slam any books that contain descriptions of witchcraft and superstition, considering the contents of the “Holy Bible” - talking burning bushes, parting seas, angels, miracles and prophets rising from the grave. Talk about witchcraft and superstition.

[update: I found this website about First Amendment rights for kids.]

The Story is a syndicated radio show produced at WUNC in Chapel Hill. The show is hosted by Dick Gordon, who interviews people who have an interesting story to tell. Today, they aired the segment where Laura and Agbessi get to tell the story of the library in Yikpa, and the impact it had on their lifes.

Click to listen: mp3
The first part of the program is about a photographer - the interview with Laura and Agbessi starts after 32 Minutes.

Between the news of the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech (we’re all Hokies this week!), a slightly hectic, double trip to the beach and another offer on a new house, we’ve had a busy, weird time lately.

Last week the kids were off from school, so on Thursday we drove to Atlantic Beach, to join a friend and her daughter at her beach house. Friday, I drove back to Durham, where Laura and I made an offer on a house and had a nice night out on the town. Saturday, I drove to Raleigh, where Piedmont Biofuels had its annual membership meeting at the McKimmon Center (nice digs!). I had promised to present the Durham update to the members, which I did. After that, I hopped back in the car and cruised back to the beach, for another walk in the sand and a couple of margaritas.  Sunday, we cleaned up, I packed the kids into the car and we took off, in the midst of huge downpours from this nasty cold front that was sweeping into the area. This front had brought tornadoes to the Midwest and I think some funnel clouds were spotted in North Carolina as well. I find it a bit nerve-wracking to drive on those coastal highways in such downpours, because the roads have these huge ditches on the side, and in the rain they fill with water - up to 8 feet in some places. If the car slides off the road, you’re likely to end up in the water and drown! Anyway - we made it home with no problem.

Over the years, in conversations about sports, I have always identified myself as a biker - a mountain biker. Not a particularly competitive specimen, I lack the colorful outfit and fancy bike, but I do enjoy very much taking my 17-year-old Simonelli bike on a challenging single-track out in the woods. We’re just a 10-Minute drive down the road from a very nice 7-mile loop at Little River Park, and I try my best to hit the trail regularly.

The problem is that the park manager closes the MTB trails when it is too wet, to prevent damage to the trail and the forest. That is fine - I support that. So I began to just go for a run when the bike trails are closed. There are two nice hiking trails in the park, and they are great for running. The trails wind through a different part of the park, and run along the creeks and rivers in the back part of the park. They offer a totally different view of the land as the bike trails, which climb up a small hill.

So today I ran 5 Miles on those trails, and it was great! Last night thunderstorms moved through the area, and dumped a 3/4 inch (2 cm) of rain. Right now the redbuds and the dogwoods are blooming, and the other trees are breaking out in an ever-so-tender green. It’s been getting pretty warm, and it was 85 Deg. F (29°C) and the humidity this morning was at least 500 percent. Still, it was a fun run and the forest was really beautiful.

Lots of stuff is brewing. I started a Mr Brew keg - 2 gallons of Märzen - I am very curious how that’s going to turn out. I also have 50 gallons of biodiesel settling in the basement. I am running low on methanol - need to make a run to the Roxboro Dragway for some “racing alky.”

Today, I went to the Piedmont board meeting. Lots going on there, too. Among many other things., we’re getting ready for the annual membership meeting in April. We’re planning to move the Bull City Biodiesel tank - the juicebox - to a new location on Angier Ave.

The Africa trip we had planned for June won’t happen. The person who was coordinating the Ghana stuff for Laura’s store is seriously ill and in the hospital. So Laura had to cancel the trip. So now we’re trying to figure out whether we should go by ourselves in the fall.

Friday, I got a growler of the latest brew from Foothills - the Sexual Chocolate Stout. It’s a seasonal brew, and they don’t even list it on their website. But this is a truly amazing beer. It is malty and thick and pitch-black, and it coats the glass when you pour it. I find the flavor to be more mocha and cocoa, not so much chocolate-sweet (like Youngs Double Chocolate Stout). And boy, is it intense! You can taste the almost 10 percent alcohol a bit, but only enough to serve as a discreet warning. What a brew!

After a few chilly days, temperatures were back to the 60s F (almost 20 °C) today, and so we went out to the Little River Park. Laura went for a run and when she got back I rode the bike trail. Jacob and Julia rode their bikes and played in the playground.

I helped Jacob ride his Thunderbike (as he calls it) and he did great. Finally, I don’t have to hold his bike and run with him! Running along with Jacob on his bike used to be half my exercise regimen at the park. Round and round and round …

Today, he got on his bike, I gave him a push, and he rode off … left … right … straight into a tree! He picked his bike back up and got back on - another push … and he was off again - straight into another tree. Soon, thought, he got the hang of it and was cruising around more and more confidently. His main problem was that when he gets distracted by something, like another child, or a dog, he looks at it and rides straight for it on collision course. So I rode in front of him on my bike, yelling at him “look at me! - look at me!” When I got him to focus on me riding in front of him, he stayed on the path and did really well on his Thunderbike.

I had a great ride through the woods on the single-track for almost an hour, scared up some deer, and got a great workout. When I came back, Jacob was cruising around the parking lot “wuuheee!! Look at me!” Good thing there were very few cars left in the parking lot.

[update 2/28: added the picture]

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Here are some more pictures from our weekend at the beach January 14/15! Sunday morning was gloriously warm and sunny; in the afternoon clouds rolled in, which made the light for our trip to Cape Lookout quite interesting. (more…)

Today, on the way home from work, the Jetta passed its 65,000 miles marker (and the airbag light came on). That means, it’s been running on mostly biodiesel for over 27,000 miles. :) Yippee!!

No -this is not Southern Florida or South Africa - this is Atlantic Beach, NC in January! Looking at the weather report for the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, our friend Susan decided to head out to her beach house for the weekend. When she asked if we wanted to come along … well, we had to carefully consider our plans for the weekend … for 2 seconds.

We drove out to Atlantic Beach on Saturday evening after Laura got off work. Sunday morning was great - it was sunny and warm (mid-70s F. /low 20s C), the kids were playing in the surf (!) and Dolphins were cruising up and down the beach (LOTS of dolphins). The water was freaking cold - 55F/12C - but the kids did not care! I did - I tried it and it was freezing!! I wanted to see if I could get close to one of those dolphins … duh! I spent about 5 Minutes in the water and Laura says I was purple when I came out.

In the afternoon, we took a boat (see right) to the Cape Lookout lighthouse and went for a walk along the beach. It was gorgeous - a gentle breeze was blowing in from the ocean and there were hardly any people around. But lots of Dolphins were hunting right off the beach. Once in a while they’d get a baitball going and the water would start boiling, and the pelicans would start dive-bombing, while the dolphins were feeding on the fish.

On the way back, the skipper picked up a family on Shackleford Banks, where they had been hanging out with the wild mustangs there. Sometime in the spring we should go there camping over night. That would be a great adventure and it’d be so cool to watch the mustangs.

Today, we hung out in the morning, and cleaned the house. Then we went to the Pine Knoll Shores Aquarium (free admission today!). We spent a couple of hours looking at the “fishies,” petted the horseshoe crabs, and gawked at the sharks in the big tank. Around 3 PM we headed back home. What a great weekend!