Jay fashioned17 slabs of pond ice (about 800 pounds total) into a five foot Ice Goddess. Fashioned after Stella's pottery `Venus of Willendorf', our deity stood between Harmony and Oneida for weeks, slowly flowing back into the earth.

A few TaChai bedrooms now have computer network connections.

Quilted hammock fabric scrap is now recycled into cold frame blankets and window insulation.

Some Ex-member news: Allegra, the sax wizard who got her big break playing for Twin Oaks' Tardy Rap, reports she is a "hobbling mess". "I have pink eye in both eyes and I tore a ligament in my right knee. But I started playing in the San Francisco State big band and there are four women in the band of 25 or so people, and THREE of us are named ALLEGRA!!! Can you believe?"

The day of Spring Equinox, 14 Canada geese alighted on the pond. Could this be cooincidence?! (14 geese, 14 stitches in each row of a hammock.)

Support Your Local Midwife!
For over 25 years, Twin Oaks has strongly supported home birth. We have helped provide this incredibly positive experience for families, friends, and the whole community. I myself have given birth twice here, and I am forever grateful to Twin Oaks for the time and energy given to this holy event.

Virginia state laws are hostile to home birth. To change that, some of us work with a grass-roots organization called Virginia Birthing Freedom which lobbies for legalization and regulation of Certified Professional Midwives (CPM's), who perform home births. Currently only Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNM's) working under the direct supervision of a doctor are legal while lay midwives are not. Consequently, the vast majority of midwife-assisted births, are performed in a hospital.

There are an estimated 500 home births each year in Virginia. While it is legal to give birth at home, it is NOT legal to pay anyone to help you who is not a doctor or a CNM. Families are forced to go underground to find lay midwives. The Charlottesville Birthing Center was forced to close because of lack of physician backup.

Furthermore, a bill to legalize CPM's which has the support of the home birthing community statewide is strongly opposed by the medical establishment, and ended up being defeated by the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee.

Despite this setback we are determined to continue working for our midwives. Statewide, articles and letters have been appearing, and we've lobbied Governor Gilmore. This issue is near and dear to my heart. If you'd like to learn more, please contact Kristen.