Note:
This site is very much in a work in progress. We are learning and
experiencing so much that is new to us. We plan to share as much as time
allows, but we make no promises.
There are many shifts from first person to third person, and from past, to present, to future tenses. That's a result of the long time-span of putting this site together.
Pages that are incomplete today may be quite
robust tomorrow. The photo gallery will be growing. If you are interested
in what we are doing and saying, we urge you enter your email address above to be notified of changes to the site. Don't worry...There will be no spam. Your email address will only be used to notify you of changes to our site.
Our Story
We (that's us in the header) used to live in the Bay Area in California.
At the age of 59, I came down with severe adult
onset asthma 
and
subsequently developed multiple
chemical sensitivities. The
primary cause of this was atmospheric pollution, primarily from internal
combustion engines found in automobiles, trucks, etc. My chemical sensitivities
were to tobacco and just about every kind of smoke, VOCs, perfumes, lotions,
and just about all fragrances. (These are known as chemical irritants.)
I was forced to take massive doses of medications, including corticosteroids.
After being housebound for two years with all kinds of sophisticated and
expensive air filtration equipment, I finally confronted my doctor, who
said: "If you want to stay here, we can keep you stable with all the
medications you are taking. However, if you ever want to get better, get
out of here!" <more...>
Where We Came From
Want some contrast? Well, try this! Looking at the photos below, on the left (or top) is a photo (Courtesy
of
Jackson County,
OR GIS Services [slow
site: give it a chance]) of the area, Ruch (pronounced "Roosh"),
where we live. The photo still shows the double-wide mobile home that was
on the property when we bought it. On the right is a photo from Google
Maps of
where we lived in Union City, CA. (Click on each image to see a larger
version of the image.) Believe it or not, the photos are of the same amount
of area (give or take). The most startling thing for us is the density
of the population. In Ruch, there are more cows than people! There are
very few vehicles per square foot or mile, and the air is virtually pure.
It does get a bit on the smoky side when there is slash (debris from trees)
pile burning or wood stove (many homes are heated with wood) burning on
chilly nights, but the overall state of the air is somewhere between wonderful
and stupendous!
Take a look at an aerial
photo that even shows our
raised garden beds (in the upper right corner of the outlined shape) in
Union City. That's our white mini-van in the driveway.